The Sox wasted no time getting to Angels starter Sam Aldegheri as Anthony Seigler walked to start. Ceddanne Rafaela lined out to second but Wilyer Abreu walked. Willson Contreras pounded his 19th home run of the season to put Boston on top but Caleb Durbin lined out to center. Romy Gonzalez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
Gray got the ball in the bottom of the first and Zach Neto flied out to right to start. Jarren Duran made a great sliding catch to rob Denzer Guzman of a hit and Nolan Schanuel struck out swinging to end the inning.
Duran walked to start the top of the second but Andruw Monasterio struck out swinging. Duran stole second but Connor Wong struck out swinging. Seigler grounded out to short to end the inning. The Angels struck back in the bottom of the second as Jorge Soler flied out to center to start. Josh Lowe hit a home run all the way to Syracuse to cut the lead and Jo Adell walked. Wade Meckler got a base hit to center but Donovan Walton struck out swinging. Tyler Heineman also went down hacking to end the inning with the Angels down 3-1.
Rafaela flied out to right to start the top of the third and Abreu popped up to third. Contreras hit a routine grounder to third but Schanuel dropped the throw for an error. Durbin popped up to third to end the inning. Neto took strike three to start the bottom of the third but Guzman singled in the hole at short. Schanuel grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Gonzalez grounded out to third to start the top of the fourth but Duran walked. Jarren took second on a grounder to second by Monsasterio but Wong grounded out to second to end the inning. Soler walked to start the bottom of the fourth but Lowe forced him at second. Adell and Meckler were both rung up on strike three by the alert Wong's ABS challenges to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the fifth with Samy Natera Jr now on the mound. Seigler doubled to right and Rafaela drew a walk before both runners scored on the Abreu doubled to right. Contreras flied out to left and Durbin flied out to center, but Gonzalez launched his first home run of the season to make this one a laugher. Duran was hit with a pitch and that was it for Natera. Old farmhand Ryan Zeferjahn came in and Duran stole second, but Monasterio popped up to Ryan to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
Walton got a base hit to right off the glove of Contreras to start the bottom of the fifth but Heineman grounded into the Angels third double play in consecutive innings. Neto struck out swinging to end the inning.
Wong struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth but Seigler was hit with a pitch. Rafaela struck out swinging but Abreu walked. Contreras flied out to center to end the inning. Gray returned for one final inning in the bottom of the sixth and Guzman flied out to right to start. Schanuel grounded out to second and Soler flied out to left to end the inning. He had only thrown 70 pitches but with a six run lead, Sox manager Chad Tracy wanted to save some bullets for next time and Gray was done after 6 solid innings. He allowed 1 run off 4 hits and 2 walks.
Chase Silseth came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Durbin grounded out to third to start. Gonzalez struck out swinging and Duran went down hacking as well. Jovani Moran came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Lowe struck out swinging to start. Adell grounded out to short and Jose Siri pinch hit for Meckler. Siri struck out swinging to end the inning,
The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the top of the eighth as Brent Suter took the mound. Monasterio got a base hit to right and Wong did the same. Seigler flied out to left but Rafaela doubled to left to score Monasterio. Abreu lined out to second and Contreras popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-1.
Greg Weissert came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Walton walked to start. Heineman hit into LA's fourth double play of the game and Neto grounded out to third to end the inning.
Durbin grounded out to short to start the top of the ninth and Gonzalez lined out to right. Duran grounded out to first to end the inning. Gamboa came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Guzman grounded back to the mound to start. Schanuel grounded out to first and Soler flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-1.
Sox win
Our Hero jumps for joy
Wilyer Abreu was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Romy Gonzalez was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Hero of The Night is Willson Contreras. His 3 run home run set the tone and outscored the Angels by himself
The Good:
Anthony Seigler was 1 for 3 with a walk, a hit by pitch and scored 2 runs.
Wilyer Abreu was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Jarren Duran walked twice, was hit with a pitch and stole two bases.
Sonny Gray got the win with 6 solid innings allowing 1 run off 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7.
Jovani Moran pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Alec Gamboa pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Caleb Durbin was 0 for 5.
The Ugly:
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.
Romy Gonzalez was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Andruw Monasterio was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run
Connor Wong was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Save for the back to back disasters against the Washington Nationals, the Sox starting pitching has been amazing all season but really stepped up in the last nine games. They utterly dominated the Yankees and if Connelly Early didn't get hurt, the second game against the Nationals might have gone differently. Either way the Sox are getting hot before the All-Star break for the second year in a row but a dark cloud is hanging over them. The suspensions of Contreras and Nate Eaton are going to hurt them big time. However the return of Romy Gonzalez might off-set the loss a little bit. Before the season when the Sox traded for Sonny Gray I was weary of him being the number 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet, and here he is in the running for the AL Cy Young award as the ace. Beating the Angels on the surface doesn't seem like a big deal but the Sox are only 5 games behind the Texas Rangers for the final Wild Card spot with 3 months to play. Every win and loss from here on in could be the difference in a playoff push or not. Most Red Sox fans wanted to blow the team up not only after the two losses to the Colorado Rockies but after the two losses to Washington. Now the Sox are a win away from another 3 game sweep on the road. The win improved the Sox to 39-48, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox go for the sweep tomorrow night when Ranger Suarez (4-3, 2.94 ERA) goes up against Ryan Johnson of Los Angeles. The game begins at 9:30 PM eastern time at Angel Stadium.
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