Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Christian Arroyo was placed on the Injured List with a bad hamstring and Bobby Dalbec took his place on the roster. He'll be back soon....I hope.
It was a bad night for Boston sports in the city of Philadelphia. The Boston Celtics lost Game 4 of their second round NBA playoff series to the Philadelphia Sixers and a mile away the Philadelphia Phillies snapped the Boston Red Sox 8 game winning streak. Taijuan Walker held the Sox to just one run in 6 masterful innings while Tanner Houck (3-2, 5.26 ERA) was the hard luck loser. The key to the game was the bottom of the sixth inning with the Sox trailing 2-1. Sox manager Alex Cora brought in the lefty Richard Bleier to face old friend Kyle Schwarber with a man on base. Schwarber hit a 434 foot home run to pretty much ice the game. Zack Littell made his Red Sox debut by getting tagged for two runs and another old friend, Matt Strahm, locked down the save as the Phillies beat the Sox 6-1 at Citizens Bank Park.
Walker got the ball in the top of the first inning and Alex Verdugo struck out swinging to start. Masataka Yoshida got a base hit to left but got picked off. Raimel Tapia flied out to left to end the inning. Houck got the ball in the bottom of the first and Bryson Stott struck out swinging to start. Trea Turner grounded out to short and Bryce Harper grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Rafael Devers led off the top of the second by lining out to second. Jarren Duran struck out swinging and Triston Casas went down hacking to end the inning. Nick Castellanos struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Kyle Schwarber went down hacking. JT Realmuto got a base hit for center but Realmuto got thrown out at second to end the inning.
The Red Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the third as Enmanuel Valdez grounded out to first to start. Kike Hernandez grounded out to third and Connor Wong also grounded out to third to end the inning. Alec Bohm grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third before Brandon Marsh flied out to left. Edmundo Sosa popped up to third to end the inning.
Verdugo took strike three to start the top of the fourth before Yoshida popped up to short. Tapia got a base hit to right to break up the perfect game but was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. The Phillies struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Stott singled to center to start. Turner singled to left and Harper walked to load the bases. Castellanos forced Turner at third but Stott scored to put the Phillies up for good. Schwarber then smacked a base hit to right to score Harper with another run. Realmuto flied out to left and Bohm forced Schwarber at second to end the inning with the Phillies up 2-0.
The Sox did get one back in the top of the fifth as Devers struck out swinging to start. Duran grounded out to short but Casas hit his fourth home run of the season to cut the lead. Valdez grounded out to second to end the inning but the Sox were down 2-1.
Marsh lined out to right to start the bottom of the fifth before Sosa flied out to right. Stott popped up to third to end the inning.
Hernandez struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth before Wong popped up to second. Verdugo flied out to center to end the inning. Things went south in the bottom of the sixth although Turner struck out swinging to start. Harper singled to left before moving to second on the Castellanos grounder to second. Sox manager Alex Cora wanted the lefty Richard Bleier to face the lefty Schwarber and the gamble failed as Schwarber hit a home run all the way to Pittsburgh to ice the game. Realmuto flied out to center to end the inning with the Phillies up 4-1. Houck was charged with 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings, but one mistake was the difference.
Jose Alvarado came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Yoshida singled to right to start. Tapia flied out to left, Devers grounded out to first and Duran grounded out to second to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Bohm grounded out to second to start. Marsh struck out swinging but Sosa beat out a roller to short. Sosa was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Old friend Matt Strahm came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Justin Turner pinch hit for Casas to start. Turner struck out swinging and Bobby Dalbec pinch hit for Arroyo. Dalbec took strike three but Hernandez doubled to left. Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. Zack Littell made his Sox debut in the bottom of the eighth and got hammered. Stott lined out to right but Turner walked. Harper lined out to left but Castellanos doubled to left. Schwarber was intentionally walked to load the bases and Dalton Guthrie ran for him. Realmuto got a base hit to left to score both Turner and Castellanos to increase the lead. Bohm forced Realmuto at second to end the inning with the Phillies up 6-1.
Realmuto drives in a pair
Strahm came back to close out the top of the ninth with Josh Harrison now in at short for Turner. Verdugo grounded out to first to start the bottom of the ninth before Yoshida grounded back to the mound. Tapia popped up to short to end the game. The Phillies had won it 6-1.
Jackass of the Night is Richard Bleier. He turned a 2-1 game into 4-1 by allowing the bomb to Schwarber who was 1 for 10 against him up to that point.
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 4.
Triston Casas was 1 for 2 with a home run.
Kike Hernandez was 1 for 3.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
The Bad:
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Justin Turner struck out as a pinch hitter.
Enmanuel Valdez was 0 for 2.
Bobby Dalbec struck out as a pinch hitter.
Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Zack Littell allowed 2 runs in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Raimel Tapia was just 1 for 4.
Tanner Houck took the loss by getting charged with 3 runs in just 5 2/3 innings. He allowed 5 hits, one walk and struck out four.
Final Thoughts:
All good things must come to an end and the Sox finally laid an egg for the first time in over a week. The offense was held to just 5 hits and the bullpen allowing 3 runs (4 technically) didn't help either. They were due for a loss and this was it. Just gotta tip your hat to the Philly offense for getting the hits they did and the pitching for allowing just 5 hits. The only bright spot was Casas getting a home run, at least he showed he can hit the ball. Littell won't be here for long, especially with Joely Rodriguez starting his rehab in Worcester so the Sox are going to have to suffer for a bit. The off-day comes at the right time to rest the bullpen and any bumps and bruises the rest of the team have. Houck didn't pitch that bad and it wasn't the worst decision to have Bleier pitch to Schwarber when Schwarber was 1 for 10 against him. Oh well, just tip your cap and move on. The loss dropped the Sox to 21-15, 7.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Tuesday night in Atlanta for a two game set with the Braves. Nick Pivetta (2-2, 2.99 ERA) takes on Charlie Morton of the Braves. The game starts at 7:20 PM at Truist Park.
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