Small Ball Sox Beat Jays (7/26/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox organization made some shocking and non-shocking moves. The Greenville Drive released 21 year old outfielding prospect Natanael Yuten after he hit just .165 with 4 home runs this season. Its one thing to be struggling hitting .200-220, its another to be an automatic out. Better luck with another team. The Sox also sent Alec Gamboa back to Worcester to make room for the returning Ranger Suarez. His groin and illness healed so he's ready to return to active duty. 

The big story was the trade at midnight last night. The Sox sent injured starter Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for 25 year old third baseman Curtis Mead. After Dylan Cease carved up the Sox last night, Sox GM Craig Breslow didn't wait around, he went out and got a right handed power bat they needed. Early was supposed to be the next Jon Lester going 8-7 with the Sox the last 2 years but his elbow injury had Sox fans and apparently the front office concerned. With the rise of Jake Bennett and the fiery personality of Payton Tolle, Breslow apparently felt Early was the odd man out with Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray rolling (Gray's last start not withstanding). Mead was a light hitting backup infielder for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2023-25 before getting traded at the deadline to the Chicago White Sox. He was traded to the Washington Nationals in the off-season where he broke out this season smacking 17 home runs and driving in 48 runs. The half empty way of looking at it is you might have just traded a potential lefty ace for a below average defensive infielder that might have had a fluke offensive half season. The Sox would be stuck with another below average defender that couldn't hit. The half full way to look at it is the Sox desperately needed a right handed hitting power hitter. If Mead figured something out to be a potential 20-30 homer hitting guy, there's your new DH. You can move Masataka Yoshida to left for a Yoshida/Jahmai Jones platoon and sit Duran down. If Trevor Story comes back your 3-7 would be Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, Curtis Mead, Trevor Story and Caleb Durbin. That's pretty good. Time will tell.

                                                                           OUT

                                                                         IN

As for the game, how about the small ball Red Sox? With power hitting at a premium for another 24 hours, the Sox did something they rarely did under Alex Cora, the little things. As they say in football, the Sox nickel & dimed the Toronto Blue Jays in today's game. Ranger Suarez came off the Injured List to toss 4 shutout innings but the Sox bats stepped up. Carlos Narvaez dropped down a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the third and Ceddanne Rafaela knocked in Andruw Monasterio shortly after. In the bottom of the fourth, Romy Gonzalez dropped down a bunt and Jarren Duran knocked in 2 runs. Narvaez dropped down another bunt in the seventh and Jahmai Jones knocked them in. Apart from Ryan Watson allowing a run in the ninth, the bullpen pitched in to hold the Jays to that run. The Sox won the game 6-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                Jackson Koivun approves of the win

Suarez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nathan Lukes struck out swinging to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr took strike three and Alejandro Kirk lined out to right to end the inning. Gausman took the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Masataka Yoshida popped up to short to start. Daulton Varsho robbed Ceddanne Rafaela with a base hit with a great diving catch and Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.

George Springer got a base hit to center to start the top of the second but Varsho grounded into a double play. Kazuma Okamoto popped up to short to end the inning. Willson Contreras flied out to right to start the bottom of the second and Caleb Durbin struck out swinging. Romy Gonzalez got a base hit to in the hole at first but Jarren Duran flied out to left to end the inning.

Ernie Clement flied out to left to start the top of the third but Andres Gimenez doubled to center. Davis Schneider struck out swinging and Lukes took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third as Andruw Monasterio singled to left to start. Carlos Narvaez dropped down a bunt to move Andruw to second and Yoshida moved him to third with a grounder to first. Rafaela got a base hit to left to score Monasterio but Abreu took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                          Sox strike first

Guerrero Jr struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth but Kirk got a base hit over the head of Monasterio. Gimenez got a base hit to right but Varsho forced him at second Okamoto froze for strike three to end the inning. That was it for Suarez who the Sox didn't want to push after coming off the Injured List. He tossed 4 shutout innings allowing 4 hits.

                                                              Short but sweet

The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fourth as Contreras walked to start. Durbin got a base hit to right and Gonzalez dropped down a bunt to move the runners over. Duran drilled a base hit to right to score both runners. Monasterio flied out to center and Narvaez was rung up for strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.

                                                      Duran drives in a pair

Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Clement struck out swinging to start. Gimenez singled over the head of Monasterio but Schneider lined out to center. Lukes grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Yoshida lined out to left to start the bottom of the fifth and Rafaela grounded out to second. Abreu grounded out to second as well to end the inning.

Tyron "Flamethrower" Guerrero came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Guerrero Jr lined out to right to start. Kirk got a base hit to right but Springer popped up to second. Varsho walked on 4 straight pitches but Okamoto flied out to right on a 2-0 count to end the inning. Contreras struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth and Durbin grounded out ton short. Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning.

Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Clement grounded out to short to start. Gimenez grounded out to first and Yohendrick Pinango pinch hit for Schneider. Pinango struck out swinging to end the inning. Braydon Fisher came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Duran greeted him with a base hit to center. Duran stole second and Monasterio walked on four pitches. Narvaez dropped down a bunt to move the runners over to chase Fisher. Brendon Little came in to face Yoshida and Sox manager Chad Tracy countered by pinch hitting Jahmai Jones and he doubled off the centerfield wall to bring in both runners. Rafaela struck out swinging but Abreu doubled off the Monster to score Jones. Contreras grounded out to to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.

                                                               Jones is all fired up

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Lukes grounded out to second to start. Guerrero Jr flied out to right and Kirk grounded out to third to end the inning. Adam Macko came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Durbin lined one off of Adam for a single to start. Gonzalez banged into a double play but Duran hit a roller to first with no one covering for a single. Lukes made a great sliding catch on a Monasterio liner to end the inning.

Watson returned for the top of the ninth and Springer grounded out to short to start. Varsho beat ou grounder to Contreras and Okamoto struck out swinging. Clement then hit a ball that got caught under the left field barrier for a ground rule double. Naturally Gimenez hit a grounder that ate up Durbin to score Varsho but Pinango lined out to Duran to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-1.

                                                             Sox win

Hero of The Night is Jarren Duran. He was 3 for 4 and his 2 run single iced the game.

                                                                  Our Hero

The Good:

Caleb Durbin was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 3.

Andruw Monasterio was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Ranger Suarez tossed 4 scoreless innings allowing 4 hits while striking out six.

Greg Weissert got the win with a scoreless fifth inning.

Tyron Guerrero pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Jahmai Jones hit a 2 run double, stole a base and scored a run as a pinch hitter.

The Bad:

Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 3.

The Ugly:

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

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drive in a run.

Willson Contreras was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Ryan Watson allowed a run in 2 innings of work.

Carlos Narvaez struck out in his only official at-bat but dropped down two key bunts.

Final Thoughts:

Good win by the Sox and now they're going to find out if they have enough to make a run. Sox manager Chad Tracy has states they're going to stick Curtis Mead at second base for now meaning Anthony Seigler's out of the starting lineup. Durbin has turned into a fine defensive third baseman and they want to keep Yoshida in the lineup so unfortunately Seigler was the odd man out. As for this game, its been mentioned before but Alex Cora refusing to go small ball cost them a lot of games, especially in extra innings. They'd fail to score, lose the game and he'd fold his arms and say coldly "We play for two, not one." Well Tracy was playing for whatever he could get and it worked three times. Carlos Narvaez and Romy Gonzalez were just as important as the guys that drove in the runs. On days where the power isn't there, that's what they have to do. Suarez looked fine in his return from the sniffles and a groin pull so no one should be concerned about him. The real concern is with Connelly Early gone for good, their rotation is now Sonny Gray, Suarez, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett and Patrick Sandoval with Brayan Bello as the piggybacker. They're not winning anything without Garrett Crochet come October but this might be enough to get them there. Standings wise the Tampa Bay Rays once again beat the Cleveland Guardians and the Philadelphia Phillies smacked around the New York Yankees so the Sox are 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland and 4.5 behind New York for the first wild card. They're still in pretty good shape so unless something drastic happens in a week, they might just roll out what they have and pray they get Trevor Story, Triston Casas, Crochet, etc back at some point. The win improved the Sox to 54-50, 7.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now have a brutal seven game west coast trip beginning tomorrow night against the Oakland A's. Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.31 ERA) takes on Jack Perkins of the A's at 9:40 PM eastern time at Sutter Health Park.

Cease, Jays Blank Sox (7/25/26)

If the Boston Red Sox needed a reminder that they miss Garrett Crochet, they got one courtesy of the Toronto Blue Jays. In a battle of two AL Cy Young candidates, Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays put a cigarette out on Sonny Gray (12-2, 2.78 ERA) and the heads of the Red Sox. Cease tossed a complete game 1 hit shutout while allowing just 3 walks. Meanwhile the Jays ripped Gray a new bunghole in the third inning scoring 5 runs to put the game out of reach. Alec Gamboa heroically tried to keep the Sox in the game for a comeback that never happened. Gamboa allowed a ninth inning rbi to Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Cease finished the job in the bottom of the ninth. The Jays had blanked the Red Sox 6-0. How many Sox did the Sox score John Cena?

Gray got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nathan Lukes grounded back to the mound to start. Guerrero Jr grounded out to third and Kazuma Okamoto struck out swinging to end the inning. Cease got the ball in the bottom of the first and Anthony Seigler popped up to third to start. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to short and Wilyer Abreu flied out to left to end the inning. 

The Jays blew a rally in the top of the second as George Springer got a base hit to left to start. Daulton Varsho got a base hit to right but Ernie Clement lined out to left and Springer got doubled off second on a line drive to Rafaela by Yohendrick Pinanfo to end the inning. Willson Contreras struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Masataka Yoshida flied out to center. Caleb Durbin popped up to second to end the inning. 

