Sox Sweep Mets in 10 Innings (7/12/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Danny Coulombe was designated for assignment last night and super sleuths discovered that he would have gotten a cash bonus if he made 30 appearances.....and last night was appearance 29. Not that he didn't deserve to be DFA'd, but they couldn't have waited one more game? In his place the Sox called up Brayan Bello from Worcester. The rumor is he's going to piggyback Payton Tolle to save Tolle's bullets for later.

                                                                        OUT

                                                                       IN

As for the game, three weeks ago if the Red Sox were trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning the game was over. They hadn't won a game trailing in the ninth or by multiple runs all season. Now after the Red Sox had won 8 straight games and 13 out of 15, Sox fans thought the Sox had a chance. Turns out they were right. The New York Mets behind rookie Zach Thornton built a 2-0 lead with runs against Payton Tolle and Brayan Bello as Thornton allowed just 2 hits in 7 innings. In the ninth inning Devin Williams came in to lock it down, instead the Sox rallied to load the bases. Andruw Monasterio walked home Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran blooped a base hit to score Tsung-Che Cheng to tie it. In the tenth inning, Anthony Seigler hit a sac fly to score Masataka Yoshida to put the Sox ahead. Garrett Whitlock shut the door in the ninth inning and the Sox not only had swept the Mets, but had won their ninth straight game heading into the all-star break. The Sox had won it 3-2 in 10 innings at Citi Field.

                                                               Tom Kim approves of the win

Thornton got the ball in the top of the first inning and Anthony Seigler grounded out to short to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging and Wilyer Abreu flied out to right to end the inning. The Mets wasted no time getting to Tolle in the bottom of the first as AJ Ewing doubled over the head of Seigler to start.  A wild pitch moved Ewing to third but Juan Soto struck out swinging. Francisco Lindor doubled to left to score Ewing and a wild pitch moved Lindor to third. Eric Wagaman took strike three and Carson Benge struck out swinging to end the inning with the Mets up 1-0.

                                                               Mets struck first

Romy Gonzalez walked to start the top of the second and Caleb Durbin dropped down a bunt to move him to second. Andruw Monasterio flied out to right and Jarren Duran grounded out to short to end the inning. Tyrone Taylor walked to start the bottom of the second but Luis Torrens took strike three. Brett Baty struck out swinging and Zach Short flied out to center to end the inning.

Nate Eaton struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Connor Wong popped up to second. Seigler flied out to right to end the inning. Ewing struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third and Soto flied out to right. Lindor flied out to left to end the inning.

Rafaela flied out to right to start the top of the fourth and Abreu lined back to the mound. Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning. Wagaman grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth and Benge took strike three. Taylor doubled to left and that was it for Tolle. Sox manager Chad Tracy wanted to conserve Tolle's arm for the second half of the season and pulled him after 3 2/3 innings and allowing a run. The much maligned Brayan Bello came in and struck out Torrens swingingh to end the inning.

                                                          Short and sweet for Tolle.

Durbin lined out to center to start the top of the fifth but Monasterio doubled to left. Duran struck out swinging and Eaton grounded out to short to end the inning. Baty grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Short struck out swinging. Ewing struck out swinging to end the inning.

Wong got a base hit to left to start the top of the sixth and Seigler flied out to center. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning. The Mets struck again in the bottom of the sixth as Soto was retired on a swinging bunt to start. Lindor then hit a home run all the way to Yankee Stadium to increase the lead. Wagaman grounded out to first and Benge grounded out to second to end the inning with the Mets up 2-0.

                                                            Home run Lindor

Gonzalez grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and Durbin struck out swinging. Wagaman dropped a pop up by Monasterio in foul territory for an error allowing Andruw to walk. Duran grounded out to second to end the inning. Taylor struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh but Torrens got a base hit to right. Baty grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Luke Weaver came in for Thornton to start the top of the eighth and Short flied out to left to start. Ewing struck out swinging and Soto flied out to center to end the inning. Bello returned for one final inning in the bottom of the eighth and Short flied out to left to start. Ewing struck out swinging and Soto flied out to center to end the inning. Bello allowed just 1 run in 4 1/3 innings. If Garrett Crochet comes back, the Tolle/Bello combo might work.

