Sox Hang On To Beat Angels (7/3/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox officially released Tommy Kahnle. He had nothing left and its unlikely he gets picked up by anyone after his performance in Boston....unless its for a team just desperate for bodies.

                                                                 Bye bye Kahnle

With Willson Contreras getting suspended for 7 games and Nate Eaton 3, the Boston Sox are going to need all the wins they can get until then. Tonight Jake Bennett (3-3, 3.10 ERA) pitched 7 shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angel before tiring in the eighth inning. The Sox struck first with a Jarren Duran sac fly in the top of the second against Reid Detmers before Romy Gonzalez hit a 2 run single in the third. An error led to the fourth run scoring and Caleb Durbin smashed his eighth home run of the season to give the Sox a cushion. Bennett ran out of gas by allowing 2 runs in the eighth inning but Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door on the Angels. Chapman became the all-time leader in relief pitcher strikeouts in the process as the Sox beat the Angels 5-2 at Angel Stadium.

                                                          Lux Gray approves of the win

Detmers got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nate Eaton struck out swinging to start. Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit to right and immediately stole second. Wilyer Abreu flied out to center but Willson Contreras walked. Caleb Durbin flied out to left to end the inning. Bennett got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Zach Neto grounded back to the mound to start. Nolan Schanuel grounded out to second and Denzer Guzman struck out swinging to end the inning,

The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Romy Gonzalez should have had an inside the park home run to right but ran out of gas running the bases, settling for a triple. Jarren Duran hit a sac fly to left to score Romy but Andruw Monasterio grounded out to second. Carlos Narvaez got a base hit to center but Eaton struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                         Romy needs some more cardio

Jorge Soler grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second and old pal Vaughn Grissom struck out swinging. Jo Adell lined out to first to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Rafaela grounded out to short to start. Abreu doubled to right and had to hold to see if Contreras' fly ball to right dropped before taking third on the single. Durbin walked to load the bases and Gonzalez ripped a base hit to right to score Abreu and Contreras. Duran dropped down a bunt and Schanuel botched the throw for an error to score Durbin. While Monasterio was batting, he hit a foul ball that knocked Logan O'Hoppe goofy behind the plate. Old friend Tyler Heineman replaced him and Monasterio popped up to first. Narvaez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.

                                                    Welcome back Gonzalez

Jose Siri grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third and Josh Lowe lined out to third. Heineman struck out swinging to end the inning.

Eaton took strike three to start the top of the fourth and Rafaela popped up to first. Abreu walked and took second on a wild pitch, but Contreras flied out to left to end the inning. Neto flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth and Schanuel grounded out to first. Guzman flied out to left to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Durbin smashed his eighth home run of the year to increase the lead. Gonzalez struck out swinging, Duran went down hacking and Monasterio flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.

                                                     Another home run for Durbin

Soler flied out to left to start the bottom of the fifth but of all people, Grissom broke up the perfect game with a base hit to right. Adell flied out to center and Siri forced Grissom at second to end the inning.

Jose Fermin came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Narvaez struck out swinging to start. Eaton popped up to first but Rafaela got a base hit to right. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. Lowe grounded out to second to start the bottom of the sixth and Heineman flied out to center.

Mitch Farris came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Contreras grounded out to short to start. Durbin lined out to left but Gonzalez got a base hit to center. Duran flied out to left to end the inning. Guzman struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh and Soler flied out to right. Grissom struck out swinging to end the inning.

Monasterio singled to center to start the top of the eighth but Narvaez struck out swinging. Monasterio got doubled off first on a liner to short by Eaton to end the inning. Bennett ran out of gas in the bottom of the eighth as Adell grounded out to third to start. Siri hit a home run all the way to San Jose and Lowe beat out a roller to first. Heineman popped up a bunt to Contreras but a wild pitch moved Lowe to second. Neto got a base hit to right to score Lowe and that was it for Bennett. He ran out of gas but tossed 7 2/3 innings allowing 2 runs off 5 hits. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock got Schanuel to ground out to second to end the inning with the Angels down 5-2.

                                                           Good work Jake

Kirby Yates came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Rafaela struck out swinging to start. Abreu went down hacking and Contreras was thrown out at third trying to stretch a triple to left to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and Guzman struck out swinging to put Chapman as the all-time relief leader in strikeouts. Soler got a base hit to left and Grissom singled to center to bring the tying run to the plate, but Adell grounded into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.

                                                                        Sox win

Hero of the Night is Jake Bennett. He tossed 7 2/3 innings allowing just 2 runs off 5 hits while striking out 6

                                                                Hero Bennett

The Good:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5 with a stolen base.

Willson Contreras was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

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

Romy Gonzalez was 3 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.

Garrett Whitlock got the final out of the eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 17th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Nate Eaton was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs.

Andruw Monasterio was just 1 for 4.

