Jays Blast, Blank Sox (9/30/22)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Because of Canada's strict Covid vaccination policy, Kaleb Ort was placed on the Restricted List for the final road series of the season. The Sox called up Jarren Duran for one final audition until the Sox return home for their final series.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                        IN

As for the game, the sooner this season ends the better. The Boston Red Sox just took 3 out of 4 against the Baltimore Orioles then ran right into their personal babayaga the Toronto Blue Jays. Alek Manoah took another step toward the AL Cy Young Award by tossing 6 shutout innings against the Sox offense. Meanwhile Nick Pivetta (10-12, 4.56 ERA) got hammered for 4 runs in just 5 innings. The Sox got no help from the bullpen as Tyler Danish and Franklin German got pounded for 5 runs combined. The Jays pounded out 13 hits and 9 runs as they blanked the Sox 9-0 at the Skydome. How many runs did the Sox score Dean Wormer?

Manoah got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran grounded out to second to start. Rafael Devers walked but Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging. Alex Verdugo lined out to center to end the inning. The Jays wasted no time getting to Pivetta in the bottom of the first as George Springer got a base hit to center to start. Bo Bichette singled to left but Vladimir Guerrero Jr flied out to right. A wild pitch moved Springer to third and he scored on the Alejandro Kirk grounder to second. Matt Chapman flied out to right to end the inning with the Jays up 1-0.

                                                         Jays strike first

JD Martinez flied out to right to start the top of the second and Triston Casas struck out swinging. Abraham Almonte popped up to third to end the inning. The Jays struck again in the bottom of the second as Teoscar Hernandez got a base hit to center to start. Raimel Tapia forced Hernandez at second but Danny Jansen walked. A wild pitch moved both runners over and Whit Merrifield hit a sac fly to right to score Tapia. Springer flied out to right to end the inning with the Jays up 2-0.

                                                           Tapia scores a run

Reese McGuire took strike three to start the top of the third and Christian Arroyo flied out to left. Duran grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Jays got another run in the bottom of the third as Bichette walked to start. Guerrero Jr hit a home run all the way to Ottawa to ice the game. Kirk walked but Chapman struck out swinging. Hernandez forced Kirk at second and Tapia lined out to first to end the inning with the Jays up 4-0.

                                                            Home run Vlad

Devers walked to start the top of the fourth but Bogaerts flied out to right. A wild pitch moved Devers to second but Verdugo flied out to left. Martinez grounded out to second to end the inning. Jansen struck out swinging to open the bottom of the fourth but Merrifield got a base hit to left. Springer forced Merrifield at second then stole second base. Bichette flied out to center to end the inning.

Casas took strike three to start the top of the fifth but Almonte beat out a roller to first. McGuire flied out to center and Arroyo popped up to short to end the inning. Guerrero Jr lined out to left to start the bottom of the fifth but Kirk beat out a roller to second. Chapman lined out to center and Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning. That was it for Pivetta who allowed 4 runs in 5 innings but got no run support.

                                                             Not his best stuff

Duran got a base hit to right to start the top of the sixth but Devers grounded into a double play. Bogaerts grounded out to second to end the inning. The Tigers iced the game in the bottom of the sixth as Tapia hit a home run all the way to the Klingon Homeworld to start. Jansen and Merrifield got back to back base hits and Springer hit a home run all the way to Edmonton to make this one a laugher. Bichette struck out swinging, Guerrero watched strike three go by and Kirk grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Jays up 8-0.

                                                              This got out of hand quickly

Yusei Kikuchi came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Verdugo grounded out to second to start. Martinez struck out swinging but Casas walked. Almonte struck out swinging to end the inning. Chapman took strike three to start the bottom of the seventh and Hernandez grounded out to short. Tapia got a base hit to center but Jansen grounded out to second to end the inning.

McGuire beat out a roller to second to start the top of the eighth but Arroyo struck out swinging. Duran grounded out to short to move McGuire to second and Bobby Dalbec pinch hit for Arroyo. Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning. Franklin German came in to take a beating in the bottom of the eighth as Yu Chang took over at short for Bogaerts. Merrifield hit a ground rule double down the right field line and Bradley Zimmer pinch hit for Springer. Zimmer struck out looking but Bichette got a base hit to right to score Merrifield. Guerrero forced Bichette at second and Kirk lined out to second to end the inning with the Jays up 9-0.

