Sox Edge O's, Wacha Dominant (8/20/22)

If only the Boston Red Sox had a healthy Michael Wacha (8-1, 2.28 ERA) they might have had a chance this season. Wacha dominated the Baltimore Orioles in today's game, holding the Birds scoreless for nearly six innings. Then Murphy's Law kicked in as Eric Hosmer got hurt, John Schreiber and Garrett Whitlock were tagged for 3 runs combined and the Sox scored just 3 runs against O's starter Kyle Bradish who's ERA was certainly not 3. Also Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts once again came up multiple times with men on base and did absolutely nothing. Oh don't worry, the Sox still hung on. The red hot Christian Arroyo drove in a run in the ninth and the Sox needed it too beat the Orioles 4-3 at Camden Yards.

                                    Fuppet Mazz has a lot to complain about in this win

Bradish got the ball in the top of the first inning and Christian Arroyo lined out to center to start. Alex Verdugo flied out to right and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning. Wacha got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Austin Hays struck out swinging to start. Adley Rutschman got a base hit to left but Anthony Santander lined out to right. Ryan Mountcastle took strike three to end the inning.

The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Rafael Devers grounded out to first to start. JD Martinez doubled to left and Eric Hosmer was plunked, but Kike Hernandez flied out to left. Jarren Duran struck out swinging on a pitch over his head to end the inning. Ramon Urias got a base hit to left off the glove of Bogaerts to begin the bottom of the second but Jorge Mateo forced him at second. Ryan McKenna grounded into a double play to end the inning.

As usual the Sox blew a rally in the top of the third as Kevin Plawecki grounded out to short to start. Arroyo and Verdugo stroked back to back base hits but Bogaerts just shrugged his shoulders as he hit into a double play to end the inning. Tyler Nevin flied out to right to start the bottom of the third before Robinson Chirinos popped up to short. Hays grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Devers got a base hit to center to start the top of the fourth but Martinezx struck out swinging. Hosmer moved Devers to second on a grounder to the mound but Hernandez took strike three to end the inning. Rutschman flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth before Santander lined out to center. Mountcastle singled to right and Urias grounded out to third to end the inning.

Somehow the Sox struck first in the top of the fifth as Duran flied out to center to start. Plawecki and Arroyo both dumped base hits to right before Verdugo joined the parade by hitting one to right as well to score Kevin. Naturally with runners at the corners Bogaerts popped up weakly to left and Devers struck out swinging to end the inning. The days of Martinez, Boagerts and Devers driving in runs are long gone for various reasons as the Sox led just 1-0.

                                                           Verdugo drives in a run

All of  a sudden Hosmer collapsed in a heap trying to run out of the dugout and had to be carried out on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the local ICU. Bobby Dalbec took over at first for Hosmer in the bottom of the fifth and Mateo took strike three to start. McKenna was also frozen for strike three and Nevin lined out to right to end the inning.

Somehow the Sox actually did something in the top of the sixth as Martinez singled to left to start. Dalbec struck out swinging on a pitch headed to the backstop but Hernandez smacked a home run just over the wall in left to increase the lead. Duran struck out swinging on a pitch that bounced in the dirt and that was it for Bradish. Joey Krehbiel came in to get Plawecki to fly out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.

                                                         Home run Hernandez

Chirinos popped up to short to start the bottom of the sixth but Hays got a base hit to right. Rutschman hit one up the elevator shaft but Santander walked. Despite being at just 79 pitches, Sox manager Alex Cora reverted back to last year's ways and yanked Wacha without completing the sixth inning. John Schreiber came in and Mountcastle struck out swinging to end the inning. Wacha had thrown 5 2/3 shutout innings allowing just 4 hits and a walk but apparently that wasn't good enough for a last place team.

                                                      Wacha gets it done

Arroyo struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh but Verdugo lined out to center. Bogaerts grounded out to second to end the inning. The O's clawed back in the bottom of the seventh as Urias got a base hit to right to start. Mateo got a base hit to right and Duran decided to jump on the ball and wrestle it for an error  to move the runners over. Kyle Stowers pinch hit for McKenna and grounded out to second to score Urias, moving Mateo to third. Rougned Odor pinch hit for Nevin and hit one up the elevator shaft but a wild pitch scored Mateo to cut the lead. Chirinos struck out swinging to end the inning but the O's were back in it down 3-2.

                                                            Mateo scores

Ryan Baker came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Devers lined out to center to start. Martinez and Dalbec both struck out swinging to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in for the nottom of the eighth and Hays grounded out to third to start. Rutschman singled to right but Santander went down swinging. Mountcastle flied out to right to end the inning.

The Sox got a big run in the top of the ninth although Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Duran caught the O's asleep with a bunt single to second and took third on the base hit to right by Plawecki. Arroyo chopped a double over the third base bag to score Duran but Verdugo lined out to short. Once again with two men on Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.

                                                         Arroyo drives in a run

The O's refused to go quietly in the bottom of the ninth although Urias struck out swinging to start. Mateo tripled into the left field corner and scored on the Mateo grounder to first to cut the lead. Odor lined out to a running Hernandex to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3.

                                                              Sox win

Hero of the Night is Christian Arroyo. His rbi double in the ninth was the difference in the game.

                                                                 Arroyo The Hero

The Good:

Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5 with an rbi.

JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Kevin Plawecki was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Michael Wacha earned the win by tossing 5 2/3 shutout innings 

The Bad:

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 5

Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.

John Schreiber got tagged for 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Eric Hosmer was 0 for 1 with a hit by pitch before leaving the game.

Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the hit was a 2 run home run.

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error but scored a run.

Garrett Whitlock earned his fifth save but allowed a run in two innings.

Final Thoughts:

Once again a win felt like a loss as not only did Hosmer get hurt but the trio of Martinez, Devers and Bogaerts don't drive in runs anymore. Last night the Sox had 19 hits and 10 runs mostly without the contributions of them. Today Bogaerts and Devers went 1 for 9 with a strikeout while at least Martinez got a couple of hits. On top of that, Schreiber and Whitlock both got tagged for a combined three runs. If your bullpen and best hitters can't get it done, that's not a recipe for success. Plus for some reason Cora let Kutter Crawford take the beating of his life yesterday yet yanked Wacha while he was pitching s shutout after 79 pitches today. Nothing is going right apart from the sudden resurgence of Verdugo and Arroyo and you can't expect them to carry the offense for the next forty games. Thankfully the season is nearing its end and somebody has to pay for this disaster. Either Cora, Bloom or both have to go because what they're doing isn't working. The saddest part about the team falling apart in July is so did the New York Yankees. They've gone 3-13 the last two weeks and the Toronto Blue Jays are only 7 games behind them. If its any consolation to the Sox playing out the string in September its watching the Yankees collapse. The win improved the Sox to 60-61, 5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the third wild card. Tomorrow night is the Little League Classic in Williamsport and for some reason the Sox and Orioles are tabbed to play in front of a bunch of kids. Nick Pivetta (9-9, 4.28 ERA) takes on Dean Kremer of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Muncy Bank Ballpark.

Orioles Rout Sox, Bogaerts & Cora Ejected (8/19/22)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move, sending the struggling Josh Winckowski back to Worcester and activating Matt Strahm from the Injured List. With Michael Wacha and Rich Hill back healthy, Winckowski became the odd man out after his recent struggles put his ERA over 5.00. Just like Brayan Bello, he was pretty much pressed into full time starting duty due to all the injuries and he couldn't handle it. Hopefully he can rediscover his form in Worcester as Strahm gives the Sox the much needed lefty arm they've lacked since the evaporation of Darwinzon Hernandez.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                        IN

As for the game, just when you think the Red Sox have hit rock bottom, they continue to invent new ways to lose. In a game the Boston bats finally broke out with NINETEEN hits and ten runs.....they got clobbered by the Baltimore Orioles who couldn't miss, hitting five home runs and scoring 15 runs of their own. 8 out of 9 batters had at least one hit and 7 of them had at least an rbi. Kutter Crawford (3-5) didn't have it as Baltimore nailed him for 9 runs in just 3 2/3 innings. Hiro Sawamura and Ryan Brasier both took a beating as well, allowing six runs combined to put the game out of the reach. The sad part was the Sox trailed 10-4 and battled back to make it 10-9 but Brasier made it 15-9 in the blink of an eye. If that wasn't bad enough, both Xander Bogaerts and Alex Cora got tossed in a game the Sox had to have to keep their barely existent playoff hopes alive. As it was, the Orioles crushed the Sox by a football score of 15-10 at Camden Yards.

                                                          Live look at Kutter Crawford

Orioles starter Jordan Lyles got the ball in the top of the first inning and Tommy Pham doubled to left to start. Alex Verdugo moved him to third with a grounder to first but Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging on a full count pitch not even close. Rafael Devers popped up weakly to center to end the inning. Crawford got the ball in the bottom of the first and Cedric Mullins effortlessly doubled to right to begin. Somehow Adley Rutschman took strike three and Anthony Santander lined out to second. Ryan Mountcastle flied out to center to end the inning. 

Shockingly the Sox took the lead in the top of the second as Christian Arroyo got a base hit to center to start. Eric Hosmer flied out to left but Rob Refsnyder doubled to left. Reese McGuire popped up to right but Kike Hernandez doubled to left to score both runners. Pham struck out swinging to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 2-0.

                                    

                                                       Hernandez drives in a pair

Naturally the lead lasted 8 seconds in the bottom of the second as Kyle Stowers flied out to left to start. Austin Hays caught Devers asleep with a bunt single but Rougned Odor took strike three. Ramon Urias singled to right and Jorge Mateo ended the game by hitting a 3 run home run to Brazil to put the O's on top. Mullins flied out to left to end the inning with the O's ahead 3-2.

                                                            Mateo hits a home run

Verdugo tried to start a rally with a base hit to right to open the top of the third before Bogaerts also singled to right. Devers hit a 400 foot out to dead center to move both runners over and Verdugo scored

on the Arroyo grounder to short to tie the game. Hosmer beat out a roller to short to put runners at the corners and Refsnyder dumped a base hit to left to score Bogaerts, giving the Sox the lead. Refsnyder took second on the throw home but McGuire took strike three to end the inning with Boston ahead 4-3.

                                                  Refsnyder drives in a run

Once again the lead lasted 8 seconds in the bottom of the third as Rutschman effortlessly singled to left to start and Santander hit a home run all the way to Nebraska to put the O's up for good. Mountcastle grounded out to third but Stowers got a base hit to center. Hays doubled to left and Odor hit a sac fly to score Stowers, but Hays was thrown out at third to end the inning with the game already over 6-4 Orioles.

                                                  Santander puts the O's up for good

Hernandez tried to start a rally by beating out a single to second to start the top of the fourth but Pham struck out swinging. Verdugo flied out left and Bogaerts got rung up for strike three in a pitch not even close. Bogaerts barked at home plate umpire Todd Tichenor and was thrown out of the game. Sox manager Alex Cora stormed out of the dugout and got in Tichenor's face, getting the heave ho as well. The Sox pretty much lost the game, their best hitter and their manager in one fell swoop.

                                                         YERRRRR OUTTA HERE!

Hernandez moved from center to short with Jarren Duran coming in to play center to start the bottom of the fourth. Urias grounded out to short and Mateo lined out to left but Mullins doubled AGAIN to right. Rutschman put the exclamation on the beat down with a home run all the way to Georgia to ice the game. Santander hit a rocket off the left field wall and FINALLY that was it for Crawford. In a game the Sox desperately needed to have Crawford was straight batting practice, allowing 9 runs in just 3 2/3 innings off 11 hits and 3 home runs. Hiro Sawamura came in and Mountcastle laughed as he effortlessly homered into the Baltic Sea while the entire league laughed at the Red Sox again. Stowers gave the Sox dugout the middle finger as he easily ripped a base hit to center and Hays walked to keep it going. Hosmer had to make a diving catch to rob Odor of a sure double to end the inning with the O's massacre continuing, 10-4.

                                                           Well this sucks

Keegan Akin came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Odor threw a routine grounder by Devers away for an error to start. Arroyo somehow singled to left and Hosmer made Odor pay with a base hit to right to score Devers. Arroyo took third on the play but Refsnyder struck out swinging at a pitch up in his eyes. McGuire took first on a rare catcher's interference call to load the bases but Hernandez struck out swinging. Suddenly Pham clubbed a bases clearing double to left to cut the lead and Verdugo ripped a base hit to center to score Pham. Duran walked on four pitches not even close to put the tying run at second and that was it for Akin. Nick Vespi came in to face Devers and Rafael...flied out weakly to right to end the inning with the Sox still down 10-9.

                                                   Pham refuses to give up

Ryan Brasier was summoned to stop the bleeding in the bottom of the fifth and naturally Urias hit a home run all the way to Neptune to kill Boston's momentum. Arroyo needed to make a diving catch to rob Mateo of a sure double and Mullins walked on five pitches not even close. Rutschman effortlessly doubled to right and Santander pounded a ground rule double to center to finally ice the game. Mountcastle added the exclamation point with a bullet to center to score Santander and took second when Duran misplaced the ball. Pham had to literally climb the left field wall to rob Stowers of a home run and Hays hit a routine grounder to short.....that Hernandez whiffed on for a technical "double" to score Santander and erase the top of the inning like it never happened. Acting Sox manager Wil Venable sent up the white flag as he brought Jeurys Familia in to pitch to Odor and Bobby Dalbec in for Pham who just got up and left the field disgusted. Odor struck out swinging but the O's had 18 hits and led 15-9.

                                                    A microcosm of the season

Arroyo refused to give up and got a base hit to  right to start the top of the sixth but Hosmer said the hell with it and grounded into a double play. Refsnyder doubled to left before McGuire ripped a base hit to right to score Refsnyder and chase Vespi. Dillon Tate came in to face Hernandez but naturally McGuire got himself thrown out at second trying to move on a pitch to the backstop to end the inning with the Sox down 15-10.

                                                             McGuire drives in a run

Somehow Urias flied out to left to start the bottom of the sixth and Mateo popped up to second. Mullins walked but Rutschman grounded out to second to end the inning. 

Hernandez grounded out to third to start the top of the seventh and Dalbec lined out to right. Somehow Verdugo beat out a roller to short and that was it for Tate. Cionel Perez came in to face Duran and Jarren ripped a base hit to right. Once again needing Devers to come through...he struck out swinging at a pitch over his head to end the inning. Say what you will about the pitching but Devers came up twice with the Sox needing a big hit and failed both times. Matt Barnes came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Santander lined out to center to start. Mountcastle grounded out to second and Stowers struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Arroyo lined out to center to start the top of the eighth and Hosmer grounded out to first. Refsnyder walked and Venable sent Kevin Plawecki instead of JD Martinez to pinch hit. Naturally Plawecki forced Refsnyder at second to end the inning. Matt Strahm came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Hays took strike three to start. Odor lined out to center but Urias was hit with a pitch. Mateo struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Felix Bautista came in to close out the top of the ninth and Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Dalbec ripped a base hit to center but Verdugo popped up to short. Duran flied out to center to end the game. The O's had won it 15-10.

                                                             O's win

Jackass of the Night is Ryan Brasier. The Sox were right back in the game and he put it out of reach by allowing 5 runs in the fifth inning

                                                      Jackass Brasier

The Good:

Tommy Pham was 2 for 4 with 3 rbis and a run scored.

Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 2.

Alex Verdugo was 3 for 6 with an rbi and a run scored.

Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a run scored before getting ejected.

Jarren Duran was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Christian Arroyo was 3 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.

Eric Hosmer was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Rob Refsnyder was 3 for 4 with a walk, rbi and 2 runs scored.

Reese McGuire was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.

Kike Hernandez was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis.

Jeurys Familia tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Matt Strahm pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The Bad:

Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Kutter Crawford took the loss by allowing 9 runs in just 3 2/3 innings off 11 hits.

Hiro Sawamura allowed an inherited runner to score and one of his own in 1/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was 0 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Final Thoughts:

Its not even worth getting mad at this point of how BAD the Sox are. The Sox pounded out 19 hits and 10 runs and still got creamed. The problem is the whole entire team forgot how to hit home runs. The O's hit 5 tonight alone and the Sox haven't had 5 total in a week. In fact, the Sox are on pace for their lowest home run total since 2014, another last place finish. Also you can't blame Sox GM Chaim Bloom for drafting Crawford and Brayan Bello because they were Dave Dombrowski guys, but its uncanny that ALL FOUR rookies the Sox have brought up this year have ERA's over 5. You would think one out of four would at least give you something. Tomo Ohka and Paxton Crawford were brought up in 2000 with the wild card on the line and even though the Sox failed to win, Crawford and Ohka had ERA's in the 3's to at least give the team a chance. Brayan Bello, Crawford, Josh Winckowski and Connor Seabold have been straight batting practice since they've been called up. It was definitely unfair to bring up Bello and Winckowski and trot them out against the AL East in July but if they were any good, they would have responded. Still, Crawford getting mangled today just goes to show that NOTHING has gone right this season. Pham leaving with a back injury and possibly not playing again this season is the icing on the cake. On the lighter side, its worth noting the fans in Camden are back. Sox fans remember six years ago when Baltimore was fighting for first place with Toronto and Boston there was less than 20,000 people at Camden. The announced crowd last night was almost 35,000. talk about an improvement. Guess the underdog story has gripped Baltimore and that's damn good for baseball. See, that's how things USED to be around here. Even with the Sox bloated payrolls, years like 2003, 2016 and even last year where the Sox weren't expected to do much yet made the playoffs were fun. There's been no fun this year apart from 3 weeks in June. With Martinez all washed up, Chris Sale, James Paxton and Trevor Story out for the season and Bogaerts unhappy about his contract situation, this year has been an out and out FAILURE all around. The Sox continue to play out the string as another one of their "sneeze on them and they're hurt" prized free agents Michael Wacha (7-1) gets the start against the Orioles against Kyle Bradish. The game begins at 4:05 PM tomorrow afternoon at Oriole Park in Camden Yards.

Verdugo, Arroyo Guide Sox Past Pirates (8/17/22)

It's about time the duo of Christian Arroyo and Alex Verdugo woke up for the Boston Red Sox. After battling injuries and ineffectiveness, Arroyo stepped up big with 3 rbis off 3 hits. Verdugo has been in a season long regression but has broken out of it by going 3 for 3 with 2 walks in tonight's game against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. Arroyo and Verdugo are now both hitting .280 after spending most of the season below .250. On the other side of the ball Rich Hill (5-5, 4.68 ERA) survived a shaky start to go 5 innings while holding the punchless Pirates to just two runs. Aiding the duo was the unlikely trio of Rob Refsnyder, Kevin Plawecki and Kike Hernandez who all drove in runs as well. Ryan Brasier and Hiro Sawamura combined to toss 3 shutout innings with 4 strikeouts. The Pirates got a run in the ninth against Jeurys Familia but it wasn't enough as the Sox won their third game in a row and second straight against Pittsburgh 8-3 at PNC Park.

