Johnson damn near had an immaculate inning in the top of the first as Anthony Seigler struck out swinging to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging and Wilyer Abreu broke up the immaculate inning by running the count full....only to go down hacking to end the inning. The Angels wasted no time getting to Suarez in the bottom of the first as Zach Neto got a base hit to right to start. Denzer Guzman got a base hit to center to move Neto. Vaughn Grissom struck out swinging but Guzman beat the throw to second on a grounder to third by Soler to score Neto. Oswald Peraza took strike three but Jo Adell hit a seeing eye single up the middle to score Guzman. Jose Siri struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 2-0 Angels.
The Red Sox answered in the top of the second inning as Willson Contreras struck out swinging to start. Masataka Yoshida got a base hit in the hole at second but was forced by Caleb Durbin at second. Jarren Duran pounded his 13th home run of the year to dead center to tie the game. Carlos Narvaez flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
The Angels re-took the lead in the bottom of the second as Logan O'Hoppe got a base hit to right to begin. It looked like Josh Lowe grounded into a double play but the Angels challenged that Lowe was safe. Sure enough, replays reversed the call. This was big as Lowe stole second and Neto doubled to center to score him. Guzman grounded out to second to move Neto to third but Grissom grounded out to third to end the inning with the Angels up 3-2.
The Sox took command in the top of the third as Tsung-Che Cheng caught the Angels asleep with a bunt single don the third base line to begin. Seigler flied out to left and Rafaela lined out to right, but Neto booted a grounder by Abreu for an error to keep the inning going. Contreras then launched his 20th home run of the season to put Boston on top. Yoshida got a base hit to left and Durbin walked, but Duran struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 5-3.
Things went south in the bottom of the third as Soler took strike three to start. Peraza struck out swinging but Adell singled in the hole and Suarez fell to the ground clutching his groin. He had to be loaded onto a stretcher and rushed to the local ICU after 2 2/3 innings and 3 runs allowed. Greg Weissert came in and Siri popped up to second to end the inning. The bullpen now had to throw the last 6 innings.
Narvaez flied out to left to start the top of the fourth but Cheng got a base hit to center. Seigler flied out to right and Rafaela took strike three to end the inning. O'Hoppe grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth but Lowe struck out swinging. Neto also swung at air to end the inning.
Jose Fermin came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Abreu grounded out to short to start. Contreras grounded out to third and Yoshida flied out to center to end the inning. Tyron Guerrero came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Guzman walked to start. Soler grounded out to third and Peraza struck out swinging to end the inning.
Durbin grounded out to second to start the top of the sixth but Duran walked. Narvaez looked to have grounded into a double play but the umpire ruled Peraza interfered with Duran to keep him at second. Cheng struck out swinging anyway to end the inning. Adell grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth and Siri grounded out to third. O'Hoppe lied out to second to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the seventh with Chase Silseth now on the mound. Seigler got a base hit to left and Rafaela got a base hit in the hole at short. Both runners pulled off a double steal and Abreu scored Seigler with a sac fly to center. Contreras walked and Yoshdia lined a base hit to left to score Rafaela. Durbin struck out swinging and Tayler Saucedo came in to face Duran. Jarren reached on a swinging bunt to the mound to load the bases but Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-3.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Lowe struck out swinging to start. Neto struck out swinging and Guzman grounded out to third to end the inning.
Mitch Farris came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Cheng took strike three to start. Seigler flied out to center and Rafaela grounded out to short to end the inning. Justin Slaten came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the eighth as Grissom grounded out to second to start. Soler lined out to center but Donovan Walton pinch hit for Peraza. Walton doubled to right and Adell got a base hit to right to score him. Wade Meckler pinch hit for Siri and struck out swinging to end the inning with the Angels down 7-4.
Kirby Yates came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Abreu struck out swinging to start. Contreras grounded out to short and Yoshida lined out to center to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Durbin made a hell of a play to rob O'Hoppe of a single to start. The Angels challenged but the umpire told them to stick it. Lowe struck out swinging but Neto hit a home run all the way to Bosnia to cut the lead. Guzman struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-5.
Hero of The Night is Willson Contreras. His three run home run put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 3 for 5 with a rbi.
Jarren Duran was 2 for 3 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Tsung-Che Cheng was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Greg Weissert tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Tyron Guerrero tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
The Bad:
Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Ranger Suarez allowed 3 runs in 2 2/3 innings before leaving with injury.
Justin Slaten allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Anthony Seigler was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but stole a base and scored a run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but stole a base and scored a run.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Caleb Durbin was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Aroldis Chapman earned his 18th save but allowed a run in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Great to have a winning streak again but losing Suarez was not what they needed. The injury news was once again bad as Triston Casas appeared to have hurt his wrist rehabbing his pectoral injury (yes I'm serious), Roman Anthony is being sent to Florida because his rehab isn't working and Connelly Early's "small inflammation" is now being looked at by notorious surgeon Dr. Meister. Add to that Garrett Crochet and Trevor Story are out for the season and nobody has seen Kutter Crawford since Spring Training last year, losing Suarez to a pulled groin is the last thing this team needs. Still, Patrick Sandoval is ready to make his debut and the mental case known as Brayan Bello is in Worcester so the depth is there. The quality remains to be seen. This overshadowed a great win by the Sox with the veterans Contreras and Duran supplying the power and the bullpen having to toss 6 1/3 innings. Thank goodness tomorrow is an off-day to rest everyone because it was all hands on deck tonight. The only blemishes were once again Slaten and also Chapman. At least in Chapmans case, he throws nothing but gas so eventually someone is going to get a piece of one. Slaten's never been the same since he got hurt last year. The Sox can flip a prospect for a relief pitcher at the deadline but still. The good news is the New York Yankees are falling apart without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton while the Baltimore Orioles are awful and the Toronto Blue Jays have a definite "world series hangover". If the Sox can remain red hot going into the All-Star break, they might be out of last place by then. The win improved the Sox to 40-48, good for last place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox remain on the road as they play some old friends in Chicago against the White Sox. Payton Tolle (4-6, 3.39 ERA) looks to rebound from his last start against Washington against Noah Schultz of Chicago. The game begins at 7:40 PM eastern time at Comiskey Park.
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