Boston's Home Run Parade Sweeps Dodgers (8/2/26)

Last night the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers on the back of shutdown pitching and timely hitting. Tonight the Sox completed a three game sweep of the back to back champs by bashing balls out of the park. The Sox as a team played home run derby by slugging four home runs, three of them in the third inning. The Sox got two runs in the first inning against LA starter Emmet Sheehan on rbis from Masataka Yoshida and Caleb Durbin. The Dodgers then got to Sox starter Jake Bennett (7-4, 2.90 ERA) for three runs in the bottom of the second. Then in the top of the third Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Yoshida went yard to put the Sox on top. Jarren Duran added a home run in the sixth inning while the Sox tacked on two more runs in the eighth. Despite a Dodger slanted NBC broadcast, the Sox had swept the Dodgers and won their fifth straight game 8-4 at Dodger Stadium.

                                                  Michael Thorbjornsen approves of the win

Sheehan got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nick Sogard walked on a questionable full count ball to start. Ceddanne Rafaela forced Sogard at second but Wilyer Abreu got a base hit up the middle. Willson Contreras flied out to left but Masataka Yoshida slapped a base hit to left to score Rafaela. Caleb Durbin ripped a base hit to right to score Abreu and move Yoshida to third, but Andruw Monasterio struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                                             Durbin adds to the lead

Bennett got the ball in the bottom of the first and Shohei Ohtani got a base hit to right to start. Andy Pages struck out swinging and Tommy Edman did the same. Freddie Freeman grounded out to first to end the inning.

Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Carlos Narvaez did the same. Sogard took strike three to end the inning. Mr. Mookie Betts lined out to short to start the bottom of the second but Kyle Tucker ripped a base hit to center. Teoscar Hernandez split the D with a base hit up the middle and Max Muncy rocketed a ball off the right field wall but Tucker got fooled so instead of scoring, it just loaded the bases. Eliezer Alfonzo grounded out to short to score Tucker and Ohtani was intentionally walked to reload the bases. Pages made them pay with a base hit past the diving Contreras to score both Hernandez and Muncy. Edman forced Pages at second to end the inning with the Dodgers up 3-2.

                                                          Happy Hernandez

The Sox came back in the top of the third as Rafaela clocked his 15th home run to tie the game to start. Abreu smashed his 17th home run of the season to put the Sox on top but Contreras flied out to center. Yoshida belted his fifth home run of the season to increase the lead but Durbin grounded out to short. Monasterio was hit with a pitch and that was it for Sheehan. Jack Dreyer came in to face Duran and Jarren grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.

                                                            Bing, bang, boom

Freeman grounded out to first to start the bottom of the third and Mr. Mookie flied out to center. Tucker looked to have walked but Narvaez challenged to change the call to strike three to end the inning.

Narvaez walked to start the top of the fourth but Sogard struck out swinging. A wild pitch moved Carlos to second but Rafaela struck out swinging. Abreu flied out to center to end the inning. Hernandez flied out to the right field wall to start the bottom of the fourth and Muncy flied out to left. Alfonso lined out to right to end the inning. 

Evan Phillips came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Contreras flied out to right to start. Yoshida hit a comebacker to Phillips and Durbin grounded out to short to end the inning. Ohtani took strike three to start the bottom of the fifth and Sogard robbed Pages of a base hit. Monasterio then made a great play to rob Edman as well to end the inning. 

Kyle Hurt came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Monasterio struck out swinging to start. Duran belted his 14th home run of the season to increase the lead but Narvaez struck out swinging. Sogard flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3. 

                                                              Duran jacks one

Freeman got a base hit in the hole at second to start the bottom of the sixth but Mr. Mookie grounded into a double play. Tucker walked and that was it for Bennett as Jake allowed 3 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch to Hernandez and Sogard made another great play to rob Teoscar of a hit to end the inning.

                                                          Not great, but it'll do

Rafaela took strike three to start the top of the seventh but Abreu walked. Contreras struck out swinging and Yoshida hit a ball that a fan reached over the wall to grab for a fan interference out to end the inning. Tyron "El Lanzallamas" Guerrero came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Muncy ate up Sogard on a line drive for a base hit to start. Alfonzo flied out to center but a wild pitch moved Muncy to second. Ohtani struck out swinging but Pages doubled into the left field corner to score Muncy. Edman popped up to center to end the inning with the Dodgers down 6-4.

                                                           Pages drives in a run

Wyatt Mills came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Durbin was hit with a pitch to begin. Monasterio beat out a chopper to third and Duran dropped down a bunt to move the runners over. Anthony Seigler pinch hit for Narvaez and a wild pitch scored Durbin, moving Monasterio to third. The crowd booed as a passed ball on Alfonzo scored Monasterio but Seigler popped up to left. Sogard hit a routine grounder to Betts who threw wide of first for an error. Rafaela got a base hit to center to move Sogard to third but Abreu popped up to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-4.

                                                              Monasterio scores a run

Connor Wong took over behind the plate and Jovani Moran came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Alex Call pinch hit for Freeman and doubled to left, but Betts grounded out to short. Enrique Hernandez pinch hit for Tucker and grounded out to second to move Call to third. That was it for Moran as Greg Weissert came in to face Teoscar Hernandez. Hernandez grounded out to third to end the inning. 

Contreras struck out swinging to start the top of the ninth but Yoshida walked. Durbin walked but Monasterio flied out to left. Duran popped up to first to end the inning. Garrett Whitlock came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Muncy popped up to third to start. Alfonzo grounded out to third but Ohtani walked. Ohtani took second on defensive indifference but Pages struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-4.

                                                                  Sox win

Hero of the Night is Wilyer Abreu. His home run in the third put the Sox up for good.

                                                                 Hero Abreu

The Good:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5 with a home run and 2 total runs scored.

Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 4 with a walk, a home run and 2 total rbis.

Caleb Durbin was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.

Jake Bennett got the win by tossing 5 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks.

Justin Slaten got the final out of the sixth inning.

Jovani Moran got the first two outs of the eighth inning.

Greg Weissert got the final out of the eighth inning.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Anthony Seigler was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Willson Contreras was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

Tyron Guerrero allowed a run in the seventh inning.

The Ugly:

Andruw Monasterio was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.

Nick Sogard was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Honorable Mention:

Connor Wong caught the final two innings.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox just keep on rolling and the haters are running out of excuses. The "they haven't beat anyone good" just got laid to rest by sweeping the Dodgers out of Los Angeles. Not only did they win, they scored 17 runs in two of the three games. Falling behind and rallying against Sacramento and not giving up when trailing or tied with Los Angeles shows the balls this team didn't have back from April to June. Not only that, Monasterio made some errors this past week but he and Sogard couldn't miss this weekend. They beat the Dodgers with offense, pitching and defense. That's the kind of team that's going to be scary in the playoffs. As a side note, years ago you could have put New York Yankees jersies on Jess Mendoza and Matt Vasgersian during ESPN Sunday Night Baseball when the Red Sox played the Yankees and for all intents and purposes, that's what NBC did last night only Dodger blue for Jason Benetti, Orel Hershiser and Clayton Kershaw. The broadcast last night was 50% kissing Tarik Skubal's ass and 45% Hershiser and Kershaw gladhanding each other for their Dodger accomplishments. The other 5% was Lou Merloni desperately trying to point out the Red Sox were kicking the crap out of the Dodgers in this series and was the hottest team in baseball. That was a disgrace, I don't care that they were in LA. Anyway, the Sox ARE the hottest team in baseball but the question is, are they going to add or stand pat tomorrow during the trade deadline? The word is there won't be a 2027 season so if they're going to win now, they're going to have to go big. They have the talent to be a contender for years if they choose to stand pat, especially with Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Curtis Mead expected back at some point this year. The bad news was the New York Yankees won but the good news was the Tampa Bay Rays lost. The Sox also have a 4 game lead on the Cleveland Guardians for the second wild card and a 5 game lead on the Texas Rangers for the third. Everything is falling into place, they just need to keep the momentum going. The win improved the Sox to 60-51, 5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back in action Tuesday night at home against the Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox hasnt named a starter yet while Davis Martin goes for Chicago. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park. 

Sox Rally Past Dodgers (7/31/26)

Its too bad the month of July had to come to an end for the Boston Red Sox. They set a franchise record by playing 25 games and winning 21 of them including tonight's game against the back to back world series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Things looked good early on when Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida drove in runs against the Dodgers "bullpen gamers" to take a 3-0 lead. Then things went south as Ranger Suarez got tagged for 3 runs and Jovani Moran gave up a two run home run to Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the fifth to give LA a 4-3 lead. Suddenly the Sox rallied in the top of the seventh for five big runs, two of them courtesy of a Ceddanne Rafaela two run home run. Andruw Monasterio, Carlos Narvaez and Duran knocked in some insurance runs but the game belonged to Brayan Bello (3-6, 5.30 ERA). With Moran struggling, Bello locked in to toss 4 scoreless innings to earn the win. The Sox had won their third straight game and fourth out of five with a 9-4 win at Dodger Stadium.

                                                           Karliah approves of the win

Edgardo Henriquez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nick Sogard flied out to center to start. Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit to center then immediately stole second, but Wilyer Abreu flied out to center. Willson Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning. Suarez got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Shohei Ohtani took strike three to start. Andy Pages walked and Miguel Rojas grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Will Klein came in to pitch the top of the second and Masataka Yoshida grounded out to first to start. Caleb Durbin walked and then made it all the way to third when Klein threw the pickoff throw away. Andruw Monasterio took strike three right down the middle but the much maligned Jarren Duran ripped a base hit to center to score Durbin. A wild pitch moved Duran to second but Carlos Narvaez took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                          Duran with a big hit

Freddie Freeman grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second and old pal Mr. Mookie Betts took strike three. Teoscar Hernandez grounded out to first to end the inning.

The Sox rallied in the top of the third as Sogard got a base hit to left to start. Rafaela got a base hit to right to move Sogard to third but Abreu struck out swinging. Contreras was hit with a pitch right in the head to load the bases and that was it for Klein. Cole Irvin came in to face Yoshida and Masataka got a base hit inside the bag at first to score both Sogard & Rafaela. Durbin flied out to left and Monasterio lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                        Yoshida picks up Contreras

The blow to the head apparently was too much for Contreras to bear and he left the game in the bottom of the third, forcing Anthony Seigler to take his spot in the lineup but with Sogard playing first. Kyle Tucker grounded out to first, old pal Enrique Hernandez grounded out to short and Eliezer Alfonzo's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Suarez to end the inning.

Duran got a base hit to left to start the top of the fourth but Narvaez struck out swinging. Sogard walked but was forced at second by Rafaela to put runners at the corners. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. Ohtani doubled to left to start the bottom of the fourth but Pages grounded out to short. Rojas flied out to center to move Ohtani to third and Shohei scored on the Freeman base hit to center. Betts forced Freeman at second to end the inning with the Dodgers down 3-1.

                                                              Dodgers fight back

Seigler grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth and Yoshida flied out to center. Durbin grounded out to short to end the inning. Teoscar Hernandez flied out to center to start the bottom of the fifth but Tucker walked. Enrique Hernandez got a base hit to center and Alfonzo got a base hit to center to score Tucker....but Enrique was thrown out at second. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts challenged Hernandez was safe at second but the umpires held up the call. When play resumed....Ranger Suarez asked out of the game because he didn't want to pitch anymore. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs off 4 hits and 2 walks. Jovani Moran came in and immediately zipped a wild pitch that moved Alfonzo to second before Ohtani hit a home run all the way back to Japan to put the Dodgers on top. Pages got a base hit to left but Rojas flied out to left to end the inning with Dodgers ahead 4-3.

                                                         "Dammit Tracy!" - RS

Monasterio flied out to right to start the top of the sixth and Duran grounded back to the mound. Narvaez struck out swinging to end the inning. Freeman got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the sixth and finally, Brayan Bello was summoned to put the fire out. Mr. Mookie got a base hit to left and both runners moved over on a grounder to short. Tucker took strike three and Max Muncy pinch hit for Hernandez. Alfonzo grounded out to short to end the inning.

Suddenly the Sox rallied in the top of the seventh as Sogard walked to start. Rafaela then clobbered his 12th home run of the year to put the Sox back on top. Abreu singled inside the bag at first but Seigler flied out to center. Yoshida beat out a roller to third and Durbin managed to beat out a bunt down the third base line to load the bases. Monasterio doubled into the left field corner to score both Abreu and Yoshida. Duran grounded back to the mound but Durbin scored to increase the lead. Narvaez was hit with a pitch but Sogard struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 8-4.

                                                            Monasterio with the killshot

Ohtani grounded out to second to start the bottom of the seventh and Pages did the same. Rojas grounded out to third to end the inning.

Rafaela struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth but Abreu walked. Seigler grounded into a double play to end the inning. Freeman got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the eighth but Mr. Mookie flied out to right. Teoscar Hernandez struck out swinging but Kyle Tucker singled to right. Muncy grounded out to first to end the inning.

The Sox got a run in the top of the ninth as Yoshida got a base hit to right to start. Durbin doubled to left but Monasterio grounded out to short to chase Irvin. Evan Phillips came in and Jahmai Jones ran for Yoshida. Duran was intentionally walked to load the bases for Narvaez and Carlos hit a sac fly to center to score Jones. Sogard flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-4.

                                                            Narvaez drives in a run

Bello returned to finish the bottom of the ninth and Alfonzo flied out to center to start. Ohtani grounded out to second and Pages took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-4.

                                                                      Sox win

Hero of The Night is Ceddanne Rafaela. His 2 run home run put the Sox up for good.

                                                        Hero Rafaela

The Good:

Willson Contreras was hit with a pitch before leaving the game.

Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Jahmai Jones scored a run as a pinch runner.

Caleb Durbin was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Brayan Bello tossed 4 scoreless innings to earn the win.

The Bad:

Anthony Seigler was 0 for 3.

Ranger Suarez allowed 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings off 4 hits and 2 walks.

Jovani Moran allowed a run in 1/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Nick Sogard was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked twice and scored two runs.

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.

Andruw Monasterio was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but was hit with a pitch and drove in a run.

