As of June 27th, the Boston Red Sox had not had a win when trailing after 7 innings. For the fourth consecutive game, the Red Sox have rallied in the late innings to win a game. The Red Sox battled the Miami Marlins to a 1-1 tie after 5 innings with Ranger Suarez holding Miami with Sandy Alcantara clogging up the Sox. Then in the bottom of the seventh Xavier Edwards knocked in a run to put the Marlins on top against Brayan Bello. Wilyer Abreu scored on a wild pitch in the eighth and the Sox rallied in the ninth. Pete Fairbanks hurt himself walking Gasper and Anthony Siegler tripled off Tyler Zuber to score Mickey. Nick Sogard singled home Siegler and the Sox were in command. Aroldis Chapman locked it down in the ninth inning and the Sox completed their fourth consecutive late rally with a 4-2 victory over the Marlins at Loan Depot Park.
Alcantara got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nick Sogard hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third and Wilyer Abreu did the same to end the inning. Suarez got the ball in the bottom of the first and Otto Lopez lined out to first to start. Heriberto Hernandez got a base hit to right but Kyle Stowers forced him at second. Agustin Ramriez walked but Xavier Edwards struck out swinging to end the inning.
Willson Contreras grounded out to third to start the top of the second and Adley Rutschman grounded out to second. Caleb Durbin flied out to center to end the inning. Jakob Marsee was hit with a pitch to start the bottom of the second and Javier Sanoja walked. Esteury Ruiz was also hit with a pitch to load the bases but Joe Mack struck out looking. Lopez hit a sac fly to center to score Marsee but Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning with the Marlins up 1-0.
Jarren Duran got a base hit to center to start the top of the third and Mickey Gasper got a base hit to right to move Duran to third. Anthony Seigler grounded out to third to move Gasper to second but Sogard struck out swinging. Rafaela took strike three to end the inning. Stowers doubled to center to start the bottom of the third but Ramirez flied out to center. Edwards struck out swinging but Marsee walked. Sanoja grounded out to second to end the inning.
Abreu struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth and Contreras popped up to second. Rutschman struck out swinging to end the inning. Ruiz flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth but Mack caught Durbin asleep with a bunt single. Lopez grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fifth as Durbin got a base hit to left to start. Duran forced Caleb at second then Gasper doubled to center to score Jarren. Seigler flied out to left and Sogard did the same to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Hernandez got a base hit to left to begin the bottom of the fifth and Stowers walked. Ramirez struck out swinging and Edwards beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Marsee lined out to left to end the inning. That was it for Suarez after just 93 pitches after allowing just 1 run in 5 innings off 4 hits and 4 walks.
Rafaela got a base hit to right to start the top of the sixth but naturally Abreu struck out swinging. Contreras grounded out to third and Rutschman did the same to end the inning. Brayan Bello came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Sanoja lined out to center to start. Griffin Conine pinch hit for Ruiz and grounded out to first followed by Mack grounding back to the mound to end the inning.
Durbin flied out to left to start the top of the seventh but Duran doubled to right. Gasper and Siegler drew back to back walks but naturally Sogard struck out swinging. Rafaela flied out to center to end the inning. The Marlins struck again in the bottom of the seventh as Lopez doubled to left to start. Hernadez walked but Stowers struck out swinging. Owen Caisse pinch hit for Ramirez and walked to load the bases. Edwards got a base hit to right to score Lopez but Contreras robbed Marsee of a hit, forcing Hernandez at home. Sanoja grounded out to short to end the inning with the Marlins up 2-1.
The Sox answered in the top of the eighth with Josh Ekness now on the mound. Abreu doubled to right to start and Contreras was hit with a pitch. Rutschman flied out to center to move Abreu to third and Wilyer scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Contreras moved to second but Durbin flied out to right. Duran struck out swinging to end the game with the game tied 2-2.
Erik Miller came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Conine grounded out to short to start. Leo Jimenez pinch hit for Mack and Duran dropped a fly ball for an error to put Leo at second. Lopez beat out a bunt down the third base line to put runners at the corners but Hernandez hit a grounder to the mound. Jimenez got literally run over by Rutschman on the ensuing rundown for the second out and Stowers struck out swinging to end the inning.
Brian Navarreto came in for Jimenez with Pete Fairbanks coming in to pitch the top of the ninth. Gasper walked and Fairbanks suddenly came out of the game injured. Tyler Zuber came in with Eli White running for Gasper and Siegler greeted him with a triple to put the Sox ahead. Sogard got a base hit to right to score Siegler then moved to second on a Rafaela grounder to second. Cade Gibson came in to face Abreu and Wilyer walked. Contreras grounded out to second to move the runners over but Rutschman grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Caissie got a base hit to right to start. Edwards foolishly dropped down a bunt to move Caissie to second and Marsee struck out swinging. Sanoja grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won the game 4-2.
Hero of The Night is Anthony Siegler. His rbi triple put the Sox on top in the ninth inning.
Hero Seagulls
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Mickey Gasper was 2 for 2 with 2 walks and an rbi.
Eli White scored a run as a pinch runner.
Ranger Suarez allowed just 1 run in 5 innings off 4 hits and 4 walks.
Erik Miller got the win with a scoreless eighth inning.
Aroldis Chapman earned his 30th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Adley Rutschman was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Nick Sogard was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Willson Contreras was 0 for 4 but was hit with a pitch.
Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 4.
Brayan Bello allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox went almost half the year without any comeback wins and they just won four straight games where they trailed in them. The problem is Abreu, Durbin and Contreras hit a bit of a snag and quite frankly Rutschman's been almost useless at the plate since he came off the Injured List. If it wasn't for Sogard, Gasper and Rafaela the Sox might have lost the last four games. The problem is the Sox have relied on Erik Miller and Aroldis Chapman a lot with both Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten out with injury. The good news was they delivered big time tonight. The role players such as Seigler and Sogard stepped up and the Sox have a big time decision to make. Trevor Story is due to come off the injured list and he could make or break this team depending on who gets sent down. If he comes back and hits like Adley Rutschman, they're screwed for the next week until September callups. The Sox have the biggest series of the season starting on Friday with the New York Yankees and provided the Sox don't lose to the Marlins in the mean time, this could be the Sox chance to snag the first wild card. Still, overlooking the next two games is a bad idea and the Sox themselves need to stay focused on beating them. The only other bad news was the Tampa Bay Rays won again and you have to give them credit. The Red Sox were the second worst team in baseball on June 24th and throughout this entire comeback run, the only team they didn't blow right by was the Rays. Tampa maintained an 8 game lead on the Sox as of last week and still remain six in front. There's only 31 games left so overtaking them seems unlikely. If the Sox make a statement by finishing off the Marlins and taking 3 of 4 from New York, their playoff chances are all but a given. The win improved the Sox to 72-59, 6 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to win their fifth straight game and second in a row against Miami when Peyton Tolle (8-6, 3.08 ERA) takes on Captain TBD of the Marlins. The game begins at 6:40 PM at Loan Depot Park.
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