                                                          What a rout

Otto Lopez took over for Bichette for the top of the ninth and Chang struck out swinging to start. Verdugo and Martinez both lined out to center to end the game. The Jays had won it 9-0.

                                                               Jays win

Jackass of The Night is Tyler Danish. He ended any hope of a comeback by allowing 4 runs in 2 innings to put the game out of reach.

                                                               Jackass Danish

The Good:

Rafael Devers walked twice in 3 plate appearances.

Abraham Almonte was 1 for 3.

Reese McGuire was 1 for 3.

The Bad:

Bobby Dalbec struck out as a pinch hitter.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Yu Chang struck out in his only plate appearance.

Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4.

JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Christian Arroyo was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Nick Pivetta took the loss allowing 4 runs in 5 innings off 6 hits and 3 walks.

Franklin German allowed a run in the eighth inning.

The Ugly:

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4.

Triston Casas was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Final Thoughts:

Five games left and this torture is over. The Jays have utterly dominated the Sox this season winning 14 out of 17 games and a lot of those games weren't even close. Not that the Sox have done much better against the other AL East teams but Toronto was their big bully this year. The Jays don't just beat them, they beat them badly. Every single hitter on the Jays are probably hitting 20 points higher due to their dominance of the Red Sox and thank goodness this year is almost over. Pivetta was a war horse this season as their only healthy starter wire to wire, its a shame that it was wasted on this year's team. As being mentioned, we're in the final stretch for JD Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Tommy Pham, Matt Barnes and Nathan Eovaldi. Enjoy them for the next five days. The loss dropped the Sox to 75-82, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow against the Jays when Brayan Bello (2-7) makes his final start of the season against Ross Stripling of the Jays. The game begins at 3:05 PM at the Skydome.

Orioles Pound Seabold, Sox (9/26/22)

When the season ends in under two weeks there's going to be a lot of finger pointing as to why the season went as badly as it did. One of them is unquestionably the failure of the kids in the rotation. Connor Seabold (0-4, 11.29 ERA) was straight batting practice this year and a big part of why the Sox fell apart in July. He got rocked for 5 runs in just 2 innings by the relentless Baltimore Orioles in tonight's game. The Boston bullpen got rocked as well for NINE runs after Seabold was gone as the Orioles pounded out 14 hits and 14 runs. The sad part was the Boston offense plated 8 runs against Jordan Lyles and the Baltimore bullpen. If Kaleb Ort, Franklin German and Eduardo Bazardo didn't allow 6 runs in the final four innings, this game might have turned out different. As it was, the O's pounded the Sox 14-8 at Fenway Park.

                                                              Sox fans have had enough

Seabold got tagged immediately in the top of the first as Cedric Mullins hit the second pitch of the game out of the yard for a home run to put the Orioles up for good just like that. Adley Rutschman flied out to left and Anthony Santander flied out to right, but Ryan Mountcastle walked. Gunnar Henderson walked but Austin Hays forced Henderson at second to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.

                                                            Mullins jacks one out

Lyles got the ball in the bottom of the first and Enrique Hernandez lined out to third to start. Rafael Devers doubled to left but Xander Bogaerts lined out to center. Alex Verdugo also flied out to center to end the inning.

The O's finished off Seabold in the top of the second as Rougned Odor hit a ground rule double down the right field line. Kyle Stowers got a base hit to left and Jorge Mateo doubled to right to score Odor. Mullins tripled into the centerfield triangle to clear the bases but Rutschman popped up to center. Seabold had Mullins picked off....but threw the ball away for an error to score Cedric. Santander and Mountcastle both struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up 5-0. Due to rain later, that was it for Seabold who got rocked for 5 run in just 2 innings off 5 hits and 2 walks.

                                                        "I sucked tonight" - Seabold

The Sox did fight back in the bottom of the second as JD Martinez smashed his 13th home run of the season to start. Triston Casas walked and Rob Refsnyder got a base hit to left, but Reese McGuire flied out to left. Abraham Almonte got a base hit to center to load the bases and Hernandez got a base hit to left to score Casas. With a chance to do damage....Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Sox down 5-2.

                                                            Martinez gets one back

The rains came and when play resumed, Tyler Danish came in to pitch the top of the third. Henderson walked to start but Hays forced him at second. Odor lined out to left but Stowers tripled into the left field corner to score Henderson. Mateo struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up 6-2.

                                                                 O's pull away

Spencer Watkins came in to pitch the bottom of the third and Bogaerts lined out to short to start. Verdugo got a base hit to right but Martinez grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Mullins popped up to third to start the top of the fourth but Rutschman got a base hit to left. Santander grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fourth as Casas was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to start. Refsnyder singled to center and took second on a passed ball. McGuire walked and Almonte got a base hit to center to load the bases. Hernandez singled inside the bag at third to score Refsnyder and McGuire but Almonte was thrown out at third on the play. Hernandez took second and Devers blooped a base hit to left to score him. Bogaerts got a base hit to left and with the tying run at second....Verdugo flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 6-5.

                                                      Devers isn't ready to give up

Naturally the O's poured it on in the top of the fifth as Mountcastle and Henderson both walked to start. Hays beat out a grounder to third to load the bases with nobody out and Zack Kelly was summoned to stop the bleeding. Naturally he gave up back to back base hits to Odor and Stowers to drive in Mountcastle and Henderson. Mateo took strike three, Mullins popped up to left and Rutschman flied out to left to end the inning with the O's up 8-5.

                                                       O's pour it on

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the fifth as Martinez struck out swinging to start. Casas got a base hit to right but Refsnyder forced Triston at second. McGuire walked but Almonte flied out to center to end the inning.

Kaleb Ort came in to take a beating in the top of the sixth as Santander hit a home run all the way to Sweden to start. Mountcastle walked and Henderson hit a home run all the way to Norway to put the game out of reach. Hays struck out swinging, Odor flied out to center and Stowers lined out to center to end the inning with the O's ahead 11-5.

                                                          Henderson watches it go

Hernandez lined out to third to start the bottom of the sixth and Devers lined out to left. Bogaerts popped up to second to end the inning.

Franklin German came in to get tagged in the top of the seventh as Mateo grounded out to short to start. Mullins also grounded out to short but Rutschman walked. Santander hit another home run as everyone in Boston threw their hands up. Mountcastle grounded out to short to end the inning with the O's up 13-5.

                                                            This sucks

The Sox answered in the bottom of the seventh as Verdugo took strike three to start. Martinez doubled to left and that was it for Watkins. Logan Gillaspie came in and Odor booted a grounder by Casas. Suddenly Refsnyder pounded his sixth home run of the year to cut the lead. McGuire flied out to center and Almonte struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 13-8.

                                                           Refsnyder doing his best

It was Eduardo Bazardo's turn to give up a run in the top of the eighth as Henderson struck out swinging to start. Hays launched Baltimore's fifth home run of the night to wrap up the scoring. Odor grounded out to second and Stowers popped up to second to end the inning with the O's up 14-8.

                                                           Bazardo knew it too

Ryan McKenna took over for Stowers in the bottom of the eighth and Hernandez flied out to right to start. Devers got a base hit to center but Bogaerts grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Mateo walked to start the top of the ninth but Mullins flied out to left. Rutschman struck out swinging. Santander grounded out to second to end the inning. Verdugo flied out to left to start the bottom of the ninth and Martinez grounded out to short. Casas took strike three right down the middle to end the game. The O's had won 14-8.

                                                                   O's win

Jackass of the Night is Connor Seabold. He put the Sox in a huge hole early by allowing 5 runs in just 2 innings.

                                                          Jackass Seabold

The Good:

Kike Hernandez was 2 for 5 with 3 rbis and a run scored.

Rafael Devers was 3 for 5 with an rbi.

JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.

Rob Refsnyder was 3 for 4 with a 3 run home run with 2 runs scored.

Abraham Almonte was 2 for 4.

Zack Kelly tossed a scoreless inning.

The Bad:

Tyler Danish allowed 3 runs in 2 innings.

Kaleb Ort allowed 3 runs in an inning.

Franklin German allowed 2 runs in an inning.

The Ugly:

Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5.

Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.

Triston Casas was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored 2 runs.

Reese McGuire was 0 for 2 with an error but walked twice and scored a run.

Eduardo Bazardo allowed a run in 2 innings of work.

