Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jonathan Villar flied out to center to start. Austin Hays took strike three but Trey Mancini walked. Dwight Smith Jr flied out to left to end the inning. Mr. Mookie Betts led off the bottom of the first by lining out to center to begin. Rafael Devers whiffed but Xander Bogaerts doubled to left. Mitch Moreland grounded out to second to end the inning.
Renato Nunez flied out to right to open the top of the second before Rio Ruiz lined out to second. Hanser Alberto hit a routine fly ball to right but Gorkys Hernandez tried to catch the ball in his hat and it dropped for an error. DJ Stewart walked but Chance Sisco grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox bungled a rally in the bottom of the second although Brock "The Hitman" Holt singled to right to start. Both Sam Travis and Jackie Bradley Jr struck out swinging but Gorkys Hernandez atoned for his error by drawing a walk. Naturally Juan Centeno whiffed to end the inning.
The O's struck first in the top of the third inning although Villar flied out to left to start. Hays doubled to right but Mancini walked. A passed ball moved the runners overs but Smith Jr went down hacking. Nunez then pounded his 30th home run of the year into the Monster Seats to ice the game. Ruiz grounded out to second to end the inning but it was now 3-0 Orioles.
As usual when the Sox fell behind, they did not come back. Mr. Mookie singled to center to start the bottom of the third but was doubled off first when Devers hit a bullet to Alberto. Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning.
Eovaldi recovered in the top of the fourth inning as Alberto lined out to third to start. Stewart walked but Sisco struck out swinging. Villar grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the fourth as Moreland grounded out to short to start. Holt flied out to right but Travis was hit with a pitch. JBJ doubled to right and Travis tried to motor around home. Mancini threw home and Travis was out by a mile to end the inning.
Eovaldi came back for one last inning in the top of the fifth and Hays singled to right to begin. Mancini banged into a double play and Smith Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. Eovaldi made one mistake to Nunez but it was a big one as he left after 5 innings of 3 run ball in his final start of the season.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez whiffed to start. Centeno grounded out to first and Mr. Mookie grounded out to third to end the inning.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez came in for the top of the sixth and Nunez grounded out to second to start. Ruiz grounded out to short but Alberto singled to right. Stewart doubled to center and Sisco walked to load the bases. Somehow Velazquez got Villar to pop up to second to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth inning as Devers flied out to center, Bogaerts lined out to right and Moreland whiffed to end the inning. Wojciechowski was 3-8 going into this game and the Sox made him look like Jim Palmer as he tossed 6 shutout innings.
Colten Brewer came in for the top of the seventh inning and Hays took strike three to start. Mancini walked but Smith Jr went down hacking. Nunez grounded out to short to end the inning. Steve Wilkerson came in for Smith but went to right with Stewart going to left and Tanner Scott on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Holt lined out to center to start before Travis whiffed. JBJ took strike three to end the inning.
Andrew Cashner came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Ruiz grounded out to first to start. Alberto also grounded out to first but Stewart walked. Sisco walked but Villar flied out to left to end the inning. Mychal Givens put on a clinic in the bottom of the eighth as he blew away Hernandez, Centeno and Betts swinging in short order.
Marcus Walden came in to throw up on himself in the top of the ninth. Hays walked and stole second although Mancini went down swinging. Wilkerson grounded out to third but Nunez singled home Hays to increase the lead. Ruiz lined out to third to end the inning but Nunez had outscored the Red Sox all by himself with the O's leading 4-0.
The Sox suddenly had a too little too late rally against Richard Bleier in the bottom of the ninth. Devers doubled to left and Bogaerts singled him home. Unfortunately Bogaerts was picked off and Moreland whiffed again. Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Holt which made no sense at all and naturally Vazquez grounded out to short to end the game. The O's had won it 4-1.
Jackass of the Night is Mitch Moreland. He was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts including a key one in the ninth inning down 3 runs.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Brock Holt was 1 for 3.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3.
Hector Velazquez pitched a scoreless 6th inning.
Colten Brewer pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Andrew Cashner pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez grounded out as a pinch hitter.
Juan Centeno was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Marcus Walden allowed a run in the top of the ninth
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Sam Travis was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts and was thrown out at the plate, but was hit with a pitch.
Gorkys Hernandez was 0 for 2 with an error and 2 strikeouts, but walked.
Nathan Eovaldi took the loss by allowing a 3 run home run in 5 innings pitched.
Final Thoughts:
Just 2 games left in this miserable season and they can't come fast enough. The Sox managed to make Asher Wojciechowski look like Mike Cuellar and Renato Nunez look like Frank Robinson. Nothing went right this year and things don't look good for next year as well. JD Martinez is a free agent and the rumor is Mookie Betts is leaving in free agency after 2020 so the Sox may trade him before then. We may be seeing a lot of these guys for the final time in the next few games. In some cases that's a good thing but in others, it will be sad to see them go. As for this disaster, the good news is its over and only 2 more defeats are left. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox lose to John Means of the Orioles. Jhoulys Chacin takes the loss for the Sox at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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