Before the game the Boston Red Sox organization released two prospects from the Greenville Drive roster. 22 year old outfielder Kelvin Diaz and 26 year old right handed pitcher Darvin Garcia were released. Diaz was a Dominican teenager signed in 2019 and hit just .234 in 2021 with the DoSox. He hit .242 in 2022 but at least had 6 home runs. He hit .298 for the Florida Complex League in 2024 but hit just .214 upon his callup to Salem. He hit .176 to start this season for Salem then was 2 for 32 once he was called up to Greenville. If he can't hit High A pitching, its time to cut your losses. Garcia was picked up from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Rule 5 draft and allowed 43 runs in 36 innings for the Drive. If he's 26 and can't get High A batters out, time to retire.
As for the game, the Boston Red Sox seven game winning streak was snapped at the hands of the mediocre Kansas City Royals. The Sox got two first inning runs against old friend Michael Wacha but Dustin May (6-8, 4.93 ERA) got rocked for 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings. Jordan Hicks and Isaiah Campbell allowed four combined runs to put the game away. The Sox bats scored just 1 run after the first inning and lost the game 7-3 at Fenway Park.
May got the ball in the top of the first inning and Mike Yastrzemski singled to right. Bobby Witt Jr flied out to right and Vinnie Pasquantino struck out swinging, but Maikel Garcia walked. Salvador Perez flied out to center to end the inning. Wacha got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Roman Anthony flied out to right to start. Alex Bregman got a base hit to left but Trevor Story forced him at second. Jarren Duran singled to right to move Story to third and Romy Gonzalez doubled off the Monster to score both runners. Wilyer Abreu flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Adam Frazier flied out to left to start the top of the second inning but Bregman booted a grounder by Jonathan India for an error. John Rave struck out swinging and Kyle Isbel was frozen for strike three to end the inning. Masataka Yoshida took strike three to start the bottom of the second and Ceddanne Rafaela lined out to center. Connor Wong grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Royals struck back in the top of the third as Yaz hit a ground rule double into the right field stands to start. Witt Jr got a base hit to left to score Yaz to cut the lead. Witt stole second and took third on the Pasquantino grounder to second. Garcia grounded out to short and Perez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Royals down 2-1.
Anthony flied out to right to start the bottom of the third and Bregman grounded out to second. Story struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Royals took command in the top of the fourth inning as Frazier walked to start. Frazier was thrown out at second trying to steal but India singled to left. Rave got a base hit to center and India made it to third, Rave taking second on the throw. Duran dove and missed a base hit by Isbel to score both runners, putting Kansas City up for good. Yaz popped up to second but Witt was hit with a pitch, and that was it for May. The big trade deadline pickup lasted just 3 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, a walk and a hit by pitch. Chris Murphy came in and struck out Pasquantino swinging to end the inning with the Royals up 3-2.
Duran flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth but Gonzalez doubled to left. Abreu grounded out to second to move Gonzalez to third but Yoshida flied out to center to end the inning.
Garcia flied out to right to start the top of the fifth and Perez grounded out to short. Frazier struck out swinging to end the inning. Rafaela flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth and Wong grounded out to short. Yastrzemski then jumped over the wall to rob Anthony of a home run to end the inning.
India was hit with a pitch to start the top of the sixth and Rave was as well. Isbel bunted foul for strike three and Randal Grichuk pinch hit for Yaz. Duran made a leaping grab to rob Grichuk of a triple but Rafaela threw the relay throw away for an error to move the runners up. Witt Jr was intentionally walked but Pasquantino grounded out to first to end the inning. Bregman struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth but Story got a base hit to center. Duran grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Jordan Hicks came in to crap his pants in the top of the seventh as Garcia grounded out to short to start. Perez got a base hit to left, Frazier got a base hit to left and India hit a home run all the way into the Charles River to ice the game. Rave struck out swinging and Isbel grounded out to second to end the inning with the Royals ahead 6-2.
Hunter Harvey came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Gonzalez struck out swinging to start. Abreu walked and moved to second on the Yoshida grounder to second. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning.
Isaiah Campbell came in to get tagged in the top of the eighth as Grichuk was plunked to start. Tyler Tolbert ran for him and promptly stole second. Witt Jr popped up to first then Tolbert stole third. Pasquantino got a bae hit to right to score Tolbert but Garcia grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Royals up 7-2.
Lucas Erceg came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Wong got a base hit to center to start. Wong moved to second on the Anthony grounder to short but Bregman grounded out to third. Story got a base hit to center to score Wong but Duran grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox down 7-3.
Perez struck out swinging to start the top of the ninth and Frazier got a base hit to right. India struck out swinging but Rave got a base hit to left. Isbel grounded out to third to end the inning. Carlos Estevez came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Gonzalez struck out swinging to start. Abreu struck out swinging and Yoshida grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Royals had won it 7-3.
Jackass of The Night is Jordan Hicks. He came into a 3-2 game and allowed 3 runs to put it out of reach.
The Good:
Trevor Story was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Romy Gonzalez was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis.
Connor Wong was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Chris Murphy tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Roman Anthony was 0 for 4.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 with an error and a strikeout.
Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Dustin May got clobbered for 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings to take the loss off 6 hits and a walk.
The Ugly:
Alex Bregman was just 1 for 4 with an error and a strikeout.
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Isaiah Campbell allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
All good things must come to an end but the concerning part was Dustin May didn't look good at all. Maybe it was first start jitters with his new team but if you're going to trade a top prospect like James Tibbs, you expect more than that out of the piece you get back. Not only that but the bats were asleep in this one as old pal Wacha shut them down for six innings. If anything the Sox should have traded Tibbs for HIM instead. The Sox are back in the thick of things after a torrid July and the Sox are going to need May to step up in future games if they have any hope of toppling the Toronto Blue Jays. Speaking of the Blue Jays, they annihilated the Colorado Rockies 20-1 tonight. At least the Sox didn't play THAT badly in this one. Just have to tip your cap to the Royals for getting the hits and making the plays that they needed to win. The loss dropped the Sox to 64-52, 4 games behind the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox go out west to face Xander Bogaerts and the San Diego Padres beginning Friday night. Walker Buehler (6-6) looks to pick the team up when he faces old pal Nick Pivetta of San Diego. The game begins Friday night at 9:40 PM eastern time at Petco Park.
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