Final Thoughts:

What a month that was for the Sox. Not only did they have a historic run, on June 24th the Sox had the second worst record in all of baseball. As July 31st came to an end, they had the 3rd best record in the American League. The Sox have been doing it with never say die offense that fights to the end, something they didn't do the first three months of the season. Last month if they were down 4-3 to the Dodgers in the sixth inning, the game was over. Not anymore. The only concerns in this game is Chad Tracy pulling the plug on Ranger Suarez early and the health of Willson Contreras. If Contreras has a concussion, they're in BIG trouble with Curtis Mead not slated to come back until September if at all. The strange season of Brayan Bello continues as he's virtually unhittable coming out of the bullpen compared to when he starts in the first inning. If he's the modern day Dick Radatz, coming in for 3-4 innings at a time, why not? With Connelly Early traded and Garrett Crochet not coming back, the rotation is down to Sonny Gray, Patrick Sandoval, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett. Having a guy eat up 3-4 innings to save the rookie bullets of Tolle and Bennett is crucial. The bad news was the New York Yankees knocked off the Chicago Cubs but the good news was both the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians lost. The Sox now have a 3 game lead on the Guardians and Minnesota Twins although they're still 3.5 games behind the Yankees for the first wild card. With Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton out for New York, their bubble may burst any time now. The Sox need to win one of the next two games with the Dodgers to send a message they can hang with MLB elite. The win improved the Sox to 58-51, 6 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to win their fourth straight game and second straight against Los Angeles tomorrow night when Payton Tolle (6-6, 3.32 ERA) takes on Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The game begins at 9:10 PM eastern time at Dodger Stadium.

Sox Knock Out A's in 10 Innings (7/29/26)

For five innings it looked like the Boston Red Sox were headed to their second straight loss against the last place Sacramento A's. Patrick Sandoval lasted just 5 innings for the Sox allowing a Jonah Heim home run in the bottom of the second and a Lawrence Butler home run in the bottom of the fifth. The only run scored by the Sox was a Jahmai Jones home run in the top of the fifth. Then in the top of the sixth Nick Sogard drove in a run and the Red Sox bullpen stepped up big time to pitch shutout ball the rest of the way. After Aroldis Chapman (2-3, 1.77 ERA) finished the ninth, Andruw Monasterio blasted a 2 run home run in the top of the tenth to put the Sox on top. Greg Weissert struck out two of the three guys he faced to get the save and the Sox had won this one 4-2 in 10 innings at Sutter Health Park.

                                                             Sapphire approves of the win

Lopez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jahmai Jones walked to start Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging and Wilyer Abreu popped up to third, but Willson Contreras walked. Caleb Durbin popped up to third to end the inning. Sandoval got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jacob Wilson flied out to center to start. Nick Kurtz was hit with a pitch and moved to second on the Tommy White grounder back to the mound. Tyler Soderstrom struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jeff McNeil came in for Kurtz to start the top of the second and Romy Gonzalez struck out swinging to start. Andruw Monasterio got a base hit to right and Nick Sogard struck out swinging. Connor Wong popped up to second to end the inning. The A's struck first in the bottom of the second as Jonah Heim hit a home run all the way to Washington DC to start. Colby Thomas struck out swinging but Henry Bolte walked. Bolte was thrown out at second trying to steal but Lawrence Butler walked. Alika Williams forced Butler at second to end the inning with the A's up 1-0.

                                                      Heim jacks one

Jones struck out swinging to start the top of the third but Rafaela got a base hit to center. Abreu lined out to left and Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning. Wilson grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third and McNeil lined out to center. White struck out swinging to end the inning.

Durbin got a base hit to center to start the top of the fourth but Gonzalez popped up to short. Monasterio got a base hit to left and Sogard got a base hit to right to load the bases. Wong grounded into a double play to end the inning. Soderstrom struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth before Heim singled to right. Thomas popped up to second and Bolte struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox fought back in the top of the fifth as Jones smashed his fourth home run of the season to start. Rafaela struck out swinging and Abreu did the same. Contreras went down hacking to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                      Jones ties it up

The A's finished off Sandoval in the bottom of the fifth as Butler hit a home run all the way back to Oakland to start. Williams lined out to left but Wilson got a base hit to center. McNeil got a base hit to right but White struck out swinging. Soderstrom took strike three to end the inning with the A's up 2-1. Yeoman's effort from Sandoval to hold the A's to 2 runs in 5 innings off 5 hits and 2 walks.