                                                                Good work Bello

Devin Williams came in to close out the top of the ninth with Jared Young taking over at first. Rafaela got a base hit to left but Abreu popped up to second. The game was over when Gonzalez hit a double play ball to Lindor....booted for an error. Given new life, Tsung-Che Cheng ran for Gonzalez and Durbin walked to load the bases. Monasterio walked to score Rafaela and Duran blooped a base hit to right that Benge trapped to score Cheng with the tying run. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Eaton and hit a bullet....right to Short who doubled of Monasterio to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                               The game is tied

Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Lindor popped up to second to start. Young got a base hit to right but Benge struck out swinging. Taylor flied out to left to end the inning.

Brooks Raley came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Yoshida starting at second base. To show Alex Cora wasn't around anymore, Wong dropped down a bunt to move Yoshida to third and Seigler hit a sac fly to left to score Yoshida to put the Sox ahead. Rafaela flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.

                                                              Seigler puts Boston on top

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with Taylor starting at second base. Jorge Polanco pinch hit for Torrens and struck out swinging before Baty flied out to left. Bo Bichette pinch hit for Short and grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-2 in 10 innings.

                                                              Sox win

Hero of The Night is Jarren Duran. His RBI single tied the game in the ninth and led the team to victory.

                                                           Hero Duran

The Good:

Tsung-Che Cheng scored a run as a pinch runner.

Andruw Monasterio was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and an rbi.

Connor Wong was 1 for 3 with a crucial sacrifice bunt.

Payton Tolle went 3 2/3 innings allowing 3 hits, a walk and a run.

Brayan Bello allowed just 1 run in 4 1/3 innings of 2 hits.

Aroldis Chapman got the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Garrett Whitlock earned the save with a scoreless tenth inning.

The Bad:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 4.

Nate Eaton was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Anthony Seigler was 0 for 4 but drove in the winning run.

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored 2 runs.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 3 but walked.

Chad Durbin was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.

Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 1 at the plate but scored the winning run.

Final Thoughts:

3 weeks ago the game was over when they fell behind 2-0 but ironically the two times they rallied in the ninth was against New York teams. First the Yankees and now the Mets. Two years in a row the Sox rallied before the all-star break. Last year it was a ten game win streak, but this year not only was it a nine game win streak but they had won 5 out of 7 beforehand. The Sox have won 14 out of 16 to get back into this thing and not only are they 10 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL East lead but they're 0.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the third wild card. Apart from the Rays and Yankees the rest of the American League is clustered together. If the Sox can get Contreras back on Friday night (he's suspended Game 1) and hopefully get some of their injured guys back healthy like Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony and Triston Casas, they might have a September run in them. Just the fact the Sox went from blow everything up territory after dropping 2 of 3 to the Rockies to winning 14 of 16 is remarkable. Enjoy it while it lasts. The win improved the Sox to 46-48, 10 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now hit the all-star break and don't come back until the big doubleheader Friday the 17th. Nobody knows who's pitching until then.

Red Sox Edge White Sox For Sweep (7/9/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Ranger Suarez was put on the Injured List with a pulled groin and the Sox activated recently acquired infielder Brett Harris to take his spot. The Sox have just four games left until the all-star break so the Sox are going to limp toward the finish line so to speak. Willson Contreras also started serving his suspension so he's gone for five games.

