Pivetta, Sox Defeat Orioles (9/22/20)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Nick Pivetta was activated to start tonight's game against the Baltimore Orioles. The centerpiece of the Brandon Workman trade to the Phillies will make two starts to see what he's got before the end of the season. Robert Stock was sent back to the Alternate Training Site to make room for Pivetta, hopefully never to be seen again.

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As for the game, THIS is what the Sox were supposed to look like this season. For the third straight game the Sox got good starting position and for the second game in a row, the bullpen didn't suck long enough for the Sox to win. Nick Pivetta (1-0, 9.28 ERA) made his Red Sox debut with 5 solid innings, allowing just 1 run to put the Sox in position to win. The Sox jumped on O's starter Keegan Akin for 4 early runs with Bobby Dalbec driving in two of them. Christian Vazquez hit the backbreaking 3 run bomb in the bottom of the sixth to ice the game. The bullpen held on just enough for the Sox to beat the Orioles 8-3 at Fenway Park.

                                                  Koa approves of the win

Pivetta looked rusty in the top of the first inning although Cedric Mullins took strike three to start. Austin Hays drew a walk but Ryan Mountcastle flied out to center. Renato Nunez walked and DJ Stewart singled home Hays to give Baltimore the lead. Pedro Severino whiffed to end the inning but the Orioles were up 1-0.

                                                     Stewart drives in a run

O's starter Keegan Akin got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alex Verdugo singled to left to start. Rafael Devers whiffed, Xander Bogaerts took strike three and JD Martinez grounded out to second to end the inning.

Pivetta knocked off the rust in the top of the second inning by striking out the side. Hanser Alberto whiffed, Rio Ruiz was frozen for strike three and Ramon Urias went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the second as Christian Vazquez reached on an error by Ruiz to start. Jackie Bradley Jr singled to right and Bobby Dalbec doubled home Vazquez to tie the game. Michael Chavis scored JBJ with a sac fly to give the Sox the lead but Jonathan Arauz struck out swinging. Verdugo grounded into the shift but Stewart threw the ball away allowing Dalbec to score another run. Devers whiffed to end the inning but the errors led to a 3-1 Sox lead.

                                            Dalbec ties it up before the Sox take the lead

Pivetta struck out Stewart looking to start the top of the fourth before Severino flied out to left. Alberto singled off the glove of Devers before Ruiz grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fourth as Arauz singled to right to start and Verdugo singled him to third. Arauz was picked off, Devers whiffed to earn the hat trick and Boagerts lined out to second to end the inning.

Pivetta finished up his outing in the top of the fifth as Urias singled to right to start. Mullins walked but Hays whiffed. Mountcastle banged into a double play to end the inning. That was it for Pivetta who threw 96 pitches but survived 5 innings, allowing just the 1 run to put the Sox in position to win.

                                                         Pivetta pitches in

The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fifth against Cole Sulser as Martinez doubled to left to start. Vazquez flied out to left but Urias booted a grounder by JBJ to put runners at the corners. JBJ swiped second and Dalbec walked to load the bases. Chavis banged into a double play to end the inning.

Naturally the Orioles jumped all over Marcus Walden in the top of the sixth as Nunez pounded a home run into the Charles River to cut the lead to start. Stewart singled and Chavis dropped a routine pop up by Severino, but Alberto banged into a doubled play. Ruiz doubled home Stewart to cut the lead and Urias singled him to third. That was it for Walden as Ryan Weber came in to strike out Mullins swinging to end the inning with the Orioles down 4-3.

                                                   O's get back in it

The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the sixth with Paul Fry now on the mound. Arauz walked but Verdugo whiffed. A wild pitch moved Arauz to second but Devers whiffed to earn the golden sombrero. Evan Phillips came in to pitch to Bogaerts but he walked. Martinez singled home Arauz and Vazquez crushed his 6th home run of the year to put the game out of reach.Phillips started clutching his hand. He had to leave the game and Thomas Eshelman came in to walk JBJ. Dalbec popped up to second to end the inning but it was 8-3 Sox.

                                                                Vazquez ices it

Darwinzon Hernandez came in for the top of the seventh and Devers booted a routine grounder by Hays for an error to start. Hernandez recovered by blowing away Mountcastle and getting Nunez to pop up to short. Hernandez struck out Stewart swinging to end the inning. The Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the seventh as Chavis doubled to left to begin. Arauz singled Chavis to third but Verdugo popped up and Devers banged into a double play to end the inning. Devers had the golden sombrero, an error and hit into a double play, not his night.