The Jays struck first in the top of the second as Andres Gimenez struck out swinging to start. Brandon Valenzuela grounded out to second but Lukes doubled to left. Guerrero effortlessly singled to left to score Lukes, putting the Jays up for good. Okamoto beat out a roller to third  and Springer hit a home run all the way to Mexico to ice the game. Varsho got a base hit to center and Clement doubled to left to score him as the boos rained down. Pinango struck out swinging to end the inning with the Jays up 5-0.

                                                             Springer ends it early

The Sox gave up in the bottom of the third as Jarren Duran flied out to right to start. Andruw Monasterio flied out to center and Connor Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Gimenez got a base hit to center to start the top of the fourth but Valenzuela lined out to right. Lukes grounded out to first and Guerrero got a base hit to left. Gimenez tried for home but Duran threw him out at the plate to end the inning. Seigler flied out to left to start the bottom of the fourth and Rafaela grounded back to the mound. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Okamoto grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth and Springer lined out to third. Varsho lined out to left to end the inning. That was it for Gray who got rocked for 5 runs in 5 innings off 10 hits.

                                                              Gray gets pounded

Contreras struck out swinging to start. Yoshida grounded out to third and Duran struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Alec Gamboa came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Clement beat out a roller to start. Myles Straw pinch hit for Pinango and struck out swinging. Gimenez struck out swinging but Clement stole second in the process. Valenzuela hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. Monasterio broke up the perfect game with a double to left to start the bottom of the sixth but Wong grounded out to short. Rafaela popped up to second to end the inning. 

Lukes struck out swinging to start but Guerrero Jr walked and Okamoto banged into a double play to end the inning. Abreu grounded out to second to start the bottom of the seventh but Contreras walked. Yoshida flied out to right and Contreras got caught stealing second to end the inning. 

Springer grounded out to short to start the top of the eighth and Varsho lined out to center. Clement singled to left but Straw flied out to right to end the inning. Durbin struck out swinging to start the bottom of the eighth and Duran took strike three. Monasterio struck out swinging to end the inning.

Gimenez beat out a roller to short to start the top of the ninth but Valenzuela struck out swinging. Lukes doubled to left and Guerrero Jr singled off Gamboa to score Gimenez. Okamoto struck out swinging and Springer took strike three to end the inning with the Jays up 6-0.

                                                                Guerrero Jr drives in a run

Cease came back to finish the job in the bottom of the ninth and Wong struck out swinging to start. Seigler walked but Rafaela took strike three. Abreu took strike three to end the game. The Jays had won it 6-0.

                                                         Blue Jays win

Jackass of The Night is Sonny Gray. He got lit up for 5 runs in 5 innings off 10 hits.

                                                                 Jackass Gray

The Good:

Andruw Monasterio was 1 for 3.

The Bad:

Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 3.

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Caleb Durbin wad 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.

Alec Gamboa allowed a run in 4 innings of work.

Willson Contreras was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Anthony Seigler was 0 for 3 with a strikeout with a walk.

Final Thoughts:

That game was a wakeup call for not just the Red Sox players but the front office as well. Cease is a real ace and guys like him and the Cam Schittler of the New York Yankees are going to be what you face in October. In order to beat those guys you need elite bats, which they don't have. Breslow has a week before the deadline to go get a bat, preferably right handed. If Trevor Story's not coming back until the end of August, you can't afford to wait that long to see if anyone else steps up. The Sox need some help right away so Breslow has about a week to do something. Otherwise you're banking on Roman Anthony and Triston Casas to come back and that hasn't worked out for the past year at all. As for the fans that want the Sox to sell, that's not happening. The bad news was the Tampa Bay Rays won but the good news is they beat the Cleveland Guardians so the Sox didn't lose any ground in the wild card race. The Sox still have two months to make a run at Tampa but they're right in the thick of things right now. Just the more reason to buy at the deadline instead of sell. Just tip your cap to Cease and say "ya got me" because that was a hell of a performance. The loss dropped the Sox to 53-50, 8 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon when Ranger Suarez comes off the Injured List to face Kevin Gausman of Toronto. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Edge Jays Late (7/24/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox organization made some roster moves. The Florida Complex Red Sox season ended and the Sox released three guys as soon as the final game was over. Venezuelan right handed pitchers Denison Sanchez and Yoelvin Chirino was released as well as 2025 14th round pick, right handed pitcher Carter Rasmussen. Chirino allowed 25 runs in 33 innings for the Complex Sox last year and 37 runs in 23 innings this year. That wasn't going to get it done. Sanchez at least had one moment in the sun when he was apart of a combined no-hitter but still allowed 24 runs in 21 innings. The 6 foot 5 Rasmussen was a head scratcher as he was AWFUL at Brown University when the Sox drafted him and he allowed 27 runs in 16 innings for the FCS. Goes to show Sox GM Craig Breslow can't turn everyone that's over 6'4 into a stud. Apart from a wasted draft pick, no big loss.

