Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Joe La Sorsa who infamously pitched in one game for the Red Sox giving up a home run on the first pitch he threw was given his outright release. The Sox needed to open up some 40 man roster spots with some of the injured guys close to returning and with Erik Miller on the roster, La Sorsa was expendable.
As for the game, that wasn't just the game of the season for the Red Sox, that might have been one of the most pulse pounding, exciting regular season games in Boston Red Sox history. The Red Sox won their eighth straight game and swept the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox by coming back FIVE times in a single game to win in 13 innings. The White Sox got four runs off Sox starter Ranger Suarez and knocked him out after 3 innings. A Connor Wong 2 run home run cut the lead but the ChiSox got a run against Greg Weissert. The BoSox rallied for 3 runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth, chasing Chicago starter Luis Castillo. A Justin Slaten throwing error gave Chicago a 7-5 lead but a Masataka Yoshida rbi in the sixth brought the Sox closer. Down to their last strike in the bottom of the ninth, Wilyer Abreu drilled a base hit to tie the game. Normally indomitable closer Aroldis Chapman served up a 2 run meatball to Chase Meidroth in the top of the tenth but an Andruw Monasterio double and Anthony Seigler sac fly tied it in the bottom of the frame. The White Sox got a run off Garrett Whitlock in the top of the eleventh but an Abreu sac fly tied it. The White Sox got a run off Brayan Bello (4-6, 4.97 ERA) in the top of the 12th but a Jake Rogers sac fly tied it again. Bello held the fort in the top of the 13th and Caleb "The Durbinator" Durbin delivered the knockout punch by driving in Nick Sogard to win the game. The BoSox had won their eighth straight game and swept the White Sox with a 12-11 victory in 13 innings at Fenway Park.
Suarez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Chase Meidroth lined out to short to start. Munetaka Murakami struck out swinging and Miguel Vargas took strike three to end the inning. Castillo got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Nick Sogard flied out to left to start. Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to right and Wilyer Abreu flied out to center to end the inning.
Randal Grichuk grounded out to short to start the top of the second and Colson Montgomery grounded out to second. Joey Bart was hit with a pitch but Brenton Doyle forced him at second to end the inning. Caleb Durbin struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Masataka Yoshida took strike three. Andruw Monasterio grounded out to third to end the inning.
The ChiSox struck first in the top of the third as Braden Montgomery walked to start. Luisangel Acuna flied out to left but Meidroth hit a home run all the way to Brazil to put Chicago ahead. Murakami grounded out to first but Vargas walked. Grichuk got a base hit to right and Colson Montgomery got base hit to center. Rafaela inexplicably turned and threw the ball into the centerfield stands for an error to score both runners. Bart struck out swinging to end the inning but the White Sox led 4-0. That was it for Suarez who got rocked for 4 runs in just 3 innings off 3 hits and 2 walks.
Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third but Anthony Seigler walked. Connor Wong belted his third home run of the season to cut the lead in half and Sogard got a base hit to right. Rafaela grounded into a double play to end the inning with the BoSox down 4-2.
Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the fourth and Doyle singled in the hole at short to start. Doyle stole second but Braden Montgomery struck out swinging but Doyle went to third. Sam Antonacci pinch hit for Garcia and naturally doubled to right to score Doyle. Meidroth walked but Murakami struck out swinging. Vargas took strike three to end the inning with Chicago ahead 5-2.
Somehow the Sox rallied in the bottom of the fourth as Abreu struck out swinging to start. Durbin got a base hit inside the bag at third and Yoshida singled off the glove of Vargas. Monasterio doubled to right to score Durbin but Duran struck out swinging. Seigler doubled to right to score both runners to tie the game but Wong grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to throw up on himself in the top of the fifth with Andrew Benintendi pinch hitting for Grichuk. Benintendi got a base hit to center and Colson Montgomery got a base hit to right to put runners at the corners. Bart struck out swinging and Tristan Peters pinch hit for Doyle. Peters popped up to third and Braden Montgomery hit a chopper to the mound.....thrown away by Slaten for an error to score both runners. Antonacci struck out swinging to end the inning but the White Sox now led 7-5.