                                                                           OUT

                                                                         IN

The bad news was without Willson Contreras the Red Sox offense reverted to April/May form scoring just 2 measly runs off 4 hits leaving 5 men on base. The good news was the returning Patrick Sandoval and the Boston bullpen held the Chicago White Sox to one lone run. Caleb Durbin hit a 2 run shot off Chicago starter Anthony Kay and Sandoval was superb through four innings. The White Sox rallied for a run off Sandoval but Tyron Guerrero (1-1, 2.45 ERA) snuffed it out in the fifth. Four relief pitchers shut the door with Aroldis Chapman locking it down in the ninth inning. The Red Sox swept the White Sox out of Chicago with a 2-1 win at Comiskey Park.

                                                     Jada Stevens approves of the win 

Kay got the ball in the top of the first inning and Anthony Seigler struck out swinging to start. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to short but Wilyer Abreu got a base hit to center. Romy Gonzalez took strike three to end the inning. Sandoval made his Sox debut in the bottom of the first and Chase Meidroth popped up to short to start. Randal Grichuk popped up to first and Miguel Vargas took strike three to end the inning. 

Caleb Durbin lined out to right to start the top of the second and Andruw Monasterio took strike three. Nate Eaton struck out swinging to end the inning. Colson Montgomery singled to right to start the bottom of the second but Junior Perez struck out swining. Sam Antonacci struck out swinging but Braden Montgomery singled to center. Luisangel Acuna grounded out to third to end the inning. 

Brett Harris made his Sox debut by getting hit with a pitch to start the top of the third. Connor Wong beat out a roller to first and Seigler dropped down a bunt to advance the runners. Unfortunately Rafaela grounded out to short and Abreu lined out to left to end the inning. Drew Romo popped up to second to start the bottom of the third but Meidroth got a base hit to left. Grichuk struck out swinging and Vargas flied out to center to end the inning. 

The BoSox struck first in the top of the fourth as Gonzalez walked to start. Durbin then launched his 9th home run of the season to put Boston ahead. Monasterio grounded out to short but Eaton walked. Harris grounded into a double play to end the inning with the BoSox ahead 2-0.

                                                             Durbin goes yard

Colson Montgomery got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the fourth but Perez went down hacking. Antonacci flied out to center and Braden Montgomery flied out to right to end the inning. 

Wong grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth and Seigler popped up to short. Rafaela grounded out to second to end the inning. Acuna got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the fifth but Romo popped up the bunt to first. A wild pitch moved Acuna to second and he stole third. Meidroth walked and that was it for Sandoval after just 65 pitches. Ge would be charged with a run in 4 1/3 innings off 5 hits and a walk. Tyron Guerrero came in amd Andrew Benintendi pinch hit for Grichuk. Benintendi beat out a swinging bunt to score Acuna but Vargas flied out to center. Colson Montgomery popped up to third to end the inning with the ChiSox down 2-1.

                                                           Welcome back Sandoval

Abreu grounded out to third to start the top of the sixth but Gonzalez got a base hit to center. That was it for Kay as Jordan Hicks came in to pitch to Durbin. Caleb lined out to left and Monasterio did the same to end the inning. Tristan Peters pinch hit for Perez to start the bottom of the sixth and naturally got a base hit to right. Antonacci flied out to center and Braden Montgomery forced Peters at second. Jacob Gonzalez pinch hit for Acuna and struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jarren Duran pinch hit for Eaton to start the top of the seventh and naturally struck out swinging. Harris grounded out to second and Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Kyle Teel pinch hit for Romo. Teel took strike three and Meidroth did the same. Benintendi flied out to right to end the inning.

Grant Taylor came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Seigler walked to start. Rafaela forced Seigler at second and Abreu lined out to right. Gonzalez forced Rafaela at second to end the inning. Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Duran made a great sliding catch to rob Vargas of a double. Colson Montgomery grounded out to second and Peters took strike three to end the inning. 

Tyler Davis came in to pitch the top of the ninth ans Durbin popped up to short to start. Monasterio flied out to left but Duran walked. Duran was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Antonacci grounded out to second to start. Rafaela made a great diving catch to rob Braden Montgomery of a double and Gonzalez flied out to left to end the game. The BoSox had won it 2-1.