                                                      Cue the Benny Hill theme

Domingo Tapia came in for the top of the eighth and struck out Severino swinging to start. Alberto grounded out to short but Ruiz doubled to left. Urias grounded out to third to end the inning. Bogaerts popped up to short to start the bottom of the eighth before Martinez doubled to left. Vazquez lined out to third and JBJ flied out to center to end the inning.

Dylan Covey was brought in to end the top of the ninth but he almost crapped his pants. Mullins and Hays stroked back to back singles before Mullins moved to third on the Mountcastle fly out to right. Nunez whiffed but Stewart walked to load the bases. Matt Barnes came in to get Severino to pop up to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-3.

                                                     Sox win it

Hero of the Night is Christian Vazquez. His 3 run bomb put the game away and matched the Orioles entire offensive output.

                                                   Vazquez the Hero

The Good:

Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5.

JD Martinez was 3 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored.

Bobby Dalbec was 2 for 3 with 2 rbis, a walk and a run scored.

Michael Chavis was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

Jonathan Arauz was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Nick Pivetta got his first win with the Red Sox by tossing 5 innings of 1 run ball.

Ryan Weber struck out the only man he faced.

Darwinzon Hernandez pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Domingo Tapia pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Dylan Covey got the first 2 outs of the ninth inning.

Matt Barnes got the final out of the ninth inning.

The Bad:

Rafael Devers was 0 for 5 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts, an error and he hit into a double play.

Marcus Walden allowed 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored 2 runs.

Final Thoughts:

So THIS is the team the Sox should be if they had everything going right. Even though the Sox won in spite of Devers tonight, the fact that Bogaerts, Martinez, Dalbec, Bradley, Arauz and Verdugo were all big contributors shows that offensively the Sox will be fine next season. Its only a question of if Andrew Benintendi and JD Martinez can have better seasons than this year. Pivetta looked good for the 5 innings he was in and at least he kept them in the game. The "we want to tank" Sox fans can eat dog turds because the Sox have figured out a winning formula. The sad part is the Sox can win 4 of their remaining 5 games with the rotation they currently have. Nathan Eovaldi, Pivetta, Tanner Houck and Martin Perez are all scheduled to pitch one more time and hell...maybe the offense can carry whatever bum they throw out for the fifth game? All in all things are looking up for the Sox has they have a somewhat replenished farm system, possibly the next righthanded ace (Houck) and guys coming back from lost years (Eduardo Rodriguez and Benintendi). The win improved the Sox to 21-34, just 2 games behind the Orioles for fourth place in the AL East. The Sox can move one step closer out of last place by beating the Orioles tomorrow night. Nathan Eovaldi (3-2, 4.25 ERA) takes on Dean Kremer of the Orioles at 7:35 PM at Fenway Park.

Yankees Defeat Sox in 12 Innings (9/18/20)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox finally announced who the player they got from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Kevin Pillar at the trade deadline was.  Their 27th ranked prospect, former UConn pitcher and local Methuen resident Jacob Wallace. The 22 year old Wallace can dial it up to the mid-high 90's with a good slider. He was Uconn's closer back in college so it'll be interesting to see if he amounts to anything. Even if Wallace doesn't pan out, as of this moment the Sox traded 2 months of a rental in Pillar for a 22 year old potential closer. It was the right move to make no matter how it turns out. Also Robinson Leyer was thankfully sent back to the Alternate Training Site, hopefully never to be seen again. Darwinzon Hernandez was activated off the Injured List to take his spot.

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As for the game, its quite apparent the Boston Red Sox cannot defeat the New York Yankees. Even though the goal is not to win this year for most members of "Red Sox Nation" the Yankees pretty much handed the Sox the game and Boston said "nah, we're good."  Martin Perez tossed 6 shutout innings while Christian Arroyo smacked a 3 run home run to give the Sox a lead early. The Sox led 4-0 after 6 needing just 9 outs to beat the Yankees for the first time in their last 11 meetings. Naturally Darwinzon Hernandez, Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes combined to blew the lead. Ryan Weber allowed 2 runs in extra innings and the Yankees dispatched the Sox 6-5 at Fenway Park.

Perez got the ball in the top of the first and DJ LeMahieu grounded out to third to start. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both took strike three to end the inning. Jordan Montgomery got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alex Verdugo whiffed to start. Montgomery threw a routine grounder by Rafael Devers away and Xander Bogaerts singled to third. JD Martinez and Christian Vazquez both whiffed to end the inning.

Luke Voit took strike three to begin the bottom of the second but Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks both singled to left. Gio Urshela banged into a double play to end the inning. Kevin Plawecki flied out to right to start the bottom of the second but Jackie Bradley Jr walked. Michael Chavis banged into a double play to end the inning.

Gary Sanchez lined out to left to start the top of the third but Clint Frazier was plunked. LeMahieu walked but Judge hit into a double play to end the inning. Christian Arroyo struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third but Verdugo got an infield hit to first. Devers hit a double play ball to LeMahieu but Torres dropped the relay throw and everyone was safe. Both runners moved over on the Bogaerts grounder but Martinez lined out to center to end the inning.

Verdugo keeled over in the dugout, was carried out on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to Mass General's ICU so Tzu-Wei Lin took his spot in right. Stanton began the top of the fourth by flying out to left before Voit took strike three. Torres took strike three to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fourth as Vazquez singled to left to begin. Plawecki flied out to right but JBJ singled to left. Vazquez swiped third but Chavis whiffed. Arroyo then pounded his third home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Lin struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 3-0 Boston.

                                                       Arroyo says "That one's out of here"

Hicks flied out to right to start the top of the fifth before Urshela took strike three. Sanchez took strike three to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the fifth as Devers walked to start. Bogaerts forced Devers at second then took second base on a wild pitch. Bogaerts swiped third but Martinez whiffed. That was it for Montgomery as Luis Cessa came in and Vazquez doubled home Bogaerts to increase the lead. Plawecki whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.

                                               Vazquez channels the power of Ermac

Perez returned for the top of the sixth only because Sox manager Ron Roenicke was taking a nap and Frazier singled to right to start. LeMahieu popped up to second and just as Roenicke woke up, Judge banged into a double play to end the inning. Perez had thrown just 86 pitches and had a shutout going but Roenicke felt that was too much.

                                                    86 pitches and 6 shutout innings for Perez

The Sox blew a chance to ice the game in the bottom of the sixth although JBJ flied out to left to start. Chavis flied out to center but Arroyo singled to left and Lin walked. Devers flied out to left to end the inning.

Naturally once Perez was gone the Yankees rallied against Darwinzon Hernandez in the top of the seventh. Stanton walked but Voit whiffed and Stanton was forced at second by Torres. Had Hernandez gotten one more out, this game was over but nope. Hicks singled to center and Urshela walked to load the bases. Marcus Walden came in to get the final out and instead Sanchez hit a ground rule double to right to score two runs. Frazier grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 4-2 Sox.

                                              .190 hitters sure are tough!

Adam Ottavino came in to shut down the Sox in the bottom of the seventh as Bogaerts flied out to center to start. Martinez flied out to right but Vazquez doubled to center. Plawecki grounded out to short to end the inning.

Ryan Brasier came in to crap his pants in the top of the eighth as LeMahieu lined out to right but Judge singled to left. Stanton doubled home Judge and Mike Tauchman ran for him. Voit lined out to third and Torres took strike three to end the inning with the Yankees down 4-3.

                                                    Stanton watches it go

Zack Britton came on for the bottom of the eighth as JBJ took strike three to start. Chavis also was rung up for strike three and Arroyo grounded out to third to end the inning.

Matt Barnes came on to close out the top of the ninth and guess what happened? Hicks grounded out to short and Urshela popped up to second to put the Yankees down to their last out with their worst hitter average wise coming up. Naturally Sanchez hit a line drive home run into the Monster Seats to tie the game. Frazier took strike three to end the inning but the game was tied 4-4.....of course.

                                                     Yankees tie it up

Chad Green came in for the bottom of the ninth and Lin flied out to left to start. Devers whiffed but Bogaerts singled to left. Bogaerts stole second but Martinez earned the hat trick by taking strike three to end the inning.

Ryan Weber came in for the top of the tenth with Clint Frazier starting at second base. LeMahieu moved him over to third with a grounder but somehow Weber struck out Judge swinging. Tauchman lined out to third to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came on for the bottom of the tenth with Martinez starting at second. Vazquez walked to put two men on but instead of bunting, Sox manager Ron Roenicke had Plawecki hit away. Naturally he flied out to right and the worst part is Martinez and Vazquez pulled off a double steal. Now with the winning run on third....JBJ took strike three and Chavis whiffed to end the inning. They deserved to lose.

The Yankees looked to have put the game away in the top of the eleventh when Tauchman started at second and Voit singled him home to give the Yankees the lead. Tyler Wade ran for Voit but Torres lined out to center and Hicks banged into a double play to end the inning. It should be noted that the run was unearned to Weber because he didn't actually put Tauchman on, but the Yankees still led 5-4.

Jonathan Loaisiga came on for the bottom of eleventh with Chavis starting at second base and Arroyo singled him in to tie the game. Lin popped up a bunt (why didn't Plawecki do that?) but WADE DROPPED IT! Both runners were safe but Devers banged into a double play.....BUT WAIT! Sox manager Ron Roenicke challenged that Devers was safe. Sure enough, he was and the Sox had the winning run at third again. Bogaerts was intentionally walked to load the bases.... and Martinez whiffed to earn the Golden Sombrero. Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.

                                             Arroyo does what he can to keep the Sox in it

Once again the Yankees took the lead in the top of the 12th inning with Hicks starting at second. Urshela singled Aaron to third but somehow Weber whiffed Sanchez and froze Frazier for strike three. Naturally LeMahieu doubled home Hicks to give the Yankees the lead. Judge grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 6-5 Yankees. Poor Weber, he allowed 2 runs but only because they were already on to begin with.

                                                     Tough break for Weber

The game finally ended in the bottom of the 12th with Vazquez starting at second. Plawecki moved Vazquez to third with a grounder but JBJ popped up to center. Chavis grounded out to short to end the game. The Yankees had won their 9th straight game and 11th straight over the Red Sox 6-5.

                                                    Booooooo!!!

Jackass of the Night is JD Martinez. He was 0 for 6 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts, leaving NINE men on base alone.

                                             Golden Sombrero Jackass

The Good:

Alex Verdugo was 1 for 2 before leaving.

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a walk, 2 stolen bases and a run scored.

Christian Vazquez was 3 for 5 with a walk, rbi, stolen base and a run scored.

Christian Arroyo was 3 for 5 with 4 total rbis including a 3 run home run.

Martin Perez tossed 6 shutout innings while allowing 3 hits and a walk while striking out 7.

The Bad:

Darwinzon Hernandez was charged with 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.

Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the top of the eighth.

Matt Barnes allowed a run in the top of the ninth.

The Ugly:

Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 2 but walked.

Rafael Devers was 0 for 5 with a strikeout but walked.

Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but walked and scored a run.

Michael Chavis was 0 for 6 with a hat trick of three strikeouts but scored a run.

Marcus Walden allowed 2 inherited runners to score but none of his own in 1/3 of an inning.

Ryan Weber took the loss by allowing 2 runs in 3 innings of work but neither of them were earned.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox have a golden chance to knock the Yankees out of AL East contention and instead they puke all over themselves. Literally the Sox had a 4-0 lead with 9 outs to go and found a way to lose. Not only that, they had golden chances to win the game in the 10th and 11th but couldn't cash in. This team can't beat the Yankees, it doesn't matter what the situation is. The Sox could take a 7-1 lead tomorrow in the fourth inning and everyone on the planet knows the Yankees would win the game. The worst part is the fans are trying to justify it saying they want to lose. Yeah, have fun with that. When you got a chance to knock the Yankees into the 2nd tier of the playoffs without the comforts of Yankee Stadium, you take it. How do you give up a 2 out out home run to .189 hitting Gary Sanchez? Speaking of .189 hitters, JD Martinez may end up finishing there because he can't hit off a tee at this point. A REAL manager would have benched him or dropped him in the order a month ago. Nope, not Ron Roenicke. Luckily there's only eight more games of this nonsense to go. The loss dropped the Sox to 19-33, last place in the AL East. Tomorrow Chris Mazza (1-1, 5.57 ERA) gets pounded by the Yankees while JA Happ pitches a shutout at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.

Rays Edge Sox (9/12/20)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Matt Hall was once again sent back to the Alternate Training Site and in his place none other than Nathan Eovaldi was activated off the Injured List to start tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. With so many pitchers now on the injured list, Eovaldi needs to go deep into games if nothing else but to save who's left in the bullpen.

OUT

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As for the game, at least the Sox were competitive tonight. Nathan Eovaldi made his first start in two weeks and did well for 3 innings. Then Ron Roenicke pulled him and guess what happened? That's right, the Sox bullpen allowed 4 runs in the next 6 innings. The Sox offense managed to make a game of it with home runs from Michael Chavis and Christian Arroyo, but Rays starter Tyler Glasnow was tough and the Rays bullpen slammed the door in the ninth. At least it was competitive, but the Rays still beat the Sox 5-4 at Tropicana Field.