Bryan Hudson came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Sogard took strike three to start. Rafaela got a base hit to right but Abreu struck out swinging. Rafaela was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Tyron "El Lanzallamas" Guerrero came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Meidroth took strike three to start. Murakami grounded back to the mound and Vargas grounded out to first to end the inning. Old pal Jordan Hicks came in to get tagged in the bottom of the sixth as Durbin doubled to left to start. Yoshida doubled to center to score Durbin and a wild pitch moved Yoshida to third. Monasterio struck out swinging and Duran lined out to second to chase Hicks. Grant Taylor came in to face Seigler and Anthony flied out to left to end the inning with the Red Sox down 7-6.
Yoshida refuses to give up
Erik Miller came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Benintendi took strike three to start. Colson Montgomery grounded out to second but Bart was hit with a pitch. Drew Romo pinch ran for Bart and Peters popped up a bunt to Miller to end the inning. Wong was hit with a pitch to start the bottom of the seventh and Sogard drew a walk. Rafaela struck out swinging and Abreu beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Durbin took strike three to end the inning.
Braden Montgomery grounded out to third to start the top of the eighth and Antonacci got a base hit to left. Meidroth walked but Murakimi struck out swinging. Vargas struck out swinging to end the inning. Yoshida grounded out to first to start the bottom of the eighth and Monasterio grounded out to third. Meidroth threw a grounder by Duran away for an error and Seigler got a base hit to right to chase Taylor. Huascar Brazoban came in to face Wong and Duran foolishly tried to run to third during the pitching change, getting thrown out to end the inning.
Jovani Moran came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Benintendi grounded out to third to start. Colson Montgomery walked but Romo flied out to center. Montgomery took second on a balk and Peters walked as well. Braden Montgomery grounded out to second to end the inning. Things looked up when Wong doubled off the Monster to start the bottom of the ninth and Eli White ran for him. Then things looked bleak when Sogard dropped down a bunt to move Eli to third and Rafaela struck out swinging. Down to their last strike....Abreu singled up the middle to score White with the tying run. Once again Abreu was foolishly thrown at second trying to steal to end the inning but the game was tied 7-7.
Jake Rogers took over behind the plate to make his Sox debut with Aroldis Chapman on the mound to start the top of the tenth. Braden Montgomery started at second base and Antonacci grounded out to second to move him to third. Suddenly Meidroth hit a home run all the way to Naples, Italy to put Chicago on top. Murakimi grounded out to second and Vargas flied out to right but the White Sox now led 9-7.
New York Yankee fans (you read that right) gladhanded each other on social media saying the game was in the bag going into the bottom of the tenth with Trevor Richards on the mound and Abreu starting at second. Durbin popped up to second as Yankee fans (not White Sox) started celebrating only for Yoshida to draw a walk. No big deal right? WRONG! Jahmai Jones ran for Yoshida and Monasterio doubled off the Monster to score Abreu. Duran was intentionally walked to load the bases and Seigler made them pay with a sac fly to center to score Jones, tying the game again. Rogers walked to reload the bases but Sogard forced him at second to end the inning with the game tied 9-9.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the eleventh with Vargas now on the mound. Benintendi popped up to left but Whitlock bounced a pitch to the backstop to move Vargas to third. Colson Montgomery hit a fly ball to shallow center and Vargas took off. Rafaela's throw came in......safe. Yankee fans (again, not White Sox) erupted on social media as the White Sox had the lead again. Romo struck out swinging to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 10-9.
Yankee fans weren't quite as confident with only a one run lead in the bottom of the 11th and Sogard starting at second. They were right to be cautious because Rafaela got a base hit to center to move Sogard to third and Abreu hit a sac fly to center to score Nick. Rafaela stole second and Durbin walked to put the winning run at second. Jones beat out a roller to third to load the bases but Monasterio popped up to left. Old friend Chris Murphy came in to face Duran and Jarren flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 10-10.
With nobody left in the bullpen, Brayan Bello came in to pitch the top of the 12th with Romo starting at second. Peters got a base hit to right to move Romo to third and the Red Sox caught a break when Braden Montgomery forced Peters at second but Romo didn't run home. Unfortunately it didn't matter anyway as Antonacci got a base hit to left to score Romo to put Chicago ahead again. Meidroth got a base hit to left and Montgomery tried for home. Duran fired home....OUT! Murakimi was intentionally walked to load the bases but Vargas grounded out to third to end the inning with the White Sox up 11-10.
