As for the game, welcome to the show Jake Bennett (1-0, 1.80 ERA). The highly touted pitching prospect made his ML debut and held the Astros to just 1 run in 5 gutty innings. Bennett allowed a third inning home run to Carlos Correa but Jarren Duran hit a three run jack against Mike Burrows in the bottom of the frame. The usually terrible Sox offense once again did nothing else but the Boston bullpen stepped up. Zack Kelly, Danny Coulombe, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door as the Sox took the game 3-1 at Fenway Park.
Bennett got the ball in the top of the first inning and Carlos Correa lined out to left to start. Yordan Alvarez took strike three but Carlos Parades walked. Christian Walker walked but Jose Altuve grounded out to third to end the inning. Burrows got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Jarren Duran grounded out to second to start. Willson Contreras was plunked but Roman Anthony flied out to left. Wilyer Abreu flied out to center to end the inning.
Yainer Diaz grounded out to second to start the top of the second and Cam Smith struck out swinging. Brice Matthews got a base hit to center and promptly stole second, but Dustin Harris grounded out to first to end the inning. Trevor Story got a base hit to center to begin the bottom of the second but Marcelo Mayer grounded into a double play. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Astros struck first in the top of the third as Correa hit a home run all the way to Mongolia to start. Alvarez grounded out to second but Parades got a base hit to left. Walker grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Astros up 1-0.
Suddenly the Sox sprang to life in the bottom of the third as Carlos Narvaez walked to start. Caleb Durbin got a base hit to center and Duran launched his second home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Contreras got a base hit to left and Anthony singled to right, but Abreu grounded into a double play. Story lined out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
About time Duran
Altuve lined out to center to start the top of the fourth but Diaz got a base hit to left. Smith grounded into a double play to end the inning. Mayer got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the fourth and Rafaela singled to left. Narvaez flied out to left but a passed ball moved both runners over. Durbin hit a grounder to third and Mayer was thrown out at home. Duran popped up to third to end the inning.
Matthews struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth but Harris got a base hit to right. Correa flied out to right and Alvarez grounded out to third to end the inning. That was it for Bennett who held the Astros to 1 run in his Major League debut off 5 hits and 2 walks.
Contreras was rung up for strike three to open the bottom of the fifth but Anthony doubled to right. Abreu flied out to left and Story grounded out to first to end the inning.
Zack Kelly came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Parades singled to right to start. Walker struck out swinging but Altuve reached on a swinging bunt in front of the plate. Diaz flied out to center and Smith struck out swinging to end the inning. Mayer struck out swinging to open the bottom of the sixth and Rafaela flied out to center. Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Matthews grounded out to third to start the top of the seventh and Danny Coulombe came in to face pinch hitter Shay Whitcomb. Shay flied out to right but Correa got a base hit to center. Alvarez forced Correa at second to end the inning. Daniel Johnson came in to play left and Bennett Sousa came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh. Durbin flied out to right, Duran lined out to center and Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Parades popped up to first to start. Walker got a base hit to right but Altuve popped up to second. Diaz doubled to center but Smith popped up to first to end the inning. Bryan King came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Anthony singled to right to start. Abreu grounded into a double play but Story got a base hit to left. Mayer flied out to left to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and Matthews took strike three to start. Old friend Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Johnson and grounded out to short. Correa doubled to center but Alvarez grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-1.
Sox win
Hero Bennett
Roman Anthony was 3 for 4.
Hero of The Night is Jake Bennett. He won his ML debut by going 5 innings and holding the Astros to just 1 run.
The Good:
Willson Contreras was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch.
Roman Anthony was 3 for 4.
Trevor Story was 2 for 4.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 1 for 3.
Caleb Durbin was 1 for 3.
Zack Kelly tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Danny Coulombe got the final 2 outs of the seventh inning.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Aroldis Chapman earned his sixth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 3 run home run.
Marcelo Mayer was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Good win but the same offensive problems remain. Apart from one swing from Duran this would have been a 1-0 loss. The Sox already replaced the manager and the hitting coach and nothing really has changed. The offensive woes continue although the pitching has been solid. Bennett looked good in his debut the the bullpen held the fort in this one. The 8-9 combo of Whitlock and Chapman has been deadly since the beginning of last year and its unfortunate that they don't get many chances to be used in that role since the Sox bats have been completely incompetent. There's still time to turn the season around but unless Triston Casas and Romy Gonzalez come back soon, it seems highly unlikely a comeback is in order. The win improved the Sox to 13-19, 8 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to mke it two in a row against the Astros tomorrow afternoon against the Astros when Connelly Early (2-1) takes on Spencer Arrighetti of Houston. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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