Crochet, Mayer Stop Mariners (6/18/25)

The lack of offense reared its ugly head once again as the Boston Red Sox had just 3 hits in today's get-away game against the Seattle Mariners. The good news was that's all they needed to win this game and the series as Garrett Crochet (7-4, 2.20 ERA) continued his dominating season by holding the Mariners to just 1 run in 6 solid innings. Luis Castillo allowed just 3 hits in his 6 innings but two of them were a solo home run to Marcelo Mayer and a two run home run by Trevor Story. Sox manager Alex Cora had Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock and Arolids Chapman handle the seventh and eighth innings, but shockingly went to Greg Weissert to close the game out. Fortunately Weissert shut the door as the Sox had won 2 of 3 from Seattle and 7 out of 8 overall with a 3-1 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

                                                        Jade Greene approves of the win

Castillo got the ball in the top of the first and Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Abraham "El" Toro flied out to left but Roman Anthony was hit with a pitch. Romy Gonzalez forced Anthony at second to end the inning. Crochet got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Dylan Moore took strike three to start. Julio Rodriguez struck out swinging but Cal Raleigh doubled to left. Jorge Polanco flied out to right to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Marcelo Mayer bashed his fourth home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Trevor Story struck out swinging before David Hamilton flied out to right. Kristian Campbell struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                     Mayer gets the Wally Head

The Mariners answered right back in the bottom of the second as Duran dropped a ball by Randy Arozarena for a "double" to start. Randy moved to third on a fly ball to center by Mitch Garver and scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Donovan Solano and Ben Williamson stroked back to back base hits, but Miles Mastrobuoni forced Williamson at second. Moore took strike three to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                             Mariners tie it

Somehow Connor Wong got a base hit to center to start the top of the third but Duran flied out to left. El Toro forced Wong at second and Anthony grounded out to second to end the inning. Rodriguez grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Raleigh grounded out to third. Polanco struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fourth as Gonzalez grounded out to first to start. Mayer walked and Story belted his 10th home run of the season to put Boston back on top. Hamilton took strike three and Campbell grounded out to first to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-1.

                                                          Home run Story

Arozarena grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth but Garver singled to center. Solano struck out swinging and Williamson flied out to left to end the inning.

Wong grounded back to the mound to begin the top of the fifth before Duran lined out to center. El Toro flied out to left to end the inning. Mastrobuoni lined out to second to open the bottom of the fifth but Moore singled to left. Rodriguez forced Moore at second then took second on a wild pitch. Raleigh struck out swinging to end the inning.

Anthony walked to start the top of the sixth but Gonzalez lined out to center. Mayer struck out swinging but Anthony stole second base. Story grounded out to short to end the inning. Crochet returned for the bottom of the sixth and Polanco struck out swinging to start. Arozarena lined out to left and Garver struck out swinging to end the inning. Crochet tossed 6 solid innings of 1 run ball allowing 6 hits while striking out 8 batters.

                                                               Crochet gets it done

Carlos Vargas came in to pitch the top of the seventh as Hamilton flied out to left to start. Campbell struck out swinging and Wong flied out to right to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh with Ceddanne Rafaela now in center. Solano struck out swinging before Williamson grounded out to second. Mastrobuoni grounded out to third to end the inning.

Gabe Speier came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Duran lined out to first to start. Toro flied out to right and Anthony grounded out to second to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Moore grounded out to third to start. Rodriguez struck out swinging and Raleigh grounded out to third to end the inning.

Eduard Bazardo came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Gonzalez grounded out to second to start. Mayer flied out to left and Story took strike three to end the inning. The Sox had just 3 hits in the entire game. For whatever reason, Sox manager Alex Cora had Greg Weissert close out the bottom of the ninth and Polanco grounded out to second to start. Arozarena walked and Dominic Canzone pinch hit for Garver. Canzone grounded into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won the game 3-1.

                                                         Sox win

Hero of the Night is Garrett Crochet. He got the win by allowing just 6 hits and a walk while striking out 8 in 6 innings.

                                                           Garrett Hero

The Good:

Marcelo Mayer was 1 for 3 with a walk, a home run and 2 total runs scored.

Connor Wong was 1 for 3.

Garrett Whitlock tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Greg Weissert earned his third save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Abraham Toro was 0 for 4.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4.

David Hamilton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Kristian Campbell was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Roman Anthony was 0 for 2 but walked and stole a base.

Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 wit 2 strikeouts but hit a two run homer.

Honorable Mention:

Ceddanne Rafaela played center in the final innings.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox offense has scored 20 runs in their last 8 games and won 7 of them....that's on the pitching. With the exception of Walker Buehler yesterday, the starters have been going 6 innings or longer in every single start. FINALLY Alex Cora got his head out of his ass and let his pitchers throw. Maybe losing Justin Slaten and Brennan Bernardino falling apart woke him up to start using the starters more and bullpen less. Either way, the trio of Whitlock, Chapman and Weissert has been working lately. Crochet has been a true ace this season and it would be a shame to waste that kind of year. The problem is with Rafael Devers traded and three power hitters on the Injured List, things look bleak for the offense. The rookies are barely hitting at all and they can't rely on utility players for too long. Still, keeping runs off the board will win you more games than you'll lose. Hopefully the pitching can hold up until something can be done about the offense. The fact the Sox have turned it around a little bit made them watchable if nothing else. The win improved the Sox to 39-37, 5.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox travel to San Francisco to play Rafael Devers & the Giants. Hunter Dobbins (4-1, 3.74 ERA) takes on Captain TBD of San Francisco. The game begins at 10:10 PM Eastern time at Oracle Park.

Devers Traded, Sox Blank Mariners (6/16/25)

Just 3 hours after yesterday's win over the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox made one of the most shocking trades of all time. All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers was traded to the San Francisco Giants in what was clearly a salary dump. Devers and his $250 million dollar contract were sent to the Giants for 28 year old right handed pitcher Jordan Hicks, 23 year old left handed pitcher Kyle Harrison, 22 year old outfield prospect James Tibbs and 20 year old right handed pitcher Jose Bello. Harrison was immediately sent to Worcester while Zach Pendrod was designated for assignment to make room for him on the 40 man. Nate Eaton was recalled from Worcester to temporarily take Devers' spot.

Devers was hitting .272 with 15 home runs and had driven in 58 runs at the time of the trade. He had 215 career home runs and 696 rbis and was borderline hall of fame player already. He'll definitely be missed by the fans. 

So who did the Sox get in return? Jordan Hicks has been a mediocre pitcher his whole career going 16-33 with a 4.23 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and the Giants. He was 1-5 with a 6.47 ERA this season and at 28, is definitely not the guy you want in a stretch run. 

Kyle Harrison was a 3rd round pick by the Giants back in 2020 out of high school and was perfectly mediocre since he made his ML debut in 2023. Last year he was 7-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 23 starts and was 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA in 8 games this year. He's a .500 pitcher and it doesn't look like he'll be anything else moving forward. He could be the next Nick Pivetta at best.

James Tibbs was the Giants first round pick 13th overall last year out of Florida State University. He was hitting .245 with 12 home runs and 32 rbis for the Eugene Emeralds in High A this year. Only one problem....he hits lefty. The Sox have way too many lefty hitting outfielders as it is, but then again, he won't be ready for a year or two anyway. At least he's hitting better than Yophery Rodriguez, the kid they got in the Quinn Priester trade.

Jose Bello is a 20 year old Dominican kid who's allowed 4 runs in 18 innings for the rookie Giants. He might be a prospect, he might not be. Either way, he's not going to contribute to this year's team at all.

So now for the big question, why? Why do this? It all goes back to spring training when Devers wasn't happy about the Alex Bregman signing and the Sox front office telling Devers to step aside for him. Then when Triston Casas went down, they asked Devers to play first base for the first time in his career and he outright refused. Sox owner John Henry met with Devers personally in Kansas City last month and apparently that didn't go well. Rumors are the final straw was Devers not running out that grounder against Tampa Bay last week. There's two ways to look at this, the cynical way is the Sox once again traded a franchise player for virtually nothing just like Mookie Betts. This might backfire big time and send the Sox in a tailspin with Casas out for the season and Bregman & Abreu on the Injured List. The Sox traded the last man standing of the 108 win World Series Champion 2018 Red Sox that should have been a dynasty if it wasn't for John Henry's sudden penny pinching ever since. Now the other way to look at it was Devers was a malcontent that didn't want to do what was best for the team. With so many rookies playing, you don't want someone like that set an example the rest might pick up on. After all, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz both regressed in 2011 when Josh Beckett stopped giving a damn. They also just freed up the DH spot for Alex Bregman when he comes back and they're going to keep Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer in the lineup. They still have one more move to make in the outfield, but this frees up $250 million and gets rid of a malcontent....if you look at it that way. The bottom line was Devers' days were numbered when he told the front office to go pleasure themselves and Sox GM Craig Breslow showed who was the boss for better or worse. Its a shame the Red Sox self destructed the 2018 team, and that's how you go 86 years without a ring.

                                                                OUT

                                                                     IN

As for the game, the Red Sox offense were held to just 4 hits and 2 measly runs by Logan Gilbert and the Seattle Mariners. The good news was Lucas Giolito (3-1, 4.73 ERA) was up to the task, blanking the Mariners for 6 innings while allowing just 3 hits. Roman Anthony belted his first career home run in the first inning to put the Sox ahead and Abraham Toro drove in a run in the top of the third for the only offense of the game. The trio of Justin Wilson, Greg Weissert and Aroldis Chapman pitched in to slam the door on the Mariners. The Sox had won their 6th straight game by beating Seattle 2-0 at T-Mobile Park.

                                                           JJ Spaun approves of the win

The Sox wasted no time getting to Gilbert in the top of the first inning as Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Abraham "El" Toro popped up to short but Roman Anthony clobbered his first career home run to put Boston on top. Carlos Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                                 1st career for Roman

Giolito got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and JP Crawford walked to start. Julio Rodriguez grounded into a double play and Cal Raleigh flied out to center to end the inning.

