As for the game, for the second straight year the Red Sox have been a buzz-saw going into the all-star break. In what was essentially a throw away game with Eduardo Rivera as an "opener", the Sox bullpen managed to toss a shutout through nine innings. After Rivera left, Greg Weissert, Jovani Moran (2-2, 2.82 ERA), Justin Slaten and Danny Coulombe managed to shut the door. Meanwhile offense was at a premium but Andruw Monasterio belted a two run home run off Freddy Peralta and Masataka Yoshida later hit a 2 run jack off Tobias Myers. Danny Coulombe locked down the final two innings and the Sox had won their 8th straight game with a 4-0 victory at Citi Field.
Peralta got the ball in the top of the first and Anthony Seigler took strike three to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging and Wilyer Abreu went down hacking to end the inning. Rivera got the ball in the bottom of the first and AJ Ewing grounded out to second to start. Juan Soto lined out to right and Francisco Lindor flied out to left.
Caleb Durbin got a base hit to start the top of the second and Masataka Yoshida walked. Andruw Monasterio dropped down a bunt to move the runners over but Jarren Duran took strike three. Carlos Narvaez walked to load the bases but Tsung-Che Cheng struck out swinging to end the inning. Carson Benge walked to start the bottom of the second then immediately stole second. Jorge Polanco struck out swinging and Eric Wagaman popped up to short. Francisco Alvarez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Seigler grounded out to short to start the top of the third and Rafaela went down jacking. Abreu flied out to center to end the inning. Brett Baty walked to start the bottom of the third and Zack Short flied out to center. Ewing forced Baty at second and Soto popped up to third to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the fourth as Durbin walked to start. Yoshida flied out to left but Monasterio crushed his fifth home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Duran flied out to right and Narvaez popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Monasterio gets the Wally Head
Hell of an effort for a relief pitcher
Perfect time to get hot
Sox win
Rivera came back for one final inning in the bottom of the fourth as Lindor grounded out to short to start. Benge struck out swinging but Polanco got a base hit to center to chase Rivera. He lasted 3 2/3 innings and didn't allow a run, not much else you could ask for. Greg Weissert came in and struck out Wagaman swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Cheng to start. Seigler forced Cheng at second but Abreu poked a double over the head of the first baseman. Abreu walked to load the bases and chase Peralta. Ruascar Brazoban came in to pitch and Durbin took strike three right down the middle. Yoshida grounded out to first to end the inning. Alvarez grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth...but wait! The Mets challenged he was safe and Monasterio missed the tag. Sure enough, replays showed he was out. Baty swung and tipped the ball...right into the thighs of Narvaez for strike three. Short popped up to short and Jovani Moran came in to face Ewing and a passed ball moved Alvarez to second. Ewing flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox blew another rally in the top of the sixth as Monasterio tripled off the top of the left field wall to start. Naturally Duran grounded out to first and Narvaez struck out swinging. Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Cheng and struck out swinging to end the inning. Soto lined out to short to start the bottom of the sixth and Lindor popped up to first. Benge took strike three to end the inning.
Brooks Raley came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Seigler grounded out to third to start. Rafaela grounded out to short and Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. Polanco popped up to second to start the bottom of the seventh but Wagaman walked to chase Moran. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in and Alvarez got a base hit to right. Baty took strike three and Bo Bichette pinch hit for Short. Bichette walked to load the bases and Tyrone Taylor ran for him. Ewing took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game against Tobias Myers in the top of the eighth as Duran got a base hit to left to start. Suddenly Yoshida smashed his third home run of the season to ice the game. Monasterio popped up to short, Duran grounded out to third and Narvaez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.
Danny Coulombe came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Soto walked to start. Lindor walked but Benge flied out to right to move Soto to third. Polanco grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Gonzalez flied out to center to start the top of the ninth and Seigler grounded out to short. Rafaela lined out to center to end the inning. Coulombe came back for the bottom of the ninth and Wagaman grounded out to first to start. Alvarez walked but Baty forced him at second. Taylor flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-0.
Hero of The Night is Andruw Monasterio. His 2 run home run put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Caleb Durbin was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Masataka Yoshida was 1 for 3 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Tsung-Che Cheng walked in two plate appearances.
Eduardo Rivera tossed 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball allowing just a hit and 2 walks.
Greg Weissert tossed a full scoreless inning.
Jovani Moran tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Just Slaten tossed 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Danny Coulombe pitched 2 shutout innings.
The Bad:
Anthony Seigler was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Two years in a row the Sox go on an epic win streak just before the all-star break. There's still the matter of tomorrow's game against the Mets but the fact of the matter is they're 8-0 on this roadtrip and winners of 13 of 15. They went from 14 games under .500 and the worst record in the American League to just a half game out of the third wild card spot in just over 3 weeks. If the Sox would get some of their injured bodies back to health and perform to their abilities, they have as good a chance as anyone when October rolls around. As of right now only 5 teams in the American League are over .500 which means the Sox aren't that far off. Just the fact they managed to win 13 out of 15 to get this far is remarkable. They turned a historically bad offense into an average one, which is all they need with a pitching staff this good. The Sox bullpen pitched a nine inning shutout and there's not much to complain about. The Sox come out of the all-star break with a 10 game death march through the AL East. That will be their chance to gain some ground on Tampa and put some distance between themselves and Toronto & Baltimore. Who knows how long this streak will last, enjoy it while you can. The win improved the Sox to 45-48, 11 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox conclude the first half of the season tomorrow afternoon looking for their ninth win in a row when Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.14 ERA) goes up against Zach Thornton of the Mets. The game begins at 1:40 PM at Citi Field.
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