Final Thoughts:

Nine more games of torture left and its easy to see where this season went wrong. The Sox rotation all got hurt and the rookies were not ready for prime time. Not that most teams would survive if they had to use their AAA rotation in crucial June and July games, but they got nothing out of the quartet of Josh Winckowski, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Seabold. That's an indictment of Sox GM Chaim Bloom as Wink and Seabold were his 2020 trade deadline pickups. The worst part is the offense responded by putting up 8 runs which should have won the game. Another problem was bullpen overuse due to the bad starts which is why the Sox bullpen faltered in the end, just like last year. At least this year Sox manager Alex Cora can say he had no rotation but its still a shame of how things turned out. If the Sox had held the fort after Seabold left, they might have won this one. As it is, we're almost done with this lost season. The Sox have a lot of work to do in the off-season in terms of getting starting pitching depth and potentially replacing Bogaerts and Martinez. The loss dropped the Sox to 72-81, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night against the Orioles when Michael Wacha goes one on one with Kyle Bradish of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Anderson, Reds Shut Down Sox (9/21/22)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Jaxx Groshans was released from the Greenville Drive after hitting just .154 in 53 games. He was a fifth round pick back in 2019 and if he can't hit in High A, not much you can do with him. In the majors, the Red Sox placed Garrett Whitlock on the Injured List with a bad hip. To make today's start, the Sox are calling up Connor Seabold. So long Groshans and see you next year Whitlock.

                                                                  OUT

                                                                         IN

The 2022 Boston Red Sox season is just about over and hopefully next year they have better luck health wise. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock's season is over and Connor Seabold (0-3, 10.47 ERA) failed to win his first game as he was beaten by the Cincinnati Reds. Chase Anderson held the supposedly good Sox offense to just 3 measly hits and a run in 5 innings. All in all the Boston bats had just 6 hits in a total no-show against a Reds team playing out the string. The Reds got 4 runs off Seabold and another run off Franklin German to end the Sox win streak with a 5-1 victory at Great American Ballpark.

                                                               Sox season just about over

Anderson got the ball in the top of the first inning and Tommy Pham was plunked to start. Rafael Devers flied out to right, Xander Bogaerts flied out to left and Alex Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning. Seabold got the ball in the bottom of the first and TJ Friedl struck out swinging to start. Jonathan India struck out swinging but Kyle Farmer was hit with a pitch. Jake Fraley struck out swinging to end the inning.

JD Martinez grounded out to short to start the top of the second before Triston Casas did the same. Rob Refsnyder took strike three to end the inning. Donovan Solano popped up to first to start the bottom of the second before Aristides Aquino grounded out to third. Alejo Lopez popped up to short to end the inning.

Reese McGuire lined out to center to start the top of the third before Kike Hernandez lined out to left. Pham took strike three to end the inning. The Reds struck first in the bottom of the third as Stuart Fairchild got a base hit to right to start. Chuckie Robinson flied out to right and Friedl flied out to center, but a wild pitch moved Fairchild to second. India got a base hit to left and Fairchild scored when Pham threw the ball away. A wild pitch moved India to third but Farmer flied out to center to end the inning with the Reds up 1-0.

                                                             Nice throw Pham

The Sox responded in the top of the fourth as Devers beat out a roller to third to start. Bogaerts got a base hit to left to move Rafael to third, and Devers scored on the sac fly by Verdugo to center. Martinez struck out swinging and Bogaerts was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                           Devers is safe

Fraley got a base hit to center but was immediately thrown out in a rundown trying to stretch a double to begin the bottom of the fourth. Solano popped up to second and Aquino flied out to right to end the inning.

Casas flied out to right to start the top of the fifth but Refsnyder got a base hit to left. McGuire struck out swinging and Hernandez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Reds broke Seabold in the bottom of the fifth as Lopez grounded out to first to start. Fairchild beat out a roller to third but Robinson struck out swinging. A wild pitch moved Fairchild to second but Friedl walked anyway. India got a base hit to center to score Fairchild and move Friedl to third. India swiped second and Farmer blooped a base hit to right to score both runners to ice the game. A wild pitch moved Farmer to second but Fraley grounded out to short to end the inning with the Reds up 4-1. That was it for Seabold who got rocked for 4 runs in 5 innings off 6 hits and a walk.

                                                        Seabold doesn't last long

Fernando Cruz came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Pham struck out swinging to start. Devers struck out swinging but Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning. Eduard Bazardo came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Solano flied out to right to start. Aquino and Lopez both flied out to center to end the inning.

