As for the game....HE'S BAACCCCCKKKKK!! Chris Sale (1-0, 3.60 ERA) made his triumphant return from Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2020 season by tossing 5 innings of 2 run ball to earn his first win since 2019. The big story of the day was the Boston bats took a months worth of frustration out on the hapless Baltimore Orioles by pounding out SIXTEEN runs off 17 hits. The Sox hit 5 home runs in the contest including 3 run bombs by JD Martinez and Rafael Devers. Bobby Dalbec hit two of them and Hunter Renfroe went yard as well. The Sox bullpen managed to put up a goose egg as the Sox plastered the Orioles 16-2 at Fenway Park.
Sale got the ball in the top of the first inning and Austin Hays popped up to short to start. Trey Mancini struck out swinging but Pedro Severino beat out a roller to third. Anthony Santander struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox got to Jorge Lopez instantly in the bottom of the first as Kike Hernandez got a base hit to center to start. Alex Verdugo got a base hit to left and Xander Bogaerts was plunked. A wild pitch scored Hernandez and Rafael Devers smashed a three run home run to put Boston on top. JD Martinez doubled to center but was thrown out at third on a grounder to second by Hunter Renfroe. Jarren Duran forced Renfroe at second and was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Ryan McKenna took strike three to start the top of the second before Maikel Franco grounded back to the mound. Jorge Mateo grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second as Christian Vazquez walked to start but Bobby Dalbec banged into a double play. Hernandez doubled to left and Verdugo sliced a base hit to the left field wall to score Kike with another run. Bogaerts doubled to center to score Verdugo and took third on a wild pitch. Devers walked but Martinez forced Rafael at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
Verdugo slices an rbi single
The O's struck back in the top of the third although Richie Martin struck out swinging to start. Austin Wynns grounded out to short but Hays and Mancini hit back to back jacks to cut the lead. Severino took strike three to end the inning with the O's down 6-2.
Mancini hits one out
Renfroe grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third before Duran struck out swinging. Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Santander struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before McKenna doubled to left. Franco flied out to right and Mateo struck out swinging to end the inning. Dalbec popped up to second to start the bottom of the fourth but Hernandez was plunked. Verdugo got a base hit to center and Bogaerts got a base hit to left to load the bases to chase Lopez. Paul Fry came in to pitch and Devers got a base hit to left to score Hernandez. Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-2.
Devers doing it all today
Sale returned for one final inning in the top of the fifth and Martin lashed a base hit inside of third base to start. Wynns got a base hit to right and Martin was safe sliding into third....BUT WAIT! Sox manager Alex Cora challenged that Martin was out and sure enough, the umps overturned the call and Martin was out. Hays struck out swinging and Mancini grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth with Adam Plutko in to pitch. Renfroe walked and Durran motored around the bases with a triple to increase the lead. Vazquez grounded out to second but Dalbec clocked his 13th home run of the season to increase the lead. Hernandez walked and Verdugo got a base hit to center before Bogaerts ripped a base hit to center to score Hernandez. Devers struck out swinging but Martinez put the exclamation point on the inning with a three run home run to chase Plutko. Cesar Valdez came in and Renfroe grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 14-2.
Hiro Sawamura came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Severino singled in the hole at second to begin. Santander flied out to center but a wild pitch moved Severino to second, McKenna walked but Franco grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the sixth although Duran lined out to short to begin. Vaquez struck out swinging but Dalbec crushed his second home run of the game to increase the lead. Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning with Boston up 15-2.
The bench emptied in the top of the seventh as Jonathan Arauz came in for Bogaerts, Franchy Cordero came in for Devers (while playing first) and Hansel Robles came in to pitch. Mateo doubled to center to start but Martin popped up to first. Wynns struck out swinging and Hays popped up to short to end the inning. Dillon Tate got the Sox to beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the seventh. Verdugo grounded out to second, Arauz also grounded out to second and Cordero grounded out to short to end the inning.
Austin Davis came in to pitch the top of the eighth with Kevin Plawecki taking Hernandez' spot but moved behind the plate. Mancini grounded out to short, Severino took strike three and Stewart struck out swinging to end the inning. Wynns the position player took over on the mound for the bottom of the eighth and Martinez popped up to first to start. Renfroe launched his 21st home run of the season to wrap up the scoring and Duran lined out to right. Vazquez lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 16-2.
Martin Perez came in for the top of the ninth and McKenna struck out swinging to start. Franco grounded out to short and Mateo grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Sox had won it 16-2.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. His three run home run set the tone and he outscored the O's by himself.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 3 with a walk, hit by pitch and 4 runs scored.
Alex Verdugo was 4 for 5 with an rbi and 3 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 3 with a hit by pitch, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with a 3 run home run.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 4 with 2 home runs and 3 total rbis.
Chris Sale earned the win by allowing just 2 runs in 5 innings while strikimng out 8.
Hiro Sawamaura pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Hansel Robles pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Austin Davis pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Martin Perez pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Jonathan Arauz was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4 but walked, hit a home run and scored two runs.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Kevin Plawecki caught the final inning.
Final Thoughts:
Beating the daylights out of the Orioles is fun to watch but unfortunately it doesn't mean much wiping out a bonafide Triple A team. The only good news to come out of this game is Chris Sale coming back healthy. If the Sox have any hope of catching the Tampa Bay Rays they need Sale back to where he was in 2018. If he can shore up a rotation with Nathan Eovaldi, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nick Pivetta, they have a chance this October. The Sox need to take advantage of tomorrow's game against the O's before they move on to face the New York Yankees. The Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are nipping at their heels and every win counts from here on in. There's only 43 games left in the season and the Sox need to make a stand in the next few days if they want to put some distance between the Jays and Yankees plus close the gap against the Rays. Hopefully this offensive momentum will carry over to tomorrow. The win improved the Sox to 68-51, 4 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the O's tomorrow afternoon when Eduardo Rodriguez (8-6) takes the hill against Keegan Akin of the Orioles. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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