Before the game the Boston Red Sox made roster moves. Kike Hernandez and Rich Hill were placed on the Covid List and the Sox called up highly rated prospect Jarren Duran from Worcester and pitcher John Schreiber to replace them. Duran had been lighting up AAA but this move was more so because Kike is out than it is promoting Jarren for good.
The good news was the Boston Bruins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of their first round NHL playoff series but the bad news is the Red Sox are officially in panic mode. Its bad enough they've lost their third straight game and 17 out of 20 games, its HOW they're losing. The offense has been downright putrid all season and it continued tonight against the Chicago White Sox. One of Chicago's worst pitchers, Vince Velaquez held the Sox to one measly one in five innings. Meanwhile Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 2.94 ERA) needed 101 pitches to get through five innings after allowing three runs, two of which on a Luis Robert two run home run. The only ones who showed any signs of life were Jackie Bradley Jr who knocked in a run plus threw out a baserunner at home and Jarren Duran who hit a scintillating triple. Apart from that, the entire offense continued to slump including the $130 million dollar Trevor Story and it all added up to a 4-2 loss at Fenway Park to send Boston directly into last place.
Eovaldi got the ball in the top of the first inning and Tim Anderson bear out a roller to short to start. AJ Pollock struck out swinging but Jose Abreu singled Anderson to third. Luis Robert lined out to Jackie Bradley Jr but Yasmini Grandal walked to load the bases. Gavin Sheets struck out swinging to end the inning. Vince Velazquez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran made his season debut by flying out to center. Trevor Story got a base hit to center before moving to second on the grounder to short by Rafael Devers. Xander Bogaerts lined out to center to end the inning.
Jake Burger struck out swinging to start the top of the second before Reese McGuire grounded out to short. Leury Garcia flied out to left to end the inning. JD Martinez lined out to right to begin the bottom of the second before Alex Verdugo struck out swinging. Bobby Dalbec walked but Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left to end the inning.
The White Sox struck first in the top of the third as Anderson got a base hit to left to begin. Pollock singled Tim to third and Anderson scored on the sac fly to right by Abreu to put the White Sox up for good. Robert iced the game with a 2 run blast to Neptune and Grandal walked to make the crowd get up and leave less than 3 full innings into the game. Sheets banged into a double play to end the inning but the game was over already with Chicago up 3-0.
The Sox rolled over in the bottom of the third as Kevin Plawecki flied out to center to start. Duran grounded out to first and Story grounded out to short to end the inning.
Burger got a base hit to left to start the top of the fourth and moved to second on the McGuire sacrifice bunt. Garcia flied out to left and Anderson grounded out to second to end the inning. Devers grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the fourth but Bogaerts walked. Martinez banged into a double play as Fenway rained down boos to end the inning.
Eovaldi came back for the top of the fifth and Pollock flied out to left to start. Abreu grounded out to third but Robert walked. On Eovaldi's 101st pitch, Grandal took strike three to end the inning. Sox manager Alex Cora pulled Rich Hill after 68 pitches but let Eovaldi throw over 100 to allow 3 runs in 5 innings.
Somehow the Sox rallied in the bottom of the fifth as Verdugo doubled to center to start. Dalbec popped up to first but JBJ doubled to center to cut the lead. Plawecki grounded out to short to move JBJ to third and Duran was plunked to put the tying run on. Story was rung up for strike three to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.
Austin Davis came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Engel flied out to right to start. Burger walked but was erased on the force by McGuire. Garcia singled to right and that was it for Davis. John Schreiber came in to pitch and Anderson beat out an infield single to short to load the bases. Pollock struck out swinging to end the inning. Matt Foster came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Devers walked to start. Bogaerts ended up hitting a bullet to Garcia who doubled off Devers for the double play. Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
Schreiber came back for the top of the seventh as Abreu flied out to center to start. Robert grounded out to first and Grandal struck out swinging to end the inning. Aaron Bummer came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Verdugo struck out swinging to start. Dalbec was plunked but was forced at second by JBJ. Plawecki grounded out to short to end the inning.
Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Engel singled to center to start. Engel swiped second, moved to third on the Burger fly ball to right and scored on the McGuire sac fly to right. Garcia hit a ground rule double into the right field stands but Anderson grounded out to short to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 4-1.
Kendall Graveman came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Duran got a lucky triple when Engel misplayed an easily catchable fly ball. Story grounded out to second but Duran scored to cut the lead. Devers singled to left to bring the tying run to the plate but Bogaerts struck out swinging. Martinez beat out a roller to third but Verdugo grounded back to the mound on the first pitch to end the inning with the BoSox down 4-2.
The lone highlight of the night
Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Pollock walked to start. Pollock stole second base and took third on a wild pitch before Abreu popped up to center. For some reason Pollock tried to come home and JBJ gunned him down at the plate. Robert struck out swinging to end the inning. Liam Hendriks came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Franchy Cordero pinch hit for Dalbec. Cordero watched strike three go right down the middle and JBJ went down hacking. Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Plawecki and walked, but Duran struck out swinging to end the game. The White Sox had won it 4-2.
White Sox win
Swing the bat, Jackass
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jackass of the Night is Franchy Cordero. How do you not even swing the bat as a pinch hitter?
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Bobby Dalbec walked and was hit with a pitch in 3 plate appearances.
Christian Vazquez walked as a pinch hitter.
Austin Davis got the first two outs of the sixth inning.
John Schreiber tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3.
Nathan Eovaldi took the loss by throwing 101 pitches just to get 15 outs while allowing 3 runs.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run and threw out a runner at home.
Final Thoughts:
Say hello to your last place Red Sox and it couldn't have happened to a nicer organization. It all starts up top and it appears that Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are as good as gone. Sox GM Chaim Bloom still thinks he's in Tampa and his analytic team thinks he can get better value out of minor league guys than he can Devers and Bogaerts. The problem is everything blew up in his face. Devers and Bogaerts are regressing at the plate and Trevor Story has been a titanic bust of epic proportions. The fact Cora had virtually no one reliable to pinch hit in the ninth is also on Bloom for failing to get reliable bats off the bench. Sox fans are calling for the heads of JBJ and Dalbec and at least Jackie showed off his defensive capabilities tonight. The only bright spot was Duran showing off his speed and if he ever learns how to hit, he's a keeper. The problem is if Bloom and owner John Henry want to blow the team up, they better get some future stars in return. There still is a very small chance the Sox turn it around but its growing bleaker by the day. Between Cora's quick hooks, the unreliable bullpen and the historically bad Sox offense, they deserve to be in last place. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow afternoon against the White Sox when Nick Pivetta (0-4, 7.84 ERA) takes on Dylan Cease of Chicago. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment