Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Kaleb Ort was sent back to Worcester and Zack Littell was called up to take his place. Littell went 6-0 with Minnesota in 2019 so hopefully they can get something out of him.
As for the game, the red hot Sox have won their eighth straight game by beating the Philadelphia Phillies. The Sox were down 1-0 when Rafael Devers keyed a 5 run rally to put the Sox up for good in the top of the fourth. The Phillies got two more runs off Corey Kluber (2-4, 6.29 ERA) who went 5 innings. Rob Refsnyder got a big two run double in the top of the sixth for the big insurance runs and they needed them because Brennan Bernardino allowed his first run of the season. Still, Kenley Jansen earned career save number 399 as the Sox locked down their eighth win in a row with a 7-4 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Bailey Falter got the ball in the top of the first inning and Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging to start. Alex Verdugo flied out to center and Justin Turner lined out to right to end the inning. Kluber got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Kyle Schwarber popped up to third to start. Trea Turner doubled to left but Bryce Harper flied out to center. Nick Castellanos flied out to right to end the inning.
Rafael Devers flied out to right to start the top of the second before Kike Hernandez grounded out to short. Jarren Duran popped up to third to end the inning. Bryson Stott was hit with a pitch to start the bottom of the second but JT Realmuto flied out to center. A wild pitch moved Stott to center and naturally Alec Bohm singled to center to score him. Brandon Marsh lined out to center and Edmundo Sosa lined out to right to end the inning with the Phillies up 1-0.
Christian Arroyo struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Raimel Tapia grounded out to second. Reese McGuire struck out swinging to end the inning. Schwarber grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Turner struck out swinging. Harper singled to right but Castellanos forced him at second to end the inning.
Refsnyder broke up the perfect game in the top of the fourth with a base hit to left and Verdugo doubled to right. Turner walked to load the bases and Devers bashed a double into the gap to score both Refsnyder & Verdugo. Hernandez grounded out to third and Duran struck out swinging, but Arroyo cleared the bases with a base hit to left. Tapia singled to left and McGuire scored Arroyo with another base hit to left. That was it for Falter as Luis Ortiz got Refsnyder to strike out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Stott grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth before Realmuto grounded out to third. Bohm got a base hit to left and Marsh got a base hit to right to move Bohm to third. Sosa ripped a base hit to right to score Bohm but Schwarber flied out to right to end the inning with the Phillies down 5-2.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the fifth as Verdugo walked to start. Turner grounded out to third to move Verdugo to second and Alex moved to third on the Devers base hit to left. Hernandez banged into a double play to end the inning. The Phillies inched closer in the bottom of the fifth as Turner grounded out to third to start. Harper hit a home run all the way into the Potomac River but Castellanos grounded out to short. Stott grounded out to second to end the inning with the Phillies down 5-3. That was it for Kluber who was average, going 5 innings and allowing 3 runs. Still, at least he didn't get bombed.
Connor Brogdon came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Duran flied out to left to start. Arroyo doubled to center but Tapia flied out to left. McGuire walked and Refsnyder clubbed a double to left to score both runners, icing the game. Verdugo flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-3.
John Schreiber came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Realmuto walked to start. Bohm forced him at second and Marsh forced Bohm at second. Sosa flied out to right to end the inning.
Seranthony Dominguez came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Turner flied out to center to start. Devers got a base hit to left but Hernandez flied out to center. Duran was plunked but Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning. Brennan Bernardino got tagged in the bottom of the seventh although Schwarber grounded out to first to start. Turner hit a home run all the way to Russia but Harper struck out swinging. Castellanos lined out to right to end the inning with the Phillies down 7-4.
Jeff Hoffman came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Tapia walked to start. Tapia stole second and McGuire dropped down a bunt to move him to third. Unfortunately Refsnyder struck out swinging so Verdugo was intentionally walked. Verdugo swiped second but Turner struck out swinging to end the inning. Stott popped up to third to start the bottom of the eighth and Sox manager Alex Cora wanted Josh Winckowski to pitch to Realmuto. Naturally Realmuto doubled to center but Bohm lined out to short. Marsh struck out swinging to end the inning.
Gregory Soto came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Devers struck out swinging to start. Hernandez popped up to first and Duran popped up to short to end the inning. Kenlsey Jansen came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth and Sosa singled past him to start. Schwarber struck out swinging, Turner flied out to left and Harper grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-4.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. His 2 run double put the Sox up for good
The Good:
Rob Refsnyder was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, stolen base and a run scored.
Christian Arroyo was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Raimel Tapia was 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.
Reese McGuire was 1 for 2 with an rbi and a run scored.
Corey Kluber tossed 5 innings of 3 run ball to earn the win. He allowed 7 hits and struck out 1.
John Schreiber tossed a scoreless sixth inning.
Josh Winckowski tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Kenley Jansen earned his 399th save with a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 5.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Brennan Bernardino allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Justin Turner was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That's eight in a row for the Red Sox who are firing on all cylinders. They're beating teams with timely hits, team speed and good pitching. Kluber didn't walk anyone despite allowing 3 runs and the bullpen surrendered just 1 run in 4 innings. The offense can't possibly keep up this pace of scoring 5-7 runs a game so they're going to have to fine tune the pitching. You got guys coming off the Injured List like Garrett Whitlock, Joely Rodriguez, Kutter Crawford and James Paxton which means somebody has to go. Still, getting fresh troops with the Sox trying to catch Tampa and Baltimore can't hurt. As long as they don't suffer any more catastrophic injuries to guys like Adam Duvall and Zack Kelly, they should be just fine. Somehow someway the rotation and bullpen will work itself out, hopefully for the better. The win improved the Sox to 21-14, 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it 9 in a row and a series sweep against the Phillies tomorrow afternoon when Tanner Houck (3-1, 5.34 ERA) takes on Taijuan Walker of Philadelphia. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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