Reiver Sanmartin came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Verdugo got a base hit to right to start. Martinez lined out to center and Casas grounded into a double play to end the inning. Tyler Danish came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Fairchild struck out swinging to start. Robinson got a base hit to right but Friedl flied out to center. India forced Robinson at second to end the inning.

Derek Law came in to pitch the top of the eighth with Matt Reynolds in for Lopez. Refsnyder grounded out to first, McGuire lined out to right and Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning. Franklin German came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the eighth as Farmer grounded out to first to start. Fraley struck out swinging but Solano hit a home run all the way to Nebraska to wrap up the scoring. Aquino popped up to second to end the inning with the Reds up 5-1.

                                                             Home run Solano

Pham struck out swinging to start the top of the ninth but Devers got a base hit to left. Bogaerts also got a base hit to left and Alexis Diaz was brought in to face Verdugo. Naturally Verdugo grounded into a double play to end the game. The Reds had won it 5-1.

                                                                  Reds win

Jackass of the Night is Connor Seabold. He got lit up for 4 runs in just 5 innings of work to take the loss.

                                                        Jackass Seabold

The Good:

Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4.

Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 3.

Eduard Bazardo pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

Tyler Danish pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

The Bad:

JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Triston Casas was 0 for 3.

Reese McGuire was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3.

Franklin German allowed a run in the eighth inning.

The Ugly:

Tommy Pham was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch.

Final Thoughts:

Thankfully the season is just about over because this is flat out embarrassing. Its as if the Sox have totally checked out when they let guys like Chase Anderson and the Angels bullpen dominate them. Then again, starting guys like Connor Seabold doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Seabold was doing very well before falling apart in the fifth but that seems to be his M.O. This season went down the drain due to injuries but the offense falling flat down the stretch again and again with supposedly elite talent shouldn't be ignored. Devers, Martinez, Bogaerts and Verdugo should be killing the ball but instead they only get slap singles. Its fairly obvious that Martinez won't be coming back next year and Bogaerts might be gone as well. Its a shame how the season was supposed to be better than last year and fell completely apart. The loss dropped the Sox to 72-76, good for last place in the AL East with just 14 games left. The Sox look to get revenge on the New York Yankees tomorrow night when Michael Wacha (11-1, 2.61 ERA) takes on Jameson Taillon of New York. The game begins at 7:15 at Yankee Stadium.

Royals Blank Sox (9/17/22)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a bizarre roster move. Kevin Plawecki was designated for assignment with just 18 games left in the season. He was a serviceable backup for 3 seasons and it looks like they're gonna go with a tandem of Reese McGuire and Connor Wong. Still, you won't let him finish the season? In his place the Sox called up relief pitcher Franklin German. The Sox got German from the Yankees along with Adam Ottavino before last season and hopefully he can be better than Jeurys Familia.

                                                                          OUT

                                                                       IN

As for the game, the Red Sox looked totally lifeless against the worthless Kansas City Royals. With the season on the line, Rich Hill (7-7, 4.61 ERA) laid an egg by getting knocked out in the fifth inning after allowing 4 runs. Meanwhile Brady Singer held the supposedly high power offense to no runs and 5 hits in 6 innings. Rookie Frankin German made his ML debut by getting shelled for 4 runs without getting an out. Tyler Danish gave up a run as well for good measure. The Sox were blanked by the Royals 9-0 at Fenway Park. How many runs did the Sox score Dean Wormer?

Hill got the ball in the top of the first inning and MJ Melendez grounded back to the mound to start. Bobby Witt Jr took strike three but Salvador Perez got a base hit to left. Vinnie Pasquantino flied out to center to end the inning. Singer got the ball in the bottom of the first as Tommy Pham took strike three to start. Rafael Devers flied out to left and JD Martinez was frozen for strike three to end the inning.

Michael Taylor grounded out to third to begin the top of the second before Edward Olivares lined out to left. Michael Massey struck out swinging to end the inning. Witt Jr booted a grounder by Alex Verdugo for an error to start the bottom of the second but was immediately picked off. Christian Arroyo got a base hit to left but Triston Casas grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Royals struck first in the top of the third as Hunter Dozier grounded out to second to start. Nate Eaton singled in the hole at short and promptly stole second. Melendez got a base hit to right to score Eaton then took second on a grounder to short by Witt Jr. Perez ripped a base hit to center to score Melendez to ice the game. Pasquantino struck out swinging to end the inning with the Royals up 2-0.

