Marlins starter Jose Urena got the ball in the top of the first inning and the Sox looked to rally when Alex Verdugo singled to right to start. Rafael Devers singled to right but Xander Bogaerts and JD Martinez both struck out swinging. Kevin Plawecki hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. Eovaldi got the ball in the bottom of the first and Corey Dickerson whiffed to start. Starling Marte was hit with a pitch then stole second on the Jesus Aguilar strikeout. Matt Joyce grounded out to second to end the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr lined back to the mound to start the top of the second before Yairo Munoz grounded out to third. Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning. Eovaldi cruised in the bottom of the second as Brian Anderson grounded out to third to start. Garrett Cooper grounded out to second and Miguel Rojas flied out to right to end the inning.
Christian Arroyo went down hacking to begin the top of the third before Verdugo grounded out to second. Devers flied out to left to end the inning. Jazz Chisholm grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the third before Chad Wallach went down swinging. Dickerson hit a routine grounder to Bogaerts who threw himself on the ball and swam on it for an error. Marte popped up to first to end the inning.
Bogaerts lined out to short to start the top of the fourth but Martinez drew a walk. Plawecki banged into a double play to end the inning. Aguilar took strike three to start the bottom of the fourth before Joyce lined out to center. Anderson whiffed to end the inning.
JBJ grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth before Munoz whiffed. Dalbec whiffed to end the inning and Munoz keeled over in the dugout clutching his back. Yairo had to be hauled out on a gurney, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the local ICU. Tzu-Wei Lin took his place and the Marlins got their first hit when Cooper doubled to left to start the bottom of the fifth. Rojas singled Cooper to third but Eovaldi managed to strike out both Chisholm and Wallach swinging. Dickerson grounded out to short to end the inning. Even though he allowed just two hits on 76 pitches, that was it for Eovaldi. Another game the bullpen would have to throw multiple innings.
The Sox struck first in the top of the sixth although Arroyo grounded out to short to start. Verdugo singled to right but Devers forced him at second. Bogaerts singled Devers to third and Martinez walked to load the bases. Plawecki singled home Devers and Bogaerts to give the Sox the lead. Richard Bleier came in to pitch and he walked JBJ to reload the bases. Lin whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Plawecki puts the Sox on top
Phillips Valdez was first out of the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth and Marte singled to left to start. Aguilar struck out swinging but Joyce flied out to left. Anderson grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the seventh against John Quezada although Dalbec struck out swinging to start. Arroyo and Verdugo stroked back to back singles but Devers pulverized his 11th home run of the season to increase the lead. Bogaerts singled to right but Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
The Marlins rallied in the bottom of the seventh as Cooper singled to left to begin. Rojas walked and that was it for Valdez. Jeffrey Springs came in and Jorge Alfaro pinch hit for Chisholm. Alfaro singled home Cooper and Wallach doubled home Rojas. Somehow Springs got Dickerson to strike out swinging and Ryan Weber was brought in to face Marte. Marte grounded out to third but Alfaro scored to cut the lead. Aguilar took strike three to end the inning but the lead was cut to 5-3.
Sean Rodriguez took over at second with Nick Neidert now on the mound for the top of the eighth. Plawecki whiffed but JBJ singled to center. Lin struck out swinging and JBJ was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came on for the bottom of the eighth and Joyce singled to right to begin. Anderson lined out to right and Cooper whiffed before Rojas grounded into a force to end the inning.
Dalbec earned the golden sombrero with his fourth strikeout of the game to start the top of the ninth. Arroyo grounded out to second and Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth and he blew away Rodriguez to start. Wallach lined out to right and Dickerson lined out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. His 3 run bomb turned out to be the difference in the game.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 3 for 5 with a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
JD Martinez walked twice in four plate appearances.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Nathan Eovaldi tossed 5 shutout innings while allowing just 2 hits, striking out 7.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Matt Barnes earned his 8th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Yairo Munoz was 0 for 2 with a strikeout before leaving.
Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts.
Phillips Valdez was charged with 2 runs in an inning of work.
Jeffrey Springs was charged with a run in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Kevin Plawecki was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 2 run single.
Christian Arroyo was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Ryan Weber allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 2/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
If nothing else, its good to see Devers finish strong at the end of this season. He and Martinez couldn't hit the broad side of a barn for July and most of August but its good to see Devers snap out of it. When the offense is clicking, their top four is as good as anyone and should be 5 if you count Christian Vazquez when he plays. Eovaldi doing well is also encouraging but thankfully there's only 9 games left. Ron Roenicke's quick hooks have gotten so many pitchers hurt and who knows how many more will be saved with this only being a 60 game season. A lot of fans want the Sox to tank but they can go live in a tree. Watching them win is a lot more fun. Now the same fans have to make a choice if they want to see the Sox lose because they play none other than the New York Yankees next. Want to root for the Yankees? Didn't think so. The win improved the Sox to 19-32, good for last place in the AL East. Get ready for blood because the Yankees are coming to Fenway Park next. The Sox can prevent the Yankees from winning the AL East with a few victories and they'll get their chance tomorrow night. Martin Perez (3-4, 4.33 ERA) goes for the Sox against Captain TBD at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment