Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move as Connor Seabold was sent back to Worcester to give Kutter Crawford another chance. Seabold looked shaky in his last start and the Sox want Crawford for his experience against the AL East gauntlet coming up.
As for the game, the Sox won but lost an important piece of the puzzle when today's July 4th starter
Michael Wacha scratched due to dead arm. Austin Davis got the emergency start but it was Kutter Crawford (2-2, 5.04 ERA) who shined in the end. After Davis tossed two scoreless innings, Crawford shutout the Rays until the eighth inning allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 8. On the other side of the ball, old friend Jalen "Twin" Beeks was the opener but the Sox got to his replacement Josh Fleming for four runs. Trevor Story hit a home run, Rafael Devers knocked in a run, Fleming made an error to allow a run and Franchy Cordero got an rbi too. John Schreiber came in to slam the door after Crawford was done to preserve the victory. The win came at a price and losing Wacha hurts for the next few weeks, but the Sox began their AL East death march with a 4-0 win over the Rays at Fenway Park.
Davis got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yandy Diaz grounded out to short to start. Wander Franco flied out to right and Ji-Man Choi struck out swinging to end the inning. Beeks got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran popped up to second to start. Rafael Devers popped up to short and JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Harold Ramirez flied out to center to start the top of the second but Isaac Parades walked. Josh Lowe flied out to left and Randy Arozarena took strike three to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the second as Christian Vazquez walked to start. Alex Verdugo struck out swinging but Trevor Story got a base hit in the hole at short. Franchy Cordero flied out to right but Christian Arroyo singled to left to load the bases. Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kutter Crawford came in to pitch the top of the third and Francisco Mejia struck out swinging to start. Brett Phillips flied out to left but Crawford threw the ball away to allow Diaz to reach second. Franco singled to left to move Diaz to third but Choi struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third against Josh Fleming as Duran grounded out to second to start. Devers grounded back to the mound and Martinez grounded out to first to end the inning.
Ramirez took strike three to start the top of the fourth but Parades walked. Lowe flied out to center and Arozarena forced Parades at second to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Vazquez grounded out to second to start. Verdugo grounded out to second but Story smashed his 13th home run of the season to put Boston on top. Cordero struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Mejia struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Phillips flied out to left. Story dropped a routine pop up by Diaz for a "single" but Yandy was thrown out at second to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fifth as Arroyo doubled to left to start. Dalbec was retired in front of a squibber to move Arroyo to third but Duran struck out swinging. Devers beat out a roller to second to score Arroyo to increase the lead. Devers was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Franco flied out to right to start the top of the sixth before Choi popped up to short. Ramirez struck out swinging to end the inning. Martinez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth but Vazquez flied out to right. Verdugo beat out a roller to second and Story flied out to left to end the inning.
Parades took strike three to start the top of the seventh and Lowe popped up to third. Arozarena took strike three to end the inning. Cordero struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh before Arroyo grounded out to short. Somehow Dalbec got a base hit to right and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Duran only to line out to right to end the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr took over in center to start the top of the eighth and Mejia lined out to right to start. Phillips swung and missed at strike three in the dirt and took first on the pitch to chase Crawford. He had stepped up big by tossing 5 1/3 shutout innings in an emergency relief appearance. John Schreiber came in and Phillips took second on the grounder to first by Diaz. Franco grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the eighth as Devers got a base hit to center to start. Martinez ripped a base hit to right and Vazquez singled to left to load the bases with nobody out. Fleming then booted a grounder by Verdugo for an error to score Devers and re-load the bases. Calvin Faucher came in to pitch and Story struck out looking but Cordero ripped a base hit to right to score Martinez. Arroyo banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Schreiber returned to close out the top of the ninth and Choi struck out swinging to start. Ramirez grounded out to short and Parades flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-0.
Hero of the Night is Kutter Crawford. The rookie stepped up by tossing 5 1/3 shutout innings to blank the Rays for the win.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Trevor Story was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Christian Arroyo was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3.
Austin Davis tossed 2 scoreless innings.
John Schreiber earned his 3rd save with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Franchy Cordero was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Jackie Bradley Jr played centerfield in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Losing Wacha is a huge blow to the Sox who needed him with the AL East gauntlet coming up but the fact they stepped it up tonight showed they had balls for sure. Davis did well in his two innings and then it was Crawford's shining moment until the eighth inning. The Rays are probably playoff bound when all is said and done and for Crawford to shut them down is a good sign. Maybe he can figure it out in Wacha's absence even though its a tall order. Offensively the Sox didn't really do much against Beeks and Fleming but it was enough to win. The Sox are going to need their guys to step it up because shutouts aren't going to be common in the next three weeks. It was good to see Story hit one out and Arroyo to get a couple hits in the absence of Xander Bogaerts so its not entirely a bad day offensively. The Sox need to make a statement here and now and winning the first game gets them off on the right track. The win improved the Sox to 45-35, 1.5 games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays for the first wild card spot. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Rays tomorrow night when Nick Pivetta (8-5) takes on old pal Jeffrey Springs of the Rays. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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