                                                            Sandoval goes five innings

The Sox fought back in the top of the sixth as Durbin got a base hit to left to start. Gonzalez flied out to right and that was it for Lopez. Hayden Juenger came in to pitch and Monasterio popped up to short. Sogard got a base hit to center to score Durbin to tie the game. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Wong and grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                       Sogard drives in the tying run

Carlos Narvaez took over behind the plate with Tyron "El Lanzallamas" Guerrero now on the mound for the bottom of the sixth. Heim popped up to third to start and Carlos Cortes pinch hit for Thomas. Cortes struck out swinging and Thomas grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Jarren Duran pinch hit for Jones to start the top of the seventh and flied out to center. Rafaela doubled to center then moved to third on the Abreu grounder to first. Contreras walked to chase Juenger. Elvis Alvarado came in to pitch and Durbin walked to load the bases. Gonzalez grounded out to first to end the inning. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Butler lined out to left to start. Donovan Walton pinch hit for Williams and flied out to center. Monasterio threw a ball away by Wilson for an error and McNeil singled to right to move Wilson to third. McNeil stole second but White struck out swinging to end the inning.

Monasterio was plunked to start the top of the eighth and took second on a balk. Sogard and Narvaez both struck out swinging to chase Alvarado. Brady Basso came in to get Duran to ground out to first to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Soderstrom flied out to left to start. Heim got a base hit to center but Cortes took strike three. Bolte forced Heim at second to end the inning.

Rafaela took strike three to start the top of the ninth and Abreu struck out swinging. Contreras singled to left and Durbin did the same. Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Butler doubled to center to start. Walton dropped down a bunt to move Butler to third but Wilson struck out swinging. McNeil struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jose Suarez came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Gonzalez starting at second base. Monasterio clobbered his sixth home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Sogard popped up to second, Narvaez flied out to center and Duran lined out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.

                                                           Sox take the lead

Greg Weissert came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with McNeil starting at second base. White took strike three, Soderstrom struck out swinging and Heim flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.

                                                            Sox win

Hero of The Night is Andruw Monasterio. His 2 run home run put the Sox ahead for good.

                                                               Hero Monasterio

The Good:

Jahmai Jones was 1 for 2 with a walk and a home run.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5.

Willson Contreras was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.

Caleb Durbin was 3 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Nick Sogard was 2 for 5 with an rbi.

Patrick Sandoval allowed just 2 runs in 5 innings off 5 hits and 2 walks.

Tyron Guerrero pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Garrett Whitlock tossed a scoreless eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Greg Weissert earned his first save of the season with a scoreless tenth inning.

The Bad:

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3.

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.

Connor Wong was 0 for 2.

Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Final Thoughts:

This has been a hell of a month and Sox fans don't want it to end. Just one month ago if other teams had the lead after 5 innings the game was over. Now they win games no matter what inning it is. Not only that, entrusting Greg Weissert with a man on base was suicide and now he gets them 1-2-3. The Sox with Weissert, Whitlock, Chapman, Slaten and Guerrero are five men deep and if Chad Tracy lets the starters go past 6 innings with a lead, the game is essentially over. Alex Cora used to burn the bullpen every single season by yanking guys after 5 and using the same 2 or 3 guys until they had nothing left. If Tracy wants to avoid a similar collapse (2021, 2023, 2024), he needs to trust his starters and rotate the bullpen. As for this game, 2 months ago everyone wanted Sox GM Craig Breslow fired for trading Kyle Harrison for Anthony Seigler, Durbin and Monasterio (and Owen Hull). Now Monasteiro is getting big hits in the later innings and Durbin went from hitting .166 on May 17 to .244 tonight. The team believes they can win and they're locked in. The bad news was the Tampa Bay Rays won but the good news is the New York Yankees lost. The Sox trimmed a 15 game lead on June 24 down to 4.5 and Yankee fans are starting to get rattled. This would be hilarious if the Sox pulled a reverse 1978. Hopefully the Sox can pull that off. The win improved the Sox to 56-51, 7 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to take the series tomorrow night against the A's when Sonny Gray (12-2) takes on Mason Barnett of Sacramento. The game begins at 9:40 PM at Sutter Health Field.

Sox Rally Falls Short in Sacramento (7/28/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some grim roster moves. It was revealed Curtis Mead fractured his wrist and will be out the rest of the season proving this franchise is cursed again. Gave up the career of Connelly Early for 2 at-bats of Curtis Mead. Nick Sogard was called up to replace him but since they didn't want to pay for a cross country flight last second, he won't even be available until Wednesday's game at least. In other news, the Portland Sea Dogs released Raudelis Martinez. The 24 year old catcher was picked up in the Rule 5 draft last year and hit .262 with 1 home run as a backup. Doesn't seem like he was failing hard but, oh well.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                  IN

As for the game, sometimes games are decided by one swing of the bat but in tonight's game it was two. The Sacramento A's knocked off the Red Sox when Jake Bennett (6-4, 2.74 ERA) was tossing 6 innings of 1 run ball but a Brian Serven two run home run seemingly put the game out of reach. The Sox got a run back on a Wilyer Abreu rbi against Gage Jump but the A's got another run off Ryan Watson. Game over right? Not so fast. The Sox rallied in the ninth when Connor Wong belted a 2 run shot and Anthony Seigler hit a rocket that would have been a home run....if Henry Bolte didn't leap up and catch it for the final out. Had that ball been 5 feet higher the Sox might have won, instead they fell 4-3 to the A's at Sutter Health Park.

