Kluber got in trouble right off the bat in the top of the first when Bo Bichette singled to left to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr flied out to center and Bichette stole second on the Matt Chapman strikeout looking. Daulton Varsho walked and Whit Merrifield lined out to third to end the inning. The Sox rallied against Berrios in the bottom of the first as Alex Verdugo doubled to center to start. Masataka Yoshida doubled to left to score Verdugo and Justin Turner singled to right to score Yoshida. Devers walked but Jarren Duran struck out swinging, Kike Hernandez popped up to third and Triston Casas took strike three to end the inning with the Sox only up 2-0.
As has been the theme all season, as soon as the Sox score the AL East opponent answers right back. Brandon Belt took strike three to start the top of the second but Danny Jansen walked. Cavan Biggio took strike three but Kevin Kiermaier walked. Bichette then hit a home run all the way to the Hoth System to put the Jays up for good already. Guerrero Jr doubled to left but Chapman struck out swinging to end the inning with the game over, 3-2 Jays.
Enmanuel Valdez tried to start a rally with a base hit to left to start the bottom of the second but Reese McGuire struck out swinging. Valdez took second and moved to third on the Verdugo grounder to second, but Yoshida grounded out to second to end the inning.
Varsho flied out to right to start the top of the third but Merrifield doubled to left. Belt took strike three and Jansen lined out to left to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Turner grounded out to third to start. Devers ripped a base hit to left and Duran beat out a roller to short but Hernandez foolishly swung on a 3-0 count to pop up to right. Both runners advanced on a balk but Casas grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Jays threatened again in the top of the fourth although Biggio grounded out to second to start. Kiermaier flied out to left but Bichette singled to left. Guerrero flied out to left to end the inning. Valdez grounded out to the mound to start the bottom of the fourth but McGuire singled to left. Verdugo banged into a double play to end the inning.
Kluber cruised in the top of the fifth as Chapman popped up to Corey to start. Varsho struck out swinging and Merrifield lined out to left to end the inning. Yoshida got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the fifth before Turner lined out to center. Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Belt struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth but Jansen walked to chase Kluber. Corey gutted it out for 104 pitches and 5 1/3 innings. He made one real mistake to Bichette but was solid otherwise. He allowed 5 hits and 4 walks. Brennan Bernardino came in to pitch and Biggio struck out swinging before Kiermaier grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox clawed back in the bottom of the sixth as Duran smashed his second home run of the season to tie the game on the first pitch. Hernandez struck out swinging but Casas drew a walk. Valdez pounded his first career home run to put the Sox on top. McGuire singled to left to chase Berrios and Tim Mayza came in to pitch. Verdugo forced McGuire at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Chris Martin made his return in the top of the seventh and Bichette greeted him with a single to right. Guerrero Jr took strike three but Chapman singled to right. Varsho beat out a double play ball before swiping second base. Merrifield walked and Alejandro Kirk pinch hit for Belt. Kirk grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Nathan Lukes took over for Kirk with Nathan Pearson now on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Turner lined out to right, Devers popped up to second and Duran struck out swinging to end the inning.
Everything fell apart in the top of the eighth with Josh Winckowski now on the mound. Jansen grounded out to short but Biggio doubled to left. Kiermaier hit a routine grounder to Hernandez who turned and fired the ball into the third base stands for an error to score Biggio. Bichette singled to right and Guerrero hit a double play ball to Hernandez. Kike stepped on the second base bag then inexplicably turned and fired the ball into the Monster Seats for another error to score Kiermaier with the tying run. Chapman walked but Varsho flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Hernandez tried to atone for his error with a base hit to center to start the bottom of the eighth but Triston Casas struck out swinging. Raimel Tapia pinch ran for Hernandez and took off for second, causing Jansen to throw the ball away. Tapia took third on the throw but Valdez struck out swinging. McGuire flied out to right to end the inning.
Christian Arroyo took over for Tapia to start the top of the ninth and Merrifield flied out to left. Lukes took strike three and Jansen grounded out to short to end the inning. Jordan Romano came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Verdugo took the third pitch he saw and drove it into the Red Sox bullpen to win the game. The Sox had walked off the Jays 6-5!
Hero of the Night is obviously Alex Verdugo. His walkoff home run won the game
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Raimel Tapia stole a base as a pinch runner in the eighth.
Enmanuel Valdez was 2 for 4 with a 2 run home run and a stolen base.
Reese McGuire was 2 for 4.
Corey Kluber allowed just a 3 run homer in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed 5 hits and walked four.
Brennan Bernardino tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Chris Martin tossed a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Justin Turner was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and two throwing errors.
Triston Casas was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Josh Winckowski got the win by allowing 2 runs in 2 innings but only 1 of them was earned.
Honorable Mention:
Christian Arroyo played short in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
What a win. The fact the Sox refuse to lose more often than not is a great sign considering how miserable last year was. Hernandez literally threw the lead away but Verdugo stepped up to hit yet another walkoff. He's never going to be Mookie Betts but he's been everything the Sox could have hoped for the last four seasons now. It was also nice to see Duran and Valdez put the Sox ahead after the Jays jumped in front on the Bichette homer. That was also the only mistake Kluber made and even though his command was off, he wasn't particularly hit hard. Can't even blame Winckowski for Hernandez throwing the ball everywhere and even Kike got a big hit in the eighth even though it went for naught. The bottom line is this team has a lot of heart and good things are in store if they stay healthy and fix the pitching situation. It would probably be impossible but sweeping the Blue Jays would send a message that this season is different after the Sox went 3-16 against them last season. The win improved the Sox to 16-14, 7.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Jays and four straight wins tomorrow night when Tanner Houck (3-1, 4.50 ERA) takes on Jays ace Yusei Kikuchi. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment