The Sox wasted no time getting to Ogasawara in the top of the first as Nate Eaton got a base hit to right to start. Romy Gonzalez struck out swinging but Eaton swiped second base. Roman Anthony drilled a base hit to right to score Eaton and Rob Refsnyder doubled to center to score Roman. Trevor Story mauled his 14th home run of the season to increase the lead but Jarren Duran grounded out to second. Abraham "El" Toro grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Crochet got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alex Call struck out swinging to start. James Wood grounded out to second but Amed Rosario walked. Nathaniel Lowe got a base hit to right to move Rosario to third but Paul DeJong struck out swinging to end the inning.
Connor Wong struck out swinging to begin the top of the second but Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit past Rosario. All of a sudden there was a minor rain delay and when play resumed....Rafaela was immediately picked off. Eaton was hit with a pitch and Gonzlez got a base hit to left, but Anthony grounded out to first to end the inning. Josh Bell flied out to left to start the bottom of the second but Brady House got a base hit to left. A wild pitch moved House to second but Riley Adams struck out swinging. Jacob Young walked and Call got a base hit to left to load the bases. Wood struck out swinging to end the inning.
Refsnyder lined out to right to start the top of the third and Story flied out to center. Rosario booted a grounder by Duran for an error and Toro got a base hit to right to move Duran to third. The Reds had seen enough of Ogasawara and yanked him after 2 2/3 innings. Cole Henry got Wong to pop up to second to end the inning. The Nationals struck back in the bottom of the third as Rosario got a base hit to right. Lowe flied out to center but Dejong doubled to left to score Amed. Bell got a base hit to left and House got a base hit to left as well to score DeJong. Adams took strike three but a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Young grounded out to third to end the inning with the Nationals down 4-2.
Rafaela popped up to third to begin the top of the fourth and Eaton took strike three. Gonzalez flied out to center to end the inning. Call flied out to right to open the bottom of the fourth and Wood grounded out to short. Rosario got a base hit to left but Lowe struck out swinging to end the inning.
Brad Lord came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Anthony struck out swinging to start. Refsnyder grounded out to third and Story flied out to right to end the inning. The day ended for Crochet in the bottom of the fifth as DeJong flied out to right to begin. Bell struck out swinging but House got a base hit to right. Adams flied out to left to end the inning. Crochet didn't have his best stuff but held the Nationals to 2 runs in 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7.
Duran grounded out to short to open the top of the sixth but El Toro got a base hit to right. Wong grounded into a double play to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Young grounded out to short to start. Call struck out swinging but Wood was hit with a pitch. Rosario lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox got a big run in the top of the seventh as Rafaela doubled to center to start. Jose Ferrer came in to pitch to Eaton but Marcelo Mayer pinch hit for him. Mayer grounded out to third but a wild pitch moved Rafaela to third. Gonzalez hit a sac fly to right to score Rafaela but Anthony took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 5-2.
Gonzalez drives one in
Justin Wilson came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh as Lowe walked to start. DeJong flied out to center but Bell got a base hit to right. House flied out to right and for whatever reason Greg Weissert was brought in to face Adams and naturally Greg walked him. Luis Garcia Jr pinch hit for Young and walked to score Lowe. Daylien Lile pinch ran for Garcia but Call popped up to short to end the inning with the Nationals down 5-3.
Mason Thompson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Refsynder grounded out to short to start. Story struck out swinging but Duran doubled to center. Toro was intentionally walked to get to Wong so Sox manager Alex Cora sent Wilyer Abreu in to pinch hit. Nationals manager Dave Martinez countered by bringing in Andrew Chaflin to pitch to him. Micro managing Cora then called back Abreu and sent Carlos Narvaez to pinch hit instead. Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning. Defying all logic, Cora sent Aroldis Chapman out to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning and Wood singled to center to start. Rosario struck out swinging, Lowe also went down hacking and DeJong lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox got a big insurance run when Rafaela smashed his 11th home run of the season to lead off the top of the ninth. Mayer lined out to center but Gonzalez singled to right. Anthony grounded out to short to move Gonzalez to second and Kyle Finnegan was brought in to face Refsnyder. Rob flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Since Cora already used most of his bullpen, he had to go to Jordan Hicks in the bottom of the ninth. Bell lined out to first but House drew a walk. Adams struck out swinging but a wild pitch moved House to second. Lile got a base hit to right to score House and CJ Abrams pinch hit for Call representing the tying run. Abrams flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-4.
Sox win
Hero Story
Hero of The Night is Trevor Story. His 2 run home run gave the Sox a big enough cushion to survive the rest of the game.
The Good:
Nate Eaton was 1 for 2 with a hit by pitch, stolen base and run scored.
Romy Gonzalez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Abraham Toro was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 runs scored.
Garrett Crochet got the win by allowing just 2 runs off 9 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 2 at the plate.
Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Carlos Narvaez struck out as a pinch hitter.
Justin Wilson was charged with a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Roman Anthony was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run and scored one.
Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run and scored one.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4.
Greg Weissert allowed an inherited runner to score in 1/3 of an inning.
Jordan Hicks allowed a run in the ninth but earned the save.
Honorable Mention:
Wilyer Abreu "pinch hit" in the top of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox won but once again Alex Cora managed this game like it was Game 7 of the World Series. Bringing in Aroldis Chapman in the eighth inning, trying to counter every move Dave Martinez made like his life depended on it and it all worked because they won. Crochet didn't have his best stuff but the offense stepped up. Story and Rafaela hit big home runs and even sac flies were crucial. Wilson and Hicks giving up runs made things scary but they got the job done in the end. That early rally put the Sox on top and hopefully they can do something like that more often. The Sox still have a ways to go before the all-star break but a nice win streak would do them wonders. The win improved the Sox to 46-45, 6.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now come home for a seven game homestand to end the first half of the season. First on the docket are the Colorado Rockies and "Big" Dick Fitts (0-3, 4.28 ERA) will be taking on Austin Gomber of Colorado tomorrow night. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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