                                                                       OUT

As for the game, rarely this season are games considered "must win" but this was certainly one of them for the Red Sox. The Sox win streak was snapped on Wednesday night and contrarian Sox fans and radio hosts spent all of Thursday saying to sell the team, trade all the stars and blow up Fenway Park. Coming back against the Toronto Blue Jays was a must tonight, and they nearly blew it. Patrick Sandoval lasted just 4 2/3 innings but the Sox built a 4-0 lead. Anthony Seigler hit a leadoff home run off Trey Yesavage and two innings later Ceddanne Rafaela went yard. Andruw Monasterio hit a sac fly and things looked great with one out in the seventh inning....and it fell apart. Greg Weissert allowed a 3 run home run to Kazuma Okamoto in the seventh and Garrett Whitlock allowed the tying run to score in the eighth. Game over right? WRONG! Romy Gonzalez came off the bench to knock in a run and Seigler drove in yet another run to give the Sox the lead back. Aroldis Chapman slammed the door in the ninth inning and the Sox had gotten back on the winning track with a 6-4 victory at Fenway Park.

                                                          Smarty Pants approves of the win

Sandoval got the ball in the top of the first inning and Ernie Clement immediately reached on an error by Patrick to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr flied out to left and Kazuma Okamoto took strike three. Clement took second on a wild pitch, George Springer walked and both runners moved over on a passed ball. Alejandro Kirk walked to load the bases but Davis Schneider took strike three to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Yesavage in the bottom of the first as Anthony Seigler smashed his third home run of the season to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging and Wilyer Abreu lined out to left, but Willson Contreras beat out a roller to old pal Luis Urias. Contreras stole second and Masataka Yoshida walked, but Caleb Durbin struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0. 

                                                         Seigler is fired up for this one

Daulton Varsho beat out a roller to second to start the top of the second but Urias struck out swinging. Myles Straw lined out to right and Clement lined out to short to end the inning. Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Andruw Monasterio did the same. Connor Wong struck out swinging to end the inning.

Guerrero Jr popped up to first to start the top of the second and Okamoto grounded out to short. Springer flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as Seigler got a base hit to left to start. Rafaela blasted his 10th home run of the season to increase the lead but Abreu struck out swinging. Contreras struck out swinging and Yoshida lined out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                         Rafaela gets a piece of one

Kirk got a base hit to right to start the top of the fourth but Schneider forced him at second. Varsho got a base hit to center but Urias popped up to first. Straw lined out to left to end the inning. Durbin took strike three to start the bottom of the fourth and Duran grounded out to first. Monasterio got a base hit to right but Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Clement grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth inning but Guerrero Jr got a base hit to left. Naturally Okamoto doubled to left but Springer hit one up the elevator shaft. That was it for Sandoval as Sox manager wasnt going go take any chances with a rested bullpen. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings but allowed no runs off 5 hits and 2 walks. Tyron Guerrero came in and Kirk flied out to right to end the inning.

                                                             Not great but it'll do

Mason Fluharty came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Seigler flied out to right to start. Rafaela and Abreu both struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Nathan Lukes pinch hit for Schneider to start the top of the sixth and struck out swinging. Rafaela made a great diving catch to rob Varsho of a hit and Urias grounded out to third to end the inning. Braydon Fisher came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Contreras struck out swinging to start. Yoshida walked, Durbin was hit with a pitch and Duran beat out a roller to short to load the bases. Monasterio hit a sac fly to center to score Yoshida to increase the lead and Wong got a base hit to left. Unfortunately Durbin was thrown out at home to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.

                                                             Monasterio drives in a run

Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Yohendrick Pinango pinch hit for Straw. Pinango took strike three but Clement was hit with a pitch. Naturally Guerrero Jr got a base hit to center and Okamoto hot a home run all the way to Finland to cut the lead. Springer flied out to right and Kirk grounded out to short to end the inning but the Jays were back in it down 4-3.

                                                           Dammit

Jeff Hoffman came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Seigler doubled to left to start. Naturally Rafaela failed to get him over by grounding out to short but Abreu walked. Contreras flied out to center but Yoshida reached on an error by Guerrero to load the bases. Naturally Durbin grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

The inevitable happened as Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock got tagged in the top of the eighth as Lukes doubled to left to start. Varsho got a base hit to right to move Lukes to third and Andres Gimenez pinch hit for Urias. Gimenez hit a sac fly to center to score Lukes to tie the game but Pinango struck out swinging. Clement flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.

                                                                Blue Jays tie it

CJ Van Eyk came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Duran got a base hit to left to start. Monasterio popped up to Guerrero and Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Wong. Gonzalez doubled into the left field corner to score Duran to give the Sox the lead. Seigler doubled off the Monster to score Gonzalez and Rafaela got a base hit to left to put runners at the corners. That was it for Van Eyk as Adam Macko came in to face Abreu. Abreu popped up to Clement and Contreras was intentionally walked to load the bases to get to Yoshida. Sox manager Chad Tracy countered by sending in Jahmai Jones to pinch hit. Jones struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-4.