                                                              Red Sox win

Hero of The Night is Caleb Durbin. His 2 run home run was the difference in the game.

                                                                 Hero Durbin

The Good:

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Nate Eaton walked in 2 plate appearances.

Jarren Duran walked in 2 plate appearances.

Connor Wong was 1 for 3.

Patrick Sandoval allowed just 1 run in 4 1/3 innings off 5 hits and a walk.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless seventh inning. 

Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

The Bad:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4.

Andruw Monasterio was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Anthony Seigler was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4.

Brett Harris was 0 for 2 but was hit with a pitch.

Tyron Guerrero allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1 2/3 innings.

Final Thoughts:

The offense was stagnant but the pitching held the fort. The Sox are going to struggle the next four games with Contreras out but for now, things worked out in their favor. Sandoval was handled with kid gloves but still was only charged with one run. The three headed monster of Slaten, Whitlock and Chapman harken back to the days of Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton and Ramiro Mendoza of the old New York Yankees. If the Sox can get to those three with the lead, the game is as good as over. Hopefully next time Sandoval can last longer. They're going to need him with 3/5 of the opening day rotation out. Hopefully the offense will be a bit better in the final three games before the break. The New York Yankees beat the the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays were off, so the Sox are technically tied with Toronto for third place. Its a small victory, but better than the alternative. The win improved the Sox to 43-48, 11 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox now travel to New York for a three game set against the struggling Mets. Sonny Gray (10-1, 2.61 ERA) takes on Nolan McLean of the Mets. The game begins at 7:15 at Citi Field.

Sox Hang On To Beat Angels (7/3/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox officially released Tommy Kahnle. He had nothing left and its unlikely he gets picked up by anyone after his performance in Boston....unless its for a team just desperate for bodies.

                                                                 Bye bye Kahnle

With Willson Contreras getting suspended for 7 games and Nate Eaton 3, the Boston Sox are going to need all the wins they can get until then. Tonight Jake Bennett (3-3, 3.10 ERA) pitched 7 shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angel before tiring in the eighth inning. The Sox struck first with a Jarren Duran sac fly in the top of the second against Reid Detmers before Romy Gonzalez hit a 2 run single in the third. An error led to the fourth run scoring and Caleb Durbin smashed his eighth home run of the season to give the Sox a cushion. Bennett ran out of gas by allowing 2 runs in the eighth inning but Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door on the Angels. Chapman became the all-time leader in relief pitcher strikeouts in the process as the Sox beat the Angels 5-2 at Angel Stadium.

                                                          Lux Gray approves of the win

Detmers got the ball in the top of the first inning and Nate Eaton struck out swinging to start. Ceddanne Rafaela got a base hit to right and immediately stole second. Wilyer Abreu flied out to center but Willson Contreras walked. Caleb Durbin flied out to left to end the inning. Bennett got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Zach Neto grounded back to the mound to start. Nolan Schanuel grounded out to second and Denzer Guzman struck out swinging to end the inning,

The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Romy Gonzalez should have had an inside the park home run to right but ran out of gas running the bases, settling for a triple. Jarren Duran hit a sac fly to left to score Romy but Andruw Monasterio grounded out to second. Carlos Narvaez got a base hit to center but Eaton struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                         Romy needs some more cardio

Jorge Soler grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second and old pal Vaughn Grissom struck out swinging. Jo Adell lined out to first to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Rafaela grounded out to short to start. Abreu doubled to right and had to hold to see if Contreras' fly ball to right dropped before taking third on the single. Durbin walked to load the bases and Gonzalez ripped a base hit to right to score Abreu and Contreras. Duran dropped down a bunt and Schanuel botched the throw for an error to score Durbin. While Monasterio was batting, he hit a foul ball that knocked Logan O'Hoppe goofy behind the plate. Old friend Tyler Heineman replaced him and Monasterio popped up to first. Narvaez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0.