                                                     Tsianina Joelson approves of the win

Pirates starter Roansy Contreras dominated the top of the first as Tommy Pham hit a weak pop up to right to start. Rafael Devers popped up weakly to second and Xander Bogaerts grounded out softly to second to end the inning. The Pirates wasted no time getting to Hill in the bottom of the first as Kevin Newman hit a rocket to left to start. Bryan Reynolds hit a home run all the way to Philadelphia to put the Pirates up just like that. Michael Chavis grounded out to short, Ben Gamel struck out swinging and Kevin Padlo flied out to center to end the inning with the Pirates ahead 2-0.

                                                         Reynolds hits one out

The Sox answered in the top of the second as Alex Verdugo got a base hit to left and shockingly JD Martinez drew a walk. Eric Hosmer weakly popped up to left but Christian Arroyo doubled to right to score both runners to tie the game. Reese McGuire got a base hit to left to put runners at the corners and Kike Hernandez drilled a base hit to right to score Arroyo. McGuire went to third on the hit and a wild pitch moved Hernandez to second, but Pham struck out swinging. Devers was intentionally walked to load the bases for Bogaerts and Xander naturally struck out swinging to kill the rally with the Sox barely ahead 3-2.

                                              Martinez motors around to score

Hill recovered in the bottom of the second as Rodolfo Castro grounded out to short to start. Greg Allen and Bligh Madris both struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Verdugo walked to start the top of the third before moving to second on a wild pitch. Martinez walked again but naturally Hosmer popped up weakly to left and Arroyo banged into a double play to end the inning. Jason Delay grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third before Newman also grounded out to short. Reynolds flied out to center to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as McGuire lined out to left to start. Hernandez and Pham both lined out to right to end the inning. Hill cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Chavis grounded out to short to start. Gamel flied out to left and Padlo hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth although Devers flied out to left to start. Bogaerts got a single to center and Verdugo doubled down the right field line to score Xander with another run. Martinez hit one up the elevator shaft and Hosmer popped up to right AGAIN to end the inning with Boston ahead 4-2.

                                                      Verdugo drives in a run

Hill kept rolling in the bottom of the fifth although Castro ripped a base hit to right to start. Allen forced Castro at second and Madris struck out swinging before Delay grounded out to third to end the inning. Despite throwing just 57 pitches, Sox manager Alex Cora felt Hill had done enough. Apart from one mistake to Reynolds he was solid for 5 innings. He allowed just 3 hits and struck out 4.

                                                            Good work by Hill

The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as Arroyo grounded out to second to start. McGuire also grounded out to second and Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning. Ryan Brasier dominated the bottom of the sixth as Newman, Reynolds and Chavis all went down hacking in short order. 

Duane Underwood Jr relieved Conteras in the top of the seventh and Pham grounded out to second to start. Devers flied out to center and Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning. Hiro Sawamura came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and naturally Hosmer booted a grounder by Gamel for an error to start. Thankfully Padlo hit into a double play and Castro struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Verdugo tried to start a rally with a base hit to right to begin the top of the eighth but Martinez flied out to center. Eric Stout came in to pitch to Hosmer and Eric responded with a base hit to left. Arroyo poked a base hit to left and Sox manager Alex Cora pinch hit Rob Refsnyder for McGuire. The gamble worked as Refsnyder drew an 8 pitch, full count walk to score Verdugo. Hernandez struck out swinging and Pham forced Hosmer at home to end the inning with the Sox only up 5-2.

                                                    Another run scored

Cora did something out of character and sent Sawamura back out for the bottom of the eighth with Kevin Plawecki now behind the plate and Hiro responded by getting Allen to ground out to second to start.  Madris lined out to second and Delay grounded out to short to end the inning. Good work by Sawamura.

                                                  Sawamura gets it done

Yohan Ramirez came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Devers led off with a double to center. Bogaerts grounded out to second but Verdugo drew a walk. Martinez walked to load the bases but once again Hosmer could do nothing but force Devers at home. Arroyo iced the game by smashing a base hit off the glove of Padlo to score Verdugo with another run. Plawecki made it a laughter with a base hit to right to score Martinez and Hosmer but Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning with the game pretty much over, 8-3 Red Sox.

                                                         Plawecki with the killshot

Jeurys Familia made his Red Sox debut to mop up the bottom of the ninth and Newman grounded out to short to start. Suddenly the Pirates sprang to life as Reynolds effortlessly singled to left, Chavis easily doubled to center and Gamel laughed as he ripped a base hit to center to score Reynolds. Both runners moved over on the Padlo grounder to third but Castro took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-3.

                                                           Sox win

Hero of the Night is Christian Arroyo. He went 3 for 5 and drove in 3 runs including the game tying runs.

                                                      Hero Arroyo

The Good:

Alex Verdugo was 3 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and 3 runs scored.

JD Martinez walked 3 times and scored twice in 5 plate appearances.

Reese McGuire was 1 for 3.

Rob Refsnyder walked and drove in a run as a pinch hitter.

Kevin Plawecki singled and drove in 2 runs in his only plate appearance.

Rich Hill got the win by tossing 5 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed just 3 hits and struck out 4.

Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

Hiro Sawamura pitched two scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Tommy Pham was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.

Jeurys Familia allowed a run in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but walked.

Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Eric Hosmer was just 1 for 5 with an error but scored a run.

Kike Hernadez was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in a run.

Final Thoughts:

Its too bad it took until the middle of August for the role players to step up but better late than never. If Arroyo and Verdugo hit to their potential all season the Sox wouldn't be this far out of the playoff push. Then again if Alex Cora was willing to let his relievers go multiple innings when they were throwing gas, maybe they wouldn't have blown a thousand saves to this point. Beating up the Pirates isn't too exciting although this one feels like an accomplishment after what happened last night. For those that don't know, during the Red Sox broadcast last night Dennis Eckersley ripped the Pirates organization a new one for being cheap bastards that trot out bums night after night, year after year. A lot of people in Pittsburgh agreed but there were some that were mad, including some of the players. The fact the Sox stomped them anyway shows they may actually have the killer instinct after all. The Sox also got some good news from their farm as Triston Casas got a walkoff hit for Worcester, Marcello Mayer hit a go-ahead 3 run 8th inning home run for Greenville and James Paxton will be starting his rehab for the Florida Complex Red Sox soon. The Sox have some decisions to make regarding the roster when certain guys get back from injury but none of that is going to matter unless they can prove they can hang with the AL East beginning Friday night. The good news for the Sox is the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees stunned the Tampa Bay Rays with a walkoff 10th inning grand slam so the Sox gained ground on both of the losers. The win improved the Sox to 59-59, 4 games behind the Jays for the third wild card spot. The Sox look for a series sweep tomorrow night against the Pirates when they send Josh Winckowski (5-5, 4.69 ERA) up against JT Brubaker of Pittsburgh. The game begins at 7:05 PM at PNC Park.

Sox Hang On To Beat Pirates (8/16/22)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a welcome roster move. Jaylin Davis was sent down to Worcester in favor of the returning Kike Hernandez. Hernandez has missed the last two months and at this point anything is an improvement over Jarren Duran. If he can spark this miserable offense, great. If he continues to suck, oh well....Murphy's Law this season. In another welcome move, Rob Refsnyder was activated from the injured list and automatic out Yolmer Sanchez was designated for assignment. He can either go back to Worcester or become a free agent, either way with Arroyo and Refsnyder healthy, he's expendable.

                                                                          OUT

                                                                        IN

As for the game, that was one of the most boring games of the season for all the wrong reasons. The Red Sox played a Pittsburgh Pirates team that mirrored the 2020 Sox in terms of complete nobodies and almost lost. The Sox smacked around Pirates starter Mitch Keller for 5 hits and 5 runs in the first two innings of the game. Would you be surprised the Pirates bullpen didn't allow a hit the rest of the game and just a single walk? Nick Pivetta (9-9, 4.28 ERA) managed to shut out the scrubs for 7 innings on 2 hits but Austin Davis and John Schreiber had other plans. With one out in the bottom of the eighth the Pirates loaded the bases against Davis and with two out, Ben Gamel hit a bases clearing double off Schreiber to cut the lead to two. Forcing Matt Barnes back into the closer's role. Barnes responded with a dominant ninth inning to slam the door. What should have been an easy victory turned into a microcosm of this lost season as the Sox narrowly beat the Pirates 5-3 at PNC Park.

                                                  Live look at Sox fans in the ninth inning

The Sox pounced all over Keller in the top of the first as Tommy Pham got a base hit to left to start. Rafael Devers and JD Martinez drew back to back walks to load the bases and Alex Verdugo poked a base hit to right to score Pham. Christian Arroyo got a base hit to center to score Devers and O'Neil Cruz dropped a pop up by Eric Hosmer to score Martinez on the "single". The returning Kike Hernandez hit a sac fly to left to score Verdugo and move Arroyo to third...but Reese McGuire banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0. 

                                                       Welcome back Hernandez 

Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tucupita Marcano flied out to center to start. Kevin Newman popped up to second but Bryan Reynolds walked. Ben Gamel got a base hit to left but Kevin Padlo grounded back to the mound to end the inning. 

The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Jarren Duran grounded out to short to start. Pham lined a base hit to center but Devers went down hacking. Martinez walked and Reynolds dropped a pop up from Verdugo for an error to score Pham. Arroyo grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.

                                                  Verdugo gets lucky

Pivetta cruised in the bottom of the second as Cruz grounded out to second to start. Rodolfo Castro flied out to center and Bligh Madris lined out to center to end the inning.

Chase De Jong came in to pitch the top of the third and Hosmer lined out to third to start. Hernandez struck out swinging and McGuire grounded out to third to end the inning. Jason Delay took strike three to start the bottom of the third and Marcano also froze for strike three. Newman walked but Reynolds flied out to left to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Duran flied out to left to start. Pham popped up to short and Devers flied out to left to end the inning. Gamel lined out to center to start the bottom of the fourth. Padlo flied out to center and Cruz struck out swinging to end the inning.

