On the eighth anniversary of the famous "This is our (censored) city!" game at Fenway Park, this year's Boston Red Sox team continued their winning ways against the Toronto Blue Jays. Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 3.38) ERA allowed just 3 hits in 6 solid innings of work, giving up just two long balls. Xander Bogaerts first home run of the year happened to be a 3 run bomb to give the Sox the lead over Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Jays. Bobby Dalbec added an rbi triple to bolster the lead and the Sox bullpen slammed the door in the ninth inning. It all added up to a hard fought, well earned 4-2 victory over the Jays at Fenway Park.
Rodriguez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Marcus Semien grounded out to short to start. Bo Bichette took strike three but Vladimir Guerrero Jr walked. Randal Grichuk grounded into a force to end the inning. Ryu got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez grounded out to short to start. Christian Arroyo lined out to center and JD Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
Rodriguez cruised in the top of the second inning as Lourdes Gurriel Jr lined out to center to start. Cavan Biggio grounded out to short and Santiago Espinal popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts doubled to left to start. Christian Vazquez flied out to center, Marwin Gonzalez popped up to first and Hunter Renfroe flied out to right to end the inning.
Alejandro Kirk lined out to first to start the top of the third and Danny Jansen popped up to first. Semien took strike three to end the inning. Bobby Dalbec singled to left to start the bottom of the third but Kevin Plawecki banged into a double play. Hernandez grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Jays struck first in the top in the top of the fourth as Bichette hit a home run all the way to Siracusa, Sicily to give the Jays the lead. Guerrero Jr lined out to right, Grichuk struck out swinging and Gurriel Jr took strike three to end the inning but the Jays were up 1-0.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Arroyo singled to center to start. Martinez singled to left and Bogaerts blasted his first home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Vazquez whiffed but Gonzalez doubled off the Monster. Renfroe took strike three but Dalbec tripled into the centerfield triangle to score Gonzalez. Plawecki grounded out third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Rodriguez cruised in the top of the fifth inning as Biggio lined out to center to start. Espinal grounded out to third and Kirk struck out swinging. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez flied out to center to start. Arroyo doubled to left and Martinez reached on an error by Bichette, but Bogaerts beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Vazquez flied out to center to end the inning.
Rodriguez stayed strong in the top of the sixth as Jansen flied out to center to begin. Semien struck out swinging and Bichette grounded back to the mound t.....wait! The Jays challenged the call and sure enough, Bichette actually beat out the throw for a hit. Guerrero Jr grounded into a force to end the inning. Joel Payamps came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Gonzalez popped up to third to start. Renfroe popped up to first and Dalbec grounded out to third to end the inning.
Rodriguez came back briefly in the top of the seventh...only to allow a 50,000 foot home run by Grichuk to cut the lead. Rodriguez allowed just 3 hits in 6 innings but 2 were home runs. Matt Andriese came in to pitch and got Gurriel Jr to pop up to first. Cavan Biggio grounded out to short but Red Sox killer Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez pinch hit for Espinal. Andriese froze Rowdy for strike three to end the inning with the Jays down 4-2.
Plawecki lined out to center to start the bottom of the seventh and Hernandez struck out swinging. Arroyo singled in the hole at short to chase Payamps and Anthony Castro was brought in to pitch to Martinez. JD struck out swinging to end the inning.
Adam Ottavino came in for the top of the eighth and Josh Palacios pinch hit for Kirk, only to ground out to second. Jansen was retired on a nubber in front of the plate but Semien walked. Semien went to steal second and Vazquez inexplicably threw the ball over the head of FIRST basemen Dalbec for an error. Bichette struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the eighth as Bogaerts struck out swinging to start.
Alex Verdugo came in for Martinez for defensive purposes and Matt Barnes came in to close out the top of the ninth. Guerrero Jr grounded out to second to start but Grichuk singled in the hole at short. Gurriel Jr took strike three and Biggio flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.
Hero of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. His 3 run bomb was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Christian Arroyo was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 3 with an rbi.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the win with 6 plus innings of 2 run ball. He allowed just 3 hits.
Matt Andriese pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Matt Barnes earned his 3rd save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Marwin Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Alex Verdugo played left field in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That one was a little too close for comfort but that was a damn good win. The Sox got timely offense and shutdown pitching when they needed it. Rodriguez was tough and fell victim to a couple of longballs but Bogaerts and the bullpen were here to save the day. Andriese, Ottavino and Barnes didn't give an inch and considering Ottavino looked washed up on the Yankees last year, anything he can give is a bonus. It wasn't a flawless win though, apart from Bogaerts going yard the Sox got almost nothing offensively. The bottom of the order is very hit or miss but that can change very quickly. The Sox have a 24 year old outfield prospect named Jarren Duran who's lighting it up in exhibition games out west in Worcester. He's supposedly the closest to being ML ready so if Renfroe and Gonzalez continue to not produce, Jarren could be given a shot sooner rather than later. Bogaerts hit his first home run and hopefully the floodgates have opened for him. E-Rod himself made a bet on if Bogaerts can hit 35 homers this year so let's see how that turns out. All in all it was another win and no matter how the team turns out, at least they are fun to watch this year so far. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Jays when Garrett Richards (0-2, 6.00 ERA) looks for his first win as a member of the Red Sox when he takes on Trent Thornton of Toronto. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment