The Sox wasted no time scoring in the top of the first inning when Jarren Duran clobbered the fifth pitch of the game from Tanner Bibee for his 10th home run to put the Sox on top instantly. Mickey Gasper got a base hit to center but Wilyer Abreu flied out to right. Masataka Yoshida struck out swinging and Isiah Kiner-Falefa also struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Suarez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Travis Bazzana struck out swinging to start. Jose Ramirez lined out to center and Chase DeLauter struck out swinging to end the inning.
Caleb Durbin grounded out to short to start the top of the second and Marcelo Mayer did the same. Connor Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. The Guardians struck back in the bottom of the second as Rhys Hoskins walked to start. David Fry doubled to left and Kyle Manzardo was plunked to load the bases with nobody out. Stuart Fairchild struck out swinging but Austin Hedges got a base hit to right to score Hoskins and Fry. Brayan Rocchio grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Guardians up 2-1.
Carlos Narvaez got a base hit to right to start the top of the third but Duran forced him at second. Gasper struck out swinging and Abreu flied out to left to end the inning. Bazzana struck out swinging to open the bottom of the third and Ramirez popped up to third. DeLauter singled to center but Hoskins struck out swinging to end the inning.
Yoshida popped up to second to start the top of the fourth and Kiner flied out to center. Durbin grounded out to second to end the inning. Fry got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the fourth before Manzardo flied out to right. Fairchild struck out swinging and Hedges took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fifth as Mayer singled in the hole at second to start. Wong doubled down the left field line but Narvaez took strike three. Duran walked to load the bases and Gasper hit a sac fly to left to score Mayer. Abreu got a base hit to left to score Wong but he was thrown out at second to end the inning with the Sox up 3-2.
The lead lasted 8 seconds in the bottom of the fifth as Rocchio doubled to right to start. Bazzana struck out swinging but Yoshida lost a fly ball by Ramirez in the sun for a "double" to score Rocchio. DeLauter got a base hit to left to score Ramirez and Hoskins doubled to left. Frye walked to load the bases, but Suarez struck out Manzardo swinging and Fairchild was rung up for strike three to end the inning with the Guardians up 4-3. That was it for Suarez as he allowed 4 runs in 5 innings off 8 hits and 2 walks.
The Sox beat the ball in the top of the sixth as Yoshida grounded out to second to start. Kiner grounded out to short and Durbin grounded out to third to end the inning. Jovani Moran came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Gasper muffed a throw by Durbin on a grounder by Hedges for an error. Rocchio struck out swinging and Mayer made a jumping catch on a pop up by Bazzana. Ramirez grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox rallied against Colin Holderman to start the top of the seventh as Mayer flied out to left to start. Wong walked and Narvaez got a base hit to right to chase Holderman. Tim Herrin came in and walked Duran to load the bases. Gasper walked and it looked like Abreu would be called out on strikes, but the umpire ruled it ball four to score Wong. The Guardians were out of challenges and Yoshida made them pay with a base hit to center to score Narvaez and Duran. Codi Heuer was brought in to face Kiner and Isiah got a base hit to center to score Abreu. Suddenly Durbin tripled down the right field line to clear the bases and ice the game. Mayer grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 9-4.
DeLauter grounded out to second to start the bottom of the seventh and Tyron Guerrero was brought in to face Hoskins. Rhys flied out to center but Fry singled to center. Manzardo struck out swinging to end the inning.
Will Dion came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Wong popped up to first to start. Narvaez struck out swinging and Duran grounded out to first to end the inning. Greg Weissert came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Petey Halpin pinch hit for Fairchild. Halpin flied out to left and Hedges was rung up for strike three. Rocchio got a base hit to right and Bazzana flied out to left to end the inning.
Gasper struck out looking to start the top of the ninth but Abreu got a base hit to left. Yoshida got a base hit off the glove of Bazzana but Kiner lined out to center. Durbin took strike three to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth with Willson Contreras now in at first. Ramirez grounded out to short but DeLauter got a base hit off of Chapman. Aroldis was ok and he struck out both Hoskins and Fry swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-4.
Hero of The Night is Masataka Yoshida. His 2 run base hit in the 7th put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, a home run and 2 runs scored.
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Connor Wong was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Carlos Narvaez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Jovani Moran got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Tyron Guerrero tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Mickey Gasper was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts and an error, but drove in a run.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored a run.
Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 5 but drove in 2 runs.
Ranger Suarez allowed 4 runs in 5 innings mostly due to a blunder by Yoshida but still struck out 10 batters.
Marcelo Mayer was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Honorable Mention:
Willson Contreras played first base in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
If the Red Sox learned how to hit, this might be a dangerous team moving forward. This is the third time in five games the Sox scored 8 or more runs. The biggest difference has been Duran and Durbin aren't completely useless anymore and guys like Gasper and Kiner have stepped up where others have failed. Its unfair to expect them to continue at this pace but Sox fans aren't expecting murderer's row from Kiner, Gasper, Wong, etc but they expect better than the first two months. Now Boston's record is pretty damn bad but keep in mind on June 29th last year they were 3 games under .500 two weeks after the Rafael Devers trade. The Sox aren't out of anything by any means, and if the offense matches the pitching, they should be a lot better than what they've shown. Suarez was mortal in this one, Yoshida's "error" didn't help, but the bullpen stepped up in this one. The Sox now face a nine game AL East gauntlet which will be a showcase on whether they can hang or not. The first big test is if they can win at home for once. The win today improved the Sox to 25-33, good for last place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action at home against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. Connelly Early (5-2, 2.95 ERA) continues his march toward AL Rookie of The Year when he takes on Shane Baz of Baltimore. The game begins at 6:45 PM at Fenway Park.
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