The bad news was the Boston Bruins lost Game 5 of their first round NHL playoff series to the Carolina Hurricanes but the good news was the Boston Red Sox snapped their losing streak. Who would have thought that the tonic the Red Sox needed to get their offense going was the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves? The normally garbage Red Sox offense attacked Braves pitching for 11 hits and 9 runs to match their highest run total of the entire season. Braves starter Kyle Wright allowed a backbreaking grand slam to Rafael Devers in the second inning to highlight a 6 run inning. The Braves slowly chipped away, getting 3 runs off Sox starter Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock and another off Hansel Robles in the seventh inning. In the top of the ninth the Sox lit up old buddy Tyler Thornburg for 3 runs to put the game away. Apart from Robles, the bullpen pitched in to shut down the Braves and gave the Sox their first victory in a week with a 9-4 drubbing of the Braves at Truist Park.
Wright got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Rafael Devers flied out to left and JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. Whitlock struggled in the bottom of the first as Ronald Acuna Jr walked to start. Matt Olson flied out to left but Acuna took off for second base. Christian Vazquez threw the ball over the head of everybody for an error to move Acuna to third but Austin Riley was rung up for strike three. Marcell Ozuna walked on a full count but Ozzie Albies struck out swinging on a full count to end the inning with Whitlock already at 32 pitches.
Somehow the Sox rallied in the top of the second as Xander Bogaerts grounded out to short to start. Alex Verdugo got a base hit to center, Trevor Story got a base hit to left and Franchy Cordero walked to load the bases. Vazquez atoned for his error with a base hit to center to score Verdugo and Jackie Bradley Jr drew a walk to score Story. Hernandez forced Cordero out at home but Devers smashed a grand slam to dead center to put the Sox up big. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning but the Sox had taken a 6-0 lead.
The Braves threatened in the bottom of the second as Travis d'Arnaud got a base hit to right to start. d'Arnaud moved to second on the grounder to second by Adam Duvall and to third on the base hit by Travis Demeritte. Dansby Swanson struck out swinging and Acuna Jr went down hacking to end the inning with Whitlock at 50 pitches already.
Bogaerts got a line drive base hit to center to open the top of the third but Verdugo flied out to center. Story popped up to first but Cordero walked again. Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning. The Braves fought back in the bottom of the third as Olson doubled to right to start. A wild pitch moved Olson to third and Riley walked to put runners at the corners. Ozuna hit a sac fly to right to score Olson but Albies flied out to left. d'Arnaud then hot a home run so far that Verdugo pulled down the left field wall cover in frustration. Duvall walked but Demeritte struck out swinging to end the inning with the lead cut in half, 6-3. That was it for The Lock who didn't have it tonight, allowing 3 runs in 3 innings.
JBJ struck out swinging to open the top of the fourth and Hernandez grounded out to second. Devers doubled to left but Martinez took strike three to end the inning. Tyler Danish came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and Swanson lined out to center to start. Acuna Jr singled to center but Olson took strike three. Riley forced Acuna at second to end the inning.
Bogaerts got a base hit to left to start the top of the fifth but Verdugo lined out to right. Story lined out to second but a wild pitch moved Bogaerts to second. Cordero walked again and that was it for Wright. Jesse Chavez came in to pitch and Vazquez was rung up on a bad call for strike three to end the inning. Danish returned for the bottom of the fifth and Ozuna grounded out to short to start. Albers grounded out to first and d'Arnaud went down hacking to end the inning.
Tyler Matzek came in to pitch the top of the sixth and JBJ walked to start. Hernandez popped up to short, Devers struck out swinging and Martinez flied out to right to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Duvall flied out to center to start. Demeritte popped up to third and Swanson flied out to center to end the inning.
Jackson Stephens came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Bogaerts struck out swinging to start. Verdugo flied out to center and Story struck out swinging to end the inning. Hansel Robles picked up where he left off against Chicago and walked Acuna to start the bottom of the seventh. Naturally Olsen singled to right to move Acuna to third but somehow Riley flied out to right without scoring a run. In more ineptitude, Ozuna hit a double play ball to Bogaerts but he bobbled it, only getting Olsen at second to score Acuna. Azuna swiped second but Albies flied out to JBJ at the warning track to end the inning with the Braves inching closer down 6-4.
Despite walking three times, Bobby Dalbec was sent to pinch hit for Cordero to start the top of the eighth against new pitcher AJ Minter. Shockingly Dalbec got a base hit to left before moving to second on a wild pitch. Naturally Vazquez and JBJ both struck out swinging before Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning. John Schreiber got the ball in the bottom of the eighth and d'Arnaud grounded out to first to start. Duvall popped up to first and Demeritte struck out swinging to end the inning.
Old friend Tyler Thornburg made a mad dash to the mound to start the top of the ninth and did what he did for the Sox, blow it. Devers walked, Martinez got a base hit to left and Bogaerts singled to center to load the bases with nobody out. Verdugo walked home Devers and Story got a base hit to left to score two runs. Dalbec flied out to right to move Verdugo to third but Vazquez flied out to right. JBJ popped up to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-4.
Schreiber returned to close out the bottom of the ninth with Christian Arroyo taking over at short and Swanson flied out to center to start. Acuna Jr went down hacking and Olson struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-4.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. His grand slam proved to be the difference in the game and gave the Sox a cushion they wouldn't relinquish.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 5 with a run scored.
Trevor Story was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Franchy Cordero walked three times.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 2 at the plate.
Tyler Danish got the win with 2 scoreless innings.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
John Schreiber earned the save with 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Garrett Whitlock allowed 3 runs in 3 innings of work.
Hansel Robles allowed a run in the bottom of the seventh.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 5 with a strikeout but drew a walk.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts and an error but knocked in a run and scored a run.
Jackie Bradley was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked twice, drove in a run and scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Christian Arroyo played shortstop in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
So that's what a win felt like. It sure didn't look good for a while after the Sox stopped scoring after the second inning and the Braves got 3 runs off Whitlock. When Robles almost coughed it up fans groaned but thankfully Tyler Thornburg brought his magic to Atlanta and the Sox tagged him for much needed insurance runs. Whitlock didn't look sharp at all and the bullpen was forced to toss 6 innings but holding the world champs to 1 run in 6 innings is pretty good. Danish and Schreiber were minor league scrap heap pickups and they've done pretty well so far. The rest of the league will figure them out eventually but Sox manager Alex Cora should ride with the hot hands for as long as he can. Lord knows Matt Barnes and Hansel Robles sure as hell isn't working. It was nice to see someone else besides Devers, Bogaerts and Martinez step up such as Cordero displaying patience to draw 3 walks, Dalbec busting out of his slump with a base hit and Story getting the big hit in the ninth to ice the game. It would be unwise to expect the team to start hitting now but maybe Monday's off-day and tonight's performance will be a spark to keep momentum going. The win improved the Sox to 11-19. 10.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it 2 in a row against the Braves tomorrow night when Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 2.94 ERA) takes on Ian Anderson of Atlanta. The game begins at 7:20 PM at Truist Park.
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