Carlos Narvaez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox needed a win to get some momentum back after the disaster against the Washington Nationals. This is the Romy Gonzalez the Sox were hoping they'd be getting back who missed the first half with injury and this is also the Caleb Durbin the Sox were hoping for when they traded for him. Still, there's a concerning black cloud hanging over the Sox and that's the fact they're relying on three rookies to carry them. Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and Bennett are doing very well but its coming at a price. They're getting tired after 80 pitches and Early already has elbow damage. If Garrett Crochet was healthy and Brayan Bello was mentally all there, they wouldn't have to push the kids so hard. Still, the difference in a win and a loss is clutch hits and tonight Gonzalez hit a 2 run single with the bases loaded. That's the kind of hit they weren't getting for the first two months of the season. Kudos to Aroldis Chapman for becoming a surefire MLB hall of famer with 384 saves and 1,364 strikeouts. Its too bad Sox fans are screaming to trade Sonny Gray, Chapman and Contreras every day despite the fact the Sox picked it up a bit. Whether or not they do trade them, the bottom line is the Sox have won 6 out of their last eight games. The problem is Contreras and Eaton still have to serve their suspensions, god help us. The win improved the Sox to 38-48, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Angels tomorrow night when Sonny Gray (9-1, 2.69 ERA) goes for Boston against Sam Aldegheri of Los Angeles. The game begins at 9:30 PM at Angel Stadium.

Off-Day News: 2024 Draft Re-Visit (7/2/26)

We are two weeks away from the 2026 MLB Draft so its time to take a look back at the first draft of the Craig Breslow era with the Boston Red Sox. Two picks made it big so far while the rest is a mixed bag. Let's see how things are going.

1st Round - OF Braden Montgomery

The good news is Braden Montgomery looks to be a star in the making, the bad news is its not with the Red Sox. Braden was projected to go in the top 5 of the draft but suffered a catastrophic ankle injury with Texas A&M in the NCAA playoffs. Because of the injury, he fell all the way to pick 12 where the Sox took him. He never got to play in the organization because while he was recovering, the Sox traded him to the Chicago White Sox for Garrett Crochet with Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel and Wikelman Gonzalez. Last year Montgomery cruised through Single A batting a combined .304 with 11 home runs at both levels before finishing the season with AA Birmingham hitting .272. This year he made his ML debut on June 9th and hit a walkoff home run. He's only hitting .243 with 2 home runs but at 23 years old, he'll have plenty of chances to perform. The Sox traded four stud prospects to get an ace and the only reason people are second guessing the trade is Garrett Crochet got hurt and might miss the entire year with a shoulder tear. Montgomery is the future, too bad its not with Boston.

2nd Round - LHP Payton Tolle

Learning from his predecessor Chaim Bloom, Breslow actually drafted a pitcher in the top 50 rather than a high school infielder. Left handed pitcher Payton Tolle was taken 50th overall in the second round and to say he's becoming a fan favorite in Boston is an understatement. He blew through all three levels in 2025 going 3-5 with a 3.04 ERA for the Greenville Drive, Portland Sea Dogs and Worcester Red Sox. Mostly due to injuries and incompetence, Payton made his ML debut on August 29th and pitched in 7 games going 0-1 with a 6.06 ERA. He started this year in Worcester but the injury to Garrett Crochet summoned him and he's been an anchor so far. He's 4-6 with a 3.39 ERA and with any other offense you could flip the record or better. When healthy, the trio of Tolle, Crochet and Connelly Early are going to be deadly for years to come.

3rd Round - RHP Brandon Neely

For every bit right Breslow was with Payton Tolle, the opposite happened in the third round when they selected Florida University right handed pitcher Brandon Neely. Neely looked to be the closer of the future when he saved 13 games for the Gators in 2023 but they made him a reliever and a starter in 2024 where he wasn't very good, jacking his ERA to over 5. Taken by the Sox, the overuse got to him as he didn't pitch at all in 2025 and has been straight batting practice as a starter for Greenville. He hasn't pitched in two years so the Sox might give him another year. Otherwise this is headed toward bust territory real quick. No one else has made it to the majors yet from the third round, so there's that.

4th Round - INF Zach Ehrhard

The guy so nice they drafted him twice. Chaim Bloom took Wharton High School shortstop Zach Ehrhard in the 13th round back in 2021 but he chose to go to Oklahoma State instead. When he came out a second time, the Sox picked him in the fourth round in 2024. Zach hit .272 with 14 home runs between Greenville and Portland in 2025 when he was shipped along with James Tibbs to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Dustin May. This might be one of the worst trades in franchise history because both Tibbs and Ehrhard are stars for the Oklahoma City Comets. Zach is hitting .282 with 12 home runs and will either make his debut with the Dodgers pretty soon or will be traded somewhere he can. The fact the Sox gave up the careers of Tibbs and Ehrhard for one lousy month of Dustin May is an indictment on Craig Breslow. However, you can't fault Bloom or Breslow for taking a guy that's headed toward the majors.

5th Round - LHP Brandon Clarke

The opposite of Zach Ehrhard is fifth round pick, left handed pitcher Brandon Clarke. Clarke was a mediocre starting pitcher in junior college that for some reason, Breslow thought he could be fixed. He allowed just 1 run in 9 inning for the Salem Red Sox before being promoted to Greenville. He then suffered a left shoulder injury after going 0-3 with a 5.08 ERA in 14 starts. In the off-season he was traded along with "Big" Dick Fitts to the St. Louis Cardinals for Sonny Gray. Unlike the Ehrhard trade, this worked out great for the Red Sox. Gray has been the defacto ace, going 9-1 with a 2.69 ERA for Boston this year with Crochet out. Clarke still hasn't pitched yet this year coming off shoulder surgery. He was drafted because he could hit 99 on the gun, but if surgery takes some of the velocity away, the Sox were wise to trade him.

6th Round - RHP Blake Aita

 

Speaking of trades with the St. Louis Cardinals, here's right handed pitcher Blake Aita. Taken in the sixth round of the 2024 draft, Blake was 5-7 with a 3.98 ERA between Salem and Greenville in 2025 when he was shipped along with Hunter Dobbins to the Cardinals for Willson Contreras, the hothead leading the Red Sox in home runs this season. Blake is currently 2-3 with a 3.92 ERA for the High A Peoria Chiefs in 14 starts so far. To get your best hitter (which isn't saying much on this year's team) for a prospect still in Single A six months later isn't a bad trade at all. Unless Willson is traded at the deadline and Aita becomes a star, because the Gods hate the Red Sox that much.

7th Round - OF Will Turner

If you're into launch angle then 7th round pick Will Turner out of South Alabama University is your guy. He immediately crapped the bed in Greenville to end 2024 by getting just 6 hits in 74 at-bats and last year hit a whopping .161 for Greenville in 2025. This year he's hitting .202 but at least has 9 home runs. This looks like a misfire and a half and apart from Montgomery falling into Breslow's lap, the position player side of things doesn't look good so far. At least no one else from the 7th round has made it either.

8th Round - OF Conrad Cason

The Sox used their eighth round pick on duel threat pitcher/outfielder Conrad Cason out of Greater Atlanta Christian High School. He only played in 2 games for the Florida Complex Red Sox last year and has only played 4 games this year. Much like the Dominican teenagers, the Sox are going to bring Cason along slowly. He doesn't even turn 20 until August 7th so he's got a long way to go. Still, he might hit better than Will Turner already.

9th Round - C Hudson White

Another misfire was taking Arkansas catcher Hudson White with their 9th round pick. White hit .167 in 18 games for Greenville to end 2024 then just .188 in 70 games last year. This year he's hitting .214 in 17 games and this might be it for him. If you can't hit Single A pitching, how are you going to hit AA or get to AAA? He hit .297 with 8 home runs for Arkansas so its not like he was a bum in college. Just another failed 9th round picks in a sea full of them.

10th Round - LHP Devin Futrell

The Sox might have something in their 10th round pick, left handed pitcher Devin Futrell out of Vanderbilt University. The junkballer came storming out of the gate last year going 3-5 with a 1.87 ERA in 17 starts between Salem and Greenville. This year he started with the Salem Ridge Yaks before being promoted to Greenville. He's 4-0 with a 3.64 ERA in 10 games so far for the Drive and those aren't eye popping numbers, but he hasn't sucked either. It might be time to see what he can do in Portland pretty soon. How sad is the 10th round pick is outperforming the 3rd?

11th Round - RHP Steven Brooks

It seems to be a common theme for Red Sox general managers to draft pitchers who were lousy in college and think they can fix them. 11th round pick, right handed pitcher Steven Brooks was one of them. His 3 year run at Cal Poly saw him go 9-11 with an ERA over 5. For whatever reason Craig Breslow said "Oooooh that's good!" and took him. He was 3-6 with a 5.29 ERA last year for the Salem Red Sox and is currently 1-4 with a 4.23 ERA out of the bullpen. Not the worst but not the best either. The Sox are going to wait another year to see what he can do out of the bullpen before making a decision to cut him or not. Once again, nobody else in the 11th round has made the majors so no big loss yet.

12th Round - RHP Brady Tygart

Another swing and a miss appears to be 12th round pick, right handed pitcher Brady Tygart. Tygart was projected to go in the top five rounds but injuries to his elbow dropped him all the way to the 12th round. He pitched in just 6 games last year between Salem & Greenville and he's been straight batting practice this year for Salem going 1-2 with a 9.42 ERA. If he gets Tommy John surgery, he might be done for good. A shame, if he was healthy he might have been good. Maybe next year.

13th Round - LHP Shea Sprague

Another guy having a bad year this year is 13th round pick, left handed pitcher Shea Sprague. He was a junkballer out of UNC who had a decent season in 2025, going 4-6 with a 4.82 ERA between Salem and Greenville. This year he got lit up in Greenville and made one start for Portland, allowing EIGHT runs in just an inning. That might have shattered his confidence because his numbers for Greenville are awful, 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA. Maybe they brought him up too soon, who knows. Either way if he's getting lit up now, he might need another year to work through this. Good luck.

