Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Alec Gamboa was sent back to Worcester and Sonny Gray was activated off the Injured List to make tonight's start against the Detroit Tigers. Getting him back healthy will help big time. Whether he's effective or not is the question.
As for the game, welcome back Sonny Gray (3-1, 3.54). The veteran starter came off the Injured List to fire five shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers. Meanwhile the Sox got some clutch hits against Detroit starter Jack Flaherty. In the top of the third, Caleb Durbin drove in Marcelo Mayer with a double and two batters later, Willson Contreras scored Carlos Narvaez with a sac fly. One inning later Colt Keith botched a routine grounder by Narvaez which allowed Masataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela to score. After Gray was removed for reaching a pitch count, the trio of Tyler Samaniego, Zack Kelly and Greg Weissert kept the shutout intact. It all added up to a three game sweep of the Tigers with a 4-0 victory at Comerica Park.
Flaherty got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Willson Contreras took strike three and Wilyer Abreu went down hacking to end the inning. Gray got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kevin McGonigle popped up to third to start. Matt Vierling lined out to left and Colt Keith flied out to left to end the inning.
Trevor Story went down hacking to begin the top of the second and Mastaka Yoshida watched strike three go by. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to first to end the inning. Riley Greene doubled to left to begin the bottom of the second but Dillon Dingler popped up to first. Kerry Carpenter took strike three but Zach McKinstry walked. Spencer Torkelson walked to load the bases and Jace Jung hit a grand slam all the way to.....wait.....what do you mean Abreu made a great diving catch to rob Jung to end the inning?
Move by Abreu's effort, the Sox struck first in the top of the third. Marcelo Mayer got a base hit off the glove of Keith and Carlos Narvaez was hit with a pitch. Caleb Durbin doubled to left to score Mayer but Duran grounded out to first. Contreras hit a sac fly to center to score Narvaez but Abreu flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
McGonigle flied out to left to start the bottom of the third but Vierling got a base hit to center. Somehow Duran gunned down Matt trying to stretch a double but Keith got a base hit to left. Greene got a base hit to right but Dingler flied out to center to end the inning.
Story popped up to first to begin the top of the fourth but Yoshida singled to center. Rafaela walked but Mayer struck out swinging. Narvaez hit a routine grounder to third but Keith booted it for an error to score both runners, moving Carlos to second. Durbin struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 4-0 Sox.
Carpenter grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the fourth and McKinstry lined out to left. Torkelson took strike three to end the inning.
Duran went down hacking to open the top of the fifth and Contreras also swung at air. Abreu completed the trifecta by striking out swinging to end the inning. Gray returned for one final inning in the bottom of the fifth as Jung grounded out to third to begin. McGonigle grounded out to first and Vierling popped up to second to end the inning. Gray was on a pitch count in his first start off the injured list and he tossed 5 shutout innings allowing 4 hits and 2 walks.
Drew Anderson came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Story went down hacking again to begin. Yoshida got a base hit to center but Rafaela struck out swinging. Mayer also went down hacking to end the inning. Tyler Samaniego came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Keith grounded out to second to start. Greene struck out swinging and Dingler flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the seventh as Narvaez walked to start. Durbin forced Carlos at second but promptly stole second. Durbin moved to third on a balk and Duran drew a walk. Duran stole second and Contreras walked to chase Anderson. Brant Hurter came in to strike out Abreu swinging and get Story to ground out to short to end the inning. Jahmai Jones pinch hit for Carpenter to start the bottom of the seventh and struck out swinging to begin. McKinstry walked but Torkelson struck out swinging. Wencel Perez pinch hit for Jung and hit a liner....caught by Rafaela to end the inning.
Kyle Finnegan came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Yoshida flied out to right to start. Rafaela walked and promptly stole second. Mayer walked but Narvaez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Zack Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and McGonigle lined out to right to begin. Vierling and Keith both walked but Greens struck out swinging. Dingler also struck out swinging to end the inning.
Burch Smith came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Durbin grounded out to third to begin. Duran walked but Contreras struck out swinging. Abreu flied out to center to end the inning. Greg Weissert came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Jones grounded out to short to start. McKinstry popped up to third and Torkelson flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-0.
Hero of the Night is Sonny Gray. He came off the Injured List and pitched 5 shutout innings to keep the Sox ahead all game.
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Ceddanne Rafaela walked twice, scored a run, stole a base and made a great catch.
Marcelo Mayer was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Tyler Samaniego tossed two scoreless innings.
Zack Kelly pitched a scoreless inning.
Greg Weissert tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Trevor Story was 0 for 4 with 2 astrikeouts.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked twice and stole a base.
Willson Contreras was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked and drove in a run.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but made a game saving diving catch.
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 but walked, got hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run and stole a base.
Final Thoughts:
Don't look now but the Red Sox are starting to play better. They've won 6 of the 10 games they've played since axing Alex Cora and are really another big bat away from being serious contenders. Whether that's a returning Triston Casas or a trade deadline move, the Sox need a slugger in the worst way. Sonny Gray returning helped big time and once he's off a pitch count restriction, hopefully he can bolster the reeling rotation. As bad as the Sox started, they still have 5 months to make a comeback but they need to have long win streaks. Can't do that without good starting pitching. Hopefully the kids and Brayan Bello can keep momentum going until Garrett Crochet and Ranger Suarez return. The win improved the Sox to 16-21, 9 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now come home for a four game set with their AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays. Tomorrow night Jake Bennett (1-0, 1.80) ERA takes on Griffin Jax of Tampa Bay. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
