The Orioles wasted no time getting to Sale in the top of the first inning although Ramon Urias struck out swinging to start. Adley Rutschman picked up where he left off last game with a base hit to left and Ryan Mountcastle hit a home run deep in the Peruvian jungle to put the O's on top. Anthony Santander struck out swinging but Austin Hays followed with a home run into the Atlantic Ocean to increase the lead. Gunnar Henderson struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up 3-0.
Dean Kremer got the start for Baltimore in the bottom of the first and Alex Verdugo grounded out to second to start. Rafael Devers got a base hit to left but Justin Turner flied out to right. Masataka Yoshida grounded out to second to end the inning.
The O's threatened in the top of the second when Jorge Mateo walked to begin. Cedric Mullins got a base hit to center and fans booed as both runners pulled off a double steal on a called strike three to Ryan McKenna. Sale did manage to strike out Urias swinging and get Rutschman to ground out to third to end the inning. The Sox got on the board in the bottom of the second when Adam Duvall hit a scintillating triple into the right field corner then scored on a wild pitch. Kremer got so mad he punched out Triston Casas, Christian Arroyo and Reese McGuire swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.
The O's pounded Sale in the top of the third although Mountcastle lined out to center to start. Santander singled in the hole at short, Hays beat out a roller to third and Henderson walked to load the bases without the ball leaving the infield. Mateo beat out a double play ball to score Santander and promptly stole second. Mullins hit a three run bomb to seemingly put the game out of reach before McKenna was plunked. McKenna stole second as well as boos rained down on Sale, McGuire and the whole team for their inability to throw anyone out. Urias struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 7-1 Baltimore. That was it for Chris Sale who got hammered for seven runs in just three innings.
The Sox did rally in the bottom of the third as Kike Hernandez walked to start. Alex Verdugo pounded the first Red Sox home run of the year to cut the lead, but Rafael Devers was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double on a base hit to Hays. That out proved costly as Turner doubled to left and Justin moved to third on the fly out to center by Yoshida. Duvall then clobbered his first home run of the season to cut the deficit. Casas flied out to left but it was 7-5 Baltimore.
Unfortunately Zack Kelly couldn't hold the score in the top of the fourth. Rutschman lined out to center but Mountcastle got a base hit up the middle. Santander pounded a double to dead center to score Mountcastle but was caught in a rundown for the second out. That proved costly for Baltimore as Hays doubled to left two pitches later. Henderson flied out to left to end the inning but the O's led 8-5.
Mike Baumann came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and Arroyo flied out to right to start. McGuire grounded out to first and McKenna made a great diving catch to rob Hernandez of a hit to end the inning.
Josh Winckowski came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Mateo grounded back to the mound to start. Mullins flied out to right but McKenna got a base hit to right. Urias struck out swinging to end the inning. Danny Coulumbe came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Verdugo took strike three to start. Devers flied out to left but Turner was hit with a pitch. Yoshida grounded out to first to end the inning.
Rutschman grounded out to second to start the top of the sixth before Mountcastle went down hacking. Santander grounded out to second to end the inning. Austin Voth got the call to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Duvall flied out to left to start. Casas walked but Arroyo struck out swinging. McGuire grounded out to second to end the inning.
John Schreiber made his season debut in the top of the seventh and Hays greeted him with a double to center. Henderson walked but Mateo flied out to center. Mullins banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the seventh as Hernandez pounded his first home run of the season to start. Cionel Perez came in to pitch and Verdugo grounded out to second, but Devers doubled to left. Turner singled to left to move Devers to third but Yoshida struck out swinging. The O's actually caught a break when the wind carried a fly ball by Duvall behind Hays and into the stands for a ground rule double. Had the ball kept in bounds, Turner might have scored the tying run. Casas struck out swinging to end the inning but the O's were still ahead 8-7.
Chris Martin came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning and McKenna grounded out to short to start. Urias earned the Platinum Plunger with his fifth strikeout of the day and Rutschman flied out to left to end the inning. Logan Gillaspie came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth as Raimel Tapia pinch hit for Arroyo. Tapia grounded out to short and McGuire did the same, but Hernandez was hit with a pitch to chase Gillaspie. Keegan Akin came in to face Verdugo and got him to fly out to center to end the inning.
New closer Kenley Jansen made his Sox debut in the top of the ninth with Yu Chang making his Sox debut at second base. Mountcastle struck out swinging and Santander grounded out to first, but Hays singled to right. Hays stole second as the O's were now 10 for 10 in steals against McGuire. Henderson walked but a fired up Jansen struck out Mateo swinging to end the inning. Adam Frazier came in to play second with Felix Bautista in to close out the bottom of the ninth. It didn't look good as Devers struck out swinging and Turner grounded out to short. Yoshida then flied out to McKenna to end the ga.....NO WAIT, MCKENNA DROPPED IT!!
Rob Refsnyder pinch ran for Yoshida and Duvall did the honors by launching a 2 run walkoff home run just over the yellow line on the Monster to win the game. The Sox had won it 9-8.
That was fun
Hero Duvall
Rafael Devers was 3 for 5 with a run scored.
Rob Refsnyder scored a run as a pinch runner.
Raimel Tapia was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Hero of the Night is a no-brainer. Adam Duvall carried the offense today. He was 4 for 5 with 5 rbis off two home runs including the walkoff.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 3 for 5 with a run scored.
Justin Turner was 2 for 4 with a run scored and was hit by a pitch.
Rob Refsnyder scored a run as a pinch runner.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 2 with a walk, hit by pitch, home run and 2 runs scored.
Josh Winckowski tossed two scoreless innings.
John Schreiber pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Raimel Tapia was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Chris Sale was horrible, allowing 7 runs off 3 home runs in just three innings. He did manage to strike out 6 batters...yippie.
Zack Kelly allowed a run in the fourth inning.
The Ugly:
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Triston Casas was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Yu Chang played second base in the top of the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
There's a lot of bad news to talk about such as the starters being all washed up, the bottom of the order is a black hole and McGuire couldn't throw out an old lady on the bases.....but a win is a win. That's the second game in a row the offense clawed back into the game. As I mentioned last game, once Story comes back this would be a dangerous 1-6 but Casas, McGuire and Arroyo need to pick it up. Its only two games so writing them off early would be unfair but some production would be nice. The trio of Martin, Schreiber and Jansen could be a good shut down bullpen with the lead but the flip side is guys like Zack Kelly and Kaleb Ort need to hold the fort in order for the offense to rally. Sale himself said he was embarrassed at his effort and said everyone played well but him. I don't know what Sox GM Chaim Bloom was thinking banking on Sale, Corey Kluber and James Paxton to carry the load but so far Sale and Kluber got hammered while Paxton is injured AGAIN. Duvall had himself a big game and it was desperately needed to keep the Sox alive in this one. Its a reminder of almost 20 years to the day Kevin Millar hit the 16th inning home run in the second game of the 2003 season to beat the Tampa Bay Rays. Hopefully there are more home runs to come for Duvall. As for the game itself, once again at least it was entertaining. The Sox look to take the rubber game of the series tomorrow afternoon when Tanner Houck makes his season debut against Cole Irvin of Baltimore. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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