Martinez popped up to first to start the top of the fifth and Verdugo lined out to left. Arroyo flied out to right to end the inning. Castro walked on four pitches not even close to start the bottom of the fifth but Madris struck out swinging. Delay took strike three and Marcano popped up to short to end the inning. 

Hosmer walked to start the top of the sixth but Hernandez grounded into a double play. McGuire lined out to second to end the inning. Pivetta cruised in the bottom of the sixth as Newman popped up to first to start. Reynolds took strike three and Gamel flied out to right to end the inning. 

Old pal Austin Brice came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Duran struck out swinging to start. Pham flied out to right and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Pivetta returned for the bottom of the seventh and Padlo grounded out to second to start. Cruz grounded out to short and Castro grounded out to first to end the inning. Even though it was against a Triple A team, Pivetta dominated for 7 innings, shutting out the Pirates and allowing just one hit while striking out six.

                                                           Pivetta with 7 shutout innings

Martinez grounded out to short to start the top of the eighth and Verdugo flied out to center. Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning. Austin Davis came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the eighth and Greg Allen pinch hit for Madris to start. Allen popped up to second but Delay got a base hit to center and Marcano walked on four pitches not even close. Newman drilled a base hit to left and Sox manager Alex Cora had no choice but to call upon John Schreiber to clean up the mess. Reynolds was rung up for strike three and he got so mad that he swung his bat at the head of home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz. Ortiz ducked and threw Reynolds out of the game. One strike away from getting out of this...Gamel hit a bases clearing double to cut the lead as the whole league laughed at the Red Sox. Josh VanMeter flied out to left to end the inning but the Pirates were back in it down 5-3.

                                                        Yerrrrrr outta here!

Old pal Michael Chavis came in for Reynolds with Manny Banuelos coming in to pitch the top of the ninth. Hosmer, Hernandez and McGuire all struck out swinging just like that to end the incompetence. The Sox bats had no hits after the second inning and the Pirates bullpen was perfect the last six innings, pathetic. Matt Barnes came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and turned back the clock. Cruz and Castro struck out swinging and Allen popped up to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3.

                                                                Sox win

Hero of the Night is Nick Pivetta. He shutout the Pirates for seven innings while allowing 2 hits and striking out 6 batters.

                                                              Well deserved Hero

The Good:

Tommy Pham was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

JD Martinez walked twice and scored a run in four plate appearances.

Eric Hosmer was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Matt Barnes earned his third save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Reese McGuire was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Austin Davis was charged with 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.

Christian Arroyo was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.

John Schreiber allowed all 3 inherited runners to score but escaped the eighth inning.

Final Thoughts:

Rarely do wins feel like a loss but this was one of them. The Sox should be ashamed of themselves that a team this bad not only no-hit them for seven innings but damn near came back against them offensively. The Sox literally had no hits after the second inning and Austin Davis' meltdown came with one out in the eighth. All he had to do was get two more outs and they could have had JD Martinez pitch left handed in the ninth and it wouldn't have mattered. As it is they had to use Schreiber and Barnes in a game they should have never pitched in. Give credit to the Pirates bullpen and their bats for not quitting but good lord that was bad for Boston. Can't even celebrate a win like that because they knocked around a sore-armed pitcher and Pivetta dominated a team full of scrubs that probably wouldn't beat the Worcester Red Sox. The only silver linings were they did manage to win the game and Matt Barnes looked good. After Alex Cora abused The A-Team last year and all four of them faltered down the stretch, maybe the long layoff did Barnes some good. The sad part is the New York Yankees have gone 2-11 since trading Joey Gallo and if the Sox didn't crash and burn in July, they'd be closer than 14 games out with 45 left to play. The win improved the Sox to 58-59, 4 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the third wild card spot. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Pirates tomorrow night when Rich Hill (4-5, 4.75 ERA) takes the mound against Roansy Contreras of Pittsburgh. The game begins at 7:05 PM at PNC Park.

Wacha, Devers Blank Yankees (8/14/22)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Michael Wacha was removed from the Injured List to make tonight's start against the New York Yankees. Darwinzon Hernandez was thankfully sent back to Worcester hopefully never to be seen again. Wacha when healthy has been their best pitcher this season and him being out is a main reason why the team is in the toilet right now.

                                                                    OUT

                                                                      IN

Pop the champagne corks because the Boston Red Sox FINALLY won a series against an AL East opponent. Tonight the Sox took their frustrations out on the reeling New York Yankees. Michael Wacha (7-1, 2.44 ERA) came off the Injured List to toss 7 shutout innings, holding the Yankees to just two measly hits. Once again the Sox offense was held in check as Jameson Taillon held Boston to just 6 hits themselves. The problem for Taillon is one of the hits happened to be a two run bomb by Rafael Devers to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. After Wacha was done, Ryan Brasier and Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock finished off the Yankees to send them to their 9th loss in 11 games. If only the Sox didn't suck in July they might have made things interesting in the AL East. As it is, the Sox took 2 out of 3 from the Yankees with a 3-0 victory at Fenway Park.

