Of all the embarrassing losses this season for the Boston Red Sox, this might be the winner when all was said and done. Just hours before the game the Toronto Blue Jays were forced to scratch Max Scherzer due to injury and the Jays bullpen tossed a 7 hit shutout. Not only that certain pitchers who were batting practice for the Jays such as Simeon Woods-Richardson and Jeff Hoffman tossed shutout innings. Meanwhile rookie Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79 ERA) was game, holding the Jays bats to 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings, but the Sox bats did absolutely nothing. The Sox as a team were 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position with 13 men left on base. The Jays got a run off Greg Weissert for good measure and blanked the Sox 3-0 at Fenway Park. How many runs did the Sox get John Cena?
Bennett got the ball in the top of the first inning and George Springer struck out swinging to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr grounded out to first and Kazuma Okamoto flied out to left to end the inning. Braydon Fisher got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mickey Gasper walked to start. Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to right and Wilyer Abreu lined out to center. Willson Contreras walked but once again with two men on....Jarren Duran forced Contreras at second to end the inning.
Alejandro Kirk struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Ernie Clement did the same. Jesus Sanchez popped up to second to end the inning. Masataka Yoshida led off the bottom of the second by flying out to center and that was it for Fisher. Simeon Woods came in to pitch and Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked. Kiner stole second but Andruw Monasterio flied out to right. Marcelo Mayer flied out to left to end the inning.
The Jays struck first in the top of the third as Davis Schneider doubled to center to start. Myles Straw struck out swinging but Andres Gimenez got a base hit to right to score Schneider, putting the Jays up for good. Gimenez stole second and Springer was hit with a pitch. Both runners pulled off a double steal and Guerrero Jr grounded out to third to score Gimenez to ice the game. Springer stole third as the crowd booed Mickey Gasper. Okamoto grounded out to short to end the inning with the game over 2-0 Jays.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third as Gasper grounded back to the mound to start. Rafaela grounded out to first but Abreu doubled to left. Contreras grounded out to short to end the inning.
Kirk struck out swinging to open the top of the fourth and Clement popped up to first. Sanchez lined out to a jumping Mayer to end the inning. The Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the fourth as Duran walked to start. In a micocosm of the season, Duran was out when Yoshida's grounder struck him. Kiner walked but Monasterio struck out swinging. Mayer popped up to first to end the inning as Fenway booed again.
Schneider grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth and Straw did the same. Gimenez completed the trifecta with a grounder to third to end the inning. The Sox blew their biggest rally in the bottom of the fifth as Gasper flied out to center to start. Rafaela singled in the hole at short to chase Woods. Mason Fluharty came in and Abreu singled in the hole at second. Contreras struck out swinging but Duran walked to load the bases. Nate Eaton pinch hit for Yoshida and Spencer Miles came in to face him. Naturally Eaton grounded out to first to end the inning as the boos rained down Fenway.
Springer popped up to second to start the top of the sixth but Guerrero Jr got a base hit to right to chase Bennett after just 79 pitches. Bennett got no run support as he left after allowing just 3 hits and 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings. Tyron Guerrero came in and Okamoto struck out swinging. Kirk grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox blew yet another rally in the bottom of the sixth as Kiner got a base hit to center to start. Kiner stole second but naturally Monasterio took strike three right down the middle. Mayer walked but naturally with 2 men on, Gasper popped up to center. Rafaela grounded out to first to end the inning as the boo's got even louder.
Clement took strike three to start the top of the seventh but Sanchez doubled to left. Schneider took strike three as cameras picked up Sox GM Craig Breslow looking sad. Straw grounded out to short to end the inning.
Nathan Lukes took over for Sanchez with Jeff Hoffman now on the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Abreu grounded out to first but Contreras got a base hit to right. Naturally Duran forced Contreras at second and Eaton forced Jarren as well to end the inning.
The Jays iced it in the top of the ninth with Greg Weissert now on the mound. Gimenez singled to right and stole second. Springer flied out to right to move Gimenez to third and Monasaterio dropped a bloop by Guerrero for a "single" to score Andres. Okamoto struck out swinging and Kirk forced Vlad at second to end the inning with the Jays up 3-0.
Tyler Rogers came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Kiner grounded out to second to start. Monasterio singled to center but Mayer grounded out to third to move Andruw to second. Gasper grounded out to third to end the inning as Fenway erupted in boo's.
Danny Coulombe came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Clement flied out to center to start. Lukes got a base hit to left but Schneider hit one up the elevator shaft. Straw doubled to left but Gimenez struck out swinging to end the inning. Louis Varland came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Rafaela struck out swinging to start. Abreu and Contreras both struck out swinging to end the game. The Jays had won it 3-0.
Jays win
Jackass Weissert
Jackass of The Night could be anyone but Greg Weissert makes sense. He allowed the third run to score in the eighth inning. Not that the Sox were doing much anyways but 3 runs is too much for this crew.
The Good:
Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 5.
Jarren Duran walked twice in four plate appearances.
Mastaka Yoshida was 1 for 2.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 stolen bases.
Tyron Guerrero tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Danny Coulombe tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Nate Eaton was 0 for 2.
The Ugly:
Mickey Gasper was 0 for 4 but walked.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.
Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Andruw Monasterio was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Marcelo Mayer was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Jake Bennett took the loss but only allowed 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings off 3 hits.
Final Thoughts:
Sox analyst Dave O'Brien had the right idea when he said this game "felt like a root canal with no painkiller." Even he's sick of seeing these guys crap the bed night after night against the most mediocre pitchers. Leaving 13 men on base is just straight incompetence. How Sox GM Craig Breslow still has a job is beyond me. He fired Alex Cora two months ago so this is his team now and they've fallen completely down the drain. You can't blame him for injuries but you can blame the front office for lying about the severity to sell some tickets. "Yeah Roman Anthony is fine, he'll be back in a week" sounds a lot better than "He's done for the year, he won't play again." As for this game, the Sox haven't won a game all year when trailing by multiple runs or when they're trailing in the ninth. That is one of the most gutless stats I've ever seen. There have been some bad offensive teams over the years but none of them were that heartless. The 2012 Red Sox only had 3 walkoffs all year but 3 is more than zero. The Sox were banking on too many guys to be good this year only for them to suck. The absolute worst part is the Sox would be one of the best teams in the league if the offense just to performed to the standards they had last year. That includes Caleb Durbin who 3rd in the National League Rookie of The Year voting. Maybe they'll turn it around, maybe they won't. Sox fans just want them to be watchable and they haven't been watchable all season. The loss dropped the Sox to 29-42, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to avoid a sweep tomorrow afternoon when Sonny Gray takes the mound against Trey Yesavage of Toronto. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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