14th Round - RHP Alex Bouchard

Another potential bust could be 14th round pick, right handed pitcher Alex Bouchard. He was straight batting practice for Lehigh University in 2024 and got lit up for 8 runs in just 5 innings for the Florida Complex in 2025. He also was 0-2 with a 3.63 ERA for Salem to end that season. This year he's 1-3 with a 5.60 ERA. If you wonder why Greenville has a sub .500 record this year, Breslow's 2024 draft class isn't doing so well.

15th Round - RHP Joey Gartrell

You think Greenville has all the 2024 pitchers stinking it up? WELL YOU'RE WRONG! HAHAHA! The Sox took right handed pitcher Joey Gartrell in the 15th round after he was batting practice for Portland University. Nothing changed as he was 3-4 with a 6.81 ERA for Salem last year and is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA between Salem and Greenville out of the bullpen. When you get demoted from High A to Low A, you know something went terribly wrong. Still, when you draft someone who wasn't good in college, expecting him to be good in the pro's is a fool's errand.

16th Round - RHP Griffin Kilander

Another guy struggling is 16th round pick, right handed pitcher Griffin Kilander out of Wayne State University. He allowed 1 run in 7 innings for the Salem Red Sox at the end of 2024 but was 6-5 with a 4.34 ERA for Salem in 2025. This year he's 0-1 with a 4.74 ERA out of the bullpen for Salem and Greenville. The good news is he's allowed just 2 runs in 9 innings for Greenville. Maybe its the start of him moving on to better things......oh who are we kidding?

17th Round - OF Yan Cruz

The first REAL bust for the Sox came in the 17th round when they drafted 17 year old Puerto Rican outfielder Yan Cruz. He hit just .155 in 43 games for the Florida Complex Sox in 2025 and was released in Spring Training in 2026. Why they gave up on him so quick is anyone's guess and just as an example, the San Diego Padres took Ryan Jackson just three picks after Cruz. Jackson is hitting .264 with a home run for the San Antonio Missions in Double A. Not exactly popping numbers, but that's more than what the Sox got out of Cruz.

18th Round - RHP Cole Tolbert

Most 18th round picks are cucka anyway and right handed pitcher Cole Tolbert might be the exception. After putting up an ERA over 7 for Mississippi University, he put up an ERA of 5.56 to end 2024 with Salem. He got Tommy John surgery in March of last year and this year....he's been good for Salem. He's 1-1 with a 2.66 ERA in 7 starts and a promotion to Greenville might be in the cards. If the TJ worked, they might have something here.

19th Round - INF D'Angelo Ortiz

Nothing like good ol fashioned nepotism! In the 19th round the Sox took Miami Dade Community College infielder D'Angelo Ortiz. Oh yes, David Ortiz' son played in 79 games between the Florida Complex and Salem in 2025 batting .269 with no home runs. This year he's hitting .250 with one home run for the Salem Ridge Yaks and if this was anyone else, he'd be out the door real quick. Only question is how far can he make it on the name since he doesn't have his father's power. Still, rather him hitting .250 & .260 than .190 or .200.

20th Round - RHP Ben Hansen

Well so much for 20th round pick, right handed pitcher Ben Hansen out of Brigham Young University. He was 1-7 with a 6.23 ERA for Salem last year and was 2-0 with a 4.75 ERA for Greenville this year when he was traded literally to the Oakland A's yesterday for 28 year old utility infielder Brett Harris. If you're going to trade someone for a career minor leaguer, guys like Hansen are always the choice. Good luck in Oakland.

RFA - RHP Calvin Bickerstaff

After the 2024 draft was over, the Sox took a flier on right handed pitcher Calvin Bickerstaff out of Kent State University. He allowed 2 runs in 6 innings for Salem to end 2024 and spent 2025 going 4-2 with a 4.32 ERA between the Florida Complex and Salem. This year he was 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA out of the bullpen for Greenville and got a one game cup of coffee with Portland allowing 2 runs in 3 innings. The fact a rookie free agent got 1 game in Portland when about 5 on this list don't even belong in Greenville is an indictment on some of the later round picks. Someone like Bickerstaff had nothing to lose and he's making the best of it.

RFA - RHP Jay Allmer

Another guy with nothing to lose is their other undrafted rookie free agent, right handed pitcher Jay Allmer out of Seton Hall University. Shockingly he was Salem's best relief pitcher in 2025 going 5-1 with a 2.79 ERA with 4 saves before getting a 1 game cup of coffee with Greenville. This year....he crashed down to earth allowing 43 runs in 34 innings between Salem, Greenville and Portland. I don't know what voodoo magic he used in 2025 but its definitely gone now. He won't last much longer with the incoming 2026 draft class unless he turns it back around.

All in all this was a very top heavy draft with two studs in Payton Tolle and Braden Montgomery. A few of them were used in trades they desperately needed but the rest doesn't have any sort of potential at all.  The bottom 10 of the draft that hasn't been traded or released doesn't have any standout players. Even Chaim Bloom found diamonds in the rough in Niko Kavadas, Tyler Uberstine and Luis Guerrero. Still, its too early to write it off just yet, but it doesn't look good so far. Just like the 2026 Boston Red Sox really.