                                                            Sox take the lead

Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth with Carlos Narvaez now behind the plate. Naturally Guerrero Jr walked but Okamoto struck out swinging. Springer flied out to center but Guerrero took second on defensive indifference. Kirk struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had held on to win 6-4.

                                                              Sox win
                                                         

Hero of The Night is Romy Gonzalez. He came in ice cold off the bench and delivered the rbi to put the Sox up for good.

                                                                 Hero Gonzalez

The Good:

Anthony Seigler was 4 for 5 with a home run, 2 rbis and 2 total runs scored.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5 with a 2 run home run.

Masataka Yoshida walked twice in four plate appearances and scored a run.

Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Andruw Monasterio was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

Connor Wong was 1 for 3.

Patrick Sandoval tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings allowing 5 hits and 2 walks.

Tyron Guerrero tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 24th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Jahmai Jones struck out as a pinch hitter.

Greg Weissert allowed a 3 run home run in the seventh.

Garrett Whitlock allowed a run in the eighth inning.

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and stole a base.

Caleb Durbin was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch.

Honorable Mention:

Carlos Narvaez caught the top of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

Talk about going from an easy victory to a potential heartbreaking loss to a gutty win. The Sox had this game in the bag with the bases empty and one out in the seventh inning and found a way to blow it. Between April and June you could have penciled in a ninth or tenth inning loss but these days the Sox find way to get it done. Romy Gonzalez comes in ice cold to deliver the big hit and a guy who slumped for 3 weeks getting the insurance knock wasn't happening 2 months ago. Too bad Sandoval couldn't go longer but like mentioned before, this was a must win game. Pundits and critics were saying for 48 hours that the Sox crashed back to earth and another loss might have justified their absurdity. Instead the Sox claw their way back to victory to shut them up. The bad news was both the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees lost so the Sox gained no ground on them, but the good news was Tampa beat Cleveland. Mostly due to games in hand, the Sox are now currently in possession of the second wild card even though the Indians have one more win than they do. The funny thing is the Sox have a better record than the AL West front runner Texas Rangers and are one game behind the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox. Somehow in one calendar month the Sox went from one game in front of the Colorado Rockies for the worst record in baseball to the fourth best record in the American League. The Sox still have a lot of work to do and we're still one week from the trade deadline. Craig Breslow has to make a choice of doing nothing at the deadline and banking on the injured players coming back or sacrificing prospects to make a trade for a big bat. Either way things will work itself out in the next week or so. The win improved the Sox to 53-49, 6.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Jays tomorrow afternoon in a battle of aces. Sonny Gray (12-1, 2.48 ERA) takes on Dylan Cease of Toronto. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Off-Day News (7/23/26)

Today is an off-day and the big news was the Sox made an unexpected roster move. Instead of sending Alec Gamboa down to Worcester after the doubleheader, they instead sent Eduardo Rivera after getting shelled in his last two outings. Not that he didn't deserve to be demoted, but he should never have been put in that position. If the Sox are going to have an opener, maybe Gamboa could be in that role.

                                                                             OUT

                                                                      IN

And now what happened down on the farm?

The Worcester Red Sox absolutely demolished the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 15-1 a day after beating them 13-12 for a two day total of 28 runs. Andrew Knizner led the charge with 6 rbis, three of them coming off a 3 run home run. Alan Castro also hit a 3 run home run while Nate Eaton went 3 for 5.  Tyler McDonough raised his batting average to .313 with a hit and also drove in a run. The only sour note was Mikey Romero went 0 for 6 with 2 strikeouts. Nick Sogard was also 3 for 6 with 3 runs scored. Also Braiden Ward, the man they got for Brennan Bernardino, went 3 for 5 with a run scored. On the other side of the ball Raymond Burgos tossed 5 2/3 innings allowing a run. Tyler Samaniego, Seth Martinez and catcher Nathan Hickey...yes you read that right all tossed shutout baseball out of the bullen for the big victory.

                                                              Big day for the WooSox

It was also good news down in Portland as the Sea Dogs held off a late rally to knock off the Binghampton Rumble Ponies. The Sea Dogs broke out to a 2-0 lead on Franklin Arias' 19th home run of the year and a Will Turner rbi. John Holobetz, the guy they got as the PTBNL in the Quin Priester deal, tossed 5 shutout innings to improve on 5-3 on the season. Reidis Sena tossed 2 scoreless innings and Raudelis Martinez hit a sac fly to make it 3-0. Not so fast! Cooper Adams allowed a 2 run bomb to Corey Collins in the bottom of the ninth but held on to complete the save. Jack Winnay walked 3 times, Mason White Scored a run and Caden Rose also scored a run in the win.

                                                      Another W for Holobetz

Speaking of Arias. He was promoted after the game to the Worcester Red Sox. He was hitting .318 with 19 home runs in Portland. There was nothing left to prove there. Hopefully they don't rush him and make the same mistake they did with Kristian Campbell.

                                                          Congrats Franklin

The Greenville Drive didn't get to play today due to bad weather but yesterday they beat the Hub City Spartanburgers 13-6. The undrafted Calvin Bickerstaff improved to 6-2 on the season by tossing 4 1/3 shutout innings. Alex Bouchard started with 3 scoreless innings but Joe Vogatsky allowed 6 runs in 1 2/3 innings. Offensively Luke Heyman got 2 hits and drove in 2 runs, Yoelin Cespedes hit his 17th home run of the season, Enddy Azocar hit his 8th home run of the year and 19 year old Justin Gonzalez hit his 13th home run of the season. Yophery Rodriguez was 1 for 4 and Antonio Anderson was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Even though it was yesterday, still was a good win.

                                                            Drive win big

To complete the clean sweep, the Salem Ridge Yaks knocked off the Augusta Green Jackets, former Red Sox affiliate 8-7. The Jackets got the first run against Jason Gillman of Salem in the top of the third but Franklin Primera and Kleyver Salazar put Salem ahead with rbis in the third. Augusta got the lead back in the top of the fifth but Avinson Pinto drove in a run to tie the game and D'Angelo "Little Papi" Ortiz knocked in 2 runs to put Salem ahead in the bottom of the frame. Salazar homered in the bottom of the sixth but Conor Essenburg went yard against Joey Gartrell in the top of the seventh before Joe Olsavsky drove in a run. Justin Barry drive in a run for the Yaks in the bottom of the seventh but things got hairy in the ninth when Caden Merritt hit a 2 out, 2 run triple off Wuilliams Rodriguez. Rodriguez got the final out and Salem held on to win. D'Angelo Ortiz isn't much for power like his father was but he's still hitting .247 with 31 driven in. Salazar looks to be their best hitting as he's hitting .279 with 9 home runs and he just turned 20 back in May. Keep an eye on him.

                                                     Little Papi gets it done

The Sox are back in action tomorrow night against the Toronto Blue Jays. Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 4.82 ERA) takes on Trey Yesavage of the Blue Jays. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Rivera Routed, O's Snap Streak in Game 2 (7/22/26)

Before Game 2 of the doubleheader the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Alec Gamboa was called up to be the 27th man for tonight only.

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As for the game, all good things must come to an end and the Red Sox 15 game win streak was snapped by the Baltimore Orioles. Ranger Suarez had a cold so the Sox sent Eduardo Rivera (0-1, 6.30 ERA) to be the opener and it backfired. Rivera allowed 4 runs without even getting out of the first inning. Meanwhile Kyle Bradish held the Sox bats to just 1 run and 4 hits as the offense finally crashed down to earth. Brayan Bello tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings but Jovani Moran allowed the final run. The bats did nothing and the pitching wasn't good enough as the Orioles won the second game of the doubleheader 5-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                         So much for the streak

Rivera got the ball to start the top of the first inning and crapped his pants. Taylor Ward flied out to right but Pete Alonso hit a ground rule double down the right field line. Gunnar Henderson walked and Tyler O'Neill beat out a roller to Caleb Durbin to load the bases. Somehow Christian Encarnacion-Strand struck out swinging but a wild pitch scored Alonso and a base hit to center by Dylan Beavers scored the other two runners. Jonathan Rodriguez doubled to left to score Beavers and effectively end the game just like that. Jackson Holliday walked and Rivera got booed as Sox manager Chad Tracy yanked him. Brayan Bello came in and Chadwick Tromp grounded out to third to end the inning with the game already over 4-0 Orioles.

                                                          O's end it early

Bradish got the ball in the bottom of the first and Anthony Seigler grounded out to second to start. Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to right and Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Ward was hit with a pitch to start the top of the second but Alonso lined out to short. Henderson grounded into a double play to end the inning. Willson Contreras flied out to center to start the bottom of the second and Masataka Yoshida grounded out to second. Caleb Durbin walked but Jarren Duran lined out to left to end the inning.

O'Neill got a base hit to center to start the top of the third but Strand struck out swinging. Rodriguez and Holliday both struck out swinging to end the inning. Colton Cowser came in for O'Neill to start the bottom of the third and Andruw Monasterio got a base hit to left....but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Carlos Narvaez flied out to center and Seigler struck out swinging to end the inning.

Tromp struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth but Ward got a base hit to right. Alonso took strike three but Ward stole second. Henderson was hit by a pitch and Cowser walked to load the bases...but Strand lined out to center to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the fourth as Rafaela grounded out to short to start. Abreu struck out swinging but Contreras hit a ground rule double into the bullpen. Yoshida got a base hit to left to score Contreras but Durbin grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox down 4-1.

                                                            Yoshida isn't ready to quit

Beavers flied out to left to start the top of the fifth but Rodriguez got a base hit to right. Holliday grounded into a double play to end the inning. Duran grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth but Monasterio singled to left. Narvaez struck out swinging and Seigler grounded out to second to end the inning. 

Tromp grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth and Ward grounded out to third. Alonso grounded out to short to end the inning. Yeoman's effort from Bello to toss 5 1/3 shutout innings after Rivera left a mess.

                                                       Bello did well

Rafaela flied out to right to start the bottom of the sixth and Abreu flied out to left. Contreras was plunked but Yoshida grounded out to second to end the inning. How do you let the 6-9 Kyle Bradish toss 6 innings of 1 run ball?

Jovani Moran came in to crap his pants in the top of the seventh as Henderson tripled into the centerfield triangle to start. A wild pitch scored Henderson and Cowser walked. Strand dropped down a bunt to move Cowser to second and Colton moved to third on a grounder to first by Beavers. Rodriguez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 5-1.

                                                             It was Baltimore's night

Yennier Cano came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Durbin grounded out to short to start. Duran grounded out to first and Monasterio grounded out to third to end the inning. 

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Holliday got a base hit to right to start. Tromp flied out to right, Ward flied out to left and Alonso grounded out to short to end the inning. Andrew Kittredge came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Jahmai Jones pinch hit for Narvaez. Jones struck out swinging but Seigler got a base hit to center. A passed ball moved Seigler to second but Rafaela flied out to center. Abreu also flied out to center to end the inning. 

Alec Gamboa came in to pitch the top of the ninth with Connor Wong now behind the plate. Henderson grounded out to second, Cowser struck out swinging and Strand popped up to second to end the inning. Tyler Wells came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Contreras was hit with a pitch again. Yoshida flied out to left, Durbin popped up to short and Duran popped up to second to end the game. The 15 game win streak was over as the O's won the game 5-1.

                                                               O's win

Jackass of the Night is Eduardo Rivera. He put the Sox in a 4 run hole they couldn't climb out of

                                                               Jackass Rivera

The Good:

Willson Contreras was 1 for 2 with 2 hit by pitches and a run scored.

Andruw Monasterio was 2 for 3.

Brayan Bello tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings allowing 4 hits and a walk.

Ryan Watson pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Alec Gamboa pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4.

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Jahmai Jones struck out as a pinch hitter.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 4.

Jovani Moran allowed a run in the seventh inning.

The Ugly:

Anthony Seigler was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout. 

Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Caleb Durbin was 0 for 3 but walked.

Honorable Mention:

Connor Wong caught the final inning.

Final Thoughts:

That was one of the worst losses of the season for all the wrong reasons. 15 game win streak down the drain because Ranger Suarez couldn't pitch with the sniffles and Brayan Bello doesn't have the mental capacity to start the first inning. It should never have come to Eduardo Rodriguez starting the second game of a doubleheader to keep a 15 game win streak alive. Kyle Bradish has nine losses on the season but his ERA is on par with guys like Suarez and Payton Tolle, meaning he was bound to pitch a good game. The bats just didn't have it tonight and now the idiotic Sox fans that want to sell and blow the team up have all the ammo they need to get that wagon train moving again. There's still over a week before the deadline and another win streak would shut them up big time. The bloom appears to be off the rose for Anthony Seigler and the Sox need to do something about Narvaez and Duran because they're giving the Sox almost nothing. At least with Narvaez you can start Connor Wong but Duran is a black hole and without Roman Anthony, there's not much you can do there. The win streak and winning 20 out of 22 games brought the season back from the brink and they're still the third wild card team by 2 games over Seattle and still 1 behind the Cleveland Guardians for the 2nd spot. The New York Yankees are only 4.5 ahead of them as well so this season is not over yet. The loss dropped the Sox to 52-49, 7 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Friday night against the last place Toronto Blue Jays. Both pitchers have yet to be determined but the game starts at 7:15 PM at Fenway Park.

Durbin, Sox Drop O's for 15th Straight Win in Game 1 (7/22/26)

2 months ago the Boston Red Sox had won of the worst offenses in franchise history, today they tied the franchise record for most consecutive wins with the 1946 American League Champion Red Sox. A rainout turned today into a double-header and the Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1. Jake Bennett (6-3, 2.58 ERA) tossed 5 2/3 gutty innings holding the Orioles to just 3 runs despite nine hits. The story of the game was the rally in the first inning against Baltimore starter Dean Kremer. Caleb Durbin drove in the first two runs and a Jarren Duran triple drove int he next two. Duran added another rbi and Ceddanne Rafaela belted a home run to put the game out of reach. The Triangle of Terror Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door and the Sox made it 15 wins in a row with a 6-3 victory in Game 1 over the Orioles at Fenway Park.

                                                  Tex Hughson approves of the win

Bennett got the ball in the top of the first inning and Taylor Ward struck out swinging to start. Pete Alonso grounded out to short but Gunnar Henderson singled past Jake. Tyler O'Neill flied out to center to end the inning. Kremer got the ball in the bottom of the first and Masataka Yoshida got a base hit to center to start. Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit in the hole at second but Wilyer Abreu lined out to first. Willson Contreras got a base hit to left to load the bases and Caleb Durbin got a base hit to center to score both Yoshida & Rafaela. Romy Gonzalez struck out swinging but Jarren Duran tripled into the right field corner to clear the bases. Connor Wong struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.

                                                         Run Duran! Run!

