Sox Bash Nationals In July 4th Matinee (7/4/25)

Happy July 4th everyone. The Boston Red Sox enjoyed themselves this morning as they cracked the Washington Nationals and Michael Soroka in today's game. The Sox as a team pounded out 16 hits and 11 runs, highlighted by the seven run 5th inning. Trevor Story hit a 2 run shot and drove in 4 runs on his own while Jarren Duran plated 3. On the other side of the ball, Lucas Giolito (5-1, 3.66 ERA) tossed his best game of the season holding the Nationals to just 1 run in 7 2/3 innings. Garrett Whitlock allowed a run in the ninth inning but the Sox had won this game easily 11-2 at Nationals Park.

                                                  The Founding Fathers approve of the win

Soroka got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran flied out to center to start. Roman Anthony got a base hit to left and Abraham "El" Toro singled to right. Carlos Narvaez struck out swinging and Wilyer Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. Giolito got the ball in the bottom of the first and CJ Abrams popped up to third to start. James Wood walked but Luis Garcia Jr grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Trevor Story got a base hit to second to start. Story swiped second but Marcelo Mayer struck out swinging. Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to right to score Story then moved to third on the David Hamilton grounder to short. Duran got a base hit to center to score Rafaela with another run and Anthony was plunked. El Toro lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                         Duran drives in a run

Nathaniel Lowe struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Josh Bell grounded out to second. Brady House flied out to right to end the inning.

Narvaez struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Abreu went down hacking as well. Story grounded out to short to end the inning. Daylen Lile popped up to third to begin the bottom of the third and Keibert Ruiz struck out swinging. Jacob Young singled to center but Abrams flied out to left to end the inning.

Mayer struck out swinging to open the top of the fourth and Rafaela swung at air as well. Hamilton caught the Nationals asleep with a bunt single down the third base line and promptly stole second. Duran grounded out to second to end the inning. Wood struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the fourth and Garcia Jr lined out to center. Lowe walked and Bell singled off the glove of Hamilton, but House forced Bell at second to end the inning.

The Sox exploded in the top of the fifth as Anthony doubled to center to start. El Toro walked and Narvaez got a base hit to left to load the bases. Abreu walked to score Anthony and Story got a base hit to center to score both Toro and Narvaez. That was it for Soroka as Zach Brzykcy came in to allow Mayer to get a base hit to left to score Abreu. Rafaela flied out to center and Hamilton struck out swinging, but Duran doubled to right to clear the bases. Anthony walked and Toro got a base hit to center to score Duran. Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 9-0.

                                                           El Toro joins the rbi parade

Lile popped up to short to start the bottom of the fifth before Ruiz struck out swinging. Young lined out to right to end the inning.

Andrew Chafin came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Abreu flied out to left to start. Story singled in the hole at third but Mayer flied out to left. Rafaela lined out to left to end the inning. The Nationals finally scored in the bottom of the sixth as Abrams singled to right to start. Abrams stole second and moved to third on the Wood grounder to second. Garcia Jr hit a sac fly to center to score Abrams but Lowe struck out swinging to end the inning with the Nationals down 9-1.

                                                            Nationals get on the board

Ryan Loutos came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Hamilton walked to start. Hamilton stole second but Duran struck out swinging. Anthony grounded out to second to move Hamilton to third but Toro flied out to center to end the inning. Bell took strike three to start the bottom of the seventh and House struck out swinging. Lile lined out to left to end the inning.

Alex Call came in for Wood for the top of the eighth and Narvaez singled in the hole at short to start. Abreu forced Narvaez at second but Story belted his 13th home run of the season to increase the lead. Mayer got a base hit to right but was forced at second by Rafaela. Hamilton lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 11-1.

                                                     Story gets the Wally Head

Nate Eaton came in for Duran to start the bottom of the eighth and Ruiz singled to center to start. Young lined out to right but Abrams walked. Call flied out to right and that was it for Giolito. He was outstanding, holding the Nationals to just 1 run in 7 2/3 innings. Justin Wilson came in and got Garcia to ground out to first to end the inning.

                                                           Great work Giolito

Eduardo Salazar came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Eaton flied out to center to start. Anthony walked but El Toro flied out to center. Narvaez forced Anthony at second to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Lowe singled to right to start. Bell struck out swinging and House forced Lowe at second. Lile doubled to center to score House but Ruiz grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 11-2.

                                                                 Sox win

Hero of The Night is Lucas Giolito. He tossed 7 2/3 innings of 1 run ball while allowing

                                                         Lucas Gio-Hero

The Good:

Jarren Duran was 2 for 3 with 3 rbis and a run scored.

Roman Anthony was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, a hit by pitch and a run scored.

Abraham Toro was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Carlos Narvaez was 2 for 6 with a run scored.

Trevor Story was 4 for 5 with a 2 run home run, 4 total rbis, a stolen base and 3 total runs scored.

Marcelo Mayer was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Justin Wilson retired the only man he faced.

The Bad:

Nate Eaton was 0 for 1 at the plate.

Garrett Whitlock allowed a run in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked, drove in a run and scored two runs.

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored a run.

David Hamilton was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and stole two bases.

Final Thoughts:

Last year the running Red Sox caught fire in June by stealing bases and hitting timely home runs. This game was similar to that as Story went yard and the Sox stole 3 bags. If Hamilton, Rafaela and Duran get on base, they can be very deadly on the basepaths. The Sox need to find a way to generate offense with Alex Bregman and Triston Casas out & Rafael Devers gone. The season has been worthless so far but maybe they'll win more than they lose. The win improved the Sox to 44-45, 6.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Nationals tomorrow afternoon when Walker Buehler (5-6) takes on Mitchell Parker of Washington. The game begins at 4:05 PM at Nationals Park.