Without a doubt, that was THE worst game of the 2021 MLB regular season. The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers desperately tried to give each other the game with bad pitching and bad defense and in the end the Sox wanted it just a bit more than the Tigers. The Sox jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 3 innings but The Tigers tied it off the ineffective Nathan Eovaldi. The Sox did take the lead but the Tigers got it back in the top of the fifth and added to it in the top of the sixth. The Sox roared back to take the lead back only for the Tigers to tie it in the seventh and take the lead in the top of the eighth. Christian Vazquez knocked home the tying run, the injured Christian Arroyo scored the go-ahead run and Alex Verdugo hit the kill shot in the bottom of the eighth. Adam Ottavino closed it out in the top of the ninth and in a game where 30 hits, 21 runs scored and 6 errors occurred, the Sox had beaten the Tigers 12-9 at Fenway Park.
Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first and Robbie Grossman flied out to left to start. Jonathan Schoop and Jeimer Candelario both struck out swinging to end the inning. Turnbull got the ball in the bottom of the first and Kike Hernandez greeted him with a double to center to start. Alex Verdugo advanced Hernandez to third with a ground out to short and JD Martinez got a base hit to left to score Kike to put Boston on top. Xander Bogaerts singled to right but Rafael Devers struck out swinging. Hunter Renfroe lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Things went south as Hernandez had to be hauled off on a gurney, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to Mass General's ICU before the top of the second inning. Franchy Cordero came in for Hernandez in left with Verdugo going to center as Wilson Ramos grounded out to second to start. Niko Goodrum struck out swinging and Harold Castro lined out to right to end the inning. Marwin Gonzalez lined out to Turnbull to start the bottom of the second but Kevin Plawecki doubled to left. Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging but Cordero got a little redemption with an rbi double to right. Verdugo grounded back to the mound to end the inning but the Sox led 2-0.
The Tigers struck back in the top of the third as JaCoby Jones doubled to right to start. Jones moved to third on the Victor Reyes grounder to second and scored on the Akil Baddoo grounder to short off Eovaldi to cut the lead. Grossman tooks trike three to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third as Goodrum booted a grounder by Martinez to start. Bogaerts was plunked but Devers lashed a base hit to center to score Martinez and advance Xander to third. Renfroe struck out swinging and Devers was thrown out trying to steal, but Gonzalez was plunked. Plawecki drove in Bogaerts with a broken bat base hit to left. Dalbec flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 4-1.
The Tigers roared back in the top of the fourth as Schoop and Candelario stroked back to back singles to start. Ramos then doubled home Schoop but Goodrum struck out swinging. Castro singled home both runners to tie the game and bring the boo-birds out. Jones hit a routine grounder to Devers who did a backflip on the ball and did the worm for an error. Reyes beat out a double play ball and stole second before Baddoo walked to load the bases. Grossman grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
Tyler Alexander came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and Cordero struck out swinging to start. Verdugo flied out to left but Martinez reached second on an error by Candelario. Bogaerts made the Tigers pay with a base hit to center to score Martinez to give the Sox the lead back. Devers flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-4.
In a mirror image of the previous inning, Schoop and Candelario struck back to back singles to start the top of the fifth inning. Both runners moved over on the Ramos grounder and that was it for Eovaldi. He had been a work horse all season so far but today he was beat up for 6 runs in just 4 1/3 innings. Josh Taylor came in and the first thing he did was uncork a wild pitch to score Schoop to tie the game. Goodrum hit a grounder to Dalbec but Taylor stopped to check out a bird flying overhead and didn't cover the bag for an rbi single to give the Tigers the lead. Castro tried to drop down a bunt but Goodrum was thrown out at second. Jones struck out swinging to end the inning but the Tigers had the lead back 6-5.
Renfroe popped up to first to begin the bottom of the fifth but Gonzalez doubled to left. Plawecki flied out to center and the struggling Dalbec took strike three to end the inning.
Phillips Valdez materialized out of thin air for the first time since April 24 to pitch the top of the sixth. Reyes grounded out and Baddoo took strike three, but Grossman singled in the hole at short. Grossman swiped second, Schoop walked and who else but Candelario singled home Grossman to increase the lead. Ramos lined out to left to end the inning with the Tigers ahead 7-5.
The Sox refused to go quietly in the bottom of the sixth as Cordero started the rally with a base hit to center. Verdugo singled Cordero to third and that was it for Alexander. Buck Farmer poured gas on the fire as Martinez singled home Cordero and Bogaerts walked to load the bases. After Bogaerts walked he pointed at Devers as if to say "your turn". Devers responded with a base hit to center to score Verdugo and Martinez to give the Sox the lead. Kyle Funkhouser came in and the rally ended with the bottom of the order coming up. Renfroe grounded out to short and Gonzalez struck out swinging, but Plawecki walked to load the bases. Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 8-7.
