Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Jackie Bradley Jr was reinstated from the paternity list and Jarren Duran was sent back to Worcester to make room for him. Duran had a few hits in his two games up here and may get the call to come back sooner or later depending on injuries.
As for the game, the bad news was the Los Angeles Angels were coming off 11 straight losses and were due for a win. Noah Syndergaard held the Sox to just 1 run through six innings and the Angels bullpen allowed just 1 hit and no runs in the next three innings. Too bad for the Angels they ran smack into the buzzsaw known as Michael Wacha (4-1, 1.99 ERA). Wacha shocked the world by throwing a complete game, three hit shutout against the hapless Angels. Wacha threw 105 pitches and kept the prolific tandem of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in check for most of the game. The Sox got their only run when Christian Vazquez drove in Alex Verdugo in the second inning but it just happened to be enough. The Red Sox won their fifth straight game, put themselves over .500 and shut out the Angels 1-0 at Angel Stadium.
Syndergaard got the ball in the top of the first inning and Christian Arroyo popped up to short to start. Rafael Devers got a base hit to right but JD Martinez popped up to first. Xander Bogaerts forced Devers at second to end the inning. Wacha got the ball in the bottom of the first and Matt Duffy flied out to center to start. Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout stroked back to back singles but Jared Walsh hit a bullet to Franchy Cordero who tagged out Trout to end the inning.
Alex Verdugo lined a base hit to left to begin the top of the second but Trevor Story popped up to first. Cordero flied out to center but Christian Vazquez got a base hit to center. Verdugo came all the way around to score and Max Stassi airmail the throw to second for an error to allow Vazquez to reach third. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded into the shift to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Stassi popped up to center to start the bottom of the second and Brandon Marsh flied out to deep left. Luis Rengifo lined out to a running JBJ to end the inning.
Arroyo flied out to left to start the top of the third and Devers did the same. Martinez got a base hit in the hole at short and Bogaerts doubled to left, but Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. Jo Adell grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Andrew Velazquez lined out to left. Duffy grounded out to third to end the inning.
Story took strike three to start the top of the fourth and Cordero grounded out to first. Vazquez flied out to center to end the inning. Ohtani lined out to first to start the bottom of the fourth and Trout went down hacking. Walsh popped up to third to end the inning.
JBJ flied out to left to start the top of the fifth but Arroyo was hit with a pitch. Devers flied out to center but Arroyo swiped second. Martinez walked but Bogaerts forced him at second to end the inning. Stassi grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Marsh popped up to second. Rengifo took strike three to end the inning.
Verdugo lined out to center to start the top of the sixth and Story took strike three again. Cordero struck out swinging to end the inning. Adell struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth and Velazquez flied out to left, but Duffy doubled to left. Ohtani struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jimmy Herget came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Vazquez grounded out to third to start. JBJ grounded out to short and Arroyo lined out to left to end the inning. Wacha returned for the bottom of the seventh but walked Trout to start. Walsh lined out to third and Stassi grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox failed to get some insurance in the top of the eighth as Devers lined out to right to start. Martinez did manage to get a double to right but Bogaerts could only move him to third with a fly out to right. Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning. Bobby Dalbec took over for Arroyo to start the bottom of the eighth at first with Cordero moving to right. Marsh struck out swinging before Rengifo flied out to center. Adell took strike three to end the inning with Wacha at 98 pitches.
Andrew Wantz came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Story grounded out to first to start. Cordero took strike three and Vazquez flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox had just 6 hits in the game and one measly run. Wacha returned to finish his work in the top of the ninth and Velazquez flied out to left on the first pitch to begin. Duffy grounded out to second to bring up Ohtani with Wacha at 104 pitches. Wacha just needed one pitch to get Ohtani to ground out to second to end the game. Wacha had thrown a complete game, 3 hit shutout to blank the Angels 1-0.
Hero of the Night is Michael Wacha. He tossed a complete game, 3 hit shutout while striking out 6 to earn the win.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 2 for 3 with a walk.
The Bad:
Trevor Story was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch and stole a base.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Bobby Dalbec played first base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
On May 11th the Red Sox were walked off by the Atlanta Braves and their record stood at 11-20. The Sox have gone 17-7 since then including their current five game win streak. The Angels are in a complete nosedive as this was their 12th loss in a row, but the Sox aren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Wacha has been Boston's best starter all season and tonight he pitched one of his best games ever, holding the Angels to 3 hits in a complete game shutout. The Sox bats were silenced by Syndergaard and the bullpen but Wacha's effort put them in the win column anyway. Sox starters have not allowed an earned run since Rich Hill crapped himself against Baltimore on May 30th, doesn't matter the competition for that to be impressive. The bottom line is the Sox have come around and now its time to start passing some teams in the AL East as the month progresses. The win improves the Sox to 28-27, good for 4th place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it 6 wins in a row for them and 13 straight losses for the Angels tomorrow night when Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock (2-1, 3.02 ERA) takes on Captain TBD of the Angels. The game begins at 9:38 PM at Angel Stadium.
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