Marcelo Mayer grounded out to first to start the top of the second before Trevor Story struck out swinging. David Hamilton popped up to second to end the inning. Jorge Polanco struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Randy Arozarena lined out to center. Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez struck out swinging to end the inning.

Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to open the top of the third before Kristian Campbell watched strike three go by. Duran tripled into the right field corner and El Toro beat out a grounder to second to score Jarren to increase the lead. Anthony struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                          Toro drives in a run

Giolito ran into trouble in the bottom of the third as Dominic Canzone got a base hit to left to start. Ben Williamson also dropped a base hit to left and Cole Young ripped a base hit to left to load the bases with nobody out. Somehow Crawford struck out swinging, Rodriguez also went down hacking, and Raleigh also struck out swinging to end the inning. Giolito pulled the Houdini for sure.

Narvaez flied out to left to start the top of the fourth before Mayer struck out swinging. Story walked and Hamilton struck out swinging to end the inning. Polanco popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth before Arozarena struck out swinging. Tellez hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.

Duran struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Campbell took strike three. Rafaela flied out to center to end the inning. Young struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Williamson took strike three. Young struck out swinging to end the inning.

Old friend Eduard Bazardo came in to pitch the top of the sixth and El Toro walked to start. Anthony flied out to left and Narvaez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Giolito returned for one final inning in the bottom of the sixth and Raleigh grounded out to second to start. Rodriguez struck out swinging and Crawford struck out swinging. Crawford struck out swinging to end the inning. Giolito utterly dominated the Mariners going 6 innings while allowing just 3 hits and a walk.

                                                               Giolito gets it done

Zach Pop came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Mayer grounded out to first to start. Story grounded out to short and Hamilton also grounded out to short to end the inning. Justin Wilson came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Polanco got a base hit inside the bag at third to start. Arozarena popped up to short and Dylan Moore pinch hit for Tellez. Polanco stole second and Moore drew a walk, but Canzone popped up to third. Williamson struck out swinging to end the inning.

Rafaela grounded out to second to start the top of the eighth before Campbell got a base hit to center. Trent Thornton came in to face Duran and Jarren flied out to center. El Toro struck out swinging to end the inning. Greg Weissert came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Young walked to start. Crawford walked as well but Rodriguez lined out to center. Raleigh struck out swinging and Polanco popped up to third to end the inning.

Anthony popped up to third to start the top of the ninth but Narvaez walked. Mayer struck out swinging and Story flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox had just 4 hits in the entire game. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Arozarena struck out swinging to start. Moore went down hacking and Donovan Solano pinch hit for Canzone. Solano struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won their sixth game in a row 2-0.

                                                              Sox win

Hero of the Night is Lucas Giolito. He blanked the Mariners for 6 innings and struck out 10 batters.

                                                  Lucas Gio-Hero

The Good:

Abraham Toro was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Kristian Campbell was 1 for 3.

Justin Wilson tossed a scoreless seventh inning.

Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 13th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

David Hamilton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

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

Roman Anthony was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Trevor Story was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Final Thoughts:

So even though the trade was yesterday, the fallout carried over to today when the Sox front office called a press conference. Sam Kennedy looked like a total fool saying "our record the last 25 years speaks for itself" when he wasn't even around then, Larry Lucchino was. Craig Breslow offered himself as a human shield saying "I think we'll win more games than we would have otherwise." In other words, he's banking his career on the Sox winning more games without Devers than they would with him. If they go into the tank, the Sox brass will just fire him like they did Chaim Bloom. Bottom line is the Sox charge the highest prices in the league for merch, tickets and beer yet trade or let go one star after another. Getting rid of a malcontent may help the clubhouse but why would future free agents sign here if they know the club cares more about who's the boss and making money than winning rings? As for the game, good win but the offense has totally evaporated since last week's loss in Tampa. Scoring 17 runs in 6 games isn't good but the pitching has been out of this world since that Tampa game as well. The Sox have a real power outage with Devers gone along with Alex Bregman, Wilyer Abreu and Triston Casas all out. Still, the pitching held up tonight but you can't expect to win every game 2-1 or 1-0. Still, Giolito looked good for the second start in a row and the Sox pitching has been on fire. Hope it stays that way. The win improved the Sox to 38-36, 5.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. The Sox look to make it seven wins in a row and two straight against Seattle tomorrow night when Walker Buehler (5-4, 5.01 ERA) looks to continue the hot streak against Bryan Woo of Seattle. The game begins at 9:40 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.

Bello, Sox Sweep Yankees (6/15/25)

Who saw that coming? After managing conservative to the detriment of the team in April and May, suddenly Sox manager Alex Cora has let the starters off the hook. The Sox have now won 7 of their last nine games including their fifth win in a row today. Brayan Bello (3-1, 3.49 ERA) pitched his best game of the season, shutting out the New York Yankees for 7 innings. Meanwhile the Sox scratched out two runs against Yankees ace Max Fried. Trevor Story got a bloop single rbi in the bottom of the first and Rafael Devers pounded his 15th home run of the season. Brennan Bernardino ran into trouble in the top of the eighth but Garrett Whitlock got a key double play. Whitlock blew the Yankees away in the ninth inning and the Sox completed their three game sweep of the Yankees with a 2-0 victory at Fenway Park.

                                                    Indica Jane approves of the win

Bello got the ball in the top of the first inning and Trent Grisham doubled to the centerfield wall to start. Ben Rice popped up to a falling down Trevor Story. Aaron Judge was called out on a questionable strike three but Cody Bellinger walked on four pitches not even close. Jazz Chisholm Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. Fried got the ball in the bottom of the first and Anthony Volpe booted a grounder by Rob Refsnyder to start. Rafael Devers grounded out into a double play but Romy Gonzalez face planted on a scintillating triple into the right field corner. Trevor Story blooped a single over the head of Volpe to score Gonzalez to put the Sox on top. Abraham "El" Toro took strike three right down the middle to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                          Story drives in a run

Volpe grounded out to first to start the top of the second and Jasson Dominguez walked. JC Escarra walked but Oswald Peralza swung at strike three by his ears to end the inning. Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Ceddanne Rafaela went down hacking as well. Connor Wong lined out to right to end the inning. 

Grisham popped up to third to start the top of the third before Rice got a base hit to right. Judge struck out swinging but Bellinger singled off the glove of Bello. Bello picked off Bellinger to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Kristian Campbell walked to start. Refsnyder got a base hit to left but Devers grounded into a double play. Gonzalez walked but Story took a curveball right down the middle for strike three to end the inning.

Chisholm walked to start the top of the fourth but Volpe grounded into a double play. Dominguez struck out swinging to end the inning. El Toro got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the fourth before Duran struck out swinging. Rafaela got a base hit to right but Wong grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Escarra grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth before Peraza was retired on a squibber in front of the plate. Grisham hit a routine grounder to second but Campbell threw himself on the ball and swam on it for an error. Rice flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Campbell grounded out to second to start. Refsnyder popped up to second but Devers bashed his 15th home run of the season to increase the lead. Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                         Devers gets the Wally Head

 

Bello dominated the top of the sixth as Judge struck out swinging to start. Bellinger struck out swinging and Chisholm took strike three to end the inning with Brayan at 101 pitches. Story struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth before Toro took strike three. Duran grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Bello somehow returned for the top of the seventh and Volpe grounded out to short to start. Dominguez popped up to second and Escarra took strike three to end the inning. Bello tossed 7 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8.

                                                           Bello with the big start

Rafaela grounded out to short to start the bottom of the seventh before Wong struck out swinging. Campbell grounded out to third to end the inning.

David Hamilton came in to play second base with Brennan Bernardino now on the mound to start the top of the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt got a base hit to left and Grisham also got a base hit to left. DJ LeMahieu pinch hit for Rice and took strike three down the middle. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to face Judge and got him to ground into a double play to end the inning. Mark Leiter Jr came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Roman Anthony pinch hit for Refsnyder. Anthony grounded out to first but Devers walked. Mayer took strike three on the inside corner and Story struck out swinging on a pitch not even close to end the inning.

Whitlock returned to finish off the top of the ninth and Bellinger grounded out to second to start. Chisholm took strike three on the inside corner and Whitlock blew Volpe away on a 96 mph to end the game. The Sox had swept the Yankees with a 2-0 win.

                                                                   Sox win

Hero of The Night is Brayan Bello. He tossed 7 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8 batters.

                                                                Hero Bello

The Good:

Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 3.

Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk and a home run.

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.

Abraham Toro was 1 for 3.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 1 for 3.

Brennan Bernardino got the first out of the eighth inning.

Garrett Whitlock earned his first save of the season with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Roman Anthony was 0 for 1.

Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 1 with a strikeout.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of three strikeouts but drove in a run.

Kristian Campbell was 0 for 2 with an error but walked.

Honorable Mention:

David Hamilton played second base in the final few innings.

Final Thoughts:

Who knew when the Sox got beat by the Los Angeles Angels on June 3rd that the Sox would go on a tear? The Sox have won 8 of 10 games since including 5 of 6 against the Yankees. The key has been the pitching. The starters have finally been allowed to go 6-7 innings and throw over 100 pitches. Crochet almost had a complete game shutout and Bello was dominant today. The Yankees were off-balance the entire day and Garrett Whitlock pitched great too. Moving forward the Sox have a chance to make a comeback this season but have some tough roster decisions to make. Someone has to go when Wilyer Abreu comes back and another when Alex Bregman comes back. Still, this was a big win against a first place team to get closer in the race. The Sox are only 1/2 game out of a playoff spot and still have half the season remaining. The Sox have a big west coast trip coming up and now they have momentum going into it. The win improved the Sox to 37-36, 6.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now have a big west coast trip with their first stop in Seattle tomorrow night to play the Mariners. Lucas Giolito (2-1, 5.45 ERA) takes on Logan Gilbert of Seattle. The game begins at 9:40 PM Eastern time at T-Mobile Park.

