Did the Boston Red Sox win the Mookie Betts trade? Absolutely not, but for one night it worked out in their favor. On a night where Tanner Houck got lit up for 6 runs in 6 innings by the Toronto Blue Jays, it was the unlikely Connor Wong to the rescue. The Sox broke out to a 3-0 lead on home runs from Christian Arroyo and Masataka Yoshida along with a Rob Refsnyder rbi. After the Jays went up 6-3, Yoshida and Refsnyder drove in a run apiece before Wong tied it with a home run. In the bottom of the eighth, Wong belted his second home run of the night to put the Sox on top. Josh Winckowski earned his first career save in the ninth as the Sox had won their fourth straight game and second in a row 7-6 at Fenway Park.
Houck got the ball in the top of the first inning and George Springer struck out swinging to start. Bo Bichette drew a walk but Vladimir Guerrero Jr flied out to left. Matt Chapman flied out to left to end the inning. Kikuchi got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alex Verdugo greeted him with a double to right to begin. Verdugo moved to third on the Justin Turner fly out to right but Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging. Rafael Devers flied out to left to end the inning.
Daulton Varsho flied out to left to start the top of the second before Whit Merrifield flied out to right. Alejandro Kirk grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second although Kike Hernandez grounded out to second to start. Masataka Yoshida grounded out to second but Christian Arroyo belted his first home run of the season completely over the Monster to put Boston on top. Connor Wong followed with a double high off the Monster but Raimel Tapia struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Danny Jansen walked to start the top of the third but Kevin Kiermaier flied out to center. Springer flied out to center and Bichette struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the third as Verdugo doubled to left to start. Turner popped up to short but Refsnyder got a base hit to center. Verdugo scored but Refsnyder was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Devers flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Guerrero Jr struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth before Chapman grounded out to third. Varsho doubled to center but Merrifield grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Hernandez flied out to center to start. Yoshida then pounded his fifth home run of the season to increase the lead. Arroyo grounded out to third but Wong lashed a base hit to left. Tapia grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Houck fell apart in the top of the fifth as Kirk grounded out to short to start. Jansen singled to left, Kiermaier ripped a base hit to right to move Jansen to third, then promptly stole second. Houck managed to strike out Springer swinging but Bichette walked to load the bases. Naturally Guerrero Jr ripped a base hit to left to score Jansen and Kiermaier before a passed ball scored Bichette to tie the game. Chapman singled to short and Varsho hit a 3 run home run all the way to San Juan, Puerto Rico to put the Jays on top. Merrifield lined out to left to end the inning but the Jays rallied for 6 runs to lead it 6-3.
The Sox fought back in the bottom of the fifth as Verdugo was hit with a pitch to start. Turner singled to center and Refsnyder got a base hit to left to score Verdugo. Devers flied out to center to chase Kikuchi. Zach Pop came in and both runners moved over on the Hernandez grounder to the mound before Yoshida sliced a base hit to left to score Turner. Refsnyder moved to third but was stranded as Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox down 6-5.
Sox aren't going quietly
Due to the bullpen being overused, Houck pretty much had to come back for the top of the sixth. Kirk grounded out to short before Jansen struck out swinging. Kiermaier flied out to center to end the inning. Good work by Houck to suffer through six innings even though he had Dice K Disease in the fifth inning. He allowed 6 runs in 6 innings allowing 6 hits and 3 walks.
Houck gets through it
Wong ties it up
The Sox wasted no time coming back in the bottom of the sixth as Wong clobbered his second home run of the year to tie the game. Tim Mayza replaced Pop on the mound and Tapia beat out a roller to short, but Verdugo appeared to beat out a double play ball. Blue Jays manager John Schneider challenged that Verdugo was out and the call was overturned, double play. Turner hit a ground rule double to right to chase Mayza. Yimi Garcia came in to pitch but Sox manager Alex Cora countered by having Jarren Duran pinch hit for Refsnyder. Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 6-6.
John Schreiber came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Springer flied out to right to start. Bichette struck out swinging but Guerrero Jr singled to right. Chapman grounded out to second to end the inning. Devers grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh before Hernandez flied out to right. Yoshida walked but Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning.
Richard Bleier came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Varsho grounded out to short to start. Merrifield flied out to right and Kirk grounded out to third to end the inning. Erik Swanson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Wong smashed his second home run of the game to put the Sox on top. Tapia flied out to center, Verdugo grounded out to second and Turner struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-6.
Josh Winckowski came on for his first career save in the top of the ninth as Jansen popped up to second to start. Kiermaier singled to left but Springer banged into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-6.
Hero of The Night is Connor Wong. He went 4 for 4 and his 8th inning homer was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with a hit by pitch and 2 runs scored.
Justin Turner was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Rob Refsnyder was 2 for 3 with 2 rbis.
Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 3 with a walk, a home run and 2 total runs batted in.
John Schreiber pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Richard Bleier pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Josh Winckowski earned his first save with a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 1 in his only at bat.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4.
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 4.
Tanner Houck allowed 6 runs in 6 innings of work including 6 hits and 3 walks.
The Ugly:
Christian Arroyo was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.
Raimel Tapia was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
Its too early to celebrate but things are looking good for the Sox. They're getting timely offense and shutdown pitching out of the bullpen. Apart from the bench, which is mostly due to injury, the only problem the Sox has is their rotation. That can be fixed by simply having Houck and Kutter Crawford switch roles. Having a rotation of Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello and Crawford with Houck, Whitlock, Schreiber, Winckowski, Bleier and Jansen in the bullpen would be ideal. That's not including James Paxton who's due to come off the Injured List soon. It'll work itself out eventually. Offensively if Yoshida and Duran keep this pace up, they'll be 7 men deep in the lineup when Adam Duvall and Trevor Story return from injury. Wong had his best game of his Sox career and it was much needed against the dangerous Jays. Hopefully they can keep this momentum going and get back in the AL East race. The win improved the Sox to 17-14, 7.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it five wins in a row and three straight against the Blue Jays tomorrow night when Nick Pivetta (1-2, 5.11 ERA) takes on Alek Manoah of Toronto. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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