Now Yankee fans were confident because there's no way the Red Sox were coming back for the fifth time in one night, right?......RIGHT? Well with Duran at second base, things looked good for the Chicago/New York temporary alliance when Seigler flied out to right.....until Richards uncorked a wild pitch to move Duran to third. Rogers hit a sac fly to center to score Duran and the opposing fans threw their hands up in disgust. Sogard flied out to right to end the inning with the score tied 11-11.
Bello returned for the top of the 13th and Vargas at second base but the enemy fans got nervous when Benintendi hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Yankee fans cheered when Vargas stole third as Colson Montgomery struck out swinging but turned to silence when Romo grounded out to second to end the inning. Bello had pitched the first clean inning since Jovani Moran in the ninth.
Suddenly Yankee fans were strangely quiet when Erick Fedde took the mound for the bottom of the 13th with Sogard starting at second base. The Chicago/New York alliance started fist bumping and preparing for the 14th inning when Rafaela popped up to first, but Abreu was intentionally walked to get to Durbin. Bad move....Durbin ripped a base hit up the middle to score Sogard with the winning run. The Red Sox had survived 12-11 in 13 innings.
Sox win
Ice water Hero
Hero of The Night is Caleb Durbin. His rbi single in the 13th inning won the game for the Sox.
The Good:
Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Jahmai Jones singled and scored a run.
Andruw Monasterio was 2 for 6 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Anthony Seigler was 2 for 4 with a walk, 3 rbis and a run scored.
Connor Wong was 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch and a 2 run home run.
Eli White scored a run as a pinch runner.
Jake Rogers hit a sac fly and walked.
Tyron Guerrero pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Erik Miller pitched two scoreless innings.
Jovani Moran pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Brayan Bello got the win with 2 innings and only 1 ghost runner allowed.
The Bad:
Ranger Suarez got tagged for 4 runs in just 3 innings.
Greg Weissert allowed a run in the fourth inning.
Justin Slaten allowed 2 runs in the fifth inning by committing a throwing error.
Aroldis Chapman served up a 2 run home run in the 10th inning.
The Ugly:
Nick Sogard was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but walked and scored two runs.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 2 for 7 with 2 strikeouts and a throwing error.
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but walked, drove in 2 runs and scored a run.
Jarren Duran was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Garrett Whitlock allowed a ghost runner to score in the 11th inning.
Final Thoughts:
There's no more superlatives to say about this year's Red Sox team other than to shut up and enjoy the ride. The Sox trailed this game five different times and any one of them meant the game was over from April to June. Instead, the Sox never gave up and battled back to win one of the best regular season games in history. The White Sox led in every inning from 9 to 12 and couldn't put Boston away. A team effort from stars like Abreu to role players like Jahmai Jones and Jake Rogers helped win this game. The pitching wasn't the greatest and the defense was awful, but they did just enough to win the game. The trio of Durbin, Monasterio and Seigler were huge factors in this one and all 3 came in the Kyle Harrison trade. Bet people will shut up about that trade now. The only sad notes were Willson Contreras sat this one out with illness that might be a concussion after getting drilled the other night and Suarez came out after just 3 innings. With the Sox getting dangerously thin in the rotation with Garrett Crochet still out and Connelly Early gone, the Sox needed Suarez more than ever to hold it together. Hopefully tonight was just a hiccup. Same goes for the relief pitchers who gave up runs such as Weissert, Chapman and Slaten....although Slaten was more due to his own stupidity than allowing a hit. The crazy part is the Sox used all 8 of their relief pitchers and they gave up seven runs after Suarez left....and won. The BoSox just keep on winning come hell or high water and the sad part is they HAD to. The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays were idle so the Sox needed to win this one to keep pace. The Yankees lead in the first wild card is now down to a half game which is hilarious considering they led by 15.5 games at one point. The Cleveland Guardians lost again which puts the Sox 6.5 games in front of them and a full 7 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins. The Sox have a legitimate shot to take the division if they remain red hot and the Yankees continue to collapse. The bottom line is this was one of the best regular season games in history and the Sox are on a historic run. The 1984 Tigers started the season 35-5 and the win tonight put the Sox at 31-5 since June 24th. It'll be a tall task to win 4 more games in a row but its not impossible. Just have to keep the momentum going and enjoy the ride. The win improved the Sox to 63-51, 5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now welcome in the Sacramento A's for a three game set beginning tomorrow night. The last team to beat the Red Sox on July 28th will send Jack Perkins to the mound against Payton Tolle (6-6, 3.30 RA) of Boston. The Sox look to win their ninth straight game at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
