Before the game it was big news with some Boston Red Sox transactions. Tomorrow's starter Garrett Whitlock was placed on the Injured List with right ulnar neuritis and Brayan Bello was called up from Worcester to take his place. That's a huge blow to the rotation after Whitlock tossed arguably Boston's best game of the season a week ago. It'll be put up or shut up time for Bello moving forward. Chaim Bloom went dumpster diving and found 29 year old right handed pitcher Justin Garza off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. Garza had given up 4 runs in 8 innings for the Salt Lake Bees before LA put him on waivers on April 21st. With the dearth of pitching in Worcester, what's one more mediocre castoff to go with the bunch that's already there?
It was bad news all around as the Boston Bruins lost Game 6 of their first round NHL playoff series to the Florida Panthers and the Boston Red Sox lost to the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians got four early runs off Nick Pivetta (1-2, 5.11 ERA) to put the game away early. Guardians ace Shane Bieber held the Sox to just two runs in 7 strong innings of work. Kutter Crawford allowed a big insurance run in the ninth inning and the Guardians dropped the Sox below .500 again with a 5-2 victory over them at Fenway Park.
The Guardians wasted no time getting to Pivetta in the top of the first as Steven Kwan singled to right to start. Amed Rosario popped up to second but Jose Ramirez singled to center to move Kwan to third. Josh Naylor hit a sac fly to left to put the Guardians up for good four batters into the game. A wild pitch moved Ramirez to third and Josh Bell doubled him home to increase the lead. Andres Gimenez struck out swinging to end the inning but the Guardians had ended it early 2-0.
Bieber got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Alex Verdugo took strike three to start. Masa Yoshida grounded out to short and Justin Turner grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Guardians iced the game in the top of the second as Mike Zunino struck out swinging to start. Will Brennan was plunked, stole second and scored on the base hit to right by Myles Straw. Kwan hit a bullet to Devers who doubled off Straw to end the inning with the Guardians up 3-0.
The Sox fought back in the bottom of the second although Rafael Devers grounded out to short to start. Triston Casas walked, Jarren Duran doubled to right and Kike Hernandez ripped a base hit to left to score Casas. Reese McGuire banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.
Rosario struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Ramirez walked. Ramirez stole second before moving to third on the Naylor grounder to short. Bell walked but Gimenez struck out swinging to end the inning. Enmanuel Valdez lined out to first to start the bottom of the third before Verdugo grounded out to second. Yoshida grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Guardians put the game out of reach in the top of the fourth as Zunino hit a home run all the way into the Atlantic Ocean to increase the lead. Brennan lined out to short, Straw lined out to right and Kwan struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 4-1 Guardians.
The Sox rolled over in the bottom of the fourth as Turner lined out to right to start. Devers walked but Casas flied out to left. Duran grounded out to short to end the inning.
Pivetta returned for one last inning in the top of the fifth and Rosario flied out to right to start. Ramirez lined out to center and Naylor grounded out to second to end the inning. Once again Pivetta needed 100 pitches to get through just five innings where he allowed 4 runs off 5 hits and 2 walks.
The Sox got a run back in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez singled to center to start. McGuire struck out swinging but Valdez doubled Hernandez to third. All Verdugo could do was ground out to first to score Hernandez. Valdez went to third on the play but was stranded as Yoshida grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 4-2.
Kutter Crawford came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Bell grounded out to first to start. Gimenez doubled to left but Zunino took strike three. Brennan flied out to left to end the inning. Bieber dominated the bottom of the sixth as Turner flied out to left to start. Devers grounded out to first and Casas took strike three to end the inning.
Straw flied out to right to start the top of the seventh but Kwan beat out a roller to short. Rosario took strike three and Ramirez popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh as Duran doubled to center to start. Hernandez popped up to first, McGuire struck out swinging and Valdez grounded out to second to end the inning.
Naylor struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth before Bell grounded out to second. Gimenez popped up to third to end the inning. Trevor Stephan came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Verdugo flied out to right to start. Yoshida hit a roller past second and managed to slide in with a double before moving to third on the Turner base hit to left. Rob Refsnyder pinch ran for turner but Devers struck out swinging. Casas grounded out to second to end the inning.
Zunino grounded out to first to start the top of the ninth but Brennan hit a home run all the way to Luxembourg to increase the lead. Straw flied out to left and Kwan grounded out to second to end the inning with the Guardians ahead 5-2.
Enmanuel Clase came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Duran hit a ground rule double just inside the left field foul line to start. Hernandez grounded out to third and McGuire grounded out to first to move Duran to third. Valdez grounded out to third to end the game. The Guardians had won it 5-2.
Jackass of the Night is Nick Pivetta. He allowed four early runs in just 5 innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 3 for 4.
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
The Bad:
Reese McGuire was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4.
Justin Turner was just 1 for 4.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drew a walk.
Triston Casas was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Enmanuel Valdez was just 1 for 4.
Kutter Crawford allowed a run but ate up 4 innings in the process.
Honorable Mention:
Rob Refsnyder ran for Turner in the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
Once again the Sox inability to hit in the clutch or get out of the first inning without giving up a run killed them. They are dead last in the league in first inning ERA and they seem to give up when trailing because of it. Its not a recipe for success if you give up runs immediately to start the game almost every game. The 2019 Red Sox had one of the worst records in baseball when trailing after 5 innings and this year's team could be on pace for a similar fate unless they get better starting pitching. There were some positives such as the rejuvenation of Jarren Duran and Kutter Crawford saving the bullpen for tomorrow with 4 strong innings. Valdez keeps getting hits as well so not was all a total loss. Still, with the AL East wreaking havoc on the rest of the league, the Sox can't afford to fall too far behind early and have to pray the other teams beat each other to climb in the standings. The Sox really need to win these games against non-AL East opponents to at keep pace with the others. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow afternoon against Cleveland when Brayan Bello goes for the Sox up against Zach Plesac of the Guardians. The game begins at 4:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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