As for the game, so THAT is what its like to beat a bad team. After getting completely embarrassed in last night's game against the Colorado Rockies, Sonny Gray (9-1, 2.95 ERA) made sure that wasn't going to happen tonight. Gray dazzled the Rockies holding them to just 1 run in 7 strong innings. Meanwhile the bats finally woke up against Rockies starter Sean Sullivan and reliever Zach Agnos. Wilyer Abreu set the tone with a first inning rbi triple and a Nate Eaton rbi in the second gave the Sox a multiple run lead. Willi Castro homered off Gray but Abreu answered with one against Sullivan. Eaton and Rafaela drove in runs against Agnos and Garrett Whitlock survived an Ezequiel Tovar home run to lock down the 5-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field.
The Sox wasted no time getting to Sullivan in the top of the first inning as Nate Eaton walked to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging but Eaton stole second. Wilyer Abreu smacked a triple into the centerfield gap to score Eaton but Willson Contreras popped up to first. Jarren Duran popped up a bunt to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Gray got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jake McCarthy walked to start. Mickey Moniak struck out swinging and Hunter Goodman did the same, but McCarthy stole second. TJ Rumfield flied out to left to end the inning.
Caleb Durbin lined out to Sullivan to start the top of the second but Andruw Monasterio walked. Connor Wong walked as well but naturally with a runner in scoring position, Anthony Seigler lined out to left. Eaton drilled a base hit to left and Monasterio scored easily but Wong was foolishly thrown out at third to end the inning. Still, the Sox now led 2-0.
Tyler Freeman struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second but Willi Castro hit a home run all the way to Utah to cut the lead. Troy Johnston blooped a double to center and Ezequiel Tovar moved him to third with a grounder back to Gray. Edouard Julien struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rockies down 2-1.
Rafaela hit one up the elevator shaft to start the top of the third but Abreu drew a walk. Abreu stole second and Contreras walked as well. Naturally with a runner in scoring position Duran took strike three and Durbin grounded out to third to end the inning. McCarthy grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third and Moniak struck out swinging. Goodman got a seeing eye single to right and Rumfield did the same.....and then Abreu threw the ball away for an error to allow both runners to advance. Freeman took strike three to end the inning.
Monasterio grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth and Wong lined out to center. Somehow Seigler got a base hit to right and Eaton followed with a double to left. Naturally with runners in scoring position Rafaela popped up to right on the first pitch to end the inning. Castro lined out to second to start the bottom of the fourth but Johnston got a base hit to left. Tovar and Julien both struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the fourth when Abreu bashed his 10th home run of the season to increase the lead. Contreras popped up to second, Duran struck out swinging and Durbin popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox were facing one of the worst pitchers in baseball and only led 3-1, pathetic.
McCarthy's bunt attempt to start the bottom of the fifth was snuffed out by Gray. Moniak lined out to right and Goodman took strike three to end the inning.
Zach Agnos came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Monasterio flied out to center to start. Wong lined out to third but Seigler got a base hit to center. A wild pitch moved Seigler to second and he scored on the Eaton double to left. Rafaela got a base hit to left to score Eaton with another run. Rafaela stole second but Abreu lined out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1.
Rumfield struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth and Freeman popped up to right. Castro walked but Johnston grounded out to second to end the inning.
Contreras grounded out to third to start the top of the seventh and Duran struck out swinging. Durbin got a base hit to center but Monasterio grounded out to second to end the inning. Gray returned for one final inning in the bottom of the seventh and Tovar flied out to left to start. Julien walked and McCarthy got a base hit to right to move Edouard to third. Moniak struck out swinging and Goodman forced McCarthy at second to end the inning. Gray was outstanding, holding the Rockies to just 1 run in 7 innings off 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 11.
Wong got a base hit to right to start the top of the eighth but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Seigler walked but Eaton lined out to left. Rafaela lined out to short to end the inning. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Rumfield got a base hit to left to start. Freeman grounded into a double play and Castro flied out to center to end the inning.
Juan Mejia came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Abreu grounded out to first to start. Contreras got a base hit to center but Duran lined out to third. Durbin forced Contreras at second to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Johnston grounded out to first to start. All of a sudden Tovar hit a home run all the way to Miami to cut the lead. Julien struck out swinging and McCarthy grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.
Sox win
Hero of The Night is Sonny Gray. He dazzled the Rockies by tossing 7 innings of one run ball striking out 11 batters while giving up 6 hits & 3 walks.
The Good:
Nate Eaton was 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis, a stolen base and 2 runs scored.
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 4 with a walk, a home run, a stolen base and 2 total rbis.
Connor Wong was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Anthony Seigler was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Garrett Whitlock allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 but stole a abse and drove in a run.
Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 with a walk.
Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 5.
Andruw Monasterio was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Now that's more like it. Beating the Rockies is nothing to write home about but that's what they should be doing. Unlike last night, Sox manager Chad Tracy let Gray finish the seventh inning mostly due to using Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman last night. Gray dominated the Rockies and the Sox finally got some clutch hits. Who knew this would be the Anthony Seigler and Nate Eaton game but the Sox will definitely take it. With a team of utility players in the starting lineup, SOMEONE had to step up and better them than nobody at all. Romy Gonzalez is close to returning and if he can give the Sox what he did last year, that'll be a shot in the arm. The problem is they have enough utility players, they need some big bats to return. Unfortunately it doesn't look like Trevor Story, Triston Casas and Roman Anthony have any reason to return this year let alone the ability too. Its a shame, if they had those three guys and a healthy Garrett Crochet, they might have been more successful this season. Tracy may also want to dial it back on using Whitlock every game. This was the second game in a row he gave up big hits and his ERA is almost over 3. I understand Tracy wanted to lock this down but he needs to trust guys like Greg Weissert and Ryan Watson with four run ninth inning leads. Still a win is a win and this was a good one. The win improved the Sox to 32-45, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to take the series against Colorado tomorrow afternoon when Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.93 ERA) takes on Kyle Freeland of the Rockies. The game begins at 3:10 PM eastern time at Coors Field.
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