Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Thankfully Kaleb Ort was sent down to Worcester to make room for the returning Chris Martin. Ort was throwing 97 but straight, maybe Worcester can get him to alter his mechanics so that 97 might actually move. Martin may not be as automatic as Josh Winckowski and Kenley Jansen has been but he should be better than Ort was.
The bad news was the Boston Bruins choked Game 7 of their first round NHL playoff series to the Florida Panthers but the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians in a drizzly, miserable game. Welcome back Chris Sale (2-2, 6.75 ERA) though. After he was tipping his pitches and getting roughed up by the Baltimore Orioles, Sale dominated the Cleveland Guardians today. He tossed 6 1/3 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 5 batters. Offensively the Sox kept up the pace by pounding out 7 runs off 9 hits and a bunch of walks. Logan Allen and Sale battled to a 0-0 tie after 4 innings but Alex Verdugo drove in two big runs in the fifth inning. The Guardians got a run in the sixth inning but Connor Wong iced the game with a two run home run. Verdugo hit a home run and Arroyo drove in two more runs added to the lead. The trio of John Schreiber, Richard Bleier and Brennan Bernardino kept the Guardians scoreless the rest of the way. The Sox ended up taking 2 out of 3 from the Guardians including a 7-1 victory today at Fenway Park.
Happy fans
Rosario lined a ball off Sale's glove to start the top of the fourth but Chris recovered to throw him out. Ramirez hit one up the elevator shaft and Bell lined out to Verdugo to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Devers struck out swinging to start. Yoshida went down hacking and Refsnyder also struck out swinging to end the inning.
Sox strike first
Guardians get one back
Wong hits one over the tower
Sale gets it done
Arroyo tacks it on
Sox win
Verdugo The Hero
John Schreiber tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Sale got the ball in the top of the first inning and Steven Kwan grounded out to second to start. Sale struck out Amed Rosario swinging on a nasty slider and Jose Ramirez grounded out to short to end the inning. Allen got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alex Verdugo struck out swinging to begin. Justin Turner flied out to right and Rob Refsnyder lined out to left to end the inning.
Sale struck out Josh Bell swinging on a 94 mph fastball to start the top of the second before Oscar Gonzalez lined out to short. Andres Gimenez sliced a base hit to left but Sale froze Myles Straw with a 93 mph fastball on the black to end the inning. Rafael Devers grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second before Masataka Yoshida doubled high off the Monster. Christian Arroyo drew a walk but Connor Wong struck out swinging. Jarren Duran grounded out to short to end the inning.
Gabriel Arias flied out to a running Verdugo to start the top of the third before Turner caught a pop up by Cam Gallagher next to the Red Sox dugout. Kwan grounded out to second to end the inning. Enmanuel Valdez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third before Verdugo grounded out to second. Turner hit a routine grounder to short but Rosario threw wide of first for an error. Refsnyder flied out to the right field warning track to end the inning.
Rosario lined a ball off Sale's glove to start the top of the fourth but Chris recovered to throw him out. Ramirez hit one up the elevator shaft and Bell lined out to Verdugo to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Devers struck out swinging to start. Yoshida went down hacking and Refsnyder also struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Guardians almost struck first in the top of the fifth as Devers booted a grounder by Gonzalez to start. Gimenez was plunked but Sale rebounded to strike out Straw swinging. Arias struck out swinging and Gallagher lined out to a running Duran to end the inning. Wong tried to start a rally with a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fifth and Duran blooped a ground rule double into the left field stands. Valdez struck out swinging but Verdugo blooped a base hit to left to score both runners to put the Sox on top. Turner took strike three but Refsnyder drew a walk. Ex-Sox pitching coach Carl Willis made a mad dash to the mound to inform Allen that Geordi La Forge was the Chief Engineer for the USS Enterprise. Devers took strike three on the outside corner to end the inning but the Sox led 2-0.
Naturally the Guardians answered in the top of the sixth as Kwan blooped a double down the right field line to start. Rosario blooped a base hit to right but Verdugo foolishly threw 100 feet over Wong's head that scored Kwan and moved Amed to second. Ramirez hit a warning track fly ball to right to move Rosario to third but Bell hit a dribbler in front of the plate. Gonzalez grounded out to first to end the inning with the Guardians down 2-1.
Nick Sandlin came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Yoshida flied out to left to start. Arroyo slapped a base hit to left and Wong hit a home run completely out of Fenway to increase the lead. Duran popped up to left and Valdez grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Sale returned for one last batter in the top of the seventh and Gimenez flied out to center to start.That was it for Sale who tossed a gutty game by going 6 1/3 innings and allowing just 1 run. He allowed 3 hits and struck out 5. John Schreiber came in and froze Straw for strike three but Arias hit a seeing eye single to left. Josh Naylor pinch hit for Gallagher and grounded out to first to end the inning.
Peyton Battenfield came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Verdugo greeted him with his fourth home run of the season to increase the lead. Turner walked but Refsnyder banged into a double play. Devers and Yoshida worked back to back walks and Arroyo doubled off the centerfield wall to drive in both men. Wong grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Richard Bleier came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Arroyo made a leaping grab to rob Kwan of a hit to start. Rosario grounded out to short and Ramirez struck out swinging to end the inning. Duran grounded out to first to start the bottom of the eighth before Valdez doubled just out of the reach of Kwan to left. Verdugo walked but Turner struck out swinging. Refsnyder was rung up for strike three to end the inning.
Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Bell lined out to a running Duran to start. Gonzalez grounded out to short and Gimenez grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-1.
Hero of the Night is Alex Verdugo. He drove in 3 big runs including the first two to outscore the Guardians by himself.
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Christian Arroyo was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Connor Wong was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run and 2 total runs scored.
Chris Sale earned the win by tossing 6 1/3 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed just 3 hits and struck out 5 batters.
John Schreiber tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Richard Bleier pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Brennan Bernardino tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Justin Turner was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Enmanuel Valdez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
It must be the AL East which is the kryptonite because Sale once again looked great. Just like against Minnesota, he held the Guardians to just 1 run. His velocity was there, his command was there and it looked like he had everything figured out. Offensively they're continuing to click by knocking out Allen by the fifth inning and getting to the bullpen. As mentioned two days ago, if Yoshida, Duran and Valdez can contribute with Turner, Verdugo and Devers leading the charge, this team is going to be deadly when Trevor Story comes back. Wong hit a home run that would have went 450 feet on a normal day and Verdugo continues to be one of the best players in the AL. If Sale can stay healthy the Sox may not be in last place much longer, especially with the New York Yankees faltering. All in all it was a great all around win and the Sox now are in for a test with the Toronro Blue Jays coming to town. The Sox end the month of April with a 15-14 record, tied with the Yankees for last place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Blue Jays start Jose Berrios while the Sox counter with Corey Kluber. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment