As for the game, so much for the Sox beating non-AL East teams. Josh Winckowski (3-5, 5.18 ERA) took a beating at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians. He allowed five runs in 3 innings to put the Sox in a hole although the offense rallied for two runs in the bottom of the frame. Then with the bases loaded and Austin Davis on the mound, Yolmer Sanchez threw a crucial grounder away for a two run error to put the game out of reach. Both teams scored another run but the game was settled as Cleveland beat the Red Sox 8-3 at Fenway Park.
Winckowski got tagged immediately in the top of the first as Steven Kwan lined out to left to start. Amed Rosario grounded out to short but Jose Ramirez walked. Josh Naylor got a base hit to left and Owen Miller got a base hit to center to score Ramirez. Andres Gimenez grounded out to second to end the inning with the Guardians up 1-0.
Bryan Shaw got the ball in the bottom of the first and Rob Refsnyder flied out to left to start. Alex Verdugo lined out to center but Xander Bogaerts doubled to center. JD Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Guardians struck again in the top of the second as Nolan Jones lined out to center to start Austin Hedges hit a home run all the way to Japan to increase the lead. Myles Straw flied out to right but Kwan singled down the first base line. Rosario flied out to left to end the inning with the Guardians up 2-0.
Christian Vazquez walked to begin the bottom of the second before Kevin Plawecki was rung up for strike three. Yolmer Sanchez flied out to center and Bobby Dalbec lined out to left to end the inning.
The Guardians iced the game in the top of the third as Ramirez grounded out to first to start. Naylor doubled to right then moved to third when Miller lined one off Winckowski but Bogaerts threw him out. Gimenez was hit with a pitch and Jones hit a home run all the way back to Cleveland to put the game out of reach. Hedges took strike three to end the inning but the Guardians were up 5-0. That was it for Winckowski who allowed 5 runs in just 3 innings, definitely not good enough.
Winckowski gets hammered
Suddenly the Sox rallied in the bottom of the third as Jaylin Davis hit a ground rule double into the right field stands to begin. Refsnyder was hit with a pitch and Verdugo beat out a double play ball. Bogaerts got a base hit to left to score Davis and chase Shaw. Nick Sandlin came in and Martinez was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Vazquez got a base hit to left to score Verdugo and Plawecki hit a fly ball to right. Bogaerts made a mad dash home and was called out on the throw. Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call but the umpires held it up with the Sox down 5-2.
"I was safe!!!!" - Bogaerts
Things fell apart in the top of the fourth with Austin Davis now on the mound. Straw got a base hit to center but Kwan took strike three. Rosario singled to right and Ramirez walked to load the bases. Naylor hit a double play ball to Sanchez who threw the ball away for an error to score Straw and Rosario. Ramirez and Naylor pulled off a double steal but Gimenez flied out to left to end the inning with the Guardians up 7-2.
Dammit Sanchez
Kirk McCarty came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and Sanchez struck out swinging to start. Dalbec flied out to right but Davis drew a walk. Refsnyder forced Jaylin at second to end the inning.
Hiro Sawamura came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Jones grounded out to short to start. Hedges walked but Straw grounded into a double play to end the inning. Verdugo flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth before Bogaerts lined out to right. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kwan got a base hit to center to begin the top of the sixth but Rosario struck out swinging. Ramirez reached first on a swinging bunt in front of the plate but Naylor flied out to left. Miller grounded out to second to end the inning. Vazquez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth and Plawecki lined out to center. Sanchez grounded out to second to end the inning.
Jake Diekman came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Gimenez walked to start. Jones grounded into a double play and Hedges went down hacking to end the inning. Dalbec whiffed to start the bottom of the seventh but Davis grounded out to short. Refsnyder singled to left and Verdugo flied out to center to end the inning.
Tanner Houck got tagged in the top of the eighth as Straw grounded out to third to start. Kwan singled off the glove of Vazquez then promptly stole second. Rosario got a base hit to right to score Kwan and Ramriez grounded out to second to move Amed all the way to third. Naylor struck out swinging to end the inning with the Guardians up 8-2.
Eli Morgan came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Bogaerts doubled to left to start. Martinez went down hacking but Vazquez grounded out to first. Bogaerts moved to third on that grounder and scored on the Plawecki double to center. Sanchez flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox down 8-3.
Plawecki drives in a run
Kaleb Ort came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Miller struck out swinging to start. Gimenez went down hacking and Jones flied out to left to end the inning. Alex Call came in for Jones to start the bottom of the ninth with Emmanuel Clase on the mound. Dalbec flied out to center, Davis went down hacking and Refsnyder grounded out to second to end the game. The Guardians had won it 8-3.
Guardians win
Yolmer Jackass
Jackass of The Night is Yolmer Sanchez. The Sox had just rallied to get back in the game and his two run error sealed the door shut for Cleveland.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Jaylin Davis was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Hiro Sawamura tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Jake Diekman pitched a scoreless inning.
Kaleb Ort pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Josh Winckowski allowed 5 runs in 3 innings off 6 hits and a walk.
Austin Davis allowed 2 runs in an inning.
Tanner Houck allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 4 but was hit with a pitch.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 but scored a run.
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch.
Kevin Plawecki was just 1 for 4 with an rbi.
Final Thoughts:
When the eulogy for the season is written come the end of September, the lack of starting pitching depth was the story for this epic collapse. When Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Sale all got hurt, not a single rookie starter was able to fill in. Connor Seabold, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski totally sucked. You would think ONE of them would have shown some life, but nope. Winckowski getting pounded today and putting the Sox in the hole they couldn't climb out of has been going on since he was called up. His sinker should be a lot better than it is, maybe the lights are too bright for him at this time. Not just the pitching failed, the Sox almost stopped trying after Bogaerts was thrown out at the plate to kill that rally. They only got one more run the rest of the game while the Guardians poured it on. The Sox need to sell at the deadline and build for next year. Eovaldi, Martinez and Bogaerts will fetch a good haul if Sox GM Chaim Bloom can get a deal done. It makes no sense to keep this group for another two months because they have no chance in hell at winning anything the way its currently constructed. The less said of this awful game, the better. The loss drops the Sox to 49-49, 5.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the wild card. The Sox look to take the rubber game against the Guardians tomorrow night with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound against Cal Quantrill of Cleveland. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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