The bad news was the Golden State Warriors crushed the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals but the good news was the Boston Red Sox swept the Oakland A's out of their own, seagull inhabited stadium. Rich Hill (2-3, 4.40 ERA) tossed 6 solid innings and allowed just one run to the A's. Meanwhile Rafael Devers put the Sox on top three batters into the game against Frankie Montas. Tied 1-1 in the sixth inning, Franchy Cordero hit a backbreaking 3 run homer to put the Sox up for good. Devers added a home run of his own for insurance in the eighth inning and the bullpen survived yet another Ryan Brasier meltdown in the ninth inning. It all added up to a 3 game sweep of the A's and four wins in a row overall for Boston as they won 5-2 over Oakland in the Oakland Coliseum.
Montas got the ball in the top of the first and Jarren Duran led off with a base hit to center. Kike Hernandez got a base hit to left and Rafael Devers got a base hit to left to score Duran. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging but Alex Verdugo got a single to center to load the bases. Trevor Story struck out swinging and Franchy Cordero hit a bullet...right to Seth Brown to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Hill got the ball in the bottom of the first and Chad Pinder immediately doubled down the left field line to begin. Elvis Andrus popped up to second and "Glassbones" Jed Lowrie grounded out to third. Naturally "Razor" Ramon Laureano doubled just inside the right field line to score Pinder. Christian Bethancourt took strike three to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Christian Vazquez grounded out to third to start the top of the second and Bobby Dalbec doubled to the centerfield wall. Duran struck out swinging and Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning. Brown took strike three to start the bottom of the second and Sheldon Neuse grounded out to third. Kevin Smith flied out to center to end the inning.
Devers lined out to center to start the top of the third before Bogaerts grounded out to third. Verdugo popped up to first to end the inning. Christian Pache grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third and Pinder took strike three. Andrus lined out to right to end the inning.
Story struck out swinging again to start the top of the fourth before Cordero grounded out to second. Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning. The A's beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the fourth as Lowrie grounded out to short to start. Laureano grounded out to second and Bethancourt grounded out to short to end the inning.
Dalbec struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Duran struck out swinging again. Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning. Hill cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Brown lined out to right to start. Neuse took strike three and Smith grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox rallied in the top of the sixth as Devers walked to start. It looked like Bogaerts grounded out to third but Pinder's foot came off the bag for an error. Verdugo popped up to right and Story popped up to second, but Cordero stunned everyone with a 3 run opposite field bomb to put the Sox on top. Vazquez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Pache flied out to right to start the bottom of the sixth and Pinder grounded out to third. Andrus struck out swinging on a nasty slider to end the inning. That's 16 in a row retired by Hill.
Zach Jackson came in to pitch the top of the seventh and froze Dalbec for strike three to start. Duran watched strike three go by and Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning
Hill tried to come out for the bottom of the seventh but Lowrie chased him with a base hit to right. Hill allowed just one run in six plus innings of work. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 5. John Schreiber came in and Laureano flied out to right before blowing away Bethancourt. Brown singled in the hole at second and Tony Kemp pinch hit for Neuse. Kemp walked to load the bases and Smith struck out swinging to end the inning.
AJ Puk came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Devers smashed his 12th home run of the season to ice the game. Puk kicked a grounder by Bogaerts to Pinder who threw to first for the out. Verdugo grounded back to the mound and Story took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Tyler Danish came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Pache took strike three to start. Pinder grounded out to second but Andrus got a hit to right. Lowrie flied out to right to end the inning.
Dany Jimenez came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Cordero flied out to center to start. Vazquez grounded out to second and Dalbec lined one off Jimenez but right to Kemp, who threw over to first for the out to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Laureano lined out to right to start. Bethancourt doubled to center and moved to third on the grounder to second by Brown. Kemp singled to center to score Bethancourt and Luis Barrera pinch hit for Smith. Barrera struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.
Hero of the Night is Franchy Cordero. His 3 run homer put the Sox up for good and outscored the entire A's production.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 3 with a walk, a home run, 2 total rbis and two total runs scored.
Rich Hill earned the win by tossing 6 innings of one run ball. He allowed just 3 hits and struck out 5.
John Schreiber tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
Tyler Danish pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Trevor Story was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but scored a run.
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4.
Bobby Dalbec was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Took until June 5th but the Red Sox are back to .500. The A's and Cincinnati Reds stink but the Sox are supposed to beat up on bad teams. The encouraging sign is continuing contributions from the bottom of the order. Dalbec and Verdugo each got a hit and Cordero hit the big 3 run bomb. Getting one hit may not seem like much from Alex and Bobby, but for the first month or so NOBODY could hit outside of Devers, Bogaerts and JD Martinez. Apart from Ryan Brasier continuing to allow runs and Story going 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts, there wasn't much to complain about. The Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays both lost so the Sox picked up on a game on both. They're still a long way out from a playoff spot but they're heading in the right direction. The Sox main issues are the back end of the rotation and the near useless bullpen. The good news is both can be fixed and just might be, after all, the Sox can get an experienced late inning relief pitcher ANYWHERE for any price. The Sox have the prospects in the system to trade, especially with the MLB draft just over a month from now to replenish anyone lost. Getting Chris Sale or James Paxton back would be nice as well. All in all it was a good win and hopefully the Sox can keep the momentum going as their west coast trip continues. The win puts the Sox back to .500 at 27-27, good for fourth place in the AL East. The Sox now travel to LA to play the Angels tomorrow night who've just lost 11 games in a row. Michael Wacha (3-1, 2.43 ERA) takes on Noah Syndergaard of the Angels. The game begins at 9:38 PM at Angel Stadium.
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