                                                                Perez drives in a run

The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Kike Hernandez singled to left to start. Yu Chang walked and Connor Wong singled in the hole at short to load the bases with nobody out. Naturally Pham hit one up the elevator shaft, Devers took strike three and Martinez popped up to first to end the inning. Couldn't even get the ball out of the infield.

Taylor grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Olivares singled to center. Olivares took second on a balk but Massey flied out to right to move Olivares to third. Dozier struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Royals finished off Hill in the top of the fifth as Eaton flied out to left to start. Melendez got a base hit to right and stole second. Witt Jr singled in the hole at short to score Melendez but Perez flied out to left. Pasquantino dumped a base hit to right....booted for Verdugo for an error to score Witt Jr. That was it for Hill who got croaked for 4 runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Ryan Brasier came in and struck Taylor out swinging to end the inning with the Royals up 4-0.

                                                           Hill didn't have it today

Hernandez singled in the hole at short to start the bottom of the fifth but Chang lined out to short. Wong struck out swinging but Pham flied out to left to end the inning.

Franklin German pissed down his leg in his major league debut to start the top of the sixth. Olivares walked, Massey singled to right and Dozier walked to load the bases with nobody out. Eaton singled to center to score Olivares and chase German. Eduard Bazardo poured gas on the fire as Melendez grounded beat out a double play ball to score Massey and Witt Jr got a base hit to right to score Dozier. Perez hit one up the elevator shaft and Pasquantino singled to right to score Melendez. Taylor grounded out to short to end the inning with the Royals up 8-0.

                                                 "Thanks a lot Bazardo" - German

Devers got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the sixth but Martinez flied out to left. Verdugo struck out swinging and Arroyo grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Olivares doubled to right to start the top of the seventh but Massey lined out to first. Dozier grounded out to short and Eaton flied out to center to end the inning. Brad Keller came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Casas grounded out to short to start. Hernandez popped up to second and Chang struck out swinging to end the inning.

Tyler Danish came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Melendez doubled to left to start. Witt Jr grounded out to short and Perez did the same. Pasquantino got a base hit to right to score Melendez to wrap up the scoring. Taylor popped up to center to end the inning with the Royals up 9-0.

                                                     Another rbi for Pasquantino

Carlos Hernandez came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Wong grounded out to third to start. Pham grounded out to second and Devers lined out to center to end the inning.

Danish returned for the top of the ninth and Olivares popped up to second to start. Massey struck out swinging and Dozier grounded out to third to end the inning. Anthony Misiewicz came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Martinez flied out to right to start. Verdugo grounded out to second but Arroyo got a base hit to left. Casas flied out to left to end the game. The Royals shut out the Red Sox 9-0.

                                                "GADZOOKS this game sucked!" - Arroyo

Jackass of the Night is Rich Hill. He allowed 4 runs in 4 2/3 innings to put the Sox in a position to fail.

                                                                 Nice game Jackass

The Good:

Christian Arroyo was 2 for 4.

Kike Hernandez was 2 for 3.

Connor Wong was 1 for 3.

Ryan Brasier got the only batter he faced.

The Bad:

Tommy Pham was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.

Triston Casas was 0 for 4.

Franklin German was charged with 4 runs without getting an out.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Yu Chang was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.

Eduard Bazardo allowed 4 inherited runners to score but none of his own in 2 innings.

Tyler Danish allowed a run in 2 innings of work.

Final Thoughts:

With the season all but over it looks like the Sox have given up. Yes Xander Bogaerts didn't play but where was the power from Devers and Martinez? Where was the contact from Pham and Verdugo? It was a totally lifeless performance. Rich Hill didn't have it but the bullpen didn't either. Frank German got lit up and Eduard Bazardo didn't help by allowing all those runners to score. It was an all around failure from the whole team on both sides of the ball. If Chaim Bloom isn't fired after this disaster, what will it take? 2 last place finishes in 3 years is inexcusable, especially with the rumors the Sox aren't signing any of their free agents back. To think they came within two games of the world series to THIS is disgusting. The less said of this game and this season, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 70-75, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to salvage the series tomorrow afternoon when Nick Pivetta (9-11) takes on Kris Bubic of Kansas City. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.