As for the game, the Sox may have something in 23 year old Josh Winckowski (2-1, 3.68 ERA). In tonight's game against the Detroit Tigers, Winckowski almost went 7 innings and held the Detroit Tigers to just 2 runs for his second straight good start. Offensively the Sox didn't do much in terms of bulk but they finally got some clutch hits here and there. JD Martinez, Rafael Devers, Christian Vazquez and Franchy Cordero all drove in runs for the Sox. The Tigers actually outhit the Sox 10-9 but those clutch ones were the difference. The much maligned bullpen managed to slam the door after Winckowski left and Tanner Houck got another save. It all added up to a 5-2 victory against the Tigers at Fenway Park.
Winckowski got the ball in the top of the first inning and Victor Reyes popped up to short to start. Robbie Grossman struck out swinging and Miguel Cabrera grounded out to short to end the inning. Faedo got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Jarren Duran walked to start. Duran swiped second but Rafael Devers took strike three. JD Martinez put the Sox on top with a base hit to right to score Duran. Xander Bogaerts popped up to third and Alex Verdugo flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Tigers immediately struck back in the top of the second as Javier Baez flied out to right to start. Riley Greene walked and Jeimer Candelario got a base hit to left to move Riley to third. Spencer Torkelson hit a sac fly to center to score Greene and Jonathan Schoop grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
As usual Trevor Story struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second but Franchy Cordero smashed a double off the centerfield wall. Cordero moved to third on the grounder to short by Christian Vazquez but Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to center to end the inning.
Tucker Barnhart got a base hit to center to start the top of the third but Reyes flied out to center. Grossman hit a bullet to Cordero who doubled off Barnhart to end the inning. Duran hit a ground rule double down the right field line to start the bottom of the third and Devers doubled to right to score him. Martinez lined out to deep center to move Devers to third but Bogaerts grounded out to short. Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
The Tigers threatened although Cabrera flied out to center to start the top of the fourth. Baez doubled to right and moved to third on the Greene grounder to first. Candelario grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Greene dropped a routine pop up by Story to start. Cordero made the Tigers pay with a base hit to right to move Trevor to third and Vazquez scored Story with a sac fly to left. JBJ forced Cordero at second but Duran got a base hit to left. Both runners pulled off a double steal and Devers walked to load the bases. Martinez grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
Winckowski cruised in the top of the fifth as Torkelson grounded out to short to start. Schoop took strike three and Barnhart grounded out to second to end the inning. Bogaerts flied out to right to start the bottom of the fifth but Verdugo got a base hit to center and Story doubled to left to chase Faedo. Tyler Alexander came in to face Cordero stepped up with a base hit to center to score both runners. Vazquez struck out swinging and JBJ grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-1.
The Tigers tried to rally in the top of the sixth when Reyes got a base hit to right to start. Grossman popped up to third, Cabrera popped up to second, and Baez grounded out to third to end the inning with Winckowski at just 78 pitches. Duran popped up to short to start the bottom of the sixth and Devers struck out swinging. Martinez flied out to right to end the inning.
Winckowski returned for the top of the seventh but Greene singled to left to start. Candelario banged into a double play but Torkelson lined a base hit up the middle. Schoop doubled to right to score Torkelson and chase Winckowski. Jake Diekman came in and Eric Haase pinch hit for Barnhart. Haase hit a rocket but Verdugo made a great diving catch to end the inning. Winckowski pitched very well, holding the Tigers to just 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings with the Sox still ahead 5-2.
Joe Jimenez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Bogaerts took strike three to start. Verdugo went down hacking and Story grounded out to short to end the inning.
Matt Strahm came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning and Reyes struck out swinging to start. Grossman singled to right but Cabrera forced him at second to chase Strahm. John Schreiber was brought in to face Baez buy Javier doubled to left. With the game on the line, Schreiber punched out Greene to end the inning. Will Vest came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Cordero hit a rocket to Greene to start. Vazquez grounded back to the mound and JBJ grounded out to second to end the inning.
Tanner Houck came in to close out the top of the ninth and Bobby Dalbec came in to play first base. Candelario struck out swinging but Torkelson got a base hit to center. Schoop lined out to right and Haase flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.
Hero of the Night is Josh Winckowski. The rookie earned the win by holding the Tigers to just 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings while striking out two.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 3 with 2 steals, a walk and 2 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Franchy Cordero was 3 for 4 with 2 rbis.
Jake Diekman got the final out of the seventh inning.
Matt Strahm got the first two outs of the eighth inning.
John Schreiber got the final out of the eighth inning.
Tanner Houck earned his 5th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored two runs.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 but stole a base.
Honorable Mention:
Bobby Dalbec played first in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Say hello to your third place Red Sox. The New York Yankees rallied in the ninth inning to beat the Tampa Bay Rays so Boston jumped ahead of them. The Rays offense is as abysmal as Boston's was the first month and their pitching isn't as elite as it was in year's past. Still, the Rays didn't make their move until July of last year so counting them out would be a mistake. Still, the fact the Sox went from 11-20 to where they are now is the run this team was good enough to make. They successfully climbed out of the hole and now they have to set their sights on the Rays, Toronto Blue Jays and even the Yankees. The Yankees made up a 14 game deficit in 1978 so its not impossible. Winckowski is reminding a lot of fans of a young Derek Lowe only he's 2 inches shorter. When he's got the heavy sinker working and if the Sox play good defense, he could be something down the road. If Houck is their closer moving forward, that solves part of their problem. They have to figure out the rotation once everyone is healthy and who bridges the gap to Schreiber, Strahm and Houck. The good news is it'll work itself out one way or another. The Sox have two games left against Detroit before the off-day so its imperative they sweep these guys to have momentum going into Cleveland on Friday night. The win improved the Sox to 37-31, good for third place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Tigers tomorrow night when Rich Hill (2-4, 4.42 ERA) takes on Beau Briske of Detroit. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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