Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Ryan Hanigan was removed from the Disabled List and Christian Vazquez was sent down to Pawtucket to make room for him. Vazquez has struggled since early June and Sox brass feel Hanigan is a better option right now. Vazquez will be back eventually.
As for the game, David Price (8-6, 4.64 ERA) just can't seem to catch a break. Tonight he was beaten by the Texas Rangers on both sides of the ball. Shin-Soo Choo hit the first pitch of the game out of the yard and the Rangers put up three runs total against Price. The Sox could only muster two runs against Rangers starter AJ Griffin and the Texas bullpen. The key to the game was Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel who got hammered for four runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away. The Sox could do nothing after and the Rangers won the game 7-2 at Fenway Park.
Things went bad right from the start as Shin-Soo Choo hit the first pitch of the game all the way into the Charles River to put the Rangers up. Ian Desmond singled to right and promptly stole second. Adrian Beltre walked and Ryan Rua got a base hit to left to load the bases. Red Sox pitching coach Carl Willis sprinted to the mound to tell Price that Supernatural was on in the dugout. Price caught Prince Fielder looking but Elvis Andrus hit a sac fly to center to score Desmond. Rougned Odor grounded out to second to end the inning with the Rangers ahead 2-0.
Griffin got the ball to start the bottom of the first and Mookie Betts hit a ground ball up the middle for a base hit to start. Dustin Pedroia lashed a base hit to left to move Betts to third but Xander Bogaerts popped up to first. David Ortiz popped up to second and Hanley Ramirez popped up to third to end the inning.
Jurickson Profar got a base hit to left to start the top of the second but Robinson Chirinos flied out to right. Choo was a base hit to right but Desmond struck out swinging. Beltre struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the second as Jackie Bradley Jr bashed his 14th home run of the season to cut the lead. Brock "The Hitman" Holt grounded out to first but Travis Shaw doubled to right. Sandy Leon beat out a roller to second to put runners at the corners but Mr. Mookie struck out swinging. Pedroia forced Leon at second to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
Rua struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Fielder went down hacking as well. Andrus doubled off the Monster but Odor flied out to right to end the inning. Bogaerts flied out to center to start the bottom of the third before Ortiz grounded out to second. Ramirez was hit with a pitch then stole second. JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning.
Profar took strike three to start the top of the fourth before Chirinos grounded out to short. Choo struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Holt doubled off the top of the Monster to start. Shaw got a base hit to right but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Leon struck out swinging but Mr. Mookie walked. Pedroia walked to load the bases and Bogaerts walked to tie the game. With the chance to do damage....Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
"We should have scored more" - Bogaerts
Desmond struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Beltre flied out to left. Rua grounded out to third to end the inning. Nomar Mazara came in for Choo with Cesar Ramos in to pitch the bottom of the fifth. Ramirez walked and moved to second on a grounder to second by JBJ. Ramirez moved to third on a grounder to third by Holt. Shaw grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Rangers took the lead in the top of the sixth as Fielder grounded back to the mound to start. Andrus got a base hit to left and Odor hit a rocket high off the Monster. Bradley's throw was muffed by Ramirez and not only did Andrus score but Odor took third. Profar hit a comebacker to Price who threw to first for the out but Odor decided to try for home, getting thrown out to end the inning with the Guardians up 3-2.
Odor drives in a run
Leon flied out to right to start the bottom of the sixth and that was it for Ramos. Shawn Tolleson came in to pitch and Mr. Mookie got a base hit to center. Pedroia grounded out to short to move Betts to second but Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning.
Chirinos struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh before Manzara grounded out to third. Desmond grounded out to third to end the inning. Jake Diekman came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Ortiz flied out to center to start. Ramirez walked but JBJ lined out to center. Holt got hit with a pitch but Shaw struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox have now left 12 men on base.
Beltre grounded out to short to begin the top of the eighth and Rua struck out swinging. Fielder grounded out to short to end the inning. Price pitched well, allowing 3 runs in 8 strong innings but got no run support. He allowed 8 hits and a walk while striking out 10 batters.
Price did all he could
Matt Bush came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Leon grounded out to second to start. Mr. Mookie flied out to right but Dustin Pedroia lined a base hit to right. Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to crap his pants in the top of the ninth as Andrus walked to start. Odor lined a base hit to right to put runners at the corners and Profar also singled to right to score Andrus. Chirinos hit a home run to Santo Domingo to ice the game. That was it for Kimbrel as Heath Hembree came in to mop up the rest of the inning. Mazara grounded out to first and Desmond was retired on a squibber in front of the plate. Beltre lined out to center to end the inning with the Rangers up 7-2.
Sam Dyson came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Ortiz ripped a base hit to center to start. Ramirez beat out a high chopper to third but JBJ grounded into a double play. Holt lined out to short to end the game. The Sox left 14 men on base and lost 7-2.
Rangers win
Jackass of The Night is Craig Kimbrel. He allowed 4 runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach.
Nice going, Jackass
Jackass of The Night is Craig Kimbrel. He allowed 4 runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 2 with 2 walks, a stolen base and a hit by pitch.
Travis Shaw was 2 for 4.
One of the few times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but David Price tossed 8 innings allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk while striking out 10.
Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 but walked and drove in a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 5.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4 but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
That loss was bawful all around. Even before the Kimbrel implosion the Sox left 13 men on base going into the ninth inning. It all goes back to the first inning when Choo hit the home run on the first pitch and the Sox had two runners to start against Griffin and couldn't get anyone in. Price pitched his ass off but the bats failed to pick him up. All these guys are going to be on the All-Star team but are just 7 games over .500 after this loss, lack of clutch hitting is a big reason why. Hopefully the Sox can turn it around in a hurry because they don't need to fall further behind in an AL East race they still have a chance to win. The Sox can do some damage coming out of the All-Star break and see what they can do at the trade deadline if they don't fall apart. The less said of this game, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 45-38, 3 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night against the Rangers when Steven Wright (9-5) takes on Martin Perez of Texas. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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