Dobbins, Sox Hold Off Yankees (6/14/25)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a trade. Brian Van Belle was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for a big sack full of money. They had to get someone off the 40 man roster to get Jorge Alcala on it and this was the casualty. He seemed to have it figured out in Worcester, maybe he'll make his ML debut for the Reds this season.

                                                                 OUT

As for the game, don't look now but the Boston Red Sox have won four games in a row not just in this recent stretch but against the New York Yankees as well. Tonight it was "War Pig" Hunter Dobbins (4-1, 3.74 ERA) that dominated the Yankees for six innings. The Boston bats stepped up against Yankees starter Carlos Rodon tagging him for four runs. Romy Gonzalez, Marcelo Mayer and Trevor Story all drove in runs to help the cause. Then the Sox bullpen almost blew it. Luis Guerrero was tagged for two runs in the seventh and Greg Weissert got tagged in the ninth for another run. With the tying run at second base, Austin Wells flied out to the centerfield warning track to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3 at Fenway Park.

                                                       Sammi Chaos approves of the win

Dobbins got the ball in the top of the first inning and right off the bat, Kristian Campbell booted a grounder by Trent Grisham for an error. Aaron Judge struck out swinging and Ben Rice grounded into a double play. The Sox wasted no time getting to Rodon in the bottom of the first as Rob Refsnyder doubled to left to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and Romy Gonzalez flied out to right. Carlos Narvaez singled in the whole at short and Anthony Volpe threw the ball away, allowing Refsnyder to score. Jarren Duran popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                  "I got it, I got it.....I don't got it"

Paul Goldschmidt took strike three to start the top of the second before Jazz Chisholm got a base hit to left. Volpe walked and Jasson Dominguez flied out to center to move Jazz to third. Austin Wells popped up to third to end the inning. Trevor Story popped up to short to start the bottom of the second before Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third. Marcelo Mayer struck out swinging to end the inning.

DJ LeMahieu grounded out to second to start the top of the third before Grisham struck out swinging. Judge also went down hacking again to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Campbell walked to start. Refsnyder got a base hit to left but Devers banged into a double play. Gonzalez flied out to right to end the inning.

Rice grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Goldschmidt flied out to right. Chisholm grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Narvaez doubled to left to start. Duran lined out to left but Story doubled to center to score Narvaez. Rafaela flied out to right and Mayer grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                                  Story with the hustle double

Volpe got a base hit to left to start the top of the fifth but Duran made a great running catch off a Dominguez liner. Wells popped up to third and LeMahieu flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Campbell was hit with a pitch to start. Refsnyder lined out to right but Devers struck out swinging. Gonzalez doubled to center to score Campbell with another run. Narvaez walked but Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                       Romy drives in a run

Dobbins returned for one final inning in the top of the sixth as Grisham struck out swinging to start. Judge grounded out to third and Rice also grounded out to third to end the inning. Thanks to Mr. "No Third Time Through The Order" Cora, Dobbins went six innings allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 5.

                                                          Dobbins gets it done

The Sox chased Rodon in the bottom of the sixth when Story doubled to left to start. Yerry De Los Santos came in and Rafaela shockingly dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Trevor over. Mayer hit a sac fly to left to score Story and show that small ball is indeed possible. Campbell grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.

                                                               Mayer drives in a run

The Yankees rallied against Luis Guerrero in the top of the seventh with David Hamilton now playing second. Goldschmidt and Chisholm drew back to back walks before Volpe lined out to short. Dominguez singled up the middle to score Goldschmidt and chase Guerrero. Justin Wilson allowed a base hit to left by Wells to score Chisholm but struck out LeMahieu swinging. The alert Narvaez picked off Dominguez to end the inning with the Yankees down 4-2.

                                                               Yerrrrr out

Roman Anthony pinch hit for Refsnyder to start the bottom of the seventh and grounded out to short. Devers flied out to right and Gonzalez took strike three to end the inning.

Wilson returned for the top of the eighth and Grisham lined out to center to start. Judge was rung up for strike three on a check swing and Rice whiffed to end the inning. Narvaez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the eighth but Duran walked. Story grounded into a double play to end the inning.

To give Aroldis Chapman another day off, Cora rolled the dice and brought in Greg Weissert to close out the game. Goldschmidt immediately doubled under the garage door in left and Chisholm grounded out to first to move Paul to third. Volpe grounded out to second to score Goldschmidt and Dominguez also doubled under the garage door in left. With the tying run on second, Wells hit a ball deep to center....caught by a running Rafaela to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3.

                                                       Sox win

Hero of The Night is Hunter Dobbins. Facing intense scrutiny from the New York media for last week's comments, Hunter shrugged them off to allow just 2 hits and a walk in 6 shutout innings to earn the win.

                                                          Hunter Hero

The Good:

Rob Refsnyder was 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Carlos Narvaez was 2 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and picked off another runner.

Trevor Story was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.

Kristian Campbell walked, was hit with a pitch and scored a run.

The Bad:

Roman Anthony was 0 for 1.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Luis Guerrero got tagged for 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Romy Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 2 but dropped down a key sacrifice bunt.

Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Justin Wilson allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1 2/3 innings.

Greg Weissert got the save but still allowed a run in the ninth.

Honorable Mention:

David Hamilton played second base in the final three innings.

Final Thoughts:

Wow, what's gotten into the Red Sox? Clutch hitting, dropping down bunts, catcher's that can throw out runners, starters than can go past 4 2/3 innings? Maybe Alex Cora took a blow to the head and remembered how to manage. Normally I'd bitch about pulling Dobbins after just 6 innings but he really does have lousy stats the third time through the order. Can't really fault Cora for the bullpen allowing 3 runs because both Chapman and Brennan Bernardino are gassed and Justin Slaten is out with an injury. Still, Justin Wilson got some key outs and Weissert didn't totally puke on himself. The overall story was Dobbins putting the media attack out of his head to dominate the Yankees. That's the kind of balls you don't see every day in the neverending Sox/Yankees rivalry. Speaking of which, the Sox have now won 4 of their last 5 against the Yankees and 6 out of 8 total including the Tampa Bay Rays series. The Sox needed to make a statement and so far they have. A series sweep might be too much to ask for but if they can pull it off, they'll be closer to getting back in contention than they've been in a month. The win improved the Sox to 36-36, 7.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it five wins in a row tomorrow but run smack into 9-1 Yankees ace Max Fried. Brayan Bello (2-1, 3.96 ERA) looks to step up big tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.

Narvaez, Sox Walkoff Yankees (6/13/25)

For 8 innings Garrett Crochet was pitching the game of his life for the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees. He held the Yankees to just three hits and a walk in one of the most dominating performances of the season. The Sox bats unfortunately could only scratch out a single run against Ryan Yarbrough on a Ceddanne Rafaela rbi single. The Yankees bullpen held the Sox scoreless until the ninth inning when disaster struck. Aaron Judge had been 0 for 6 with 6 K's against Crochet this season but hit a 100 mph fastball completely out of Fenway to tie the game, ruining Garrett's start. Still, ex-Yankee Carlos Narvaez delivered the knockout blows when he gunned down Anthony Volpe trying to steal in the top of the 10th and drove in the winning run in the bottom half. Despite the Judge home run, the Sox still beat the Yankees 2-1 in 10 innings at Fenway Park.

                                                             Red Sox win!

Crochet got the ball in the top of the first inning and Paul Goldschmidt grounded out to third on the first pitch. Ben Rice grounded out to short on the very next pitch and Aaron Judge struck out swinging to end the inning at just 8 pitches for Crochet. Yarbrough got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Rob Refsnyder walked to start. Rafael Devers lined out to center and so did Romy Gonzalez, but Carlos Narvaez walked. Roman Anthony grounded out to second to end the inning.

Cody Bellinger flied out to center to start the top of the second but Anthony Volpe got a base hit to center. Jasson Dominguez popped up to first and DJ LeMahieu grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Trevor Story got a base hit to center to start. Abraham "El" Toro struck out swinging but Story swiped second on the play. That proved big when Story scored on the Ceddanne Rafaela base hit to center. Rafaela got picked off to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                        Rafaela drives in a run

Austin Wells struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Oswald Peraza walked. Goldschmidt flied out to right and Rice grounded out to short to end the inning. Refsnyder popped up to second to begin the bottom of the third before Devers grounded out to third. Gonzalez beat out a roller to third but Narvaez popped up to short to end the inning.

Judge took strike three to start the top of the fourth before Bellinger grounded out to second. Volpe struck out swinging to end the inning. Anthony lined out to left to start the bottom of the fourth before Story grounded out to short. Toro flied out to center to end the inning.

Things looked bad when Toro threw a grounder by Dominguez away for an error to start the top of the fifth. Dominguez stole second and took third on the LeMahieu base hit to right. Crochet coldly struck out both Wells and Peraza swinging before getting Goldschmidr to ground out to short to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Rafaela struck out swinging to start. Campbell walked and Refsnyder got a base hit to right, but Devers took strike three. That was it for Yarbrough as Jonathan Loaisiga struck out Gonzalez swinging to end the inning.

Rice grounded out to second to start the top of the sixth before Judge struck out swinging again. Bellinger grounded out to second to end the inning. Narvaez flied out to left to start the bottom of the sixth before Anthony struck out swinging. Story grounded out to third to end the inning.

Volpe got a base hit to left to start the top of the seventh but Dominguez grounded into a double play. LeMahieu lined out to right to end the inning. Ian Hamilton came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Toro flied out to center to start. Rafaela grounded out to third and Campbell lined out to right to end the inning.

David Hamilton came in to play second for Campbell to start the top of the eighth and Wells grounded out to second to begin. Peraza grounded out to third and Goldschmidt flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox blew a huge rally in the bottom of the eighth with Jarren Duran pinch hitting for Refsnyder. Duran struck out swinging but Devers got a base hit to left. Marcelo Mayer punch hit for Gonzalez but Fernando Cruz was brought in to pitch to him. A wild pitch moved Devers to second but Mayer struck out swinging. Narvaez and Anthony drew back to back walks to load the bases, but Story flied out to left on a 2-0 count to end the inning.

Crochet returned for the top of the ninth and Rice grounded out to second to start. On a 3-2 count, Crochet tied to blow Judge away with a fastball.....and failed. Judge hit it out of Fenway Park to tie the game, ruin the shutout and chase Crochet. Garrett tossed 8 1/3 innings of 1 run ball allowing just 4 hits and a walk while striking out 7. Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch and Bellinger popped up to third. Volpe flied out to center to end the inning.

                                                    Crochet deserved better

Toro popped up to third to start the bottom of the ninth and Rafaela struck out swinging. Tim Hill came in to pitch to Hamilton and David flied out to right to end the inning.

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Anthony Volpe starting at second base. Volpe looked to have stolen third but Sox manager Alex Cora challenged that Volpe was out. Third base umpire Mike Brenly ruled OUT and the runner was erased. Dominguez took strike three and LeMahieu fouled a pitch off that Aaron Boone challenged was fair. The umpire ruled foul and he ran out of the dugout with a pipe wrench and took a swing at home plate umpire John Tumpane. Boone was escorted out of Fenway by Boston police and LeMahieu grounded out to first to end the inning.

                                                                 Yerrrrr out!

Hamilton started the bottom of the tenth with Tim Hill on the mound and Duran grounded out to second to move David to third. Devers was intentionally walked and naturally Mayer struck out swinging. Devers moved to second on defensive indifference but Narvaez slammed a base hit off the top of the Monster to win the game for the Sox 2-1.

                                                             Carlos with the KO blow

                                                            

Hero of The Night is Carlos Narvaez

                                                              Carlos Hero

The Good:

Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 3.

The Bad:

Jarren Duran was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.

Abraham Toro was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Kristian Campbell was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.

Roman Anthony was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.

David Hamilton was 0 for 1 but scored the winning run.

Final Thoughts:

Good win but that sucks for Crochet. The Sox haven't had a game of utter domination against the Yankees like that since Rick Porcello 1 hit the Yankees seven years ago. Crochet was absolutely dealing and the real shame wasn't the Judge home run, it was Boston's utter ineptitude at the plate. With injuries to Alex Bregman and Triston Casas and the rookies not doing much, the Boston bats were pathetic. The real crime was Cruz walking the bases loaded and going 2-0 on Story only for Trevor to pop up. It should have never have come to Crochet having to be damn near perfect to win the game. Still, the positives are Crochet bullied the Yankees and the Sox have a legitimate ace again. Carlos Narvaez saved the day with his arm and his bat in this one and he's been the shocker of the season so far. Bottom line was it wasn't the way the fans wanted, but the Sox still won the game for their first 3 game win streak since April. Whether or not they can ride the momentum depends on the War Pigs moving forward, especially with two games remaining against the Yankees this weekend. The win improved the Sox to 35-36, 8.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it four wins in a row and two straight against the Yankees tomorrow night when "War Pig" Hunter Dobbins (3-1, 4.20 ERA) also looks to make it two straight wins against the Yankees against Carlos Rodon of New York. The game begins at 7:15 PM at Fenway Park.

Buehler, Mayer Key Victory Over Rays (6/11/25)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a trade. The Sox sent 21 year old shortstop Andy Lugo to the Minnesota Twins for relief pitcher Jorge Alcala. Lugo was hitting .265 with 4 home runs for the Greenville Drive while Alcala has an 8.88 ERA for the Twins this year. The hope is Alcala can rediscover the form he had last year when he posted a 3.24 ERA....but chances are, that was his one good year. At least they didn't trade three major league prospects for him this time.

                                                                            OUT

                                                                        IN

Don't look now but the last week or so, the Boston Red Sox have looked like a major league team for the first time all season. Tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays they played flawless defense with some big plays to keep the Rays off the board when the game got tight. "War Pig" Walker Buehler (5-4, 5.01 ERA) was a big help going 7 innings and allowing just 3 runs. The Sox woes with runners in scoring position continued but they had no problem hitting the ball out of the yard. Jarren Duran hit the first pitch old friend Zack Littell threw for a solo shot. Abraham "El" Toro added a solo shot of his own but the hero was Marcelo Mayer with not one but two solo blasts to keep the Sox in front. Greg Weissert escaped a bases loaded jam in the eighth inning and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door in the ninth for a big 4-3 victory over the Rays at Fenway Park.

                                                       Tiffani Chance approves of the win

Buehler got the ball in the top of the first inning and Josh Lowe flied out to center to start. Brandon Lowe doubled to right before moving to third on the Yandy Diaz grounder to second. Jonathan Aranda was hit with a pitch but Junior Caminero grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck first against Littell when Jarren Duran crushed the first pitch he saw out of the yard for his fifth home run of the season. Rafael Devers was hit with a pitch and Abraham Toro got a base hit to left, but once again with runners in scoring position Carlos Narvaez forced Toro at second. Roman Anthony struck out swinging and Trevor Story flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                          Duran puts the Sox up early

The lead lasted exactly one second as Jake Mangum got a base hit to left to start the top of the second. Matt Thaiss got a base hit to right to move Mangum to third and Kameron Misner walked to load the bases with nobody out. Taylor Walls flied out to right. Josh Lowe just barely beat out a double play ball to score Mangum with the tying run. Josh stole second base but Brandon Lowe grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                                Rays tie it

The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as Marcelo Mayer crushed his first Fenway Park home run to put Boston back on top. Kristian Campbell grounded out to short but Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to right. Once again with a runner in scoring position, Duran flied out to left and Devers grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox led 2-1 but was 0-4 with runners in scoring position.

                                                           First Fenway homer

Buehler settled down in the top of the third as Diaz lined out to center to start. Aranda popped up to short and Caminero struck out swinging to end the inning. Toro struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Narvaez grounded out to short. Anthony grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Mangum grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Thaiss was rung up for strike three. Misner struck out swinging to end the inning. Story grounded out to second to open the bottom of the fourth before Mayer belted his second home run of the game to increase the lead. Campbell struck out swinging but Rafaela got a base hit to center. Rafaela stole second but once again with a runner in scoring position, Duran struck out swinging. The Sox led 3-1 but was now 0 for 5.

                                                           Mayer gets the Wally Head

The lead once again evaporated in record time in the top of the fifth as Walls got a base hit to center to start. Josh Lowe struck out looking and Walls was thrown out at second trying to steal. Brandon Lowe beat out a roller to Buehler and Diaz hit a home run all the way into the Charles River to tie the game. Aranda struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.

                                                          Rays tie it

The Sox wasted no time getting the lead back in the bottom of the fifth. Devers struck out swinging but El Toro launched his fifth home run of the season to put Boston back on top. Narvaez popped up to short and Anthony grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox up 4-3.

                                                          El Toro gets the Wally Head

The Sox got a big lift on a hell of a play by Story to rob Caminero of a base hit to start the top of the sixth. Mangum grounded out to first and Thaiss struck out swinging to end the inning. Story flied out to center to start the bottom of the sixth before Mayer struck out swinging. Campbell doubled to right to put another runner in scoring position......and Rafaela lined out to right to end the inning. 0 for 6 and counting.

Buehler returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh and Misner struck out swinging. Walls popped up to second and Lowe grounded out to first to end the inning. Apart from the one mistake to Diaz, Buehler was great. He held the Rays to 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk while striking out 7.

                                                          Buehler gets the job done

Mason Montgomery came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Duran struck out swinging to start. Devers grounded back to the mound and Toro grounded out to short to end the inning.

David Hamilton took over at second base for Campbell with Justin Wilson now on the mound to start the top of the eighth. Brandon Lowe flied out to left but Diaz got a base hit to right. Jose Caballero ran for Diaz and Aranda was hit with a pitch to chase Wilson. Greg Weissert came in to put the fire out and got a boost when the alert Narvaez gunned down Caballero trying to steal third. That proved big when Caminero walked and Mangum singled off the glove of Greg to load the bases. Weissert punched out Thaiss swinging to end the inning.

                                                Weissert with the big strikeout

The Sox completed their situational hitting ineptitude in the bottom of the eighth with Eric Orze on the mound. Narvaez doubled to center and Anthony moved him to third with a grounder to first. Naturally both Story grounded out to third and Mayer struck out swinging to end the inning. 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position....yikes.

Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and Christopher Morel punch hit for Minser. Morel grounded out to third before Walls struck out swinging. Josh Lowe also struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-3.

                                                             Sox win

Hero of The Night is Marcelo Mayer. His two solo home runs were the difference in the game.

                                                       Trevor story salutes our Hero

The Good:

Abraham Toro was 2 for 4 with a home run.

Kristian Campbell was 1 for 3.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 3 with a stolen base.

Walker Buehler got the win by tossing 7 innings of 3 run ball allowing 6 hits and a walk while striking out 7.

Justin Wilson got the first out of the eighth inning.

Greg Weissert got the final two outs of the eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 12th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Roman Anthony was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Trevor Story was 0 for 4.

The Ugly:

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a solo home run.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch.

Carlos Narvaez was just 1 for 4 but threw out a runner.

Honorable Mention:

David Hamilton played second base in the final two innings.

Final Thoughts:

Amazing what happens when the Red Sox defense doesn't throw up on themselves. The Sox looked like a real team this week against the Rays and New York Yankees and taking 2 of 3 from both at least gives them something to build on. They still went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position but the pitching and defense held up. Story's throw to first, Narvaez throwing out a runner, Weissert striking out Thaiss, all of it played into the win. Buehler going 7 with one mistake to Diaz was also a big help. The problem this season is they just can't seem to build momentum. They got a chance to get back in the AL East race and so far they've taken 4 of 6 from New York and Tampa. They got another series with New York coming up on Friday and its very important they don't stink this weekend. The win improved the Sox to 34-36, 9 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox get another crack at the Yankees on home soil. "War Pig" Garrett Crochet (6-4, 2.35 ERA) will be waiting against Captain TBD of New York. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.