Lodolo got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jose Barrero booted a grounder by Tommy Pham to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but Xander Bogaerts walked. JD Martinez struck out swinging and Alex Verdugo grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Bello got the ball in the bottom of the first and TJ Friedl flied out to left to start. Jonathan India struck out swinging and Kyle Farmer went down hacking as well to end the inning.
Rob Refsnyder was hit with a pitch to start the top of the second inning and Kike Hernandez drew a walk. Yu Chang grounded into a double play and Connor Wong took strike three to end the inning. Jake Fraley singled to left to start the bottom of the second before Donovan Solano doubled to left. Aristides Aquino walked to load the bases with nobody out but Nick Senzel struck out swinging. Barrero struck out swinging and Romine grounded out to third to end the inning. Bello pulled the Houdini.
Pham struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Devers grounded out to second. Bogaerts walked and Martinez tripled to center, injuring Senzel in the process, to score Xander with the game's first run. Stuart Fairchild came in for Senzel and Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Reds instantly tied it up in the bottom of the third as Friedl hit a home run all the way to Santo Domingo to tie the game. India walked but Farmer grounded into a double play. Fraley and Solano hit back to back singles but Aquino grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox took command in the top of the fourth as Refsnyder belted his fifth home run of the season to put Boston back up. Hernandez and Chang were both hit with pitches but Wong struck out swinging. Pham grounded into a double play to end the inning. Fairchild drilled a double down the third base line to start the bottom of the fourth before Barrero struck out swinging. Romine lined out to right and Friedl flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the top of the fifth as Devers struck out swinging to start. Bogaerts grounded out to first but Martinez clocked his 12th home run of the year to increase the lead. Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
Martinez goes yard
India grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Farmer grounded out to third. Fraley singled to center and Solano did the same, but Aquino flied out to right to end the inning. That was it for Bello who allowed 8 hits, 2 walks and a run in 5 strong innings.
Dauri Moreta came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Refsnyder struck out swinging to start. Hernandez also went down hacking and Chang took strike three to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Fairchild grounded out to third to start. Barrero flied out to center and Romine took strike three to end the inning.
Wong took strike three to start the top of the seventh but Pham singled to center. Ian Gibaut came in to pitch to Devers and Rafael walked. Bogaerts walked to load the bases but Martinez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Zack Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Friedl flied out to right to begin. India grounded out to third and Farmer flied out to left to end the inning.
Verdugo singled to center to open the top of the eighth and Refsnyder walked. Hernandez popped up to first and Triston Casas pinch hit for Chang. Reiver Sanmartin came in to pitch and Casas moved the runners over with a grounder to the mound, but Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Fraley flied out to left to start. Solano struck out swinging and Aquino popped up to second to end the inning.
Hunter Stickland came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Pham doubled to left to start. Devers then pounded his 27th home run of the year to ice the game. Bogaerts popped up to first, Martinez struck out swinging and Verdugo also went down hacking to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Matt Strahm came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and proceeded to crap his pants. Fairchild singled to right but Barrero struck out swinging. Spencer Steer pinch hit for Romine and walked before Alejo Lopez pinch hit for Friedl. Lopez walked to load the bases and India walked to score Fairchild. That was it for Strahm as Sox manager Alex Cora turned to John Schreiber to escape the mess. Farmer hit a sac fly to center to score Steer and put the tying run at first, but Fraley grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3.
Sox win
Hero Schreiber
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis including a home run.
Hero of the Night is John Schreiber. He escaped a bases loaded 1 out jam in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save.
The Good:
Tommy Pham was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts walked 3 times in 5 plate appearances and scored a run.
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis including a home run.
Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 2 with a walk, hit by pitch and a home run.
Kike Hernandez walked and was hit with a pitch in four plate appearances.
Brayan Bello got the win with 5 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed 8 hits and 2 walks
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Zack Kelly pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Triston Casas was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Connor Wong was 0 for 4 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts.
Matt Strahm allowed 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and hit a 2 run home run.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Yu Chang was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch.
Final Thoughts:
If only the Red Sox didn't play in the AL East they might have made the playoffs this season. As it is, they're on the outside looking in but it was good to see Bello look good out there. We might be seeing the last of Martinez & Bogaerts but getting outings like that from Bello means he could be the future ace of this team. The offense did just enough to win this one especially with Strahm's melt-down at the end. Sox manager Alex Cora doesn't want Barnes to close any more but Schreiber might have just earned the job the rest of the season. The Sox only have 15 games left and are pretty much eliminated, its just a question of when at this point. Every win delays the inevitable so let's see how many wins they can string together. The win improved the Sox to 72-75, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Reds tomorrow night when Connor Seabold (0-2) is expected to be called up from Worcester to make the start against Chase Anderson of Cincinnati. The game begins at 7:40 PM at Great American Ballpark.
No comments:
Post a Comment