As for the game, that's more like it. The Sox continued to ride the wave of their pitching as Peyton Tolle (3-2, 2.28 ERA) put on a show as he shutout the Baltimore Orioles for 6 solid innings allowing 7 hits and 2 walks. As for the other side, the Sox offense woke up to pound out 15 hits and 8 runs against Chris Bassitt. A Wilyer Abreu rbi single in the first set the tone and he supplied a 2 run bomb as well. The Sox exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth with an rbi triple, double and single involved. Ryan Watson allowed just 1 run in the final 3 innings of relief and the Sox cruised in this one 8-1 at Fenway Park.
Tolle got the ball in the top of the first inning and Taylor Ward walked to start. Gunnar Henderson forced him at second but Adley Rutschman singled to left. The O's tried a double steal but Rutschman was thrown out at second and Pete Alonso struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Bassitt in the bottom of the first as Jarren Duran got a base hit to right to start. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third but moved Duran to second, and Jarren scored on the base hit to left by Wilyer Abreu. Willson Contreras doubled to left and it looked like Abreu came around to score with third base coach Chad Epperson running onto the field....but the O's challenged he was out. Sure enough, replays showed Abreu was out and Masataka Yoshida grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Coby Mayo struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Samuel Basallo grounded out to third with Tolle hilariously jumping in the air trying to catch it. Tyler O'Neill struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mickey Gasper grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the second and Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out swinging. Marcelo Mayer flied out to left to end the inning.
Jackson Holliday got a base hit to center to start the top of the third and Blaze Alexander struck out swinging. Ward singled to center but Henderson popped up to first. Rutschman flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third when Caleb Durbin got a base hit to center to start. Duran popped up to third and Durbin swiped second base. Rafaela flied out to center but Abreu mauled his seventh home run of the season into the right field corner to increase the lead. Contreras walked and Yoshida blooped a base hit to center to move Willson to third. Gasper walked to load the bases but Kiner forced Mickey at second to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Alonso got a base hit to right to start the top of the fourth but Mayo flied out to right. Basallo lined out to short and O'Neill popped up to second to end the inning. Albert Suarez came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and Mayer got a base hit to center to begin. Durbin dropped down a bunt but Mayer was thrown out at second. Duran struck out swinging but Rafaela got a base hit to center to move Durbin to third. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.
Holliday struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth and Alexander grounded out to second. Ward singled in the hole at short and Henderson doubled off the glove of Contreras. Rutschman flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the fifth as Contreras doubled to center to start. Yoshida walked and Gasper tripled to right when O'Neill lost the ball in the lights, scoring both runners. Kiner hit a ball that would have been gone anywhere else but hit the top of the Monster for a double to score Gasper. Mayer grounded out to short to move Kiner to third and Durbin doubled to left to score Isiah. Duran grounded out to second to move Durbin to third and Rafaela beat out a grounder to first to score Durbin. Abreu hit a bullet....right to Henderson to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-0.
Tolle returned for one final inning in the top of the sixth and Alonso grounded out to first to start. Mayo got a base hit to left but Basallo flied out to center. Mayo moved to second on a balk and O'Neill drew a walk. Holliday flied out to center to end the inning. Tolle wasn't that sharp but got the outs he needed to throw 6 shutout innings allowing 7 hits and 2 walks.
Tolle did well
Anthony Nunez came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Contreras got a base hit to left to start. Yoshida was hit with a pitch but Gasper struck out swinging. Kiner lined out to second and Mayer flied out to left to end the inning.
Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the seventh and the O's rallied. Colton Cowser pinch hit for Alexander and flied out to left, but Ward got a base hit to center. Henderson struck out swinging but Rutschman tripled into the right field corner to score Ward. Alonso grounded out to short to end the inning with the O's down 8-1.
Durbin flied out to center to begin the bottom of the seventh and Durbin flied out to center to start. Duran struck out swinging and Rafaela doubled to right. Abreu flied out to center to end the inning.
Mayo struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth and Basallo walked. O'Neill popped up to third to end the inning. Holliday grounded out to first to end the inning. Grant Wolfram came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Contreras popped up to third to start. Yoshida struck out swinging and Gasper went down hacking to end the inning.
Watson came back to close out the top of the ninth and Cowser walked to start. Ward flied out to right, Henderson flied out to center, and Rafaela ran down a liner by Rutschman to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-1.
Sox win
"Yo soy el heroe!"
Hero of The Night is Wilyer Abreu. His 3 runs batted in set the tone early and outscored the entire O's by himself.
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 1 for 3 with a walk, hit by pitch and a run scored.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 3 for 5 with an rbi.
Willson Contreras was 3 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Chad Durbin was 2 for 4 with an rbi, a stolen base and 2 runs scored.
Peyton Tolle got the win with 6 shutout innings while striking out 7.
Ryan Watson allowed just 1 run in 3 innings to earn the save.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Mickey Gasper was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked, drove in 2 runs and scored a run.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was just 1 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Marcelo Mayer was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
Good to see Durbin and Duran waking up at the right time. Duran's leadoff hit led to the first run being scored and their 5 run rally wrapped the game up. The sad part is this isn't a good offense on paper but the way the pitching is, it doesn't have to be "good". Even an average offense would have the Sox in first place if they played like this more consistently. As its been mentioned earlier, the Sox are a good offense away from 2018 domination and bad pitching away from last year's Colorado Rockies. The Sox have the pitching to go on long win streaks but the offense has been inconsistent. If they'd had any kind of consistency they'd be winning 4 to 5 games in a row. Hopefully Duran and Durbin can stay consistent and they'd have a chance to get out of the basement. The Sox have a chance to prove themselves tomorrow in the finale of this three game set when Brayan Bello (2-5, 5.63 ERA) takes on Taylor Rogers and his 6+ ERA. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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