                                                     "The Sox lost again"

Jump got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jahmai Jones doubled to left to start. Romy Gonzalez popped up to first but Willson Contreras walked. Wilyer Abreu grounded into a double play to end the inning. Bennett got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jacob Wilson grounded out to third to start. Nick Kurtz flied out to right and Jonah Heim grounded out to short to end the inning.

Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to start the top of the second but Caleb Durbin got a base hit to right. Durbin stole second but Jarren Duran took strike three. Andruw Monasterio walked but Carlos Narvaez took strike three to end the inning. The A's struck first in the bottom of the second as Tyler Soderstrom grounded out to short to start. Tommy White got a base hit inside the bag at third then took second on a sacrifice bunt by Colby Thomas. Henry Bolte got a base hit to center to score White to put the A's up for good just two innings into it. Alika Williams flied out to right to end the inning with the A's up 1-0.

                                                          Bolte puts the A's on top

Jones grounded out to second to start the top of the third but Gonzalez walked. Contreras grounded into a double play to end the inning. Serven grounded out to short to start the bottom of the third and Wilson grounded out to third. Kurtz grounded out to first to end the inning. 

Abreu flied out to left to start the top of the fourth and Rafaela grounded out to third. Durbin flied out to right to end the inning. Heim popped up to short to start the bottom of the fourth and Soderstrom took strike three. White singled to right but Thomas flied out to left to end the inning.

Duran caught Kurtz asleep with a bunt to start the top of the fifth but naturally got picked off. Monasterio struck out swinging but Narvaez walked. Jones took strike three to end the inning. Bolte reached on a bunt single to third to start the bottom of the fifth but Williams flied out to right. Bolte swiped second but Severn took strike three. Wilson flied out to right to end the inning.

Gonzalez struck out swinging to begin the top of the sixth and Contreras did the same. Abreu grounded out to second to end the inning. Kurtz was called for strike three to start the bottom of the sixth but Heim walked. Soderstrom struck out swinging but White singled to center. Thomas grounded out to short to end the inning.

Luis Medina came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Rafaela got a base hit to right to start. Rafaela took second on the sacrifice bunt by Durbin but, naturally, Duran struck out swinging and Monasterio flied out to center to end the inning. The A's iced the game in the bottom of the seventh as Bolte walked to start. Williams dropped down a bunt to move him to second but Serven hit a home run all the way back to Oakland to put the game out of reach. That was it for Bennett who pitched well but that last home run killed his outing. He went 6 1/3 allowing 6 hits, 2 walks and 3 runs. Jovani Moran came in to pitch to Wilson and Jacob doubled to left. Kurtz took strike three but Wilson stole second. Heim lined out to second to end the inning with the A's up 3-0.

                                                      Bennett deserved better

The Sox rallied in the top of the eighth as Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Narvaez and got a base hit to right. Anthony Seigler pinch hit for Jones and walked.....only for Gonzalez to ground into a double play. Contreras walked to chase Medina. Hogan Harris came in to face Abreu and Wilyer got a base hit to right to score Yoshida. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.

                                                          Abreu doesn't want to give up

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Connor Wong now behind the plate. Soderstrom was retired on a tapper in front of the plate but White got a base hit to left. Lawrence Butler pinch hit for Thomas and doubled to center to score White. Bolte flied out to right to move Butler to third but Williams grounded out to short to end the inning with the A's up 4-1.

                                                           A's with the dagger

Durbin took strike three to start the top of the ninth but Duran singled off the glove of Bolte. Monasterio took strike three but Wong somehow belted his second home run of the season to cut the lead. Seigler then hit a ball deep out to center but Bolte reached up and grabbed it to end the game. The Sox missed a game tying home run by 5 feet as the A's won 4-3.

                                                              Missed it by THAT much

Jackass of the Night is Ryan Watson. He allowed a run in the eighth inning that proved to be the difference in the game.

                                                             Jackass Watson

The Good:

Jahmai Jones was 1 for 3.

Anthony Seigler walked as a pinch hitter and missed the game tying home run by 5 feet.

Willson Contreras walked twice in four plate appearances.

Caleb Durbin was 1 for 3.

Jarren Duran was 2 for 4 with a stolen base and a run scored.

Carlos Narvaez walked in two plate appearances.

Masataka Yoshida singled and scored as a pinch hitter.

Connor Wong hit a 2 run home run in his only at-bat.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but Jake Bennett was solid going 6 1/3 innings allowing 3 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks.

Jovani Moran got the final two outs of the seventh inning.

The Bad:

None

The Ugly:

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Andrew Monasterio was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Final Thoughts:

The loss of Curtis Mead stings already because once again the Sox struggled to score runs against a last place team. The Sox have been on such a roll this month that a lot of fans expected that Seigler ball would go out. Just one month ago nobody even thought they would score a run. Still, they couldn't hit Jump and rallied way too late. Watson picked a bad time to give up a run and Bennett made just one mistake to Serven. We're less than a week away from the trade deadline and the question becomes, does Breslow go all in to make a move for another bat or does he sit back and wait & pray Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Curtis Mead come back healthy? With Story at short, Anthony in left and Mead at second, that puts Seigler & Monasterio as defensive replacements and most likely Duran is DFA'd. You can't hit .199 at this level in the middle of a pennant race. He's either got to pick it up like Durbin did or he's dog food. The worst part is the Tampa Bay Rays lost so the Sox missed an opportunity to gain a game on them. Just have to come back stronger in the next two games. The loss dropped the Sox to 55-51, 7 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back tomorrow night against the Rays when Patrick Sandoval goes for the Sox against Jacob Lopez of Sacramento. The game begins at 9:40 PM eastern time at Sutter Health Park.

Small Ball Sox Beat Jays (7/26/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox organization made some shocking and non-shocking moves. The Greenville Drive released 21 year old outfielding prospect Natanael Yuten after he hit just .165 with 4 home runs this season. Its one thing to be struggling hitting .200-220, its another to be an automatic out. Better luck with another team. The Sox also sent Alec Gamboa back to Worcester to make room for the returning Ranger Suarez. His groin and illness healed so he's ready to return to active duty. 

The big story was the trade at midnight last night. The Sox sent injured starter Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals for 25 year old third baseman Curtis Mead. After Dylan Cease carved up the Sox last night, Sox GM Craig Breslow didn't wait around, he went out and got a right handed power bat they needed. Early was supposed to be the next Jon Lester going 8-7 with the Sox the last 2 years but his elbow injury had Sox fans and apparently the front office concerned. With the rise of Jake Bennett and the fiery personality of Payton Tolle, Breslow apparently felt Early was the odd man out with Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray rolling (Gray's last start not withstanding). Mead was a light hitting backup infielder for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2023-25 before getting traded at the deadline to the Chicago White Sox. He was traded to the Washington Nationals in the off-season where he broke out this season smacking 17 home runs and driving in 48 runs. The half empty way of looking at it is you might have just traded a potential lefty ace for a below average defensive infielder that might have had a fluke offensive half season. The Sox would be stuck with another below average defender that couldn't hit. The half full way to look at it is the Sox desperately needed a right handed hitting power hitter. If Mead figured something out to be a potential 20-30 homer hitting guy, there's your new DH. You can move Masataka Yoshida to left for a Yoshida/Jahmai Jones platoon and sit Duran down. If Trevor Story comes back your 3-7 would be Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, Curtis Mead, Trevor Story and Caleb Durbin. That's pretty good. Time will tell.

                                                                           OUT

                                                                         IN

As for the game, how about the small ball Red Sox? With power hitting at a premium for another 24 hours, the Sox did something they rarely did under Alex Cora, the little things. As they say in football, the Sox nickel & dimed the Toronto Blue Jays in today's game. Ranger Suarez came off the Injured List to toss 4 shutout innings but the Sox bats stepped up. Carlos Narvaez dropped down a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the third and Ceddanne Rafaela knocked in Andruw Monasterio shortly after. In the bottom of the fourth, Romy Gonzalez dropped down a bunt and Jarren Duran knocked in 2 runs. Narvaez dropped down another bunt in the seventh and Jahmai Jones knocked them in. Apart from Ryan Watson allowing a run in the ninth, the bullpen pitched in to hold the Jays to that run. The Sox won the game 6-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                Jackson Koivun approves of the win

Suarez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nathan Lukes struck out swinging to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr took strike three and Alejandro Kirk lined out to right to end the inning. Gausman took the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Masataka Yoshida popped up to short to start. Daulton Varsho robbed Ceddanne Rafaela with a base hit with a great diving catch and Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.

George Springer got a base hit to center to start the top of the second but Varsho grounded into a double play. Kazuma Okamoto popped up to short to end the inning. Willson Contreras flied out to right to start the bottom of the second and Caleb Durbin struck out swinging. Romy Gonzalez got a base hit to in the hole at first but Jarren Duran flied out to left to end the inning.

Ernie Clement flied out to left to start the top of the third but Andres Gimenez doubled to center. Davis Schneider struck out swinging and Lukes took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third as Andruw Monasterio singled to left to start. Carlos Narvaez dropped down a bunt to move Andruw to second and Yoshida moved him to third with a grounder to first. Rafaela got a base hit to left to score Monasterio but Abreu took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                          Sox strike first

Guerrero Jr struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth but Kirk got a base hit over the head of Monasterio. Gimenez got a base hit to right but Varsho forced him at second Okamoto froze for strike three to end the inning. That was it for Suarez who the Sox didn't want to push after coming off the Injured List. He tossed 4 shutout innings allowing 4 hits.

