With the ALDS matchup set this coming Thursday against the Houston Astros, today's game was meaningless anyway. Still, the terrible offense reared its ugly head one last time after the Boston Red Sox scored just 3 runs on 7 hits
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jose Altuve grounded out to third on the first pitch. Tony Kemp flied out to left but Yuri Guriel doubled. Carlos Beltran struck out to end the inning. Rajai Davis beat out an infield single but Brock Holt lined out to center after an 8 pitch at-bat. Christian Vazquez beat out a double play ball but Rafael Devers struck out to end the inning.
Velazquez got some help from his D in the top of the second inning although he struck out Tyler White to start. Marwin Gonzalez walked then JD Davis lofted a fly ball to the right field wall. Mookie Betts made the catch and Gonzalez broke for second on the tag-up. He made it...but slipped off the bag and was tagged out for the final out to end the inning. The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the second as Chris Young struck out, Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to short and Sam Travis was robbed of a base hit on a good diving catch by Kemp to end the inning.
Juan Ceteno singled to open the top of the third inning but Derek Fisher whiffed. Ceteno moved to second on the ground out by Altuve but Kemp popped up to end the inning. Colin Moran replaced Altuve just to get him some rest before the playoffs in the bottom of the third and Sandy Leon struck out to start. Deven Marrero whiffed as did Davis to end the inning.
Guriel struck out to begin the top of the fourth but Beltran singled. Alex Bregman pinch ran for Beltran in this meaningless game as White flied out to center. Gonzalez walked but Davis lined out to right to end the inning. Velazquez had pitched 4 shut-out innings on a spot start, good.
The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Holt led off with a double and Vazquez singled him to third. Devers doubled off the Monster to score both runners and Young singled Rafael to third. A passed ball scored Devers and advanced Young to second before JBJ walked. Travis banged into a double play and Leon grounded out to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-0. The Sox had 3 runs and 5 hits at this point....they would have just 2 hits the rest of the game.
Robby Scott came in for Velazquez to start the top of the fifth inning which angered a few fans in the crowd that thought Velazquez deserved to at least get the decision. Still, Robby got Centeno to ground out to second before striking out Fisher. Moran popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Marrero flied out to right and Davis flied out to left, but Holt was hit with a pitch. Vazquez whiffed to end the inning.
Kemp grounded out to begin the top of the sixth inning and Sox manager John Farrell sprinted out of the dugout and dove at the ankles of Scott. Robby evaded the tackled and walked off the mound as Farrell screamed for Brandon Workman to come in. Guriel immediately doubled but Bregman grounded out to third. White flied out to center to end the inning. Max Strassi came in for Gonzalez as Devers flied out to left to begin the bottom of the sixth inning. Young and JBJ whiffed to end the inning.
Suddenly the Sox pissed the game away in the top of the seventh when Strassi walked and Davis singled past the diving Holt at second. Sox manager John Farrell grabbed a bat and ran out of the dugout screaming like a maniac, causing Workman to run and dive into the bullpen. "The Human White Flag" Fernando Abad came in and Centeno hit a routine single to left but Davis kicked the ball into the corner and ran in a circle screaming "GOALLLLL!!!!" The error allowed Strassi to score and advance both runners into scoring position. Fishler lined out to first but Moran singled off the glove of Holt to score Davis and advance Centeno to third. Kemp singled to right to tie the game and with no energy left, Farrell trudged to the mound to bring in Matt Barnes. Guriel flied out to right....but Moran scored to give the Astros the lead. Kemp swiped second and a wild pitch moved him to third before Bregman struck out to end the inning. The Astros went from shut-out to up 4-3.
Will Harris came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and he got Travis to ground out to short to start. Leon singled and Farrell got so mad someone had the audacity to get a hit, he pinch ran Blake Swihart for Leon. Marrero whiffed and Davis flied out to right to end the inning.
Barnes came back for the top of the eighth and all he did was strike out the side. White, Strassi and Davis all whiffed in short order. Why couldn't he have came in to save Workman and not Abad? Reymin Guduan came in to pitch and Holt singled to begin the bottom of the eighth inning. One and done by Guduan as Francis Martes came in to strike out Vazquez. Devers grounded out to short but Holt moved to third. 90 feet away from tying the game....Young whiffed to end the inning.
Joe Kelly came in to pitch the top of the ninth and he damn near struck out the side as well. Centendo and Fisher both struck out, but Moran walked. Kemp flied out to center to end the inning. Tyler Clippard came in to close out the game and the Sox offered no resistance. JBJ grounded out to third, Travis flied out to center and Swihart whiffed to end the game. The Sox had lost the meaningless encounter 4-3.
Jackass of the Night is Fernando Abad. Came in to protect a 3-0 lead, he allowed both inherited runners to score and 2 of his own to take the loss. Some relief.
The Good:
Brock Holt was 2 for 3 with a run scored.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 3.
Hector Velazquez tossed 4 scoreless innings.
Robby Scott pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes struck out 4 of the 5 batters he retired.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Sam Travis was 0 for 4.
Blake Swihart struck out in his only plate appearance.
Deven Marrero was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Brandon Workman gave up 2 runs in just 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Rajai Davis was just 1 for 4 with an error.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs and scored.
Chris Young was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing like a final kick in the ass to point out the fact the Red Sox limped into the playoffs for the second straight year. They lost 5 of 7 AT HOME, 2 of which to the last place Toronto Blue Jays. They did not deserve to win the division but did it anyway. The frustrating regular season is over and now all that's left is a date with these same Astros on Thursday. The Game 1 starters have already been announced as Chris Sale vs Justin Verlander. If Verlander pitches anywhere close to what he was in 2013, the Red Sox may get no-hit with their pathetic offense. Prognosticators are saying Houston will sweep the Sox easily and its very, very hard to argue otherwise. Still, Sale may pitch a shut-out, you never know. The Sox finished their regular season at 93-69, the exact same record last year when they backed in to the AL East Division title. Maybe this year they will have more success.
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