As for the game, if Bobby Dalbec is pulling a 1987 Sam Horn, at least he won't have time to cool off with only 15 games left in the season. His latest victim was the AL East frontrunning Tampa Bay Rays. After battling the Rays to a 2-2 tie through 4, Dalbec smashed his sixth homer of the season to give the Sox the lead. Ryan Weber (1-2, 5.35 ERA) coughed up the lead almost immediately but Rafael Devers hit the killshot in the seventh. The normally terrible bullpen slammed the door and somehow the Sox had beaten the Rays 4-3 at Tropicana Field.
The Sox did nothing against Rays starter Josh Fleming in the top of the first as Alex Verdugo took strike three to start. Rafael Devers grounded back to the mound and Xander Bogaerts singled to first. JD Martinez whiffed to end the inning. Kickham got the ball in the bottom of the first and Bobby Dalbec booted a ground ball by old Sox prospect Manny Margot to start. Randy Arozarena whiffed and Margot was thrown out at second by the alert Christian Vazquez. Austin Meadows walked and Mike Brosseau was plunked, but Hunter Renfroe flied out to right to end the inning.
Vazquez whiffed to start the top of the second before Yairo Munoz also went down hacking. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second to end the inning. Kickham struck out Brandon Lowe to begin the bottom of the second before Willy Adames also went down hacking. Kevan Smith was plunked but Joey Wendle whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third although Bobby Dalbec went down hacking to start. Christian Arroyo flied out to left but Verdugo singled to left. Devers stepped up and bashed his 10th homer of the season to right to put the Sox on top. Bogaerts walked but Martinez grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Margot singled to short to start the bottom of the third but was erased on the force by Arozarena...but wait! Rays manager Kevin Cash challenged the call but was denied. Meadows and Brosseau both whiffed to end the inning.
Vazquez walked to start the top of the fourth but was erased on the Munoz force. JBJ banged into a double play to end the inning. The Rays finally figured out Kickham in the bottom of the fourth when Renfroe and Lowe hit back to back jacks to tie the game. Adames went down hacking, Smith struck out swinging and Wendle grounded out to second to end the inning but the game was tied 2-2. Kickham went 4 innings and struck out 8 batters, too bad about the home runs.
The Sox took the lead in the top of the fifth when Dalbec homered in his 5th straight game to start. Arroyo singled to right but was erased on the force by Verdugo. Devers singled to right to chase Fleming. Ryan Thompson came in and Bogaerts popped up to second. Martinez whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Ryan Weber came in for the bottom of the fifth and immediately gave up a base hit to left to Margot. Yoshi Tsutsugo pinch hit for Arozarena and flied out to center but Margot swiped second. Meadows then hit a ground rule double down the left field line to tie the game. Ji-Man Choi pinch hit for Brosseau and struck out swinging. Renfroe took strike three to end the inning with the game tied 3.3
Vazquez lined out to center to start the top of the sixth before Munoz whiffed. Ryan Sherriff came in to pitch to Bradley and JBJ popped up to short to end the inning. Weber returned for the bottom of the sixth and walked Lowe to start. Adames took strike three but Nate Lowe pinch hit for Smith, only to fly out to right. Brandon Lowe took second on a wild pitch but Wendle took strike three to end the inning.
Michael Perez took over behind the plate with Pete Fairbanks on the mound for the top of the seventh. The Sox rallied although Dalbec whiffed to start. Arroyo singled to short and Verdugo walked before Devers singled home Christian with the go-ahead run. Bogaerts flied out to center and Martinez whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 4-3.
Weber returned briefly for the bottom of the seventh just to get Margot to fly out to left. Jeffrey Springs came in and froze Tsutsugo for strike three, but Meadows walked. Choi grounded out to second to end the inning.
John Curtiss came in for the top of the eighth and Vazquez lined out to right to start. Munoz and JBJ both whiffed to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in for the bottom of the eighth and Kevin Kiermaier pinch hit for Renfroe only to take strike three. Lowe flied out to left but Adames walked. Perez whiffed to end the inning.
Aaron Loup came in for the top of the ninth and Dalbec earned the hat trick with his third strikeout of the game. Arroyo flied out to right and Verdugo took strike to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in for the bottom of the ninth and walked Wendle to start. Margot forced Wendle at second before stealing second. Tsutsogo whiffed but a wild pitch moved Margot to third. With Sox fans pathetically hoping Meadows would hit a 2 run homer so the Sox could get a better draft pick, Barnes laughed at them as he froze Austin for strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it to stick it to their own fans 4-3.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. He drove in 3 runs with a home run and the go-ahead rbi single in the sixth.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Christian Arroyo was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Mike Kickham went 4 innings and allowed just 2 home runs while striking out 8 men.
Jeffrey Springs got the final 2 outs of the seventh inning.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Matt Barnes earned his second save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Yairo Munoz was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Bobby Dalbec was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts and an error but the one hit was a home run.
Ryan Weber got the win by allowing a run in 2 1/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
If nothing else, 2020 showed the Red Sox offense is in good hands for the future. Devers, Dalbec, Bogaerts and Verdugo could be a core for years to come. If Andrew Benintendi and JD Martinez come back strong next season and the Sox don't trade Vazquez, that's a powerful lineup. The pitching is a mess that needs to be fixed but with all the prospects the Sox traded for, the rebuild could take a lot less time. Rumors are going around that Tanner Houck may be making his ML debut soon. He was the first round pick in the 2017 draft and fans have been awaiting him for years now. With all the bad news that's gone on this season, him doing well could give a glimmer of hope for the future. As for this game, good for Kickham to toss 4 serviceable innings and the bullpen not to cough up the lead. JD Martinez looks totally lost and the Sox may sit him down the final week of the season. They fired Benintendi out of here when he wasn't producing so why are they holding on to JD when he's clearly not going to turn it around? Still, a good win is a good win and tonight was a good one. The win improved the Sox to a terrible 16-29 on the season. The Sox look to make it three wins in a row when they send Andrew Triggs (0-2, 9.95 ERA) to the mound against Rays ace Blake Snell at 6:40 PM at Tropicana Field.
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