                                                   Howard Ehmke approves of the win

Wacha got the ball in the top of the first inning and Andrew Benintendi struck out swinging to start. Aaron Judge grounded out to short and Josh Donaldson grounded out to third to end the inning. Taillon got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tommy Pham greeted him with a double to center to begin. Rafael Devers grounded out to first to move Tommy to third and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to short to score Pham to put the Sox on top. Alex Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.

                                                           Bogaerts drives in a run

Anthony Rizzo struck out swinging to start the top of the second before Gleyber Torres popped up to first. Miguel Andujar lined one off of Wacha but Christian Arroyo threw him out to end the inning. JD Martinez ripped a base hit up the middle to start the bottom of the second but Eric Hosmer struck out swinging. Arroyo popped up to short and Jarren Duran flied out to left to end the inning.

Isiah Kiner took strike three to start the top of the third before Kyle Higashioka grounded out to short. Tim Locastro flied out to center to end the inning. Kevin Plawecki lined out to center to start the bottom of the third but Pham ripped a base hit to center. Devers also singled to center but Bogaerts banged into a double playn to end the inning.

Benintendi struck out swinging again to start the top of the fourth before Judge went down hacking. Donaldson flied out to center to end the inning. Verdugo lined out to left to start the bottom of the fourth before Martinez grounded out to short. Hosmer struck out swinging again to end the inning.

Rizzo grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth before Torres popped up to first. Andujar broke up the perfect game with a base hit to center before swiping second base. Kiner walked but Higashioka grounded out to third to end the inning. Arroyo struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Duran grounded out to second. Plawecki lined out to Taillon to end the inning.

Locastro grounded out to third to start the top of the sixth but Benintendi got a base hit to left. Judge earned the hat trick by striking out swinging and Donaldson went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the sixth as Pham lined a base hit to right and Devers drilled his 25th home run of the season to increase the lead. Bogaerts grounded out to third, Verdugo popped up to third and Martinez went down hacking to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                             Devers drills the Yankees

Wacha returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh and Rizzo struck out swinging to start. Torres lined out to center and Andujar swung at air to end the inning. Wacha was dominant, allowing just two hits and striking out 9 in 7 shutout innings.

                                                               Wacha shuts down the Yankees

Hosmer grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh before Arroyo also grounded weakly back to Taillon. Duran flied out to the centerfield wall to end the inning.

Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Kiner grounded out to third to start. Higashioka lined out to center and Locastro popped up to short to end the inning. Jonathan Loaisiga came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Plawecki grounded out to first to start. Pham grounded back to the mound and Devers lined out to center to end the inning.

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Benintendi earned the hat trick by striking out swinging. Judge earned the golden sombrero by striking out swinging and Donaldson grounded out to Arroyo to end the game. In just 2 hours and 15 minutes the Sox beat the Yankees 3-0.

                                                                    Sox win

Hero of the Night is Michael Wacha. He tossed a 2 hit 7 inning shutout against the Yankees walking just 1 and striking out 9.

                                                                    Hero Wacha

The Good:

Tommy Pham was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run.

JD Martinez was 1 for 3.

Ryan Brasier tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

Garrett Whitlock earned his 4th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Alex Verdugo was 0 for 3.

Eric Hosmer was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Christian Arroyo was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3.

Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3.

The Ugly:

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.

Final Thoughts:

 How sad is it that it took until halfway through August for the Sox to beat an AL East team in a series? Also who would have thought that the worst team in the AL East would be the Red Sox by this point? Still, the Sox have won 3 out of 4 including the makeup game against the Baltimore Orioles so if they're gonna play spoilers, they've done a good job the last five games. Its sad that Wacha hasn't been able to be healthy all year because he's been dominant when he's able to pitch. The Yankees are in a funk but the bullpen seems to have worked itself out with Whitlock in the closer's role and Tanner Houck as a set up man (when he comes off the Injured List). Pham had a hell of a game to set up the Devers blast but otherwise the Sox offense accomplished little again. Duran and Plawecki are automatic outs and for some reason Sox manager Alex Cora insists on playing Plawecki over Reese McGuire and the results are as expected. That's the price for sacrificing Christian Vazquez but this season is lost anyway. At least the Sox are cutting down on the errors and Arroyo & Hosmer aren't automatic outs like Franchy Cordero and Jackie Bradley Jr were. All in all it was a good win and shockingly just over 2 hours instead of the usual 4. The win improved the sox to 57-59, 4.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the third wild card spot. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Tuesday night in Pittsburgh for some Interleague play against the Pirates. Nick Pivetta (8-9, 4.51 ERA) takes on Mitch Keller of the Pirates. The game begins at 7:05 PM at PNC Park.