Darwinzon Hernandez came in for the top of the seventh and got no help from his defense. Goodrum took strike three but Castro got a single to center. Jones hit a double play ball to Devers who turned and fired the ball into the dugout for an error to move the runners into scoring position. Reyes grounded out to short but Castro scored to tie the game. Baddoo grounded out to short to end the inning but the game was tied 8-8.
Cordero tried to start a rally with a base hit to right to start the bottom of the seventh but Verdugo flied out to left. Martinez lined out to left and Bogaerts grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Tigers took command in the top of the eighth with Matt Andriese now on the mound. Grossman walked to start but Schoop flied out to center. Andriese got called for a balk to moved Grossman to second and Candelario moved him to third with a grounder to short. Naturally Ramos lashed a base hit to left to score Grossman with the go-ahead run. Goodrum and Castro stroked back to back singles to load the bases, but Jones struck out swinging to end the inning with the Tigers up 9-8.
Grayson Greiner took over for Ramos who left with a bad back for the bottom of the eighth and Goodrum booted another grounder, this time by Devers to start. Alex Lange replaced Kyle Funkhouser and struck out both Renfroe and Gonzalez swinging. Plawecki walked and Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Dalbec with the injured Christian Arroyo pinch running for Plawecki. Vazquez came through with an rbi single in the hole at short to tie the game. Cordero hit a routine grounder to Candelario....BOOTED FOR AN ERROR! Arroyo scored to tie the game and a wild pitch moved both runners over. Verdugo iced the game with a base hit to center to score both runners to increase the lead. Martinez flied out to right to end the inning but the Sox led 12-9.
Adam Ottavino came in to close out the top of the ninth and naturally walked Reyes to start. Adam recovered to get Baddoo to force Reyes at second and Grossman to force Baddoo as well. Schoop hit one up the elevator shaft to end the game. The Sox had won it 12-9.
Hero of the Night is Christian Vazquez. He came off the bench ice cold and tied the game with 2 outs in the eighth inning.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 1 before leaving.
Franchy Cordero was 3 for 5 with an rbi and 3 runs scored.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 6 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 6 with2 rbis and 3 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi, run scored and was hit with a pitch.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with 3 rbis and a run scored.
Kevin Plawecki was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.
Christian Arroyo scored a run as a pinch runner.
Adam Ottavino earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Hunter Renfroe was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Nathan Eovaldi was charged with 6 runs in just 4 1/3 innings.
Josh Taylor allowed 2 inherited runners to score in just 2/3 of an inning.
Phillips Valdez allowed a run in the sixth inning.
Matt Andriese allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Marwin Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch.
Darwinzon Hernandez allowed an unearned run in the seventh inning.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox and their fans all need to take a bath after this series. This was one of the worst played 3 games of baseball in recorded history with today being the worst of the worst. This game had 30 hits, 21 runs, stolen bases, hit by pitches, 6 errors and a balk. The only good news is the Red Sox won it. Apart from some of the guys on offense, nobody came out of this game looking good. The pitchers were giving up a lot of hits, a balk and walking the leadoff guy. Sometimes they were clutch at the plate, sometimes they were not. Bogaerts challenged Devers at the plate and Rafael responded....only to throw away a crucial ground ball the next inning. It was a sloppy game against a terrible team but there are two silver linings. The first is that they were down but came back to win, something they rarely did in 2019 and 2020, and the second is that they got fresh troops in Worcester ready to go. Arroyo and Hernandez both got hurt and Bobby Dalbec couldn't hit a ball out of his hand right now. Cordero seemed to have gotten the message but that could be a stay of execution. The Sox have Danny Santana rehabbing, Michael Chavis ready to roll and Jarren Duran getting some much needed AAA experience. Any or all of those three could be seen pretty soon so the bottom of the order has help on the way. As for the pitching, the fact the starters can't go 6 innings is starting to break them down sooner. The good news is they have reinforcements in AAA as well. Eduard Bazardo (who we saw last month), Colten Brewer (god help us), Tanner Houck and Bobby Poyner available. Unlike the last 3 years, yes including 2018, the Sox have help on the way to keep them in first place. Speaking of first, the win improved the Sox to 19-13, 2.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now travel to Baltimore for a 4 game set with the Orioles. Eduardo Rodriguez (4-0, 4.18 ERA) takes on Matt Harvey of the dirty birds tomorrow night at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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