The Sox wasted no time getting to Kikuchi in the top of the first inning as Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging to start. Scott Kingery booted a grounder by Jarren Duran for an error and Romy Gonzalez got a base hit to right. Carlos Narvaez hit one up the elevator shaft but Wilyer Abreu walked. Trevor Story drilled a base hit to left to score both Duran and Gonzalez. Ceddanne Rafaela forced Story at second base with the Sox ahead 2-0. They would have just 1 more hit the rest of the game.
Story drives in a pair
Fitts got the ball in the bottom of the first and Nolan Schanuel lined out to right to start. Christian Moore was hit with a pitch and Mike Trout walked, but Taylor Ward grounded out to first. Jo Adell struck out swinging to end the inning.
Marcelo Mayer struck out swinging to start the top of the second before Nate Eaton took strike three. Refsnyder struck out swinging to end the inning. Travis d'Arnaud popped up to short to start the bottom of the second before LaMonte Wade Jr struck out swinging. Luis Rengifo singled to right but Kingery forced him at second base to end the inning.
Duran struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Gonzalez flied out to center. Narvaez got the last hit of the game for the Sox on a single to center but Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. Schanuel lined out to left to start the bottom of the third before Moore went down hacking. Trout was rung up for strike three to end the inning.
Story struck out swinging to begin the top of the fourth before Rafaela also swung at air. Mayer grounded out to first to end the inning. The Angels finally got to Fitts in the bottom of the fourth and Ward lined out to center to begin. Adell then hit a home run all the way to the moon to cut the lead. d'Arnaud then hit a home run all the way to Peru to tie the game. Wade Jr singled to center but Rengifo struck out swinging. Kingery struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 2-2. Once again Alex Cora was going to tax his bullpen by yanking Fitts after just 4 innings and 83 pitches. He allowed just the two home runs.
Eaton struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Refsnyder was rung up for strike three. Duran also went down hacking to end the inning. Luis Guerrero came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the fifth as Schanuel walked to start. Moore forced Schanuel at second but Trout walks. Ward took strike three but Adell singled to center to score Moore. d'Arnaud singled to left to score Trout to ice the game. That was it for Guerrero as Brennan Bernardino came in to get Wade to ground out to short to end the inning with the Angels ahead 4-2.
Gonzalez flied out to center to start the top of the sixth and Narvaez lined out to second. Abreu hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. The Angels struck again in the bottom of the sixth as Rengifo singled in the hole at third to start. Kingery dropped down a bunt to catch Bernardino asleep but Schanuel popped up to short. Zack Kelly came in to freeze Moore for strike three, but Trout got a base hit to right to score Rengifo. Ward struck out swinging to end the inning with the Angels up 5-2.
Trout with the kill shot
Story grounded out to third to start the top of the seventh before Rafaela struck out swinging. Mayer flied out to right to end the inning. Adell struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh before d'Arnaud doubled to left. Wade Jr lined back to Kelly and Rengifo struck out swinging to end the inning.
Old Sox prospect Ryan Zeferjahn came in to pitch the top of the eighth and David Hamilton pinch hit for Eaton. Roman Anthony pinch hit for Refsnyder and walked, but Duran flied out to right. Abraham "El" Toro pinch hit for Gonzalez and flied out to center to end the inning. Jorge Alcala came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Kingery walked to start. Kingery was thrown out at second trying to steal and Schanuel grounded out to second. Moore struck out swinging to end the inning.
Narvaez struck out swinging to start the top of the ninth before Abreu took strike three as well. It looked like Story had blooped a base hit to left but replays showed Ward caught it to end the game. The Angels had won the game 5-2.
Jackass of The Night is Luis Guerrero. He allowed the go-ahead runs to score in the fifth inning.
Jackass Guerrero
The Good:
Roman Anthony walked as a pinch hitter.
Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Jorge Alcala pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Abraham Toro was 0 for 1.
Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Nate Eaton was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.
David Hamilton was 0 for 1.
Brennan Bernardino allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Carlos Narvaez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs.
Richard Fitts allowed 2 runs in 4 innings of work. He allowed 4 hits and a walk while striking out 6.
Zack Kelly allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1 2/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
Its been the same story for five years now. Cora yanks a starter early at the first sign of trouble, the bullpen blows it and the offense can't come back. Having a bonafide Triple A lineup doesn't help though. Red Sox ownership have no one to blame but themselves for trading Rafael Devers and watching the offense evaporate as a result. The bullpen didn't help in this one as they allowed 3 runs in 5 innings but having to throw 5 innings is embarrassing in itself. The Sox need another bat at the trade deadline now that Devers is gone but good luck getting the front office to pony up the prospects or money to get one. For the fourth straight year we're headed to another .500 season or worse. The loss dropped the Sox to 40-42, 7 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox come back home for a six game homestand. First on the list is the Toronto Blue Jays this Friday night. Brayan Bello (3-2) takes on Jose Berrios of Toronto at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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