Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Nate Eaton was sent back to Worcester and Romy Gonzalez was activated from the Injured List. Not much to say about this one, one utility guy swapped out for another.
Talk about a comeback for the ages that never was. The Los Angels looked to be headed for an easy victory over the Red Sox when they blasted "Big" Dick Fitts (0-3, 4.71 ERA) for six runs in the top of the first inning. Zach Neto, Mike Trout and Jo Adell all went yard to build the lead. Then the Sox rallied with a run in the third against Ty Anderson and four in the fifth with Romy Gonzalez driving in two runs to cut the lead to 1. Unfortunately Adell went yard again off Hunter Dobbins and a Ceddanne Rafaela solo shot was all Boston could do. The Angels had won the game 7-6 at Fenway Park.
The Angels wasted no time getting to Fitts in the top of the first inning as Zach Neto hit the first pitch of the game out of the yard to put the Angels up for good instantly. Nolan Schanuel walked, Taylor Ward got a base hit to right and Abraham Toro booted a grounder by Jorge Soler to score Nolan. Mike Trout then hit a home run all the way to Pluto to ice the game just like that. Logan O'Hoppe lined out to first but Jo Adell hit a home run onto the Mass Pike to send the fans into a booing rampage. Luis Rengifo lined out to left and Scott Kingery grounded out to short to end the inning with the Angels up 6-0. Bye bye Dick Fitts.
Ty Anderson got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran flied out to center to start. Rafael Devers did the same and Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging to end the inning.
Hunter Dobbins came in to pitch the top of the second and Neto flied out to right to start. Schanuel flied out to center and Ward struck out swinging to end the inning. Carlos Narvaez flied out to left to start the bottom of the second but Romy Gonzalez singled off the glove of Rengifo. Abraham "El" Toro got a base hit to right and Trevor Story beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Ceddanne Rafaela popped up to first to end the inning.
Soler struck out swinging to start the top of the third but Trout got a base hit to center. O'Hoppe grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the third although Kristian Campbell grounded back to the mound to start. Duran doubled to center and Devers did the same to score Jarren. Refsnyder struck out swinging but Narvaez walked. Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 6-1.
Adell took strike three to begin the top of the fourth but Rengifo singled to left. Kingery forced Rengifo at second and Neto struck out swinging to end the inning. Toro struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth and Story grounded out to short. Rafaela lined out to short to end the inning.
Schanuel walked to start the top of the fifth but Ward lined out to second. Soler forced Schanuel at second and Trout got a base hit to left. O'Hoppe lined out to right to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fifth as Campbell took strike three to start. Duran doubled to center, Devers walked and both runners moved over on a wild pitch. Refsnyder got a base hit to left to score Duran and Narvaez doubled to left to score Devers. That was it for Anderson as Hunter Strickland came in only for Gonzalez to double to right to score Refsnyder and Narvaez. Toro grounded out to short to move Gonzalez to third and with the tying run 90 feet away....Story struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 6-5.
Naturally all the momentum was lost instantly in the top of the sixth when Adell hit a home run all the way to Oklahoma to start. Rengifo hit one up the elevator shaft, Kingery popped up to first and Neto grounded out to short to end the inning with the Angels up 7-5.
Second home run for Adell
Reid Detmers came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Rafaela reached on a swinging bunt in front of the plate to start. Campbell forced Rafaela at second but Duran got a base hit to right. Devers flied out to left but Refsnyder walked to load the bases. With the tying run on second....Narvaez grounded out to short to end the inning. Angels pitching coach Barry Enright wasn't too happy about the Refsnyder walked and he walked toward home plate umpire Chad Whitson brandishing a tire iron. Whitson tossed Enright from the game and he had to be escorted out by armed SWAT members.
Nick Burdi made his Red Sox debut pitching the top of the seventh and naturally Gonzalez threw a grounder by Schanuel away for an error. Ward struck out swinging but Soler walked. Trout grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Kevin Newman took over for Kingery in the bottom of the seventh with old pal Ryan Zeferjahn now on the mound. Gonzalez grounded back to the mound and El Toro struck out swinging. Story took strike three to end the inning.
Luis Guerrero came in to pitch the top of the eighth and O'Hoppe flied out to right to start. Adell popped up to first and Rengifo grounded out to third to end the inning. Hector Neris came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Rafaela immediately greeted him with his fourth homer of the season to cut the lead. Campbell grounded back to the mound, Duran struck out swinging and Devers flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 7-6.
Newman lined out to center to start the top of the ninth and Neto grounded out to third. Schanuel grounded out to second to end the inning. Old pal Kenley Jansen came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Wilyer Abreu pinch hit for Refsnyder. Abreu struck out swinging, Narvaez flied out to center and Gonzalez flied out to right to end the game. The Angels had won it 7-6.
Angels win
Jackass of The Night is Richard Fitts. He allowed 6 runs in the first inning to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Romy Gonzalez was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Hunter Dobbins allowed just one run in 5 innings.
Nick Burdi pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Luis Guerrero pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Wilyer Abreu struck out as a pinch hitter.
Trevor Story was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Kristian Campbell was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.
Carlos Narvaez was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.
Abraham Toro was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.
Final Thoughts:
That game was a sucker punch to the gonads. They were down 6-0 and rallied to make it 6-5, only to give up a run. Then they get a run but can't deliver the knockout blow. Fitts melting in the first inning only for the Sox to rally was a welcomed sight to see, only problem is they didn't complete the comeback. One of the reasons the Sox have been so miserable this season is inconsistent pitching outside of Garret Crochet, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello. Tanner Houck was awful, Richard Fitts has been inconsistent, Walker Buehler hasn't pitched well and Hunter Dobbins isn't lighting the world on fire either. If they can get better pitching, things will work themselves out. The loss dropped the Sox to 29-33, 9 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow evening when Brayan Bello goes for the Sox against Yusei Kikuchi of Los Angeles. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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