As for the game, the bad news was once again the Boston Red Sox were held to just 4 measly hits and just 2 runs. The good news was Connelly Early (3-2, 3.16 ERA) held the Rays to just 4 measly hits of their own and allowed no runs. The only runs scored were home runs by Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela off Tampa starter Jesse Scholtens. The key to the game was Early escaping a bases loaded nobody out situation in the top of the third. Early went on to fire 7 shutout innings as Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door afterward. The Sox offense is still abysmal but the pitching held up to win this one 2-0 at Fenway Park.
Early got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yandy Diaz was rung up for strike three to start. Ryan Vilade flied out to right and Junior Caminero lined out to center to end the inning. Scholtens got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Jarren Duran flied out to right to start. Willson Contreras drew a walk before Wilyer Abreu walked as well. Naturally Masataka Yoshida popped up to third and Trevor Story popped up to short to end the inning.
Jonathan Aranda got a base hit in the hole at short to start the top of the second but Jonny DeLuca lined out to center. Ben Williamson lined out to third and Chandler Simpson flied out to left to end the inning. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to second to start the bottom of the second and Marcelo Mayer grounded out to second as well. Carlos Narvaez was plunked but Caleb Durbin lined out to second to end the inning.
Things looked bleak in the top of the third as Nick Fortes singled inside the third base bag to start. Fortes took second on a balk and Walls got a base hit to left. Diaz was plunked to load the bases with nobody out but Vilade struck out swinging. Caminero hit into a double play to end the inning with Early pulling a Houdini.
The Sox broke through in the bottom of the third as Duran lined out to center to start. Contreras took strike three but Abreu mashed his sixth home run of the season over the bullpen to put Boston ahead. Yoshida grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Aranda struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth and DeLuca did the same. Williamson grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Story struck out swinging to start. Rafaela launched his third home run of the season into the Monster Seats to increase the lead, but Mayer grounded out to second. Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Simpson struck out swinging to open the top of the fifth but Fortes got a base hit to left. Walls took strike three and Diaz struck out swinging to end the inning. Durbin watched strike three go by to begin the bottom of the fifth and Duran popped up to short. Contreras walked and took second on a passed ball before Abreu was intentionally walked. That was it for Scholtens as Mason Englert was brought in to face Yoshida and naturally Masataka popped up to third to end the inning.
Vilade popped up a bunt to Early to start the top of the sixth and Caminero grounded out to second. Arands walked but DeLuca popped up to Early to end the inning. Story struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the sixth but Caminero booted a grounder by Rafaela. Mayer flied out to left and Narvaez popped up to second to end the inning.
Early came back for one final inning in the top of the seventh and Williamson lined out to right to start. Simpson grounded out to second and Fortes took strike three to end the inning. Early was outstanding, allowing just 4 hits and a walk while striking out 8.
Durbin grounded out to third to start the bottom of the seventh but Duran beat out a roller to third. Contreras popped up to short and Duran took off for second. Rays catcher Fortes threw the ball away allowing Duran to reach third. Abreu flied out to left to end the inning.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Walls struck out swinging to start. Diaz went down hacking and Vilade hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. Yoshida grounded out to first to start the bottom of the eighth and Story took strike three. Rafaela singled to right but Mayer struck out swinging to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and Durbin made a nice play to rob Caminero of a hit to start. Aranda struck out swinging and DeLuca swung at air to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-0.
Sox win
Our Hero is all smiles
Hero of the Night is Connelly Early. He tossed 7 shutout innings allowing 4 hits and a walk while striking out 8.
The Good:
Willson Contreras walked twice in four plate appearances.
Wilyer Abreu was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a home run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Aroldis Chapman earned his 8th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 4.
Trevor Story was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Chad Durbin was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just for 1 for 4 but stole a base.
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but was hit with a pitch.
Final Thoughts:
Let's start with the criticism. Their offense is HORRIBLE and its been bad virtually all season. The four main culprits are Caleb Durbin hitting .177, Jarren Duran hitting .194, Trevor Story hitting .199 and Carlos Narvaez is hitting .208. With Durbin and Narvaez, they're both second year players so sophomore slumps are common. The other two are supposed to be the leaders of this team and if Story isn't hitting home runs and Duran isn't getting on base, what good are they? Kristian Campbell is starting to hit better in Worcester and if Duran continues to falter, it might be time to find a new home for him. Ditto for Story who's in year 5 of the 6 year contract so it would be easier to move him this year than in year's past. Either way they have to do something on offense because you can't have four black holes in your lineup. Ask the 2023 Red Sox how that turned out. Now for the good news, the pitching his been spectacular this season with 6 shutout wins, the most in MLB. Connelly Early is fast becoming the next Jon Lester which they haven't had since Jon got traded in 2014. Whitlock and Chapman slammed the door and the Sox have improved dramatically on defense in the last few weeks. Its unknown if Sox manager Chad Tracy has them working on fundamentals before games, but not kicking the ball around helps in run prevention. The sad part is they're only one game out of a playoff spot even after all that's gone on this season. Who knows, if the Sox get some key components back healthy, they might play meaningful games later in the season. The win improved the Sox to 17-22, 9 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Rays tomorrow afternoon when Peyton Tolle (1-1, 2.04 ERA) takes on Nick Martinez of Tampa. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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