Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Jeter Downs was sent back to Worcester to make room for Christian Arroyo to come off the Covid List. This is going to create good competition because Rob Refsnyder has played well when he's gotten the chance. The more options to give their starters rest, the better.
With the injuries to Garrett Whitlock, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Wacha during the course of the season, Nick Pivetta (8-5, 3.25 ERA) has been the ace of the Sox this year. Tonight he held the Cleveland Guardians to just 2 runs in 7 strong innings. Offensively the Sox got a big lift from the returning Christian Arroyo. Arroyo hot plunked to drive in a run and hit a two run shot to give the Sox the lead Pivetta would not relinquish. Tanner Houck got shelled in the ninth inning but held on to slam the door on Boston's fifth straight win. The Sox sent a message to the AL Central leaders with a 6-3 victory at Progressive Field.
Cal Quantrill got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran lined out to center to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Steven Kwan got a base hit to center to start. Armed Rosario singled to left but Jose Ramirez popped up to first. Kwan moved to third on the fly out to center by Josh Naylor and Rosario stole second. Oscar Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Verdugo led off the top of the second with a line out to left but Trevor Story got a base hit to left. Franchy Cordero and Christian Vazquez drew back to back walks to load the bases but Jackie Bradley Jr struck out swinging. The returning Christian Arroyo got plunked to score Story and put the Sox on top. Duran lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Franmil Reyes took strike three to start the bottom of the second but Andres Giminez singled to left. Austin Hedges flied out to left but Giminez stole second and scored on the base hit to center by Myles Straw. Kwan flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox instantly got the lead back in the top of the third when Devers belted his 17th home run of the season. Martinez took strike three, Verdugo lined out to left and Story flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Rosario singled off the glove of Devers to start the bottom of the third but Ramirez flied out to right. Naylor forced Rosario at second and Gonzalez popped up to second to end the inning.
Cordero grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Vazquez hit a ball in the hole at short. Rosario foolishly airmailed the throw to first to move Christian to second....only for him to get picked off. JBJ flied out to left to end the inning. The Guardians struck again in the bottom of the fourth although Reyes struck out swinging to start. Giminez hit a home run all thr way to Lake Michigan to tie the game but Hedges hit a liner to Pivetta. Straw flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Arroyo tried to start a rally with a base hit to center to begin the top of the fifth but Duran took strike three. Devers smacked a double to right but Arroyo was thrown out at home trying to score on a pop up to right by Martinez to end the inning.
Kwan grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Rosario grounded out to short. Ramirez got a base hit to right but Naylor grounded out to second to end the inning.
Sam Hentges came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Verdugo doubled to left to start. Story and Cordero both took strike three and Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning. Gonzalez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth but Reyes singled to left. Giminez popped up to third and Hedges grounded out to second to end the inning.
Bryan Shaw came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Bradley. Refsnyder walked and Arroyo clobbered his fourth home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Duran grounded out to first and Devers grounded out to third, but Martinez got a base hit to right. Anthony Gose came in to pitch to Verdugo and Alex stepped up with a double to left to score JD to increase the lead. Story was intentionally walked to get to Cordero but Sox manager Alex Cora countered by having Bobby Dalbec pinch hit for Franchy. Dalbec walked to load the bases but Vazquez popped up to third on a 3-1 count to end the inning with the Sox up 5-2.
Pivetta battled back from 3-0 to freeze Straw looking to open the bottom of the seventh. Kwan hit a rocket but Story made a great catch and Rosario grounded out to short to end the inning. That was it for Pivetta who tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball to put the Sox in position to win. He allowed 8 hits and struck out 4.
Yohan Ramirez came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Refsnyder took strike three to start. Arroyo beat out a roller to third but Duran forced him at second. Devers was plunked and a wild pitch moved both runners over. Martinez walked to load the bases but Giminez made a great catch to rob Verdugo of a double to end the inning. The Sox left the bases loaded three times in this one. John Schreiber came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Ramirez flied out to center to start. Naylor grounded out to short and Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Story got a base hit to right to start the top of the ninth but Dalbec lined out to center. Vazquez flied out to center but Refsnyder doubled into the left field corner to score Story with another run. Arroyo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.
Tanner Houck came in to close out the bottom of the ninth but Reyes singled to right to start. Giminez singled to right but Richie Palacios pinch hit for Hedges. Palacios struck out swinging but Houck but umpires ruled Straw was hit when he wasn't to load the bases. Kwan ripped a base hit to center to score Reyes but Rosario struck out swinging. Ramirez grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.
Hero of the Night is Christian Arroyo. His two run home run put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5 with an rbi.
Trevor Story was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Bobby Dalbec walked in two plate appearances.
Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 2 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Nick Pivetta got the win by tossing 7 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 8 hots, didn't walk anyone and struck out four.
John Schreiber pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Tanner Houck allowed a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That's five in a row for the Sox and that's 3 out of 4 against "good" teams like the Cardinals and Guardians. If it wasn't for the early season struggles Pivetta could be the odds on favorite to start the All-Star game. With Xander Bogaerts taking a night off, the duo of Refsnyder and Arroyo came up big. There's going to be a dogfight for spots on the team when Kike Hernandez gets back and it would be tough to send Refsnyder or Durran down the way they've been playing. The only thing to squawk about was the Guardians getting to Houck in the ninth, but they survived anyway. The Sox picked up a game on the New York Yankees so the division race isn't over yet. The Sox need to keep the momentum going if they hope to close the gap with New York. The win improved the Sox to 40-31, percentage points behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the first wild card. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Guardians and six in a row period tomorrow evening when Josh Winckowski (2-1, 3.68 ERA) goes up against Shane Bieber of Cleveland. The game begins at 6:10 PM Eastern time at Progressive Field.
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