On a night when the Boston Celtics lost Game 1 of their first round NBA playoff series to the Brooklyn Nets, the Boston Red Sox played one of the most exciting games of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Sox were ahead 2-1 when Xander Bogaerts and Danny Santana went back to back to make it a 4-1 game. The Phillies came back with a run against Nathan Eovaldi (5-2, 4.39 ERA) and another against Phillips Valdez. Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, Adam Ottavino and Matt Barnes slammed the door after that. Both teams had good defensive plays but it was the Red Sox to come away with the 4-3 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Howard got the ball to start the top of the first and Kike Hernandez struck out swinging on 3 pitches to start. Rafael Devers went down hacking and JD Martinez lined out to center to end the inning. Eovaldi got in trouble in the bottom of the first and Andrew McCutchen grounded out to third to start. Jean Segura doubled to center but Bryce Harper struck out swinging. Rhys Hoskins walked but Brad Miller lined out to right to end the inning.
Howard dominated the top of the second as Xander Bogaerts whiffed badly to start. Danny Santana was hit by a pitch and took off for second....OUT! BUT WAIT! Sox manager Alex Cora challenged that Santana was safe and the call was overturned, stolen base for Santana. Bobby Dalbec took strike three and Franchy Cordero struck out swinging to end the inning. Odubel Herrera walked to start the bottom of the second but Nick Maton flied out to center. Rafael Marchan lined out to right and Howard grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Kevin Plawecki grounded back to the mound to start. Eovaldi himself somehow walked and took second on a wild pitch. Hernandez walked and Devers hit a line drive to right that Harper dove for...AND DIDN'T MAKE THE CATCH. Eovaldi scored and Hernandez was safe at third by an inch. Martinez walked to load the bases and Bogaerts scored Hernandez with a sac fly to increase the lead. Santana popped up to a running Miller to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Eovaldi got McCutchen to ground out to short to start the bottom of the third and Segura took strike three on the outside corner. Harper was rung up for strike three on a check swing to end the inning.
Dalbec walked to start the top of the fourth and chase Howard from the game. Ranger Suarez came in and Cordero advanced Dalbec to second with a swinging bunt to the mound. Plawecki took strike three down the middle and Eovaldi grounded out to first to end the inning. Hoskins grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth but Miller tripled down the right field line into the corner. Herrera scored Miller with a sac fly to cut the lead but Eovaldi blew away Maton on a 99 mph fastball up and away to end the inning with the Phillies down 2-1.
Hernandez flied out to center to begin the top of the fifth before Devers grounded out to short. Martinez grounded out to second to end the inning. Marchan led off the bottom of the fifth with a pop up to Santana to start. Matt Joyce pinch hit for Suarez and popped up to right. McCutchen hit a line drive base hit to center but Segura grounded out to second to end the inning.
Sam Coonrod came in for the top of the sixth inning and Bogaerts greeted him with a line drive home run to right to increase the lead. Santana then crushed his second home run in as many games to go back to back. Dalbec took strike three and Cordero struck out swinging again. Plawecki singled to left but Eovaldi struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
The Phillies answered in the bottom of the sixth although Harper flied out to left to start. Hoskins then hit a home run that would have been off the wall at Fenway to cut the lead for his 100th career home run. Miller lashed a base hit to right and Dr. Quick Hook Alex Cora struck again when he lifted Eovaldi after just 85 pitches. Josh Taylor was brought in and got Herrera to pop up to left. Maton struck out swinging to end the inning. Eovaldi lasted just 5 1/3 inning but kept the Sox in the game by leaving with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Jose Alvarado came in to pitch the top of the seventh with Ronald Torreyes coming in for Maton in a double switch. Hernandez beat out an infield single to third to start but was erased at second on a force by Devers. Torreyes made an outstanding play to rob Martinez of an infield hit although Devers moved to second. Bogaerts walked but Santana was blown away on a 100 mph fastball down the middle to end the inning. Phillips Valdez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and naturally Marchan got his first hit of the season with a bloop to left. Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush sprinted to the mound to remind Valdez that Law & Order SVU was on and Valdez responded by walking Torreyes. Somehow Valdez struck out McCutchen swinging on a nasty changeup but Segura was plunked to load the bases. That was it for Valdez as Cora brought in Darwinzon Hernandez to face Harper. Hernandez froze Harper for strike three with a fastball down the middle but he plunked Hoskins to score Marchan. Home plate umpire Scott Barry missed a 2-2 fastball that caught the corner but Hernandez responded by blowing away Miller anyway to end the inning. Hernandez screamed at the umpire in Spanish but the Phillies were inching closer down 4-3.
Brandon Kintzler took over for the top of the eighth and Dalbec struck out swinging to start. Somehow Cordero dropped a base hit to right but was erased on the force by Plawecki. Marwin Gonzalez pinch hit for Darwinzon Hernandez and dropped a base hit to right. The Phillies pulled a double switch when Alex Bohm came in to play third with Hector Neris in to pitch. Michael Chavis pinch ran for Plawecki but Kike Hernandez grounded into a force to end the inning. Christian Vazquez came in to catch the bottom of the eighth with Adam Ottavino on the mound. Ottavino froze Herrera for strike three to start before blowing away Bohm on 3 pitches. Marchan looked to have swung and missed for strike three but Barry called it a "foul tip" for another bad call. Ottavino ended up striking out Marchan swinging anyway and barked at Barry to end the inning.
Neris returned for the top of the ninth and Devers grounded out to first to start. Both Martinez and Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Torreyes naturally grounded a base hit up the middle. Barnes did blow away McCutchen swinging but Segura walked. Harper hit a grounder to Dalbec who threw to second to get Segura but there were runners at the corners. Barnes whiffed Hoskins on a curve in the dirt to end the game. The Sox held on to win the game 4-3.
Hero of the Night is Danny Santana. His home run in the sixth inning was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk, home run and 2 total rbis.
Marwin Gonzalez got a base hit as a pinch hitter.
Nathan Eovaldi (got the win) tossed 5 1/3 innings of 2 run ball.
Josh Taylor struck out the only two men he faced.
Adam Ottavino struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth.
Matt Barnes earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Phillips Valdez allowed a run in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
JD Martinez was 0 for 4 but walked.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked.
Franchy Cordero was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Kevin Plawecki was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Darwinzon Hernandez allowed an inherited runner to score but struck out two key batters.
Honorable Mention:
Michael Chavis pinch ran for Plawecki in the bottom of the eighth.
Christian Vazquez caught the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Its a good thing the Red Sox won because the Tampa Bay Rays have now won 9 in a row and the New York Yankees have won 5 in a row. The Sox getting hot have been out of necessity with the Rays and Yankees hot. The AL East is wide open for any of those teams to take so the Sox have to take care of business. As for this game, it was one of the best games of the season to watch. After the Santana home run, the Phillies didn't give an inch. The Sox offense was shut down by the Philly bullpen and they almost came back to tie the game. The Sox starters must be getting tired of getting pulled quickly by Cora because it almost bit them in the ass again. Eovaldi left the game and it took a hell of an effort by Darwinzon, Ottavino and Barnes to lock the game down. Its been two games but Danny Santana has already been exactly what Sox GM Chaim Bloom wanted when they signed him. He hit 28 homers in Texas two years ago and he's got two in two games. Oh the news gets even better, Jarred Durran homered twice in tonight's game for the Worcester Red Sox and could be ready by early June to come up. Duran hits lefty so if nothing else, they can have him hit against right handed hitters with Hunter Renfroe the lefty killer against lefty pitchers if and when Duran comes up. This means Cordero's days are numbered and possibly Gonzalez once Christian Arroyo's wrist heals. The Sox are getting timely hitting right now and its winning them games. The win improved the Sox to 28-19, 1 game in front of the white hot Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the Phillies and win their 5th straight game tomorrow afternoon when Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2, 4.70 ERA) takes on Zack Wheeler of the Phillies. The game begins at 1:05 PM at Citizens Bank Park.
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