                                                              Short but sweet

The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fourth as Contreras walked to start. Durbin got a base hit to right and Gonzalez dropped down a bunt to move the runners over. Duran drilled a base hit to right to score both runners. Monasterio flied out to center and Narvaez was rung up for strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.

                                                      Duran drives in a pair

Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Clement struck out swinging to start. Gimenez singled over the head of Monasterio but Schneider lined out to center. Lukes grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Yoshida lined out to left to start the bottom of the fifth and Rafaela grounded out to second. Abreu grounded out to second as well to end the inning.

Tyron "Flamethrower" Guerrero came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Guerrero Jr lined out to right to start. Kirk got a base hit to right but Springer popped up to second. Varsho walked on 4 straight pitches but Okamoto flied out to right on a 2-0 count to end the inning. Contreras struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth and Durbin grounded out ton short. Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning.

Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Clement grounded out to short to start. Gimenez grounded out to first and Yohendrick Pinango pinch hit for Schneider. Pinango struck out swinging to end the inning. Braydon Fisher came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Duran greeted him with a base hit to center. Duran stole second and Monasterio walked on four pitches. Narvaez dropped down a bunt to move the runners over to chase Fisher. Brendon Little came in to face Yoshida and Sox manager Chad Tracy countered by pinch hitting Jahmai Jones and he doubled off the centerfield wall to bring in both runners. Rafaela struck out swinging but Abreu doubled off the Monster to score Jones. Contreras grounded out to to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.

                                                               Jones is all fired up

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Lukes grounded out to second to start. Guerrero Jr flied out to right and Kirk grounded out to third to end the inning. Adam Macko came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Durbin lined one off of Adam for a single to start. Gonzalez banged into a double play but Duran hit a roller to first with no one covering for a single. Lukes made a great sliding catch on a Monasterio liner to end the inning.

Watson returned for the top of the ninth and Springer grounded out to short to start. Varsho beat ou grounder to Contreras and Okamoto struck out swinging. Clement then hit a ball that got caught under the left field barrier for a ground rule double. Naturally Gimenez hit a grounder that ate up Durbin to score Varsho but Pinango lined out to Duran to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-1.

                                                             Sox win

Hero of The Night is Jarren Duran. He was 3 for 4 and his 2 run single iced the game.

                                                                  Our Hero

The Good:

Caleb Durbin was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 3.

Andruw Monasterio was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Ranger Suarez tossed 4 scoreless innings allowing 4 hits while striking out six.

Greg Weissert got the win with a scoreless fifth inning.

Tyron Guerrero pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Jahmai Jones hit a 2 run double, stole a base and scored a run as a pinch hitter.

The Bad:

Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 3.

The Ugly:

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drive in a run.

Willson Contreras was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Ryan Watson allowed a run in 2 innings of work.

Carlos Narvaez struck out in his only official at-bat but dropped down two key bunts.

Final Thoughts:

Good win by the Sox and now they're going to find out if they have enough to make a run. Sox manager Chad Tracy has states they're going to stick Curtis Mead at second base for now meaning Anthony Seigler's out of the starting lineup. Durbin has turned into a fine defensive third baseman and they want to keep Yoshida in the lineup so unfortunately Seigler was the odd man out. As for this game, its been mentioned before but Alex Cora refusing to go small ball cost them a lot of games, especially in extra innings. They'd fail to score, lose the game and he'd fold his arms and say coldly "We play for two, not one." Well Tracy was playing for whatever he could get and it worked three times. Carlos Narvaez and Romy Gonzalez were just as important as the guys that drove in the runs. On days where the power isn't there, that's what they have to do. Suarez looked fine in his return from the sniffles and a groin pull so no one should be concerned about him. The real concern is with Connelly Early gone for good, their rotation is now Sonny Gray, Suarez, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett and Patrick Sandoval with Brayan Bello as the piggybacker. They're not winning anything without Garrett Crochet come October but this might be enough to get them there. Standings wise the Tampa Bay Rays once again beat the Cleveland Guardians and the Philadelphia Phillies smacked around the New York Yankees so the Sox are 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland and 4.5 behind New York for the first wild card. They're still in pretty good shape so unless something drastic happens in a week, they might just roll out what they have and pray they get Trevor Story, Triston Casas, Crochet, etc back at some point. The win improved the Sox to 54-50, 7.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now have a brutal seven game west coast trip beginning tomorrow night against the Oakland A's. Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.31 ERA) takes on Jack Perkins of the A's at 9:40 PM eastern time at Sutter Health Park.