Peralta got the ball in the top of the first inning and Alex Verdugo struck out swinging to begin. Rafael Devers also went down hacking and Justin Turner flied out to center to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Christian Yelich struck out swinging to start. Jesse Winker grounded out to first but Willy Adames doubled past the diving Yu Chang. Adames was thrown out at third on a pickoff to end the inning.
Masataka Yoshida struck out swinging to start the top of the second but Kike Hernandez doubled to center. Triston Casas grounded back to the mound and Reese McGuire popped up to first to end the inning. Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez grounded out to third to start the bottom of the second before William Contreras struck out swinging. Brian Anderson lined out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third as Jarren Duran singled to center to start. Yu Chang dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Duran to second but that was moot because Verdugo launched his third home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Devers grounded out to short but Turner ripped a base hit to center. Yoshida popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
The Brewers got one back in the bottom of the third as Brice Turang struck out swinging to start. Owen Miller got a base hit to left but Joey Wiemer took strike three. Miller stole second base and Yelich made McGuire pay with a base hit to left to score Owen to cut the lead. Winker struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 2-1 Sox.
Hernandez hit one up the elevator shaft to start the top of the fourth before Casas popped up to third. McGuire grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Brewers took command in the bottom of the fourth as Adames flied out to right to start. Who else but Tellez hit a home run all the way to Green Bay to tie the game. Contreras doubled to right but Anderson grounded out to third. Turang ripped a base hit to right to score Contreras but Miller forced him at second to end the inning with the Brewers ahead 3-2.
Duran flied out to left to start the top of the fifth before Chang lined out to right. Verdugo doubled to right but Devers grounded out to second to end the inning. Wiemer got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the fifth before a wild pitch moved him to second. Yelich lined out to Yoshida, Winker lined out to Duran and Adames also lined out to Masataka to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the sixth as Turner popped up to second to start. Yoshida struck out swinging but Hernandez and Casas drew back to back walks to chase Peralda. Holby Milner came in to pitch and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for McGuire, getting a base hit to right to score Hernandez with the tying run. Duran then lined one off the glove of Miller for a hit to score Casas with the go-ahead run. Chang flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-3.
Pivetta tried to get through the bottom of the sixth with Connor Wong now behind the plate. Tellez and Contreras both took strike three but Anderson walked on four pitches not even close to chase Pivetta. He battled hard to toss 5 2/3 innings of 3 run ball. He allowed 7 hits but also struck out 7. Josh Winckowski came in and got Turang to fly out to left to end the inning.
The Sox got an insurance run in the top of the seventh although Verdugo grounded out to third to start. Devers flied out to center but Bryse Wilson came in to pitch to Turner. Justin walked on four pitches and Yoshida doubled to the centerfield wall to drive him in. Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Miller flied out to left to start the bottom of the seventh before Wiemer flied out to right. Yelich struck out swinging again to end the inning.
Casas struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth before Wong popped up to first. Duran struck out swinging to end the inning. The Brewers threatened one final time in the bottom of the eighth as Winker took strike three to start. Adames struck out swinging but Tellex walked. Contreras got a base hit to right to put runners at the corners. Blake Perkins pinch ran for Contreras but Winckowski blew away Anderson on a 95 mph fastball to end the inning. Outstanding work by Winckowski.
Victor Caratini took over behind the plate for the top of the ninth and Chang lined out to left to start. Verdugo grounded out to second and Devers flied out to right to end the inning. Kenley Jansen came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Turang struck out swinging to start. Miller struck out swinging and Wiemer popped up to third to end the game. The Sox had won the game 5-3.
Hero of the Night is Jarren Duran. He knocked home the go-ahead run to give the Sox the lead for good.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5 with a 2 run home run.
Justin Turner was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Rob Refsnyder singled and drove in a run in his only at-bat.
Nick Pivetta got the win by tossing 5 2/3 innings of 3 run ball. He allowed 7 hits and struck out 7.
Josh Winckowski tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings.
Kenley Jansen earned his fifth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 2.
Connor Wong was 0 for 1.
Yu Chang was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Masa Yoshida was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Triston Casas was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
It was doom and gloom around here after the Tampa Bay Rays swept the Sox but they've completely turned things around since then. Hernandez broke out of his slump, Verdugo is on a rampage, Duran looks like he's figured things out and Winckowski is becoming the second coming of Mike Timlin before our eyes. His batting average won't reflect it but Casas draws key walks and finds a way to score more often than not. Apart from Yoshida still adjusting to American life and Devers in a bit of a slump, there's not much to complain about tonight. The Sox have gotten good starting pitching from everyone but Corey Kluber and they're going with a 6 man rotation since they're not getting a day off for another six days. What this means is the entire rotation is pretty much auditioning for the five spots available once the schedule gets a bit lighter. How sad is it that Sox GM Chaim Bloom has spent a total of 20 million on James Paxton and Corey Kluber and neither one of them are really needed at this point? Pivetta is a solid number 5 and this is the kind of game you expect out of him. The back end of the bullpen with Winckowski, John Schreiber and Jansen is working great, now if only someone can replace Ryan Brasier, they'd be in serious business. All in all the Sox are only a game above .500 but considering how low they were after the Tampa sweep, going 6-2 since then is an improvement. The Sox look to make it two in a row over the Brewers when Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock takes on old friend Wade Miley of the Brewers. The game begins tomorrow night at 7:10 PM at American Family Field.
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