For 6 innings the Boston Red Sox were cruising toward their eighth consecutive win. Eduardo Rodriguez had pitched a one hit shutout against the Oakland A's on just 89 pitches and the Sox held a 2-0 lead thanks to rbis from Rafael Devers and Alex Verdugo. Then the wheels fell off as Cora pulled Rodriguez for Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock only for The Lock to give up a home run to old friend "Glassbones" Jed Lowrie. 2 innings later Elvis Andrus hit his first home run of the year against Matt Barnes to send the game to extras. Kike Hernandez then drove in the go-ahead run before throwing out the tying run in the bottom of the tenth. Herndez' heroics preserved the Sox eighth straight win as they edged the A's 3-2 in 10 innings at Oakland Coliseum.
Old Sox prospect Frankie Montas got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez popped up to third to start the game. Alex Verdugo flied out to left and Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging. Rodriguez got the ball in the bottom of the first and "Razor" Ramon Laureano grounded out to short to start. Elvis Andrus took strike three but Matt Olson walked. Matt Chapman grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Rafael Devers flied out to left to start. Hunter Renfroe flied out to center and Marwin Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning. Gonzalez threw a ground ball by Chad Pinder away for an error to start the bottom of the second but Glassbones Jed moved Chad to second with a grounder to third. Sean Murphy took strike three although Frank Schwindel singled in the hole at short. Tony Kemp took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the third when Christian Vazquez was plunked to start. Danny Santana moved Vazquez to third with a grounder to second but Michael Chavis grounded back to the mound. Hernandez walked but Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. Rodriguez cruised in the bottom of the third as Laureano grounded out to third to start. Andrus grounded out to second and Olsen lined out to short to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the fourth as Bogaerts walked to start and Devers doubled him home to put Boston on top. Renfroe grounded out to third, Gonzalez grounded out to first and Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Chapman walked to begin the bottom of the fourth but Pinder flied out to center and Lowrie grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Santana singled to center to start. Chavis was hit with a pitch but Hernandez banged into a double play. Luckily Verdugo sliced a base hit down the third base line to score Santana with another run. Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning with Boston ahead 2-0.
Murphy struck out swinging to open the bottom of the fifth and Schwindel flied out to right. Kemp grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox blew another rally when Devers singled in the hole at short to start the top of the sixth. Renfroe singled to left and Gonzalez beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Vazquez popped up to first but Gonzalez stole second. Santana walked to load the bases and chase Montas. Another old Sox prospect, JB Wendelken came in to get Chavis to hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Rodriguez dominated the bottom of the sixth as Laureano struck out looking to start. Andrus flied out to right and Olson struck out swinging to end the inning. Rodriguez was at 89 pitches and pitching a 1 hit shutout.
Wendelken cruised in the top of the seventh as Hernandez flied out to left to start. Verdugo flied out to center and Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning. Sox manager Alex Cora finally got bit in the ass for pulling a starter too early when he sent Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock in to pitch the bottom of the seventh after Rodriguez threw 89 pitches of 1 hit ball. Chapman flied out to left and Pinder took strike three, but Lowrie clobbered a home run all the way to Anaheim to cut the lead. Murphy popped up to short to end the inning with the A's down 2-1.
Jake Diekman replaced Wendelken for the top of the eighth and Devers flied out to center to start. Renfroe flied out to left and Gonzalez flied out to right to end the inning. The Lock returned for the bottom of the eighth and Schwindel lined out to right to start. Kemp took strike three and Laureano struck out swinging to end the inning.
Sergio Romo came in for the top of the ninth and Vazquez flied out to right to start. Santana flied out to left and Chavis struck out swinging to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and four pitches later, Andrus hit his first home run of the season to Portland, Oregon to tie the game. Olson struck out swinging and Chapman took strike three before old pal Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Pinder. Moreland flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
The Sox wasted no time getting the lead in the top of the tenth with Chavis starting at second, Seth Brown in right field and Lou Trivino on the mound. Hernandez ripped a base hit to right to score Chavis to give the Sox the lead. Verdugo banged into a double play and Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning but the Sox led 3-2.
Adam Ottavino was trusted to close out the game in the bottom of the tenth with Seth Brown on second and naturally Lowrie singled Brown to third. Skye Bolt pinch ran for Lowrie and Murphy hit a fly ball to Hernandez. Bolt tried for home and the throw came in....YER OUTTA THERE! Hernandez had somehow gunned down Bolt and the Sox needed one more out. Schwindel flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-2 in 10 innings.
Hero of the Night is Kike Hernandez. He drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth and gunned down the go-ahead run in the bottom of the frame.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Danny Santana was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez tossed 6 shutout innings while allowing 1 hit.
Adam Ottavino earned his sixth save with a scoreless tenth inning.
The Bad:
Matt Barnes vultured the win by allowing a home run in the bottom of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4.
Marwin Gonzalez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but stole a base.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Garrett Whitlock allowed a home run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
That was going to be an embarrassing loss but Hernandez bailed out not only the bullpen but Alex Cora as well. All year long he's been pulling guys way too early and it cost them again. Whitlock and Barnes served up home runs to a team that had just 1 hit all night against Rodriguez and one of these days Cora is going to get burned by doing this. Did he not see Kevin Cash in the World Series last year pulling Blake Snell? Do we not forget the day he had Rodriguez throw 100 pitches just to make it through 5 innings? Now all of a sudden when he's throwing a 1 hitter you pull him at 89? Again, the Sox are winning the majority of these games but he's heading down a Grady Little path. Now Little we all know was fired for leaving in Pedro Martinez too long, but the real reason he was fired was he went against every philosophy that Sox brass back in 2003 stood for. Not that Chaim Bloom is kicking chairs over every time Cora pulls a starter but what happens if the Sox make it to October and he pulls Eovaldi after 85 pitches and 6 shutout innings only for Whitlock or Ottavino to have a melt down? Its something to watch for sure. As for the positives, Hernandez is having the best week of his career and he saved the day again. Rodriguez pitched like his 2019 self for the first time all-season and this was a damn good Oakland A's team they outlasted. Its funny how back in 2013 the Sox traded both Montas and Wendelken for Jake Peavy and both of them ended up on the A's the last few seasons. Even better news is the Tampa Bay Rays got annihilated by the Toronto Blue Jays 11-1, they're falling apart at the seams and the Sox keep rolling. The best part is all the haters back in April and May that said the Sox 9 game winning streak was a fluke are about to eat some serious crow if the Sox can win tomorrow night's game, The win improved the Sox to 52-31, 4.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. For historical purposes, the 2013 Red Sox were 49-34 at this point in 2013 and the 2018 buzzsaw Red Sox were 55-28. The fact that THIS Sox team is more closer to 2018 than 2013 is frightening. Tomorrow night the Sox look to make it nine straight victories and two in a row against Oakland when Garrett Richards (4-5, 4.96 ERA) takes on Cole Irvin of the A's. The game begins at 7:15 PM Eastern time at Oakland Coliseum.
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