                                                      "This guy Roenicke needs to go!"

Alex Verdugo led off the top of the first against Glasnow with a base hit to second to start. Rafael Devers whiffed and Verdugo started the steal parade by swiping second. Verdugo moved to third on the Xander Bogaerts grounder but JD Martinez whiffed to end the inning. Eovaldi made his return in the bottom of the first and Austin Meadows greeted him with a home run to Jupiter to put the Rays up. Brandon Lowe grounded out to first and Randy Arozarena grounded out to second, but Ji-Man Choi doubled to left and Joey Wendle was plunked to load the bases. Willy Adames whiffed to end the inning.

                                                  That didn't take long

The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Kevin Plawecki popped up to short to start. Jackie Bradley Jr popped up to third and Yairo Munoz whiffed to end the inning. Nate Lowe grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second but Manny Margot singled to center. Margot was thrown out trying to steal by the alert Plawecki and Michael Perez struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox got to Glasnow in the top of the third when Michael Chavis launched his third bomb of the year to tie the game. Christian Arroyo lined out to center, Verdugo grounded out to short and Devers grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                             Kiss it goodbye

Meadows whiffed to start the bottom of the third before Brandon Lowe flied out to center. Arozarena whiffed to end the inning and that was it for Eovaldi. Even though there's only two weeks left in the season, Sox manager Ron Roenicke decided not to push Eovaldi any further. Oh well.

                                                     Short and sweet for Eovaldi

The Sox stole Glasnow blind in the top of the fourth inning as Bogaerts walked to start. Martinez lined out to left but Xander swiped second, then third. Plawecki singled home Bogaerts to put the Sox on top but was forced at second by JBJ. JBJ swiped second which prompted Sox analyst Jerry Remy to quip "I'm 67 and I can steal on this guy." Munoz flied out to center with the Sox ahead 2-1.

                                 Legendary robber Baby Face Nelson loves the base thefts

Chris Mazza came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the fourth inning Choi walked to start before moving to second on the Wendle strikeout. Adames walked and Nate Lowe singled home Choi who pulled a hamstring sliding home. Margot doubled home Adames and Lowe to give the Rays the lead. Margot moved to third on the Perez grounder and Meadows whiffed to end the inning with the Rays ahead 4-2.

                                                  "Owowowowowwowowwowwww" - Choi

Chavis swung and missed for strike three to start the top of the fifth but the ball got away from the catcher so Michael reached at first. Arroyo flied out to center but Chavis swiped second. Chavis then forgot how many outs there were when he trotted home on a pop up to third by Verdugo, getting doubled off of second to end the inning. Nice going Chavis! Mazza returned for the bottom of the fifth and Brandon Lowe grounded out to second to start. Arozarena took strike three and Yoshi Tsutsugo pinch hit for Choi just to fly out to center to end the inning.

Devers singled to third to start the top of the sixth before moving to second on a wild pitch. Bogaerts grounded out to third, Martinez struck out swinging and Plawecki flied out to center to end the inning. Wendle singled to center to start the bottom of the sixth but Adames flied out to left. Nate Lowe whiffed but Wendle swiped second. Margot struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the seventh as JBJ singled to center to start. Munoz whiffed but JBJ stole second. Chavis took strike three but Arroyo clobbered his first home run of the year to tie the game. Verdugo grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.

                                                        Sox tie it up

Marcus Walden came in to wreck the day in the bottom of the seventh although Perez grounded out to short to start. Meadows whiffed but Brandon Lowe crushed a home run to Neptune to give the Rays the lead. Arozarena whiffed to end the inning but the Rays led 5-4.

                                                    Lowe hits one out

Nick Anderson came in for the top of the eighth and the Sox went quietly. Devers struck out swinging, Bogaerts flied out to left and Martinez flied out to center to end the inning. Jeffrey Springs came in for the bottom of the eighth and Tsutsugo popped up to third to start before Wendle whiffed. Adames went down hacking to end the inning.

Diego Castillo came in to close out the top of the ninth with Brett Phillips now in right. Plawecki swung at air to start before JBJ watched strike three go by. Munoz hit a ground rule double to left to put the tying run at second but Chavis grounded out to third to end the game. The Rays had won it 5-4.

                                                       Rays win

Jackass of the Night is Marcus Walden. He gave up the backbreaking homer in the bottom of the seventh.

                                                        Walden the Jackass

The Good:

Christian Arroyo was 1 for 3 with a 2 run home run.

Nathan Eovaldi allowed 1 run in 3 innings while striking out 4.

Jeffrey Springs tossed a scoreless inning.

The Bad:

JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Chris Mazza allowed 3 runs in 3 innings.

The Ugly:

Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but stole a base.

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but walked, stole bases and scored a run.

Kevin Plawecki was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.

Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but stole 2 bases and scored a run.

Yairo Munoz was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Michael Chavis was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but stole a base and hit a solo home run.

Final Thoughts:

Its a good thing there are only 13 games left because now they're running out of expendable bums to pitch. Sox manager Ron Roenicke refusing to let some of these guys throw 5-6 innings regardless of the score wore down every arm they didn't trade. Colten Brewer, Zac Godley, Austin Brice, Josh Taylor and Darwinzon Hernandez all developed arm trouble from damn near pitching every game. Eovaldi was cruising in this game but Roenicke pulled him after 3 damn innings. Either you let him go or you shut him down, why waste the bullpen that already needed to pitch the whole game last night? Just 13 more games and Roenicke will be gone too. As of right now the Sox are percentage points ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the worst record in baseball. Kumar Rocker appears to be the number 1 overall pick regardless of who gets it although the consensus is Rocker's teammate Jack Leiter is another top rated pitcher that could go second. Leiter is the son of former New York Mets and Yankees pitcher Al Leiter. If Kumar is the real deal it won't be the end of the world if the Sox do end up the worst in baseball. As sad as it sounds, the Sox still could have won this game but couldn't crack the Rays bullpen. The loss dropped the Sox to a miserable 16-31 on the season, last place in the AL East. The Sox play their final regular season game with the Rays tomorrow afternoon. Martin Perez (2-4, 4.40 ERA) goes for the Sox against Charlie Morton at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Hold Off Phillies in Game 2 (9/8/20)

For all the Boston Red Sox fans that wanted the Sox to lose so they can get the first overall draft pick in next year's draft....WELL YOU'RE NOT GONNA GET IT, BAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! The Red Sox moved out of last in baseball with their come from behind Game 2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils took a quick 2-0 lead over Chris Mazza (1-1, 5.29 ERA) when the Sox rallied to tie the game in the fourth. Bobby Dalbec launched his 5th homer of the season to give the Sox the lead in the top of the sixth and the normally unreliable bullpen slammed the door in the bottom of the seventh. Nothing like when the Sox stick it to their own fans with a 5-2 win in 7 innings in Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park.

                                                          That's for the "tanking" fans

Vince Velazquez got the ball for the Phillies in the top of the first and Jonathan Arauz whiffed to start. Rafael Devers singled to right and moved to second on the Xander Bogaerts ground out. JD Martinez took strike three to end the inning. The Phillies wasted no time getting to Mazza in the bottom of the first although Jean Segura whiffed to start. Rhys Hoskins singled to center but Bryce Harper flied out to center. JT Realmuto singled Hoskins to third and a wild pitch scored him, moving JT to second. Gregorius singled home Realmuto but was thrown out at second trying to stretch to end the inning with the Phillies up 2-0.

                                              Yerrrrrr out!

The Sox fought back in the top of the second inning when Jackie Bradley Jr doubled to right to start. Bobby Dalbec whiffed and Deivy Grullon made his season debut by popping up to second. Tzu-Wei Lin singled home JBJ to cut the lead. Jose Peraza popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                                     Lin drives in a run

Mazza came back with a flurry in the bottom of the second as Alex Bohm struck out swinging to start. Neil Walker struck out swinging and Kyle Garlick whiffed to end the inning.

Arauz took strike three to start the top of the third before Devers grounded out to second. Bogaerts grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Adam Haseley grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Segura popped up to first. Hoskins flied out to right to end the inning.

The Sox fought back in the top of the fourth although Martinez whiffed to start. JBJ singled to short but Dalbec whiffed. A passed ball moved JBJ to second and he scored on the rbi single by Grullon to left. Lin singled to third but Peraza whiffed to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                                   First rbi for Grullon

Hoskins walked to start the bottom of the fourth but was forced at second by Realmuto. Grullon allowed a passed ball but Realmuto tried for third and Grullon gunned him down. Gregorius grounded out to second to end the inning.

Arauz earned the hat trick with his third strikeout of the game to start the top of the fifth. Devers whiffed but Bogaerts singled to left. Martinez grounded into a force to end the inning. Bohm was plunked to start the bottom of the fifth but Walker flied out to left. Garlick got the Phills first hit since the first inning with a single to center before both runners moved over on the grounder by Haseley. Segura flied out to right to end the inning. Mazza somehow tossed 5 innings of 2 run ball, throwing 4 scoreless after the first inning.

                                                         Mazza gets it done

David Phelps came in to pitch the top of the sixth and the Sox pounced. JBJ walked and Dalbec cracked his 5th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Grullon walked and that was it for Phelps. Jojo Romero came in and Grullon moved to second on the Lin ground out. Peraza grounded out to third and Arauz grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.

                                                       Dalbec with a home run

Phillips Valdez came in for the bottom of the sixth and Hoskins singled to right to start. Harper lined out to left and Realmuto walked. Gregorius popped up to short before Bohm lined out to right to end the inning.

Devers grounded out to third to start the top of the seventh when none other than old buddy Heath Hembree came in to pitch. Bogaerts was so excited he drew a walk although Martinez went down swinging. JBJ singled to left and Dalbec drove in Bogaerts with a base hit to center. Grullon whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.

                                                    Dalbec drives in another run

Austin Brice came in to close out the bottom of the seventh and Walker lined out to first to start. Andrew Knapp pinch hit for Garlick and walked. Andrew McCutchen pinch hit for Haseley and also walked to chase Brice. Marcus Walden came in and got Segura to line out to center. Hoskins lined out to right to end the game. The Sox had taken the nightcap 5-2.

                                                         Sox win


Hero of the Night is Bobby Dalbec. His 2 run homer put the Sox on top and his rbi single was the killshot.

                                                   Dalbec the Hero



The Good:

Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 3 for 3 with a walk and 3 runs scored.

Deivy Grullon was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Tzu-Wei Lin was 2 for 3 with an rbi.

Chris Mazza got the win with 5 innings of 2 run ball.

Phillips Valdez tossed a scoreless 6th inning.

Austin Brice got the first out of the seventh inning.

Marcus Walden got the save by getting the final two outs of the seventh.



The Bad:

Jonathan Arauz was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Jose Peraza was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.



The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.




Final Thoughts:

Take that, Sox fans. The rag tag Red Sox pulled one out against the Phillies. Dalbec is pulling a 1987 Sam Horn or last year's Michael Chavis and hitting everything he sees out. Good thing there's only 16 games left or else he'd turn out exactly like Chavis & Horn. Grullon was brought up to play this one game and he was driving runs in and throwing guys out. Suddenly the Sox have some options in Spring Training next season. At this point, all Sox GM Chaim Bloom has to do is fix the pitching staff and things look good for next year already. Obviously getting the first pick in the draft would help the future but it won't be that hard if he knows what he's doing. The win improved the Sox to 15-29, good for last place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox travel to Tampa for a set with the first place Rays. Mike Kickham (1-0, 5.40 ERA) goes for the Sox against Josh Fleming at 6:40 PM at Tropicana Field.

Jays Outslug Sox in Game 1 (9/4/20)

Another day, another loss for the Boston Red Sox this season. As usual the horrendous Boston pitching staff lived up to their billing as the worst in the Majors by allowing the Toronto Blue Jays to pound out 11 hits and 8 runs. Zack Godley (0-4, 8.16 ERA) proved once again he had no business starting for a major league team by allowing 4 runs in just 3 innings. The rest of the bums combined to allow 4 more runs the rest of the way. The Sox offense did manage to crank out 11 hits and 7 runs of their own, but their two big guns Xander Bogaerts and JD Martinez did absolutely nothing, leading to an 8-7 Blue Jays win in Game 1 of today's doubleheader at Fenway Park.

                                                  Sox fans have had enough

Godley got the ball in the top of the first and Cavan Biggio grounded out to second to start. Randal Grichuk grounded out to short but Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez singled to center. Teoscar Hernandez whiffed to end the inning. The Sox did nothing against Jays starter Tanner Roark in the bottom of the first as Alex Verdugo whiffed to start. Rafael Devers went down swinging and Xander Bogaerts took strike three to end the inning.

Naturally the Jays pounced on Godley in the top of the second although Guerrero Jr took strike three to start. Lourdes Gurriel Jr also took strike three but Travis Shaw smashed a home run all the way to North Adams to give the Jays the lead. Joe Panik walked and Danny Jansen effortlessly hit a 59,000 foot home run to ice the game. Biggio lined out to short but the game was all but over 3-0.

                                                  This was only the beginning

The Sox somehow rallied in the bottom of the second as JD Martinez whiffed to start. Kevin Plawecki doubled to center and moved to third on the Jackie Bradley Jr grounder. Shockingly Yairo Munoz blasted his first home run of the season to cut the lead. Michael Chavis doubled to center but Jose Peraza lined out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.

                                                Munoz goes yard

The Jays were personally offended the Sox scored on them so Grichuk doubled to left to start the top of the third. Tellez singled Grichuk to third and Randall scored on the Hernandez double play. Guerrero Jr whiffed to end the inning with the Jays up 4-2.

                                                      Godley is a bum

Verdugo tried to start a rally in the bottom of the third when he got a base hit to center but Devers flied out to left and Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning.

Jeffrey Springs took over for the top of the fourth and Gurriel Jr grounded out to third to start. Shaw doubled to right and moved over to third on the grounder to first by Panik. Jansen grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Martinez flied out to right to start. Plawecki grounded out to short and JBJ took strike three to end the inning.

The Jays tacked it on in the top of the fifth as Biggio singled and took second on a wild pitch. Biggio moved to third on the grounder by Grichuk and scored on the Tellez sac fly. When was the last time the Sox used small ball to score a run? Hernandez whiffed to end the inning with the Jays ahead 5-2.

                                                 Springs sucks too

The Sox tried to rally when Munoz singled to short to start the bottom of the fifth but Chavis whiffed. Peraza doubled home Munoz and Verdugo singled Jose to third. A wild pitch scored Peraza and sent Verdugo to second before Devers walked to chase Roark. Julian Merryweather came in and Bogaerts lined out to right. Martinez whiffed to end the inning with the Sox down 5-4.

                                                     Peraza doubles in a run

Once again the inept bullpen failed to keep the Jays off the scoreboard in the top of the sixth as Marcus Walden came in to allow Guerrero Jr to reach on an error by Verdugo. The floodgates opened as Gurriel Jr walked, Shaw singled to load the bases and Panik singled home Guerrero Jr to increase the lead. Somehow Jansen popped up to second and Biggio took strike three, but Grichuk singled past Bogaerts to score 2 runs. That was it for the incompetent Walden as Robert Stock came in to allow an absolute rocket by Tellez....snared by JBJ to end the inning with the Jays up 8-4.

                                               What a catch by Bradley

The Sox still tried to fight back in the bottom of the sixth as Plawecki singled to right to begin. JBJ singled him to third and Munoz doubled down the left field line to score Plawecki. Chavis signled home JBJ and moved Munoz to third to knock Merryweather out. AJ Cole came in and Peraza beat out a double play ball to score Munoz to cut the lead. Verdugo walked but Devers popped up to second. A wild pitch moved both runners over but Bogaerts popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox down 8-7.

                                       Devers hits the ground harder than he hit that ball

Somehow Stock got out of the top of the seventh as Hernandez walked and Guerrero Jr singled to right to start. Jonathan Villar ran for Guerrero but Gurriel Jr banged into a double play and Shaw whiffed to end the inning. Anthony Bass came in to close out the bottom of the seventh and Martinez grounded out to short to start. Plawecki whiffed and JBJ grounded out to third to end the game. The Jays had won it 8-7 in seven innings.

                                                       Jays win


Jackass of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. He was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and left 5 men on base in a one run game.

                                              X is a Jackass


The Good:

Alex Verdugo was 2 for 3 with a walk.

Kevin Plawecki was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

Yairo Munoz was 3 for 3 with 3 total rbis, 3 total runs scored and a 2 run home run.

Michael Chavis was 2 for 3 with an rbi.

Jose Peraza was 1 for 3 with 2 rbis and a run scored.

Robert Stock tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.



The Bad:

JD Martinez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Zack Godley took the loss by allowing 4 runs in just 3 innings.

Marcus Walden allowed 3 runs in just 2/3 of an inning.



The Ugly:

Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Jeffrey Springs allowed a run in 2 innings of work.




Final Thoughts:

At least the Sox showed some fight in this one. The bottom of the order got it done but the top of the order was asleep to say the least. The pitching was a mess but at least this game was watchable compared to most of them this season. Its too bad the Sox lost because they wasted a hell of an effort by Yairo Munoz. Its that kind of season where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. There's really no reason to bitch about the bullpen anymore because the Sox aren't trying to win or improve in any way. The worst part is there's still another game for them to lose tonight. Also more good news, there's only 21 games left in the season....yay. The loss dropped the Sox to 12-27, last place in the AL East. Tonight Chris Mazza (0-1, 7.88 ERA) goes in the nightcap against Ross Stripling at 7:30 PM at Fenway Park.