Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a welcome roster move. Jaylin Davis was sent down to Worcester in favor of the returning Kike Hernandez. Hernandez has missed the last two months and at this point anything is an improvement over Jarren Duran. If he can spark this miserable offense, great. If he continues to suck, oh well....Murphy's Law this season. In another welcome move, Rob Refsnyder was activated from the injured list and automatic out Yolmer Sanchez was designated for assignment. He can either go back to Worcester or become a free agent, either way with Arroyo and Refsnyder healthy, he's expendable.
As for the game, that was one of the most boring games of the season for all the wrong reasons. The Red Sox played a Pittsburgh Pirates team that mirrored the 2020 Sox in terms of complete nobodies and almost lost. The Sox smacked around Pirates starter Mitch Keller for 5 hits and 5 runs in the first two innings of the game. Would you be surprised the Pirates bullpen didn't allow a hit the rest of the game and just a single walk? Nick Pivetta (9-9, 4.28 ERA) managed to shut out the scrubs for 7 innings on 2 hits but Austin Davis and John Schreiber had other plans. With one out in the bottom of the eighth the Pirates loaded the bases against Davis and with two out, Ben Gamel hit a bases clearing double off Schreiber to cut the lead to two. Forcing Matt Barnes back into the closer's role. Barnes responded with a dominant ninth inning to slam the door. What should have been an easy victory turned into a microcosm of this lost season as the Sox narrowly beat the Pirates 5-3 at PNC Park.
The Sox pounced all over Keller in the top of the first as Tommy Pham got a base hit to left to start. Rafael Devers and JD Martinez drew back to back walks to load the bases and Alex Verdugo poked a base hit to right to score Pham. Christian Arroyo got a base hit to center to score Devers and O'Neil Cruz dropped a pop up by Eric Hosmer to score Martinez on the "single". The returning Kike Hernandez hit a sac fly to left to score Verdugo and move Arroyo to third...but Reese McGuire banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Tucupita Marcano flied out to center to start. Kevin Newman popped up to second but Bryan Reynolds walked. Ben Gamel got a base hit to left but Kevin Padlo grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Jarren Duran grounded out to short to start. Pham lined a base hit to center but Devers went down hacking. Martinez walked and Reynolds dropped a pop up from Verdugo for an error to score Pham. Arroyo grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Pivetta cruised in the bottom of the second as Cruz grounded out to second to start. Rodolfo Castro flied out to center and Bligh Madris lined out to center to end the inning.
Chase De Jong came in to pitch the top of the third and Hosmer lined out to third to start. Hernandez struck out swinging and McGuire grounded out to third to end the inning. Jason Delay took strike three to start the bottom of the third and Marcano also froze for strike three. Newman walked but Reynolds flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Duran flied out to left to start. Pham popped up to short and Devers flied out to left to end the inning. Gamel lined out to center to start the bottom of the fourth. Padlo flied out to center and Cruz struck out swinging to end the inning.
Martinez popped up to first to start the top of the fifth and Verdugo lined out to left. Arroyo flied out to right to end the inning. Castro walked on four pitches not even close to start the bottom of the fifth but Madris struck out swinging. Delay took strike three and Marcano popped up to short to end the inning.
Hosmer walked to start the top of the sixth but Hernandez grounded into a double play. McGuire lined out to second to end the inning. Pivetta cruised in the bottom of the sixth as Newman popped up to first to start. Reynolds took strike three and Gamel flied out to right to end the inning.
Old pal Austin Brice came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Duran struck out swinging to start. Pham flied out to right and Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Pivetta returned for the bottom of the seventh and Padlo grounded out to second to start. Cruz grounded out to short and Castro grounded out to first to end the inning. Even though it was against a Triple A team, Pivetta dominated for 7 innings, shutting out the Pirates and allowing just one hit while striking out six.
Martinez grounded out to short to start the top of the eighth and Verdugo flied out to center. Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning. Austin Davis came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the eighth and Greg Allen pinch hit for Madris to start. Allen popped up to second but Delay got a base hit to center and Marcano walked on four pitches not even close. Newman drilled a base hit to left and Sox manager Alex Cora had no choice but to call upon John Schreiber to clean up the mess. Reynolds was rung up for strike three and he got so mad that he swung his bat at the head of home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz. Ortiz ducked and threw Reynolds out of the game. One strike away from getting out of this...Gamel hit a bases clearing double to cut the lead as the whole league laughed at the Red Sox. Josh VanMeter flied out to left to end the inning but the Pirates were back in it down 5-3.
Old pal Michael Chavis came in for Reynolds with Manny Banuelos coming in to pitch the top of the ninth. Hosmer, Hernandez and McGuire all struck out swinging just like that to end the incompetence. The Sox bats had no hits after the second inning and the Pirates bullpen was perfect the last six innings, pathetic. Matt Barnes came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and turned back the clock. Cruz and Castro struck out swinging and Allen popped up to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3.
Sox win
Hero of the Night is Nick Pivetta. He shutout the Pirates for seven innings while allowing 2 hits and striking out 6 batters.
The Good:
Tommy Pham was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
JD Martinez walked twice and scored a run in four plate appearances.
Eric Hosmer was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Matt Barnes earned his third save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Reese McGuire was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Austin Davis was charged with 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Christian Arroyo was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
John Schreiber allowed all 3 inherited runners to score but escaped the eighth inning.
Final Thoughts:
Rarely do wins feel like a loss but this was one of them. The Sox should be ashamed of themselves that a team this bad not only no-hit them for seven innings but damn near came back against them offensively. The Sox literally had no hits after the second inning and Austin Davis' meltdown came with one out in the eighth. All he had to do was get two more outs and they could have had JD Martinez pitch left handed in the ninth and it wouldn't have mattered. As it is they had to use Schreiber and Barnes in a game they should have never pitched in. Give credit to the Pirates bullpen and their bats for not quitting but good lord that was bad for Boston. Can't even celebrate a win like that because they knocked around a sore-armed pitcher and Pivetta dominated a team full of scrubs that probably wouldn't beat the Worcester Red Sox. The only silver linings were they did manage to win the game and Matt Barnes looked good. After Alex Cora abused The A-Team last year and all four of them faltered down the stretch, maybe the long layoff did Barnes some good. The sad part is the New York Yankees have gone 2-11 since trading Joey Gallo and if the Sox didn't crash and burn in July, they'd be closer than 14 games out with 45 left to play. The win improved the Sox to 58-59, 4 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the third wild card spot. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Pirates tomorrow night when Rich Hill (4-5, 4.75 ERA) takes the mound against Roansy Contreras of Pittsburgh. The game begins at 7:05 PM at PNC Park.
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