As for the game, turnabout is fair play. After the Minnesota Twins beat the daylights out of the Red Sox last night, today it was Boston's turn for revenge. Alex Verdugo set the tone with a first inning home run and Jarren Duran knocked Minnesota starter Kenta Maeda out with a line drive off his ankle. The Sox pounced on the Twins bullpen for ten runs including a big six run rally in the third inning. Yu Chang hit another home run while Tanner Houck (3-0, 4.29 ERA) went 7 strong innings to give the tired bullpen a rest after cleaning up Corey Kluber's mess yesterday. Ryan Brasier struggled in the ninth inning but the Sox still won this one going away 11-5 at Fenway Park.
Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and Max Kepler struck out swinging to start. Carlos Correa grounded out to short and Edouard Julien struck out swinging to end the inning. Maeda got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alex Verdugo immediately greeted him with a solo home run to put the Sox on top. Rafael Devers grounded out to first, Justin Turner popped up to second and Masa Yoshida lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Trevor Larnach struck out swinging to start the top of the second but Joey Gallo drew a walk. Jose Miranda flied out to center and Nick Gordon flied out to center as well to end the inning. Kike Hernandez flied out to left to start the bottom of the second but Triston Casas drew a walk. Connor Wong flied out to center but Casas took second on a wild pitch. A scary scene occurred when Jarren Duran lined a ball off the ankle of Maeda. Kenta made the play at first to end the inning but he was out of the game, hope he's okay.
Christian Vazquez struck out swinging to start the top of the third inning before Will Castro took strike three. Kepler grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox pounded Maeda's replacement, Emillio Pagan, in the bottom of the third. Yu Chang grounded out to third but Verdugo got a seeing eye single past second. Devers smacked a double to left to score Verdugo but Turner popped up to first. Yoshida got a base hit to center to score Devers and Hernandez followed with a single to left. Casas singled in the hole at short to load the bases and Wong lined a base hit to center to score both Yoshida and Hernandez. Duran followed with a double to score Casas and Wong to complete the beat down. Chang struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 7-0 Sox.
Houck got in trouble in the top of the fourth as Correa singled to right to start. Julien forced Correa at second but Larnach singled to center. Gallo struck out swinging and Miranda forced Larnach at second to end the inning. Verdugo grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth before Devers flied out to center. Turner got a base hit to left to chase Pagan. Jorge Alcala came in to get Yoshida to ground out to second to end the inning.
The Twins got a run back in the top of the fifth as Gordon grounded out to first to start. Vazquez grounded out to short but Castro hit a ground rule double into the left field stands when a fan touched the ball. Kepler then hit a double down the right field line touched by a fan to score Castro. Correa grounded out to short to end the inning with the Twins down 7-1.
The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the fifth as Hernandez singled to right to start. Casas drew another walk before Hernandez moved to third on the Wong fly out to center. Duran scored Hernandez with a sac fly and Chang belted his second home run of the season to increase the lead. Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-1.
Julien struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth before Larnach lined out to right. Gallo flied out to center to end the inning. Donovan Solano took over for Correa to start the bottom of the sixth and Devers flied out to center to start. Turner grounded out to center and Yoshida lined out to left to end the inning.
Houck returned for one final inning to start the top of the seventh as Miranda singled past him to begin. Gordon lined out to left but Miranda moved to second on a grounder to the mound by Vazquez. Castro then pounded a home run all the way to Santo Domingo to cut the lead. Kepler lined out to center to end the inning. Apart from the home run, Houck was outstanding. He tossed 7 innings of 3 run ball allowing 6 hits and a walk while striking out 7.
Jovani Moran came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Hernandez got a base hit to center. Casas took strike three but a wild pitch moved Hernandez to second. Wong struck out swinging but Duran drew a walk. Chang grounded out to third to end the inning.
Kaleb Ort came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Solano was plunked to start. Julian took strike three, Larnach struck out swinging and Gallo flied out to left to end the inning. Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Verdugo to start the bottom of the eighth and flied out to right. Christian Arroyo pinch hit for Devers and doubled to left before moving to third on Turner's grounder to short. Yoshida ripped a base hit to left to score Arroyo and for some odd reason, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli decided that Castro should pitch to Hernandez. Kike grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 11-3.
Ryan Brasier came in to close out the top of the ninth but got tagged. Miranda struck out swinging but Gordon doubled to left. Vazquez got a base hit to right to score Gordon but Castro flied out to right. Kepler got a base hit to left and Solano walked to load the bases. Julien ripped a base hit to center to score Vazquez but Kepler was thrown out at home to end the game. The Sox had won the game 11-5
Hero of The Night is Tanner Houck. He tossed 7 innings of 3 run ball to not only win the game but save the tired bullpen for another day
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Christian Arroyo was 1 for 1 and scored a run.
Masa Yoshida was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Kike Hernandez was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Triston Casas was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.
Jarren Duran was 1 for 2 with a walk and 3 rbis.
Kaleb Ort pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 1 at the plate
Ryan Brasier allowed 2 runs in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.
Justin Turner was just 1 for 5.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs and scored a run.
Yu Chang was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Final Thoughts:
That's a little more like it. After getting beat up by the Twins last night, it was their turn to return the favor. The best sign was Houck going 7 strong and looking great despite the Castro home run. Apart from Corey Kluber and a rusty Brayan Bello, the Sox have gotten some great pitching lately from Garrett Whitlock, Kutter Crawford Chris Sale and now Houck. The Sox still have some work to do in the bullpen with Ryan Brasier on his last legs but the pitching as a whole is keeping them in the game....for the most part. Offensively the Sox are going to be hit or miss and today was a big hit. If Duran can hit consistently and Yoshida can adjust to hard throwing American pitching, things would be looking up. Jake Faria is a bum but I'd rather see if he's got anything left than to see Brasier give up hits and runs left and right. All in all, it was a good win and the Sox have at least been entertaining in their games this year. The Sox now travel to Milwaukee for a three game set with the Brewers. Nick Pivetta (0-1, 4.50 ERA) gets the start tomorrow night against Freddy Peralta of the Brewers. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at American Family Field.
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