Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Matt Barnes was placed on the Injured List with "shoulder inflammation" and the Sox activated Matt Strahm off the Covid List. Barnes has been shelled almost every time he gets the ball this year so maybe a vacation will help him.
Beating one of the worst team's in the league is no cause for celebration but at the very least Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock (2-1, 3.02 ERA) pitched his best game of the season to help the Red Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds. Whitlock tossed 6 dominant innings allowed just an unearned run and 5 hits to keep the Reds off the scoreboard. After a slow start, the Boston bats pounced on Reds starter Hunter Greene for 4 runs in the bottom of the fourth. A bases loaded triple by Jackie Bradley Jr in the bottom of the eigth iced the game and the Sox at least avoid the humiliation of being swept by the Reds with a 7-1 victory at Fenway Park.
Whitlock got the ball in the top of the first and Nick Senzel led off by grounding out to short. Brandon Drury got a base hit to right. Tyler Stephenson banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox offensive woes continued in the bottom of the first against Hunter Greene as Franchy Cordero, Rafael Devers and JD Martinez struck out swinging in short order.
Joey Votto flied out to center to begin the top of the second but Kyle Farmer singled to left. Albert Almora Jr banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox continued their slump in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts took strike three to start. Alex Verdugo grounded out to first and somehow Trevor Story ripped a double down the left field line. Naturally Christian Vazquez went down hacking to end the inning.
Mike Moustakas hit one up the elevator shaft to start the top of the third before Aristides Aquino popped up to second. Matt Reynolds grounded out to first to end the inning. Greene dominated the bottom of the third as Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left to start. Bobby Dalbec and Cordero both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Senzel grounded out to second to open the top of the fourth but Drury lined a base hit to center. Stephenson popped up to first and Votto hit a rocket to Dalbec to end the inning. Suddenly the Sox exploded in the bottom of the fourth as Devers doubled off the Monster to start. Martinez singled to left to move Devers to third and Bogaerts dropped a base hit to left to score Rafael. Verdugo doubled to right to score both runners but Story struck out swinging. Vazquez grounded out to first but JBJ dumped a base hit to center to score Verdugo and chase Greene just like that. Luis Cessa came in and got Dalbec to force Jackie at second to end the inning with the Sox up 4-1.
Verdugo drives in a pair
Farmer popped up to first to start the top of the fifth but Almora Jr beat out a roller to the mound. Moustakas grounded into a double play to end the inning. Cordero earned the hat trick by striking out swinging to begin the bottom of the fifth and Devers grounded back to the mound. Martinez struck out swinging again to end the inning.
The Reds fought back in the top of the sixth as Aquino singled to left to start. Reynolds flied out to right and Aquino took off for second. Vazquez inexplicably turned and fired the ball 75 feet behind him for an error to move Aquino to third. Senzel grounded out to first to score Aquino and Drury flied out to right to end the inning with the Reds down 4-1. Despite just throwing 70 pitches that was it for The Lock who allowed an unearned run in 6 solid innings.
Vladimir Gutierrez came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Bogaerts walked to start. Verdugo doubled to left but the Sox blew it when Story grounded back to the mound and Bogaerts was thrown out at home on a grounder to short by Vazquez. Ross Detwiler came in to pitch to JBJ and Jackie grounded out to first to end the inning, what a waste.
Tanner Houck came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Stephenson grounded out to short to start. Votto flied out to left and Farmer lined out to center to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the seventh as Dalbec struck out swinging again to start. Cordero grounded out to second and Devers flied out to right to end the inning.
Houck returned for the top of the eighth and Almora Jr struck out swinging to begin. Moustakas lined out to right but Aquino got a base hit in the hole at short. Alejo Lopez pinch hit for Reynolds and grounded out to third to end the inning. Jeff Hoffman came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Martinez earned the hat trick by going down hacking. Bogaerts and Verdugo worked back to back walks before a wild pitch moved both runners over. Story was intentionally walked to load the bases but set up a double play. Vazquez did strike out swinging but JBJ tripled into the left field corner to clear the bases. Dalbec flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
John Schreiber came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Senzel singled to center to start. Drury popped up to first but Senzel moved to second on the grounder to third by Stephenson. Votto grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-1.
Hero of the Night is Garrett Whitlock. He tossed 6 innings and allowed an unearned run to get the win.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 2 with 2 walks, an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Trevor Story was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with 4 rbis.
Tanner Houck tossed 2 scoreless innings.
John Schreiber pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Franchy Cordero was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Beating the Reds is nothing special but if Alex Verdugo starts showing some life, Whitlock looks dominant and JBJ gets a couple of hits, at least it was good for something. Houck is starting to settle into the bullpen role Whitlock was originally supposed to be in so Sox brass better hope both can thrive in their current roles. Whitlock only threw 70 pitches so he could have definitely gone at least another inning. Apart from Vazquez throwing the ball away and Cordero swinging at air most of the game, there really wasn't much to complain about. Unfortunately the win didn't gain any ground as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied to beat the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox. Still, the Sox need to get out of their own hole before they can start thinking about catching those two teams. Hopefully the Sox can pull off some upsets on their upcoming ten day west coast trip to Oakland, Los Angeles and Seattle. The win improved the Sox to 24-27, good for 4th place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action on the west coast in Oakland. Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 3.77 ERA) gets the start for Boston against James Kaprielian of the A's. The game begins at 9:40 PM Eastern time at Oakland Coliseum.
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