Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Garrett Whitlock was activated from the Injured List to make tonight's start against the Arizona Diamondbacks while Brennan Bernardino was optioned back to Worcester. I don't know why they keep Whitlock as a starter, he's much better off in the bullpen.
It was a great day all around in the world of sports. The Uso Brothers defeated Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa at WWE Money In The Bank, the Boston Celtics stunned the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and the Boston Red Sox knocked off the Arizona Diamondbacks. Garrett Whitlock (2-2, 5.14 ERA) came off the injured list to toss 5 gutty innings, surrendering just one run. The Sox bats didn't do much against Zach Davies and the Arizona bullpen but it was good enough. Ketel Marte homered off Whitlock in the bottom of the first but rbis from Kike Hernandez and Reese McGuire proved to be just enough. The trio of Kutter Crawford, Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen held the fort and the Sox had beaten Arizona 2-1 at Chase Field.
Davies got the ball in the top of the first inning and Raimel Tapia struck out swinging to start. Alex Verdugo walked but Justin Turner flied out to right. Masataka Yoshida singled in the hole at second but Verdugo was foolishly picked off to end the inning. Whitlock got the ball in the bottom of the first and te Diamondbacks struck first. Pavin Smith lined out to left to start but Ketel Marte hit a home run all the way to Tucson to put Arizona on top. Corbin Carroll grounded out to first but Christian Walker singled off the glove of Turner. Lourdes Gurriel Jr lined out to first to end the inning with Arizona up 1-0.
Jarren Duran singled to right to start the top of the second inning but Triston Casas flied out to right. Kike Hernandez struck out swinging and Enmanuel Valdez grounded out to second to end the inning. Josh Rojas grounded out to second to start the bottom of the second before Gabriel Moreno grounded out to third. Jake McCarthy grounded out to first to end the inning.
Reese McGuire grounded out to second to start the top of the third before Tapia grounded out to second. Verdugo walked and Turner flied out to right to end the inning. Geraldo Pedromo took strike three to start the bottom of the third and Smith struck out swinging. Marte flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth as Yoshida got a base hit down the line at third to begin. Duran struck out swinging but Casas got a base hit to center. Hernandez got a base hit to left to score Yoshida and chase Davies. Pablo Reyes pinch hit for Valdez and Kyle Nelson came in to face him. Reyes walked and McGuire dropped down a safety squeeze bunt to score Casas. Tapia struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Hernandez ties it up
Carroll flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth before Walker flied out to center. Gurriel Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
Tommy Henry came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Verdugo flied out to right to start. Turner grounded out to short and Yoshida flied out to left to end the inning. Whitlock returned for one final inning in the bottom of the fifth and Rojas grounded out to second to start. Moreno struck out swinging but McCarthy doubled to left. Perdomo grounded out to second to end the inning. Whitlock returned to allowed 3 hits and a run while striking out 4 batters.
Duran caught the Dbacks asleep with a bunt that Henry threw away for an error to start the top of the sixth. Casas flied out to right and Austin Adams came in to pitch to Hernandez. Enrique struck out swinging and a wild pitch moved Duran to third. Reyes grounded out to short to end the inning. Kutter Crawford came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Smith grounded out to first to start. Marte and Carroll both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Scott McGough came in to pitch the top of the seventh and McGuire took strike three to start. Tapia lined out to right and Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning. Walker lined out to first to start the bottom of the seventh before Gurriel Jr popped up to short. Rojas struck out swinging to end the inning.
Turner struck out swinging to open the top of the eighth but Yoshida drew a walk. Duran and Casas both struck out swinging to end the inning. It looked like Moreno grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the eighth but Arizona manager Torey Lovullo challenged that he was safe. The umpires upheld the call and Crawford apparently jammed his ankle. Chris Martin came in to pitch and McCarthy grounded out to second. Pedromo flied out to right to end the inning.
Miguel Castro came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Hernandez grounded out to third to start. Reyes lined out to left and McGuire grounded out to second to end the inning. Kenley Jansen came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Smith flied out to left to start. Marte flied out to center and Carroll struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it2-1.
Hero of The Night is Garrett Whitlock. He got the win with 5 gutty innings coming off the Injured List allowing just 1 run off 3 hits.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo walked twice in four plate appearances.
Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jarren Duran was 2 for 4.
Kutter Crawford tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Chris Martin got the final 2 outs of the eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Raimel Tapia was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Justin Turner was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Enmanuel Valdez was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Triston Casas was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Pablo Reyes was 0 for 2 but walked.
Reese McGuire was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Not having Trevor Story and Rafael Devers sucks but the pitching held up in this one. Garrett Whitlock tossed a gutty game but now Kutter Crawford might be hurt again. Hopefully he just jammed his ankle instead of spraining it. The real problem, as mentioned earlier, is the offense. They have a team of utility players right now and are too far behind in the standings to wait around for Devers and Story to come back. The Sox should be thinking about trading some prospects for another bat. The Tampa Bay Rays are red hot right now and Boston has to strike soon or it'll be another lost season. Not having a cavalcade of injuries in June and July would help too. Still, this was a good win against a tough team and hopefully the pitching continues to hold up. The win improved the Sox to 28-24, 9 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to take the series against Arizona tomorrow afternoon when Tanner Houck (3-3) takes on Merrill Kelly of the Diamondbacks. The game begins at 4:10 PM Eastern time at Chase Field.
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