As for the game, what a difference a year makes. Last year the Red Sox were completely incompetent against the AL East and this year, they're not afraid of anyone. After taking 2 of 3 from the New York Yankees last week in Yankee Stadium, today they took Game 1 of a day/night doubleheader at home. For four innings Yankee fans gladhanded each other saying "Its in da bag bay-bee, dis Clarke Schmidt-a kid is pitchin da shutout and dis Kaleb Ort guy, he-a no good. Da Yankees are gonna win you unnerstand?" The reality was the Sox rallied for 2 runs against Schmidt in the bottom of the fifth on rbis from Rafael Devers and Adam Duvall. The Sox then rallied for 3 runs led by Connor Wong in the bottom of the sixth against Michael King. Nick Pivetta (4-4, 5.11 ERA) tossed 3 scoreless innings to keep the Sox ahead and Chris Martin slammed the door in the ninth inning. The Sox had taken Game 1 by a 6-2 score at Fenway Park.
The Yankees struck first against Ort in the top of the first as Jake Bauers hit a ground rule double down the right field line to start. Giancarlo Stanton took strike three but Gleyber Torres hit a 2 run home run into the Charles River to put New York on top. Anthony Rizzo grounded out to short and DJ LeMahieu struck out swinging to end the inning with New York on top 2-0.
Schmidt got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alex Verdugo flied out to left to start. Justin Turner popped up to short but Rafael Devers singled to right. Adam Duvall singled to center but Masataka Yoshida lined out to short to end the inning.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out swinging to start the top of the second but Billy McKinney walked. Jose Trevino grounded into a double play to end the inning. Christian Arroyo grounded out to sbort to start the bottom of the second but Jarren Duran walked. Enrique Hernandez took strike three but Duran took second on a balk. Connor Wong struck out swinging to end the inning.
Anthony Volpe struck out swinging to start the top of the third and that was it for Ort. He lasted 2 1/3 innings and allowed 2 runs. Chris Murphy came in to pitch and struck out Bauers swinging. Stanton flied out to left to end the inning.
Verdugo doubled to left to start the bottom of the third but Turner popped up to second. Devers walked but Duvall flied out to center. Yoshida also flied out to center to end the inning.
Torres grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth but Rizzo flied out to right. LeMahieu grounded out to short to end the inning. Arroyo flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth and Duran grounded out to first. Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Kiner struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and McKinney lined out to left. Devers booted a grounder by Trevino for an error but Volpe struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the fifth as Wong lined out to left to start Verdugo walked but Turner reached on a "double" when his pop up fell in no man's land. Devers grounded out to short to score Verdugo and Duvall got a base hit to left to score Turner to tie the game. That was it for Schmidt as Michael King came in and Yoshida flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Bauers doubled to right to start the top of the sixth and chase Murphy from the game. Nick Pivetta came in and Stanton struck out swinging followed by Torres flying out to right. Rizzo flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox took command in the bottom of the sixth as Arroyo grounded out to first to start. Duran lined out to center but Hernandez beat out a roller to third. Wong doubled off the Monster to score Hernandez and Verdugo did the same to score Connor. Turner got a base hit to left to score Verdugo to ice the game. Devers walked but Duvall flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Sox take the lead
LeMahieu struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh and Kiner struck out swinging. McKinney grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the seventh with Nick Ramirez now on the mound. Yoshida tripled into the centerfield triangle and scored on a balk. Arroyo lined out to second and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Duran. Refsnyder flied out to left but Hernandez got a base hit to left. Greg Weissert came in to pitch to Wong and Connor struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 6-2.
Trevino flied out to right to start the top of the eighth and Volpe struck out swinging. Bauers lined out to first to end the inning. Verdugo popped up to third to start the bottom of the eighth and Turner grounded out to short. Devers took strike three to end the inning.
Chris Martin came in to close out the top of the ninth and Stanton grounded out to third to start. Torres flied out to right but Rizzo got a base hit to left. LeMahieu grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-2.
Hero of The Night is Connor Wong. His rbi in the sixth put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4 with a walk, rbi and 2 runs scored.
Justin Turner was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and an rbi.
Adam Duvall was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Enrique Hernandez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Chris Murphy tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
Nick Pivetta got the win with 3 scoreless innings.
Chris Martin tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 4.
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Kaleb Ort allowed 2 runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 2 but walked.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Always good to beat the Yankees, especially when the Sox are fighting to get out of last place. Taking 2 of 3 from them last week showed they can do it, just needed to be consistent. Taking Game 1 of a doubleheader was clutch, especially since this was a bullpen game with Ort starting. The only drawback to a bullpen game is now Brayan Bello needs to pitch well tonight. They still have Kenley Jansen fresh and that's due to the Sox scoring those final few runs. Geting to Jensen will be the key but that's a story for Game 2. Almost everyone got on base in this one which was a well balanced offense. The Sox need Adam Duvall to get back to where he was in April to really take off. All in all it was a good win against New York and hopefully they can win the next one in a few hours. The win improved the Sox to 36-35, no sense saying the standings yet. The Sox look to take Game 2 in a few hours when Brayan Bello (3-4) takes on Luis Severino of New York at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment