Before the game the Boston Red Sox sent Cooper Criswell back to Worcester. He wasn't needed in yesterday's double-header but may be needed down the road.
It was good news all around for the city of Boston as the Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic in Game 4 of their first round NBA playoff series and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Cleveland Guardians marred by an incident in today's game. The Sox pulverized the Guardians with a 15 hit attack but in the seventh inning, things got chippy. With almost nobody there, it was easy for Duran to hear a Guardians fan make fun of Jarren's suicide attempt. Guardian fans, Red Sox fans and Duran himself didn't take too kindly to that and the fan was ejected while Duran had to be restrained from going after him. The incident overshadowed a big game where Rafael Devers, Rob Refsnyder and Ceddanne Rafaela all hit home runs. Duran picked up four hits and Kristian Campbell had two hits and three walks. On the other side, Brayan Bello (2-0, 3.27 ERA) had another strong start, allowing 3 runs in 6 solid innings. Garrett Whitlock, Sean Newcomb and Liam Hendriks slammed the door without a problem for the final innings. The Sox had taken two out of three in Cleveland with a 13-3 pounding of the Guardians at Progressive Field.
Guardians starter Logan Allen took the mound in the top of the first and Duran got a base hit to left to start. Rafael Devers grounded out to third to move Duran to second and Alex Bregman lined out to center. Trevor Story grounded out to third to end the inning. Bello got the ball in the bottom of the first and Steven Kwan doubled to right to start. Angel Martinez dropped down a bunt to move Kwan to third and Jose Ramirez hit a grounder to first. Romy Gonzalez gunned down Kwan at home but Nolan Jones walked. Carlos Santana took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Rob Refsnyder smacked his second home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Gonzalez popped up to second but Kristian Campbell walked. Carlos Narvaez got a base hit to right to move Campbell to third and Ceddanne Rafaela hit a fly ball to center. Martinez threw the ball away for an error to score Campbell and move Narvaez to second. Duran got a base hit in the hole at short to put runners at the corners but Devers forced Jarren at second to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Bo Naylor doubled to start the bottom of the second but was thrown out trying to steal third. Daniel Schneemann struck out swinging but Wil Wilson got a base hit down the third base line. Brayan Rocchio lined out to first to end the inning.
Bregman struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Story went down hacking. Refsnyder got a base hit to left but Gonzalez flied out to center to end the inning. Kwan lined out to center to start the bottom of the third before Martinez struck out swinging. Ramirez lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the the fourth as Campbell doubled to left to start. Narvaez grounded out to first to move Campbell to third and Kristian scored on the sac fly to center by Rafaela. Duran got a base hit to left but was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Jones grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fourth before Santana drew a walk. Naylor was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to move Santana to second and Schneemann grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox broke it open in the top of the fifth as Devers got a base hit to right to start. Bregman singled in the hole at second and Story walked to load the bases. Refsnyder hit a sac fly to center to score Devers and move Bregman to third. Gonzalez walked to re-load the bases and chase Allen. Paul Sewald came in and Campbell got a base hit to center to score Bregman and Story. Gonzalez moved to third on the play and Campbell took off for second. Gonzalez successfully stole home and Schneemann's throw got away allowing Campbell to take third. Narvaez struck out swinging and Rafaela hit a ground rule double into the stands to score Campbell. Duran popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox up 8-0.
Jakob Junis came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Devers greeted him with his fourth home run of the season to increase the lead. Bregman grounded out to third, Story lined back to Junis and Refsnyder grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 9-0.
Devers hits one out
Suddenly the Guardians rallied in the bottom of the sixth as Martinez walked to start. Ramirez got a base hit to center and Jones hit a home run all the way to Lake Michigan to cut the lead. Santana flied out to right and Naylor flied out to right as well, nut Schneemann singled to center. Wilson struck out swinging to end the inning. Bello finished his day by allowing 3 runs off 6 hits and 3 walks in 6 innings, leaving the game up 9-3.
Bello gets the job done
The Sox struck again with Joey Cantillo now on the mound. Wilson threw a grounder by Gonzalez away for an error and Romy took second on a wild pitch. Campbell walked and Narvaez beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. A wild pitch moved Carlos to second and Rafaela blasted his second home run of the year to put the game out of reach. Duran flied out to center and Devers took strike three but the score was now 12-3 Boston.
Rafaela finally hits one out
"There's the sonovabitch, get him!" - Duran
Duran doubles in a run
Garrett Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh but things went sideways when a fan started heckling Duran. Duran had to be restained from going after the guy and the dude was thrown out of the building. Rocchio flied out to left to start and Kwan grounded out to second, but Martinez got a base hit off the glove of Whitlock. Ramirez popped up to third to end the inning.
Jhonkensy Noel took over for Kwan to start the top of the eighth and Bregman grounded out to short to start. Story and Refsnyder both struck out swinging to end the inning. Sean Newcomb came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Jones took strike three. Santana got a base hit to left but Naylor went down hacking. Schneemann struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the top of the ninth with catcher Austin Hedges in to pitch. Gonzalez grounded out to short but Campbell walked. Narvaez got a base hit to right but Rafaela lined out to center. Duran doubled to center to score Campbell but Devers took strike three to end the inning with Boston up 13-3.
Liam Hendriks came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Wilson walked to start. Rocchio took strike three, Noel struck out swinging and Martinez flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 13-3.
Sox win
Hero Refsnyder
Hero of The Night is Rob Refsnyder. His second inning home run set the tone and his rbi in the fifth was the deciding run.
The Good:
Jarren Duran was 4 for 6 with an rbi.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 6 with a home run and 2 total runs scored.
Kristian Campbell was 2 for 2 with 3 walks, 2 rbis, a stolen base and 4 runs scored.
Carlos Narvaez was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a 3 run home run and 5 total rbis.
Brayan Bello got the win with 6 innings of 3 run ball. He allowed 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4.
Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Sean Newcomb pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Liam Hendriks pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Alex Bregman was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Trevor Story was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4 but walked, stole a base and scored two runs.
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4 but walked, stole a base and scored two runs.
Final Thoughts:
Nice to see Duran go on a hot streak but too bad one of the Guardian fans had to be an idiot. Hopefully this drives Duran into a hitting frenzy instead of the opposite. Still, the Sox picked him up big time by thrashing the Guardians in this one. Rafaela had 5 rbis and Campbell seems to be the front runner for AL Rookie of The Year so far. Even Devers got another home run so it looks like he's coming out of the funk he was in. When the offense is locked in, they're tough to beat. On the other side of the ball Bello looked good again. He didn't dominate but he didn't stink either, which in his new role as a third starter is all you can ask for. Newcomb out of the bullpen is worth a try since Zack Kelly and Josh Winckowski faltered so may as well keep bringing him out until he falters. With Lucas Giolito and Richard Fitts on the mend, the Sox are going to have to make some tough decisions on who stays or who goes. People are playing for jobs and hopefully this drives the team to a nice winning streak. Some more good news on the injury front, Connor Wong began his rehab down in Worcester so he should be back in a week or so. After an off-day tomorrow, the Sox are back in action Tuesday night in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Garrett Crochet (2-2, 1.95 ERA) gets the start against Captain TBD of Toronto. The game begins at 7:05 PM at the Skydome.