Sox Lose Early, Contreras, Game (6/30/26)

Talk about worst case scenario for the Boston Red Sox. For four innings tonight's game against the Washington Nationals was going like every game the past 5 days, Connelly Early had tossed 4 shutout innings and the Sox took an early lead on Washington Nationals starter Cade Cavalli. Then it all fell apart as Early was pulled from the game with an elbow injury and Willson Contreras got himself ejected for the second game in a row. After that, the Red Sox bullpen imploded, Cavalli pitched the game of his life and the Nationals spanked the Red Sox 8-1 at Fenway Park.

Early got the ball in the top of the first inning and Wood popped up to third to start. Andres Chaparro struck out swinging but Curtis Mead walked. Mead stole second but CJ Abrams struck out swinging to end the inning. Cavalli got the ball in the bottom of the first and Anthony Seigler doubled to left to start. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to second to move Seigler to third but Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging. Willson Contreras hit a routine grounder to Mead....booted for an error to score Seigler. Contreras stole second but Jarren Duran flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0. 

                                                            "I don't got it" - Mead

Dylan Crews got a base hit to right to start the top of the second and promptly stole second. Jacob Young struck out swinging and Daylen Lile flied out to right to move Dylan to third. Nasim Nunez walked but Keibert Ruiz grounded out to third to end the inning. Romy Gonzalez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Caleb Durbin did the same. Carlos Narvaez also went down hacking to end the inning. 

Wood singled off the glove of Tsung-Che Cheng to start the top of the third but Chaparro grounded into a double play. Mead took strike three to end the inning. Cheng grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third and Seigler struck out swinging. Rafaela also struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Abrams struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth but Crews singled in the hole at short. Young grounded into a double play to end the inning. Abreu struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth and Contreras took strike three. Cavalli started barking at him and Contreras started walking toward him. Duran jumped in front of him and then Abreu jumped into the pile and it was on. Contreras fired his helmet at Cavalli and Sox manager Chad Tracy was tossed for screaming at the umpire that Cavalli started it. Contreras, Nate Eaton and Miles Mikolas were tossed as well. When action resumed Duran grounded out to second to end the inning.

                                                              Mayhem at Fenway 

Not only did Andruw Monasterio have to replace Contreras, apparently lost in all the confusion Early had to leave the game due to injury. Danny Coulombe came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Lile got a base hit to left to start. Nunez lines out to right but Ruiz walked. Wood got a base hit to right that scored Like but Nunez was thrown out at third. Greg Weissert came in for Coulombe and Luis Garcia Jr pinch hit for Chaparro. Garcia struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1. 

                                                           Wood ties it up

Gonzalez grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the fifth and Durbin struck out swinging. Narvaez flied out to center to end the inning. 

Mead grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth and Abrams flied out to right. Crews flied out to left to end the inning. Cheng grounded out to second to start the bottom of the sixth and Seigler struck out swinging. Rafaela took strike three to end the inning. 

Jose Tena pinch hit for Young to start the top of the seventh and got a base hit to right. Lile popped up to third but Nunez walked. Justin Slaten came in and Monasterio booted a grounder by Ruiz for an error to score Tena. Wood struck out swinging but Garcia doubled off the Monster to clear the bases & ice the game. Mead struck out swinging to end the inning with the Nationals up 4-1.

                                                            This game's over

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the seventh as Abreu took strike three to start. Monasterio grounded out to third and Duran took strike three to end the inning. Not only did Early leave the game with an elbow injury and Contreras get ejected, Cavalli pitched the game of his life allowing 1 hit and striking out 13.

Tommy Kahnle came in to pitch the top of the eighth and instantly gave up a home run to Abrams to increase the lead. Crews popped up to second but Tena walked. Lile singled to right to move Tena to third but Jose was thrown out at home on a grounder to the mound by Nunez. Naturally Ruiz doubled to right to score both runners and Wood doubled to center to score Ruiz. Garcia flied out to left to end the inning with the Nationals up 8-1.

                                                               Nationals pour it on

Orlando Ribalta came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Gonzalez got a base hit to center to start. Durbin got a base hit to left but Narvaez grounded into a double play. Cheng flied out to right to end the inning. 

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Mead grounded out to second to start. Abrams popped up to third and Crews grounded out to second to end the inning. Zak Kent came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Seigler grounded out to second to start. Rafaela grounded out to third but Abreu singled to center. Monasterio lined out to third to end the game. The Nationals had won it 8-1.

                                                           Nationals win

Jackass of The Night is Tommy Kahnle. He turned a 4-1 game into 8-1 real quick.

                                                             Time to retire, Jackass

The Good:

Chad Durbin was 1 for 3.

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 3.

Connelly Early tossed 4 shutout innings before leaving with injury.

Ryan Watson pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Andruw Monasterio was 0 for 2 with an error.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Tsung-Che Cheng was 0 for 3.

Danny Coulombe was charged with a run in 2/3 of an inning.

Greg Weissert allowed 2 runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Justin Slaten allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Anthony Seigler was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Willson Contreras was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but stole a base.

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Final Thoughts:

Just when you thought the season was turning around, they crash off a cliff. Willson Contreras is very likely about to be suspended, Connelly Early is very likely having Tommy John surgery and both Tommy Kahnle and Justin Slaten look absolutely washed. With Aroldis Chapman dealing with an injury, the Sox just got a lot thinner in just one game. The worst part about tonight's game is Cavalli shoved it up their ass after the scrum in the fourth. You would have thought it would have rallied the Sox but instead it did the opposite. The Nats getting 8 runs off the Sox bullpen and the demeanors of the players as they rounded the bases showed they were the ones fired up. How do you come back from this? You lose your two best players in one game with half the team already out injured for the rest of the season. Its unlikely Roman Anthony, Trevor Story, Triston Casas or Garrett Crochet pitch again this season and now Early is about to join that list. At least you can't blame Craig Breslow for the Sox being made of glass. The loss dropped the Sox to 37-47, good for last place in the AL East. The defeated, lifeless Sox most likely drop tomorrow afternoon's game against Washington. Payton Tolle (4-5, 2.79 ERA) takes on Andrew Alvarez of Washington. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.

Contreras, Sox Tame Nationals (6/29/26)

It was an emotional night for the Boston Red Sox as they won their fifth straight game, but it was almost ruined. With the recent natural disaster in Venezuela fresh in everyone's minds, it was the Venezuelan born Willson Contreras provided the spark against the Washington Nationals. Ranger Suarez (4-3, 2.94 ERA) allowed a first inning home run to James Wood but Contreras blasted a three run bomb off Washington starter Miles Mikolas. Caleb Durbin followed with a home run of his own but then first base umpire Nic Lentz tossed Contreras from the game for tapping his helmet. That did little to derail the momentum as fellow Venezuelans Carlos Narvaez and Wilyer Abreu both drove in runs. The Nationals rallied for a pair of runs in the sixth but the Sox bullpen saved the day. Garrett Whitlock earned his first save of the season and the Sox won their fifth straight game with a 6-3 victory over the Nationals at Fenway Park.

                                                     Taylor Gunner approves of the win

Suarez got the ball in the top of the first and James Wood hit a home run all the way to Cuba to put the Nats up just 3 pitches into the game. Andres Chaparro flied out to center amd Curtis Mead took strike three. CJ Abrams struck out swinging to end the inning with the Nationals up 1-0.

                                                          That didn't take long

The Sox answered as Mikolas got the ball in the bottom of the first. Masataka Yoshida flied out to left but Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit in the hole at short. Rafaela moved to third on the base hit to center by Wilyer Abreu but Willson Contreras belted his 18th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Jarren Duran struck out swinging but Caleb Durbin clobbered his 7th home run of the season to increase the lead. Anthony Seigler got a base hit to center but Carlos Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.

                                                   Abreu & Contreras make Venezuela proud

Dylan Crews grounded out to short to start the top of the second and Jacob Young took strike three. Luis Garcia Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. Tsung-Che Cheng singled to center to start the bottom of the second and Yoshida got a base hit to center. Rafaela got a base hit to right to load the bases and Abreu hit a sac fly to left to score Cheng. Contreras struck out swinging and apparently tapped his helmet. That was enough for first base umpire Nic Lentz to toss him from the game and Sox manager Chad Tracy was livid. How can you run a player on this night with everything going on for something like THAT? Duran lined out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.

                                             "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND??" - CT

Andruw Monasterio took over for Contreras to start the top of the third. Nasim Nunez struck out swinging, Keibert Ruiz grounded out to third and Wood was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning. Durbin lined out to left to start the bottom of the third but Seigler doubled to center. Seigler stole third and scored on the sac fly to right by Narvaez. Cheng grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 6-1.

                                                              Narvaez gets a big hand

Chaparro walked to start the top of the fourth but Mead took strike three. Abrams struck out swinging and Crews grounded out to third to end the inning. Yoshida popped up to first to start the bottom of the fourth and Rafaela lined out to right. Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. 

Young struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Garcia grounded to first. Nunez grounded out to third to end the inning. Monasterio grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fifth and Duran grounded out to first. Durbin grounded out to short to end the inning. 

The Nationals rallied in the top of the sixth as Ruiz singled to left to start. Wood took strike three but Chaparro got a base hit to center and Mead did the same to load the bases. Abrams doubled down the right field line to score Ruiz and Chaparro, but Crews lined out to second. Young grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Nationals down 6-3. That was it for Suarez who allowed 3 runs in 6 innings off 5 hits and a walk.

                                                         Suarez with the quality start

Seigler grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth and Narvaez flied out to right. Cheng grounded out to first to end the inning. 

Danny Coulombe came in to pitch the top of the seventh and naturally Garcia walked to start. Nunez walked....no wait, Sox manager Chad Tracy challenged the ball was a foul tip. Somehow the call was overturned and Nunez grounded into a double play. Ruiz popped up to second to end the inning. Yoshida flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh and Rafaela grounded out to third. Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. 

