Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Mickey Gasper was sent down to Worcester to make room for the returning Romy Gonzalez. Gasper wasnt doing well the last few weeks and Cheng is your starting shortstop by default. Hopefully Gonzalez can get back to 2024-25 form.
As for the game, the bad news was bad defense ruined an outstanding start by Sonny Gray where he tossed 7 1/3 hitless innings against the New York Yankees. A two run single by Caleb Durbin against Carlos Rodon should have been all the run support needed. It wasn't. Aroldis Chapman came in to protect the lead and thanks to a Wilyer Abreu throwing error, the Yankees tied the game in the top of the ninth. Thanks to another throwing error by Abreu, Justin Slaten (1-4, 5.89 ERA) looked to have allowed the winning runs to score in the tenth. Suddenly the Sox rallied against Fernando Cruz in the bottom of the tenth. Anthony Seigler drove in Durbin, Tsung-Che Cheng drove in pinch runner Andruw Monasterio and Jarren Duran drove in Masataka Yoshida to shock the Yankees. The Sox were 0-42 when trailing after 8 innings and hadn't won four games all year. Well now the Sox are 1-42 and they swept the Yankees 5-4 in 10 innings at Fenway Park.
Gray got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jazz Chisholm Jr struck out swinging to start. Ben Rice flied out to left and Jasson Dominguez lined out to second to end the inning. Rodon got the ball in the bottom of the first and Nate Eaton grounded out to third to start. Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to right but Wilyer Abreu walked. Willson Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning.
Cody Bellinger flied out to right to start the top of the second and Spencer Jones struck out swinging. Amed Rosario lined out to right to end the inning. Romy Gonzalez made his return to the lineup and grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second. Caleb Durbin struck out swinging and Anthony Seigler lined out to center to end the inning.
Oswaldo Cabrera struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Austin Wells flied out to right. Jose Caballero grounded out to third to end the inning. Connor Wong struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the third and Tsung-Che Cheng took strike three. Eaton struck out swinging to end the inning.
Chisholm Jr flied out to center to start the top of the fourth and Rice flied out to right. Dominguez took strike three to end the inning. Rafaela flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth but Abreu walked. Cabrera booted a grounder by Contreras and both runners moved over on a grounder to the mound by Gonzalez. Durbin ripped a base hit to center to score both runners to put the Sox on top. Durbin stole second and then stole third when Seigler walked. Wong walked to load the bases but naturally Cheng struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Bellinger lined out to right to start the top of the fifth and Jones struck out swinging. Rosario walked but Cabrera grounded out to third to end the inning. Eaton grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth and Rafaela lined out to center. Abreu flied out to left to end the inning.
Wells flied out to center to start the top of the sixth and Caballero grounded out to third. Chisholm Jr struck out swinging to end the inning and Gray was hitless through six. Chisholm Jr was thrown out of the game by first base umpire Tim Tichenor.
Anthony Volpe took Chishom's place with Pete Blackburn on the mound for the bottom of the sixth. Contreras took strike three and Gonzalez grounded out to second. Durbin popped up to first to end the inning.
Rice grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and Dominguez took strike three. Bellinger struck out swinging to end the inning. Seigler grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh but Wong got a base hit to right. Cheng grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Jones struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth but Rosario broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to center. That was it for Gray who tossed 7 1/3 innings of 1 hit ball, getting a standing ovation. Tyrone Guerrero came in and Cabrera forced Rosario at second. Wells lined out to center to end the inning.
David Bednar came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Jarren Duran pinch hit for Eaton. Duran took strike three right down the middle and Rafaela grounded out to short. Abreu flied out to right to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the sweep in the top of the ninth and naturally Caballero got a base hit to left. Caballero stole second and Volpe walked on 4 pitches not even close. Rice hit a routine fly to right but Abreu inexplicably fired the ball into the bullpen for an error to score Caballero and move Volpe to third. Goldschmidt hot a grounder to short and Cheng fired home....safe, the game was tied. Bellinger took strike three and Max Schuemann pinch hit for Jones. Schuemann struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Goldschmidt was out of the game and Bednar would now hit in his spot as he came back for the bottom of the ninth. Contreras hit a routine pop up...DROPPED BY CABALLERO for a "single". Naturally Gonzalez grounded into a double play. Durbin was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning.
Justin Slaten came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Schuemann on the mound and Rosario got a base hit to right...booted for an error by Abreu to allow Schuemann to score. Cabrera dropped down a bunt to move Rosario to third and Wells hit a routine grounder to Slaten.....who just held the ball to score Rosario to ice the game. Wells stole second but Caballero struck out swinging. Volpe grounded out to short to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 4-2.
Fernando Cruz came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with Durbin starting at second base. Seigler got a base hit to right to score Durbin and Andruw Monasterio pinch ran for him. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Wong and doubled to right. Cheng hit a sac fly to right to score Monasterio and move Yoshida to third. The much maligned Duran dumped a base hit to right to score Yoshida with the winning run. The Sox were 0-42 when trailing after 8 innings...until now. The Sox had walked it off 5-4.
Hero of The Night is Jarren Duran. He came off the bench to deliver the knockout blow
The Good:
Sonny Gray tossed 7 1/3 shoutout innings allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out 9.
Tyron Guerrero got the final two outs of the eighth inning.
Anthony Seigler was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi
Andruw Monasterio scored a run as a pinch runner.
Connor Wong was 1 for 2 with a walk.
Masataka Yoshida doubled and scored a run as a pinch hitter.
The Bad:
Nate Eaton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4.
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4.
Aroldis Chapman allowed the tying runs to score in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 2 with 2 big errors but walked twice and scored a run.
Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs, stole 2 bases and scored a run.
Tsung-Che Cheng was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Justin Slaten got the win but allowed 2 unearned runs in the 10th inning.
Final Thoughts:
Not too many games have been "must win" this season but this was definitely one of them. After taking the first three games of the series, the Sox desperately needed a win tonight. Sonny Gray went from 5 outs away from a no-hitter to a no-decision thanks to Aroldis Chapman and Wilyer Abreu. Then the Sox appeared headed for a loss after Abreu and Justin Slaten. Thankfully the Sox role players picked up the slack in the 10th inning. Seigler knocking in a run and Yoshida's double paved the way to victory. This was the first win all the season after the Sox trailed after 8 and also the first four game winning streak of the season. Now with both stigmas out of the way, maybe the Sox can ride this momentum all the way to the All-Star break. That's exactly what happened last year. The sad part is the Sox are still within striking distance of the third wild card this far into the season. As long as they fix the offense, they have a chance. Getting Gonzalez back might help short term but getting Trevor Story back might help long term. Either way a long win streak might give the fans hope again. The win improved the Sox to 36-46, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox now welcome in the Washington Nationals for a three game set beginning tomorrow night. The Sox look to win their fifth straight game when Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.83 ERA) takes on Miles Mikolas of Washington. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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