Better late than never for the Boston Red Sox in tonight's game against the Kansas City Royals. The Red Sox broke out to a 2-1 lead over Royals starter Bailey Falter on rbis from Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin. Ranger Suarez didnt have his best stuff and left with one out in the fifth. Contreras drove in a run in the eighth inning, Jarren Duran hit a 3 run bomb in the ninth inning, and Contreras drove in another run to wrap up the scoring. Garrett Whitlock (3-1, 2.79 ERA) and Jovani Moran locked the gates and the Sox had beaten the Royals 7-1 at Kauffman Stadium.
Somehow the Sox came out flying against Falter in the top of the first inning as Jarren Duran walked to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging but Duran swiped second. Wilyer Abreu got a base hit in the hole at second to move Duran to third and Willson Contreras got a base hit to left to score Jarren. Andruw Monasterio grounded into a double play to end the inning but the Sox were up 1-0.
The Royals answered against Suarez in the bottom of the first as Maikel Garcia grounded out to third to start Bobby Witt Jr singled to right and promptly stole second. Salvador Perez walked and Lane Thomas doubled to right to score Witt. Jac Caglianone grounded out to first and Starling Marte grounded out to short to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox struck again in the top of the second as Nick Sogard grounded out to short to start. Carlos Narvaez walked and Isiah Kiner-Falefa got a base hit to center. Somehow Caleb Durbin got a base hit to center....booted by Thomas for an error to score Narvaez, putting Kiner to third. Duran walked to load the bases and....Rafaela struck out swinging. Abreu flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Vinnie Pasquantino took strike three to start the bottom of the second and Nick Loftin lined out to left. Carter Jensen flied out to left to end the inning.
Luinder Aila came in to pitch the top of the third and Contreras struck out looking to start. Monasterio popped up to first and Sogard grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Garcia flied out to left to start the bottom of the third and Witt grounded out to second. Perez walked and Thomas flied out to right to end the inning.
Narvaez took strike three to start the top of the fourth but Kiner walked. Durbin watched strike three down the middle go by and Kiner was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. Caglianone took strike three to begin the bottom of the fourth and Marte grounded out to third. Pasquantino walked but Loftin took strike three to end the inning.
Duran doubled to center to start the top of the fifth but was thrown out at third trying to stretch a triple. Rafaela grounded out to short and Abreu grounded out to first to end the inning. The Royals finished off Suarez in the bottom of the fifth as Jensen doubled to right to start. Garcia got a base hit to right but Jensen was held at third, getting Maikel thrown out at second. That was it for Suarez after just 4 1/3 innings as he uncharacteristically allowed 4 hits and 3 walks. Zack Kelly came in and Witt flied out to right. Perez flied out to left to end the inning.
John Schreiber came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Contreras grounded out to second to start. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Monasterio and doubled to right. Sogard struck out swinging but a wild pitch moved Yoshida to third. Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning. Thomas singled to left to start the bottom of the sixth to chase Kelly. Tyler Samaniego came in and Caglianone took strike three. Marte got a base hit to center but Thomas was thrown out at third trying to steal. A passed ball moved Marte to second but Pasquantino lined out to right to end the inning.
Nick Mears came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Kiner got a base hit to left to start. Durbin grounded into a double play and Duran took strike three to end the inning. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Michael Massey pinch hit for Loftin. Massey struck out swinging and Jensen grounded out to third. Garcia struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox got a run in the top of the eighth as Rafaela doubled to center to start. Abreu lined out to left to move Rafaela to third and Contreras grounded out to third to score Ceddanne. Yoshida struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Witt flied out to right to start. Perez lined out to center and Thomas struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the top of the ninth with Eli Morgan now on the mound. Sogard got a base hit to center but Narvaez popped up.to second. Kiner got a base hit to left and Mickey Gasper pinch hit for Durbin. Gasper got a base hit to right but Sogard was thrown out at home, moving Kiner to third. Marcelo Mayer pinch ran for Gasper and stole second, then Duran smashed his fifth home run of the season to ice the game. Rafaela got a base hit to center, Abreu singled to center and Contreras drilled a base hit to left to score Ceddanne. Yoshida grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Duran needed that one
Jovani Moran came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Caglianone took strike three to start. Both Marte and Pasquantino struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-1.
Sox win
Hero Contreras
Hero of The Night is Willson Contreras. He drove in the first run amd 3 total to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, a stolen base, a 3 run homer and 2 runs scored.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 5.
Masataka Yoshida was 1 for 3.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was 3 for 3 with a run scored.
Caleb Durbin was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Mickey Gasper singled as a pinch hitter.
Marcelo Mayer stole a base and scored a run as a pinch runner.
Ranger Suarez allowed just 1 run in 4 1/3 innings off 4 hits and 3 walks.
Zack Kelly got the final two outs of the fifth inning.
Tyler Samaniego pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Garrett Whitlock got the win with a scoreless eighth inning.
Jovani Moran pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Andruw Monasterio was 0 for 2.
The Ugly:
Nick Sogard was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was more like it for the Red Sox offense. Jarren Duran amd Caleb Durbin desperately needed some big hits and they got them tonight. Suarez didn't have his best stuff and the bullpen had to pitch the final 4 2/3 innings, getting some offense helped big time. Not only did they prove they could hit, they saved Aroldis Chapman for tomorrow if needed. Its a shame that historically ex-manager Alex Cora burnt out the bullpen year after year because of analytics whereas Chad Tracy might do it this year out of necessity. The Sox rarely get a lead so when they do, its Slaten, Whitlock, Chapman every time. Kudos to Contreras and the bats for making this a laugher at the end. Hopefully this is the start the Sox needed to get back on track. The win improved the Sox to 21-27, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the series tomorrow night against the Royals when Connelly Early takes on old friend Michael Wacha. The game begins at 7:40 PM eastern time at Kauffman Stadium.
No comments:
Post a Comment