Coby Mayo popped up to second to start the top of the second and Leody Taveras lined out to right. Christian Encarnacion-Strand got a base hit to center and Jackson Holliday got a base hit to left but Sam Huff struck out swinging to end the inning. Tsung-Che Cheng struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second but Yoshida walked. Rafaela flied out to center and Abreu popped up to third to end the inning. 

The O's struck back in the top of the third as Ward lined out to right to start. Alonso hit a ground rule double down the right field line but Henderson struck out swinging. O'Neill doubled to center to score Alonso but Mayo flied out to center to end the inning with the O's down 4-1.

                                                            O's get a run back

The Sox answered in the bottom of the third as Contreras struck out swinging to start. Durbin beat out a roller to third, Gonzalez doubled off the Monster and Duran hit a sac fly to center to score Durbin. Wong struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1

                                                         Duran drives in another run

The Os refused to give up in the top of the fourth as Wong snuffed out a bunt by Taveras to start. Encarnacion-Strand hit his second home run of the series to cut the lead but Holliday grounded out to first. Huff grounded out to third to end the inning with the Os down 5-2.

                                                           Strand again?

The Sox got the run back in the bottom of the fourth as Cheng grounded out to second to start. Yoshida flied out to left but Rafaela launched his 9th home run of the year to increase the lead. Abreu grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.

                                                        Rafaela jacks one

Ward lined out to Bennett to start the top of the fifth but Alonso got a base hit to center. Henderson flied out to right and Henderson struck out swinging to end the inning. Contreras flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth and Durbin grounded out to second. Gonzalez flied out to right to end the inning. 

Bennett ran out of gas in the top of the sixth as Mayo doubled to left to start. Taveras grounded out to first to move Mayo to third and Encarnacion-Strand got a base hit to left to score Coby. A wild pitch moved Strand to second but Holliday flied out to left. Johnathan Rodriguez pinch hit for Huff and Sox manager Chad Tracy pulled Bennett. He was game, allowing 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings off 9 hits. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in and the O's swapped out Rodriguez with Dylan Beavers. Beavers popped up to third to end the inning with the Os down 6-3.

                                                                Good work Jake

Chadwick Tromp took over behind the plate for the bottom of the sixth and Duran grounded out to first to start. Wong grounded out to second and Cheng lined out to right to end the inning. 

Ward got a base hit to left to start the top of the seventh but Alonso lined out to center. Henderson flied out to right and O'Neill took strike three down the middle to end the inning. Anthony Nunez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Yoshida grounded out to third to start. Rafaela popped up to first and Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. 

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning and Colton Cowser pinch hit for Mayo. Cowser flied out to rightt, Taveras grounded out to second and Strand also grounded out to second to end the inning. Contreras got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the eighth but Durbin forced him at second. Gonzalez popped up to first and Duran struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and Holliday got a base hit to center to start. Tromp banged into a double play but Ward walked. Ward took second on defense indifference but Alonso grounded out to short to end the game. The Red Sox had won it 6-3.

                                                              Sox win

Hero of The Night is Caleb Durbin. His two run single in the first set the tone for the game

                                                             Hero Durbin

The Good:

Masataka Yoshida was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 runs scored.

Willson Contreras was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with 3 rbis.

Jake Bennett got the win allowing 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings off 9 hits.

Justin Slaten tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 23rd save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4.

Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Tsung-Che Cheng was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Romy Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Final Thoughts:

This is absolutely unbelievable. They were dead in the water, 14 games under .500 and 1 game ahead of the worst team in baseball that just beat them 2 out of 3 games......and one month later they've won 15 in a row and 20 out of 22 to tie a franchise record. Its gotten to the point where one loss will have a certain amount of fans going "Thats it, its all over. Sell the team, sell all the players, fire Breslow and blow up Fenway Park. Its over." The solution is to just not lose. The franchise hasn't won 15 games in a row in 80 years and that team went on to the World Series. Meanwhile this win streak just put them just 4 games over .500. Bennett tired by the end of the sixth and that's the big concern is the rookie wall is going to hit Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Bennett hard. Its important to get Ranger Suarez back physically healthy and Brayan Bello mentally healthy because they're going to need them with Garrett Crochet out. It was good to see Duran contribute big time and the turnaround for Durbin has been Dustin Pedroia 2007-esque. Sox fans still want to trade Chapman but the three headed monster with Chapman, Whitlock and Slaten is as good as anyone in the league. One of the way they've won 15 in a row is by shortening games with lights out relief pitching. The Sox just need to keep doing what they're doing and they'll be right there in the end. Sox GM Craig Breslow might pull some voodoo magic at the trade deadline or he might stand pat and hope Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Garrett Crochet come back. Just enjoy this streak while it lasts. The win improved the Sox to 52-48, no sense posting the standings yet. The Sox look to set an all-time franchise record with their 16th win in a row in Game 2 of the series in a few hours with Eduardo Rivera (0-0, 2.89 ERA) going for the Sox against Kyle Bradish of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.