As this miserable season winds to a close, at least there are some signs of hope for the future for the Boston Red Sox. The offense took it to what very well could be the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays in this one, knocking out Charlie Morton in the fifth inning. The Sox pounded out 11 hits and 6 runs as Christian Vazquez and JD Martinez woke up for once. Martin Perez (3-4, 4.33 ERA) went 5 strong innings to earn the win. The normally terrible Sox bullpen tossed 4 shutout innings and the Sox ended their season series with the Rays on a high note with a 6-3 win at Tropicana Field.
The Sox struck first against Morton in the top of the first inning as Yairo Munoz led the game off with a double to right and Christian Vazquez blasted his 5th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Rafael Devers grounded out to short, JD Martinez grounded out to first and Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Perez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Manny Margot led off with a routine grounder to Bobby Dalbec. Dalbec threw his glove at the ball and dove on it for an error. Randy Arozarena grounded into a double play but Joey Wendle singled to short. Mike Brosseau doubled home Wendle to cut the lead. Hunter Renfroe popped up to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Dalbec whiffed to open the top of the second before Michael Chavis flied out to right. Christian Arroyo went down hacking to end the inning. Perez got Nate Lowe to strike out swinging to start the bottom of the second but Willy Adames singled to third. Yoshi Tsutsugo forced Adames at second but Kevan Smith walked but Margot grounded into a force to end the inning.
Tzu-Wei Lin flied out to center to start the top of the third before Munoz grounded out to short. Vazquez grounded out to second to end the inning. Arozarena singled to center to start the bottom of the third before Wendle lined out to short. Brosseau hit a routine grounder to Lin who went OLE! for an error but Renfroe whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox looked to rally in the top of the fourth when Devers and Martinez stroked back to back singles to start. JBJ flied out to left and Dalbec whiffed, but Chavis singled to short to load the bases. Arroyo flied out to center to end the inning. The Rays struck again in the bottom of the fourth when Lin threw a routine grounder by Adames all the way into the centerfield stands for an error. Tsutsugo lined out to center but Smith hit his first home run of the year to Mercury to give the Rays the lead. Margot popped up to second and Arozarena whiffed to end the inning with the Rays up 3-2.
The Sox rallied in the top of the fifth although Lin flied out to left to start. Munoz singled to center to chase Morton. Pete Fairbanks came in and Munoz stole second before Vazquez walked. Devers doubled home Munoz to tie the game and Martinez scored Vazquez with a grounder to third to give the Sox the lead. JBJ was plunked but Dalbec grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-3.
Perez returned for the bottom of the fifth and Wendle grounded out to second to start. Brosseau watched strike three go by but Renfroe walked. Nate Lowe was frozen for strike three to end the inning. That was it for Perez despite only throwing 92 pitches through 5 innings. What Sox manager Ron Roenicke is saving him for, nobody knows.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the sixth with Ryan Thompson now on the mound. Chavis walked but Arroyo smashed his second homer of the season to increase the lead. Lin grounded out to third, Munoz flied out to left and Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Phillips Valdez was first out of the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth and Adames popped up to first to start. Tsutsugo doubled to left and moved to third on the Smith grounder to second. Margot flied out to right to end the inning,.
Aaron Siegers came in for the top of the seventh and Devers singled to center to begin. Martinez banged into a double play but JBJ hit a seeing eye single to left. Dalbec singled to left but Chavis grounded into a force to end the inning.
Ryan Weber came in for the bottom of the seventh and Austin Meadows pinch hit for Arozarena to start. Meadows took strike three and Wendle grounded back to the mound, but Brosseau singled to center. Renfroe walked to chase Weber and Ryan Brasier came in to strike out Nate Lowe swinging to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the eighth as Arroyo whiffed to start. Lin grounded out to second and Munoz grounded out to third to end the inning. Brasier returned for the bottom of the eighth and cruised. Adames flied out to center, Tsutsugo swung at air and Smith also went down hacking to end the inning.
Vazquez whiffed to start the top of the ninth before Devers lined out to center. Martinez also lined out to center to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in for the bottom of the ninth to close out the game but Margot greeted him with a base hit to right. Meadows forced Margot at second and Wendle was rung up for strike three. Barnes blew away Brosseau to end the game. The Sox had beaten the Rays in their final regular season meeting 6-3.
Hero of the Night is Christian Arroyo. The Sox signed him off the scrap heap and his 2 run homer gave the Sox much needed insurance to win the game.
The Good:
Yairo Munoz was 2 for 5 with 2 run scored.
Rafael Devers was 3 for 5 with an rbi.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch.
Michael Chavis was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Martin Perez earned the win with 5 innings of 3 run ball. Only 2 runs were earned and Perez struck out 6.
Phillips Valdez tossed a scoreless sixth inning.
Ryan Weber got the first two outs of the seventh inning.
Ryan Brasier tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes earned his sixth save of the season with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 4 with an error.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Bobby Dalbec was just 1 for 4 with an error and 2 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Sox fans may not like it because they want to tank to get Kumar Rocker, but it ain't gonna happen. The Sox aren't as bad as the Pittsburgh Pirates no matter what Sox management tries to do to them. Rafael Devers has caught fire to go from a .220 batting average to .289 and the rest of the offense has gelled. If the Sox had a competent pitching staff, this team would actually be good right now. Its a good thing Ron Roenicke isn't coming back because part of the reason the Sox has 90 guys on the Injured List is because the bullpen has had to pitch the majority of every game, including this one. Things worked out today but Perez was at 92 pitches through 5, why couldn't he at least start the sixth? Valdez and Austin Brice have been Boston's only consistent pitchers this season and Valdez has faltered lately and Brice is hurt. Its a good thing there's only 12 games left. The win improved the Sox to 17-31, last place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox travel 265 miles from Tampa to Miami for a 3 game set with the Marlins. Tanner Houck makes his MLB debut for the Red Sox up against someone Miami picks out of a hat at 6:40 PM at Marlins Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment