Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Jackie Bradley Jr was placed on Paternity Leave to be there for the birth of his child and Jarren Duran has been called up from Worcester to take his spot. Congratulations to Jackie.
As for the game, this may be a lost season but at least the Sox can win a few games here and there. Tonight the Sox started their three team west coast trip by knocking off the horrible Oakland A's. Nathan Eovaldi (3-2, 3.41 ERA) tossed 6 shutout innings to keep the A's off the board. On the other side of the ball Xander Bogaerts homered off Oakland starter James Kaprielian to put Boston on top. Rbis from Franchy Cordero and Trevor Story gave the Sox some breathing room but the bullpen damn near blew it again. Tyler Danish and Matt Strahm allowed a pair of runs to cut the lead in half but a ninth inning rally highlighted by another Bogaerts double put the Sox up big. Ryan Brasier slammed the door in the ninth and the Sox had beaten the A's 7-2 at Oakland Coliseum.
Kaprielian got the ball to start the top of the first and Kike Hernandez got a base hit to center to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and JD Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning. Eovaldi got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tony Kemp led off with a fly out to center. "Razor" Ramon Laureano grounded out to second but old friend "Glassbones" Jed Lowrie doubled to left. Seth Brown struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Xander Bogaerts flied out to left to start. Alex Verdugo singled to left and Trevor Story drew a walk, but all Franchy Cordero could do was ground out to first to move the runners over. Bobby Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning. Elvis Andrus grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second and Chad Pinder struck out swinging. Sean Murphy went down hacking to end the inning.
Kevin Plawecki popped up to second to start the top of the third. Hernandez flied out to right and Devers lined out to a running Laureano to end the inning. Kevin Smith struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third and Christian Pache popped up to third. Kemp flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the fourth as Martinez grounded out to second to begin. Bogaerts then plastered his sixth home run of the season to put Boston on top. Verdugo walked but Story popped up to third. Cordero pitched in with a double to right to score Alex with another run. Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
The A's threatened in the top of the fourth as Laureano singled to center to start. Lowrie struck out swinging but Brown singled to center to move Laureano to third. Andrus flied out to right but Brown stole second. Pinder grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fifth as Plawecki flied out to left to start. Hernandez flied out to center and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Murphy flied out to right to start the bottom of the fifth before Smith lined out to right. Pache singled in the hole at short and stole second, but Kemp struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as Martinez singled to right to start. Bogaerts lined out to center but Verdugo was plunked to chase Kaprielian. Parker Markel came in and Story greeted him with a bases clearing double to left to increase the lead. Pinder made a great catch to rob Cordero of a double but Dalbec walked. Dalbec got picked off to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Eovaldi struck out Laureano swinging to start the bottom of the sixth and Lowrie was called out on strikes. Brown walked but Andrus forced him at second to end the inning. That was it for Eovaldi who tossed 6 shutout innings on 93 pitches. He allowed just 4 hits but struck out 8.
Austin Pruitt came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Plawecki grounded out to third to start. Hernandez ripped a double to center but Devers grounded out to second. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning. For some reason Sox manager Alex Cora brought in Tyler Danish to pitch the bottom of the seventh and naturally Pinder got a base hit to center to start. Murphy banged into a double play and Smith struck out swinging to end the inning.
Bogaerts grounded out to short to start the top of the eighth before Verdugo struck out swinging. Story got a base hit to left to chase Pruitt. Sam Selman came in and Story promptly stole second base, but Cordero struck out swinging to end the inning. Danish returned for the bottom of the eighth and naturally walked Pache to start. Matt Strahm came in to pitch to Kemp but A's manager Mark Kotsay pinch hit Sheldon Neuse instead. Somehow Strahm struck Sheldon out swinging but Laureano walked and Lowrie doubled home both runners to cut the lead in half. Christian Benthancourt pinch hit for Brown and Sox manager Alex Cora countered by bringing in John Schreiber. Schreiber froze Benthancourt for strike three but a wild pitch moved Lowrie to third. Andrus walked to put the tying run on but Pinder grounded out to second to end the inning with the A's down 4-2.
Domingo Acevedo came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Dalbec walked to start. Plawecki was plunked but Hernandez lined out to short. Sam Moll came in to pitch to Devers and Rafael doubled to center to score Dalbec. Martinez was intentionally walked to load the bases and Bogaerts doubled to left to score Plawecki and Devers. Story was intentionally walked to reload the bases but Cordero struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-2.
Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Murphy flied out to center to start. Smith struck out swinging and Pache flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-2.
Red Sox win
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored.
Hero of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. He homered for the first run and hit the kill shot in the ninth inning.
X-Hero
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 5.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Trevor Story was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and 2 rbis.
Bobby Dalbec walked twice in four plate appearances with a run scored.
Nathan Eovaldi earned the win with 6 shutout innings. He allowed 4 hits and struck out 8.
John Schreiber got the final two outs of the eighth inning.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Tyler Danish was charged with a run in an inning of work
Matt Strahm allowed an inherited runner to score and
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Franchy Cordero was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Just like the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, beating up the A's is nothing to be confident about. However the Sox need to win these games badly to get back into playoff contention. Just like last year, the top three teams in the AL are the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. Still, there were some good signs in this game such as Eovaldi pitching a shutout and pouring it on in the ninth. One of the reasons the Sox blew so many saves was their inability to put the game away late. Tonight they turned a 4-2 game into 7-2 and that was a big help in securing the win. The Sox still don't have reliable late inning relievers and now we're in the month of June, this is not a recipe for success moving forward. Danish was a below average pitcher in the minors and Strahm is being put into a situation he's not suited for. There's still time to go get a more experienced late inning reliever and a closer but it doesn't look like Sox brass will do that. Still, the good news is Verdugo and Cordero are starting to get some hits to compliment the others and hopefully the Sox can use this west coast trip to launch them back into contention. The win improved the Sox to 25-27, good for fourth place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two wins in a row over the A's tomorrow afternoon when Nick Pivetta (4-4, 3.95 ERA) takes on A's best pitcher Paul Blackburn of Oakland. The game begins at 4:05 PM at Oakland Coliseum.
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