Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Chris Sale and Jonathan Arauz were placed on the COVID list and Austin Davis was placed on the paternity list. Congratulations to Davis! In their places Xander Bogaerts was finally activated from the Covid list, Darwinzon Hernandez was activated from the Injured List and Kaleb Ort was called up from Worcester. Ort was picked up from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 draft with Garrett Whitlock and he had a good year for Worcester.
Carlos Rodon got the ball in the top of the first and Kike Hernandez lined out to right to start. Kyle Schwarber took strike three and Hunter Renfroe flied out to right to end the inning. Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and Luis Robert Jr grounded back to the mound to start. Old pal Yoan Moncada walked but Jose Abreu struck out swinging. Eloy Jimenez grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Xander Bogaerts popped up to short to start the top of the second before Rafael Devers grounded out to second. Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning. Yasmani Grandal grounded out to second to start the bottom of the second before Gavin Sheets grounded out to short. Leury Garcia grounded out to first to end the inning.
Christian Vazquez got a base hit to center to start the top of the third before Danny Santana took strike three. A wild pitch moved Vazquez to second then took third when Grandal threw the ball away for an error. Jose Iglesias and Hernandez both struck out swinging to end the inning. The ChiSox struck first in the bottom of the third as Brian Goodwin flied out to center to start. Cesar Hernandez walked but Robert flied out to center. Moncada got a base hit to left and Abreu hit a home run all the way to Baltimore to put the ChiSox up for good. Jimenez singled to left and Grandal was hit with a pitch, but Eloy was picked off to end the inning with Chicago up 3-0.
The BoSox failed to respond in the top of the fourth as Schwarber grounded out to second to begin. Renfroe struck out swinging to start but Bogaerts singled to left. Devers struck out swinging to end the inning. The ChiSox chased Houck in the bottom of the fourth as Iglesias booted a grounder by Sheets to start. Garcia popped up to short but Goodwin walked. Hernandez beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners and Roberts got a base hit to right to score Sheets. That was it for Houck who got hammered for four runs in just 3 2/3 innings. Darwinzon Hernandez came in and hit Moncada to load the bases but Abreu grounded out to short to end the inning with Chicago ahead 4-0.
The Sox tried to fight back in the top of the fifth as Dalbec smashed his 21st home run of the season to cut the lead. Vazquez popped up to third, Santana popped up to first and Iglesias hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the BoSox down 4-1.
Jimenez took strike three to start the bottom of the fifth before Grandal struck out swinging. Sheets walked but Garcia forced him at second to end the inning.
Former BoSox prospect Michael Kopech came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Schwarber took strike three but Renfroe walked. Bogaerts singled to left to chase Kopech. Aaron Bummer came in to face Devers and Rafael grounded out to short to end the inning. Michael Feliz came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Goodwin singled to center to begin. Hernandez forced Goodwin at center and Robert went down hacking. Moncada grounded out to short to end the inning.
The BoSox rallied in the top of the seventh with Billy Hamilton in left and Ryan Tepera now on the mound. Dalbec tripled to right but all Vazquez could do is score him with a ground out to second. Santana got a base hit to right and Alex Verdugo pinch hit for Iglesias. A wild pitch moved Santana to second and Verdugo singled to right to score Danny. Hernandez forced Verdugo at second and Garrett Crochet came in to face Schwarber. With the tying run at first....Schwarber flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 4-3.
Adam Ottavino came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Abreu walked to start. Jimenez took strike three, Grandal flied out to left and Hamilton struck out swinging to end the inning.
Old buddy Craig Kimbrel came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Renfroe took strike three. Bogaerts walked to put the tying run on but Devers popped up to third and Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Garcia grounded out to short to start. Goodwin walked and Hernandez blooped a single to right before Robert beat out a double play ball. Josh Taylor came in to face Moncada and hit him with a pitch to load the bases. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.
Liam Hendriks came in to close out the top of the ninth and Vazquez beat out a roller to short to start. Santana grounded out to second to move Vazquez to second but Verdugo grounded out to short. Travis Shaw pinch hit for Hernandez and flied out to center to end the game. The White Sox had won it 4-3.
White Sox win
Jackass Houck
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jackass of The Night is Tanner Houck. He put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of by allowing 4 runs in 3 2/3 innings.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 total runs scored.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
Darwinzon Hernandez tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Michael Feliz pitched a scoreless inning.
Adam Ottavino tossed a scoreless inning.
Ryan Brasier got the first two outs of the eighth inning.
Josh Taylor got the final out of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Travis Shaw was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Kyle Schwarber was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jose Iglesias was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Danny Santana was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
If the Red Sox miss the playoffs, games like this are going to be the ones they're kicking themselves over. The Sox fell behind early, rallied and couldn't complete the comeback. Its easy to see why, Alex Cora relied heavily on the bullpen and it crumbled. Now the warts in the rotation are showing as Houck failed to go four innings let alone five and things don't look good right now. There's still 19 games left in the season but the Sox are neck and neck with the New York Yankees for the wild card. The Sox need to go on a winning streak to at least put some distance between the two teams. Hats off to the bullpen in this one who didn't allow a run after Houck left the game. Too bad the Sox couldn't complete the comeback. The loss drops the Sox to 80-63, 9 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and 1 game ahead of the New York Yankees for the wild card. The BoSox look to bounce back tomorrow night against the ChiSox. Connor Seabold is scheduled to make his major league debut opposite Dylan Cease of Chicago. The game begins at 7:10 PM Eastern time at Comiskey Park.
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