Tyron "El Lanzallama" Guerrero came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Wood struck out swinging to start. Jose Tena pinch hit for Chaparro and struck out swinging, but Mead beat out a roller to third. Abrams lined out to center to end the inning. Zak Kent came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Monasterio flied out to center to start. Duran struck out swinging but Durbin walked....only to get picked off to end the inning.

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to close out the top of the ninth and Crews struck out swinging to start. Daylen Lile pinch hit for Young and popped up to third. Naturally Garcia Jr got a base hit to right and Jorbit Vivas pinch hit for Nunez. Vivas struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won the game 6-3.

                                                          Sox win

Hero of the Night is Willson Contreras. His 3 run homer was for all of Venezuela and it inspired the Sox to victory. 

                                                                 Hero Contreras 

The Good:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Wilyer Abreu was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.

Caleb Durbin was 1 for 3 with a walk including a home run.

Anthony Seigler was 2 for 3 with a stolen base and a run scored.

Tsung-Che Cheng was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

Ranger Suarez got the win by allowing just 3 runs in 6 innings off 5 hits and a walk while striking out 8.

Danny Coulombe pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Tyron Guerrero tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

Garrett Whitlock earned his first save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Andruw Monasterio was 0 for 2.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Final Thoughts:

That was a big win both for the team but for Venezuela as well. Abreu, Contreras, Narvaez, Suarez and Monasterio were all effected and condolences to former Sox player Gorkys Hernandez who lost his wife as well. With that said, normally you don't bitch about umpires too much but if I were Chad Tracy I'd lodge a formal complaint with MLB over Nic Lentz. Imagine if the umpire ran Daniel Nava from the game back in 2013 after he hit his famous "Boston this is for you" home run. Or if the umpire ran David Ortiz after his grand slam in 2013. Nevertheless, it was the Venezuelans that were the heroes tonight. Suarez pitched well, Contreras hit the big home runs, Narvaez and Abreu drove in runs and Monasterio filled in for Willson after he was tossed. Anthony Seigler is looking more and more like 1990 Jody Reed every day and it most likely won't last, but still fun to watch. Whitlock earned his first save of the season tonight and what a difference five days makes. Coming off the loss to the Colorado Rockies it was sell the team, sell everyone on the team, burn Fenway to the ground, dogs and cats living together mass hysteria. Now fans are saying if they can get certain guys back healthy, the playoffs are in sight. The next loss will most likely bring back the "blow up the team and sell it" crowd but for five days, at least this was fun to watch. The win improved the Sox to 37-46, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to win their sixth straight game and second in a row against Washington tomorrow night when Connelly Early (7-5, 3.59 ERA) goes head to head with Cade Cavalli of the Nationals. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Red Sox Walkoff Yankees in Ten Innings (6/28/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Mickey Gasper was sent down to Worcester to make room for the returning Romy Gonzalez. Gasper wasnt doing well the last few weeks and Cheng is your starting shortstop by default. Hopefully Gonzalez can get back to 2024-25 form.

                                                                     OUT

                                                                     IN

As for the game, the bad news was bad defense ruined an outstanding start by Sonny Gray where he tossed 7 1/3 hitless innings against the New York Yankees. A two run single by Caleb Durbin against Carlos Rodon should have been all the run support needed. It wasn't. Aroldis Chapman came in to protect the lead and thanks to a Wilyer Abreu throwing error, the Yankees tied the game in the top of the ninth. Thanks to another throwing error by Abreu, Justin Slaten (1-4, 5.89 ERA) looked to have allowed the winning runs to score in the tenth. Suddenly the Sox rallied against Fernando Cruz in the bottom of the tenth. Anthony Seigler drove in Durbin, Tsung-Che Cheng drove in pinch runner Andruw Monasterio and Jarren Duran drove in Masataka Yoshida to shock the Yankees. The Sox were 0-42 when trailing after 8 innings and hadn't won four games all year. Well now the Sox are 1-42 and they swept the Yankees 5-4 in 10 innings at Fenway Park.

                                                                  How sweep it is

Gray got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jazz Chisholm Jr struck out swinging to start. Ben Rice flied out to left and Jasson Dominguez lined out to second to end the inning. Rodon got the ball in the bottom of the first and Nate Eaton grounded out to third to start. Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to right but Wilyer Abreu walked. Willson Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Cody Bellinger flied out to right to start the top of the second and Spencer Jones struck out swinging. Amed Rosario lined out to right to end the inning. Romy Gonzalez made his return to the lineup and grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second. Caleb Durbin struck out swinging and Anthony Seigler lined out to center to end the inning.

Oswaldo Cabrera struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Austin Wells flied out to right. Jose Caballero grounded out to third to end the inning. Connor Wong struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the third and Tsung-Che Cheng took strike three. Eaton struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Chisholm Jr flied out to center to start the top of the fourth and Rice flied out to right. Dominguez took strike three to end the inning. Rafaela flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth but Abreu walked. Cabrera booted a grounder by Contreras and both runners moved over on a grounder to the mound by Gonzalez. Durbin ripped a base hit to center to score both runners to put the Sox on top. Durbin stole second and then stole third when Seigler walked. Wong walked to load the bases but naturally Cheng struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                               Sox strike first

Bellinger lined out to right to start the top of the fifth and Jones struck out swinging. Rosario walked but Cabrera grounded out to third to end the inning. Eaton grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth and Rafaela lined out to center. Abreu flied out to left to end the inning. 

Wells flied out to center to start the top of the sixth and Caballero grounded out to third. Chisholm Jr struck out swinging to end the inning and Gray was hitless through six. Chisholm Jr was thrown out of the game by first base umpire Tim Tichenor.

                                                       "What you lookin at?" JC

Anthony Volpe took Chishom's place with Pete Blackburn on the mound for the bottom of the sixth. Contreras took strike three and Gonzalez grounded out to second. Durbin popped up to first to end the inning.

Rice grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and Dominguez took strike three. Bellinger struck out swinging to end the inning. Seigler grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh but Wong got a base hit to right. Cheng grounded into a double play to end the inning. 

Jones struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth but Rosario broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to center. That was it for Gray who tossed 7 1/3 innings of 1 hit ball, getting a standing ovation. Tyrone Guerrero came in and Cabrera forced Rosario at second. Wells lined out to center to end the inning. 

                                                            Great work Gray

David Bednar came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Jarren Duran pinch hit for Eaton. Duran took strike three right down the middle and Rafaela grounded out to short. Abreu flied out to right to end the inning. 

Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the sweep in the top of the ninth and naturally Caballero got a base hit to left. Caballero stole second and Volpe walked on 4 pitches not even close. Rice hit a routine fly to right but Abreu inexplicably fired the ball into the bullpen for an error to score Caballero and move Volpe to third. Goldschmidt hot a grounder to short and Cheng fired home....safe, the game was tied. Bellinger took strike three and Max Schuemann pinch hit for Jones. Schuemann struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                          Yankees tie it

Goldschmidt was out of the game and Bednar would now hit in his spot as he came back for the bottom of the ninth. Contreras hit a routine pop up...DROPPED BY CABALLERO for a "single". Naturally Gonzalez grounded into a double play. Durbin was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning.

Justin Slaten came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Schuemann on the mound and Rosario got a base hit to right...booted for an error by Abreu to allow Schuemann to score. Cabrera dropped down a bunt to move Rosario to third and Wells hit a routine grounder to Slaten.....who just held the ball to score Rosario to ice the game. Wells stole second but Caballero struck out swinging. Volpe grounded out to short to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 4-2.

                                                                    Not his night

Fernando Cruz came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with Durbin starting at second base. Seigler got a base hit to right to score Durbin and Andruw Monasterio pinch ran for him. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Wong and doubled to right. Cheng hit a sac fly to right to score Monasterio and move Yoshida to third. The much maligned Duran dumped a base hit to right to score Yoshida with the winning run. The Sox were 0-42 when trailing after 8 innings...until now. The Sox had walked it off 5-4.

                                                                      Red Sox win

Hero of The Night is Jarren Duran. He came off the bench to deliver the knockout blow

                                                                  Hero Duran

The Good:

Sonny Gray tossed 7 1/3 shoutout innings allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out 9.

Tyron Guerrero got the final two outs of the eighth inning.

Anthony Seigler was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi

Andruw Monasterio scored a run as a pinch runner.

Connor Wong was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Masataka Yoshida doubled and scored a run as a pinch hitter.

The Bad:

Nate Eaton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4.

Aroldis Chapman allowed the tying runs to score in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 2 with 2 big errors but walked twice and scored a run.

Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs, stole 2 bases and scored a run.

Tsung-Che Cheng was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.

Justin Slaten got the win but allowed 2 unearned runs in the 10th inning.

Final Thoughts:

Not too many games have been "must win" this season but this was definitely one of them. After taking the first three games of the series, the Sox desperately needed a win tonight. Sonny Gray went from 5 outs away from a no-hitter to a no-decision thanks to Aroldis Chapman and Wilyer Abreu. Then the Sox appeared headed for a loss after Abreu and Justin Slaten. Thankfully the Sox role players picked up the slack in the 10th inning. Seigler knocking in a run and Yoshida's double paved the way to victory. This was the first win all the season after the Sox trailed after 8 and also the first four game winning streak of the season. Now with both stigmas out of the way, maybe the Sox can ride this momentum all the way to the All-Star break. That's exactly what happened last year. The sad part is the Sox are still within striking distance of the third wild card this far into the season. As long as they fix the offense, they have a chance. Getting Gonzalez back might help short term but getting Trevor Story back might help long term. Either way a long win streak might give the fans hope again. The win improved the Sox to 36-46, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox now welcome in the Washington Nationals for a three game set beginning tomorrow night. The Sox look to win their fifth straight game when Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.83 ERA) takes on Miles Mikolas of Washington. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.