The good news was the Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their NBA East Finals series but the bad news was the Chicago White Sox ended the Boston Red Sox' six game winning streak with superb pitching. Lucas Giolito held the surging Red Sox to just 1 run and and 5 hits in the game. The White Sox bullpen held the foot with 3 scoreless innings. Meanwhile Rich Hill allowed the ChiSox to just 2 hits in 5 innings, only problem was one of the hits was a three run home run by Jake Burger. Tanner Houck held the White Sox to just 3 hits in relief and the Sox as a team outhit the White Sox, but they couldn't score any runs by leaving 12 men on base. It all added up to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the White Sox at Fenway Park.
Boston wasted no time getting to Giolito in the top of the first inning as Kike Hernandez grounded out to first to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but JD Martinez singled to right. Xander Bogaerts walked and Alex Verdugo singled to right to score JD to put the BoSox on top. Trevor Story grounded out to short to end the inning with the BoSox up 1-0.
Hill got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tim Anderson took strike three to start. Andrew Vaughn flied out to center and Yoan Moncada grounded out to first to end the inning.
Franchy Cordero's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Giolito to begin the top of the second. Christian Vazquez walked and Jackie Bradley Jr beat out a roller to third, but Hernandez struck out swinging. Devers flied out to center to end the inning. Jose Abreu grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second and AJ Pollock grounded out to third. Jake Burger flied out to right to end the inning.
The BoSox blew a rally in the top of the third as Martinez walked to start. Bogaerts singled to right but Verdugo flied out to left. Story banged into a double play to end the inning. Adam Engel popped up to first to start the bottom of the third bit Reese McGuire walked. Josh Harrison hit into a double play to end the inning.
Boston blew another rally in the top of the fourth as Cordero struck out swinging to start. Vazquez walked but JBJ took strike three. Hernandez got a base hit to center but Devers popped up to short to end the inning. Anderson flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth and Vaughn grounded out to short. Moncada also grounded out to short to end the inning.
Martinez grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth and Bogaerts struck out swinging. Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning. The White Sox struck back in the bottom of the fifth as Abreu doubled to right to start. Pollock hit a routine grounder to Devers who threw high of first for an error. Burger then hit a home run all the way to Florida to put the White Sox up for good. Engel flied out to right, McGuire flied out to left and Harrison lined out to center to end the inning with the ChiSox up 3-1. Despite throwing just 65 pitches, that was it for Hill who gave up just 2 hits but one of them was the 3 run homer.
The BoSox failed to respond in the top of the sixth as Story struck out swinging to start. Cordero flied out to center and Vazquez lined out to right to end the inning. Giolito held Boston to just 5 hits and a run in 6 innings. Tanner Houck came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Anderson grounded out to third to start. Vaughn singled to left but Moncada took strike three. Abreu walked but Pollock struck out swinging to end the inning.
Aaron Bummer came in to pitch the top of the seventh and JBJ grounded out to second to start. Hernandez grounded out to short but Devers singled to center to chase Bummer. Kendall Graveman came in to pitch and Martinez singled to right. Bogaerts walked to load the bases but Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. Burger grounded out to third to start the bottom of the seventh and Engel lined out to Devers. McGuire singled to left and Harrison got a base hit to right but Anderson forced Josh at second to end the inning.
Old friend Joe Kelly came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Story got called out on a bad strike three call. Cordero struck out swinging but all of a sudden Kelly started grabbing his hamstring and had to leave the game. Liam Hendriks came in and Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning. Houck returned for the bottom of the eighth and Vaughn flied out to right to start. Moncada struck out swinging but Abreu walked. Pollock grounded out to third to end the inning.
JBJ grounded out to third to start the top of the ninth but Hernandez walked. Devers struck out swinging but Martinez walked to put the tying run on. Bobby Dalbec pinch ran for Martinez but Bogaerts flied out to right to end the game. The Red Sox left 12 men on base and lost the game 3-1.
Jackass of the Night is Trevor Story. He was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and left four men on base by himself.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Christian Vazquez walked twice in four plate appearances.
Tanner Houck tossed 3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts and an error.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rich Hill took the loss by allowing 3 runs in 5 innings of work but held the White Sox to just two hits.
Honorable Mention:
Bobby Dalbec ran for Martinez in the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Winning seven in a row sounds greedy but this is a game the Red Sox could have won. They have been hitting 2 to 3 run home runs consistently for a week, all they needed was just one. Instead they were held scoreless after the first inning. Devers throwing high to first base led to the three run home run and Hill definitely deserved better. He had no-hit the ChiSox up until that point. Houck soaked up 3 innings to save the bullpen for tomorrow but it was all for naught. Story, Cordero, Devers and Vazquez combined for just 1 hit and 2 walks between them. The worst part was the loss felt like most every loss from before the Houston series. Back in Boston, the White Sox media taunted the Red Sox by saying a 3 run lead was insurmountable the way the Red Sox were hitting. That's exactly what happened in this game. the game was over after the fifth inning. Hopefully this game was just an aberration and not going back to status quo. The loss dropped the Sox to 20-23, good for 4th place in the AL East. The Sox look to take three out of four from Chicago tomorrow night when Michael Wacha (3-0, 1.76 ERA) takes on Dallas Keuchel of Chicago. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Comiskey Park.
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