The bad news was once again the Boston Red Sox were held to just 3 runs on 9 scattered hits. Seth Lugo held the Sox to just 2 runs while the Kansas City Royals bullpen held the Boston bats to just 1 run after he left. The good news was Sonny Gray (5-1, 2.93 ERA) held the Royals to just one run in 6 solid innings. Willson Contreras clobbered a 2 run home run in the top of the sixth and Jarren Duran hit a sac fly in the seventh for all the runs the Sox needed. The trio of Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door and the Sox had beaten the Royals 3-1 at Kauffman Stadium.
Lugo got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran grounded out to second to start. Mickey Gasper took strike three and Wilyer Abreu watched strike three go by to end the inning. Gray got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Maikel Garcia grounded out to short to start. Bobby Witt Jr struck out swinging and Vinnie Pasquantino popped up to third to end the inning.
Willson Contreras grounded out to third to start the top of the second and Masataka Yoshida flied out to center. Andruw Monasterio singled to left but Marcelo Mayer watched strike three go by to end the inning. Salvador Perez was hit with a pitch to start the bottom of the second and Carter Jensen took strike three. Jac Caglianone doubled to right but Isaac Collins took strike three. Michael Massey grounded out to second to end the inning.
Connor Wong flied out to left to start the top of the third and Nick Sogard grounded out to first. Somehow Duran walked but Gasper flied out to center to end the inning. Kyle Isbel struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third but Garcia got a base hit up the middle. Witt Jr grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Abreu grounded out to second to start the top of the fourth and Contreras popped up to first. Somehow Yoshida legged out a triple to left but as usual with a runner in scoring position, Monasterio struck out swinging to end the inning. Perez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth and Jensen flied out to center. Sogard made a great diving catch to rob Caglianone of a hit to end the inning.
Mayer grounded out to second to start the top of the fifth and Wong lined out to left. Somehow Sogard walked but Duran struck out swinging to end the inning. Collins struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth but Massey doubled to left. Isbel got a base hit to left and Yoshida gunned down Massey at home. Garcia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Miraculously the Sox struck first in the top of the sixth when Gasper got a base hit to left to start. Abreu flied out to left but Somehow Contreras belted his 10th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Yoshida lined out to right but Monasterio got a base hit to center. Mayer flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Witt Jr took strike three to begin the bottom of the sixth and Pasquantino flied out to right. Perez flied out to left to end the inning.
Alex Lange came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Wong greeted him with a double to left. Sogard dropped down a bunt and actually beat it out to put runners at the corners. Somehow Duran hit a sac fly to left to score Wong and Gasper shocked the world by getting a base hit to right to move Sogard to third. Naturally with a runner at third, Abreu struck out swinging and Contreras grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Pitching with a 3 run lead, naturally Gray walked Jensen on four pitches not even close to start the bottom of the seventh. Caglianone doubled to right to score Jensen and just like that, Gray was gone. He absolutely dominated for 6 innings but gave up 2 runs in the seventh and that was it. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to face Collins and Isaac struck out swinging. Massey grounded out to second and Isbel struck out swinging to end the inning.
Old pal John Schreiber came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Yoshida grounded out to short to start. Monasterio struck out swinging but Mayer got a base hit to center. Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Garcia grounded out to short to start. Witt got a base hit to center then stole second as Pasquantino struck out swinging. Perez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Steven Cruz came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Sogard grounded out to second to start. Duran walked then moved to second on the Gasper grounder to short. Abreu lined out to short to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth as Ceddanne Rafaela came in for Yoshida. Starling Marte pinch hit for Jensen and took strike three to start. Caglianone griounded out to first and Collins grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-1.
Sox win
Hero Contreras
Aroldis Chapman earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Hero of the Night is Willson Contreras. His two run home run put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Jarren Duran walked twice in four plate appearances and drove in a run.
Mickey Gasper was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Andruw Monasterio was 2 for 4.
Nick Sogard was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Sonny Gray got the win by allowing 1 run in 6 innings off 5 hits and a walk while striking out 9.
Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Aroldis Chapman earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Masataka Yoshida was just 1 for 4.
Marcelo Mayer was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Ceddanne Rafaela played left in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Once again the Sox got carried by the pitching while their offense did almost nothing. Its becoming ridiculous at this point how incompetent the Boston bats are. They haven't scored more than 3 runs in 11 days and guys like Duran, Caleb Durbin and Mayer are at the center of it. Mayer and Roman Anthony were supposed to be the real deal and haven't been that good this year while the other two totally evaporated. The pitching can only carry them so far but at least its been lights out. Once you get to Slaten, Whitlock and Chapman the game is essentially over. The Sox just need to get a lead and they're golden....but seldom do they get a lead. Still, this year is about little victories and Gray & the bullpen were a big help in this one. The win improved the Sox to 20-27, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Royals tomorrow night when Ranger Suarez goes for the Sox against Bailey Falter of Kansas City. The game begins at 7:40 PM Eastern time at Kauffman Stadium.
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