                                                    Welcome back Gonzalez

Jose Siri grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third and Josh Lowe lined out to third. Heineman struck out swinging to end the inning.

Eaton took strike three to start the top of the fourth and Rafaela popped up to first. Abreu walked and took second on a wild pitch, but Contreras flied out to left to end the inning. Neto flied out to right to start the bottom of the fourth and Schanuel grounded out to first. Guzman flied out to left to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth as Durbin smashed his eighth home run of the year to increase the lead. Gonzalez struck out swinging, Duran went down hacking and Monasterio flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.

                                                     Another home run for Durbin

Soler flied out to left to start the bottom of the fifth but of all people, Grissom broke up the perfect game with a base hit to right. Adell flied out to center and Siri forced Grissom at second to end the inning.

Jose Fermin came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Narvaez struck out swinging to start. Eaton popped up to first but Rafaela got a base hit to right. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. Lowe grounded out to second to start the bottom of the sixth and Heineman flied out to center.

Mitch Farris came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Contreras grounded out to short to start. Durbin lined out to left but Gonzalez got a base hit to center. Duran flied out to left to end the inning. Guzman struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh and Soler flied out to right. Grissom struck out swinging to end the inning.

Monasterio singled to center to start the top of the eighth but Narvaez struck out swinging. Monasterio got doubled off first on a liner to short by Eaton to end the inning. Bennett ran out of gas in the bottom of the eighth as Adell grounded out to third to start. Siri hit a home run all the way to San Jose and Lowe beat out a roller to first. Heineman popped up a bunt to Contreras but a wild pitch moved Lowe to second. Neto got a base hit to right to score Lowe and that was it for Bennett. He ran out of gas but tossed 7 2/3 innings allowing 2 runs off 5 hits. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock got Schanuel to ground out to second to end the inning with the Angels down 5-2.

                                                           Good work Jake

Kirby Yates came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Rafaela struck out swinging to start. Abreu went down hacking and Contreras was thrown out at third trying to stretch a triple to left to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and Guzman struck out swinging to put Chapman as the all-time relief leader in strikeouts. Soler got a base hit to left and Grissom singled to center to bring the tying run to the plate, but Adell grounded into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.

                                                                        Sox win

Hero of the Night is Jake Bennett. He tossed 7 2/3 innings allowing just 2 runs off 5 hits while striking out 6

                                                                Hero Bennett

The Good:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 5 with a stolen base.

Willson Contreras was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Caleb Durbin was 1 for 3 with a walk, a home run and 2 total runs scored.

Romy Gonzalez was 3 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.

Garrett Whitlock got the final out of the eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 17th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Nate Eaton was 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

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

Jarren Duran was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs.

Andruw Monasterio was just 1 for 4.

Carlos Narvaez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox needed a win to get some momentum back after the disaster against the Washington Nationals. This is the Romy Gonzalez the Sox were hoping they'd be getting back who missed the first half with injury and this is also the Caleb Durbin the Sox were hoping for when they traded for him. Still, there's a concerning black cloud hanging over the Sox and that's the fact they're relying on three rookies to carry them. Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and Bennett are doing very well but its coming at a price. They're getting tired after 80 pitches and Early already has elbow damage. If Garrett Crochet was healthy and Brayan Bello was mentally all there, they wouldn't have to push the kids so hard. Still, the difference in a win and a loss is clutch hits and tonight Gonzalez hit a 2 run single with the bases loaded. That's the kind of hit they weren't getting for the first two months of the season. Kudos to Aroldis Chapman for becoming a surefire MLB hall of famer with 384 saves and 1,364 strikeouts. Its too bad Sox fans are screaming to trade Sonny Gray, Chapman and Contreras every day despite the fact the Sox picked it up a bit. Whether or not they do trade them, the bottom line is the Sox have won 6 out of their last eight games. The problem is Contreras and Eaton still have to serve their suspensions, god help us. The win improved the Sox to 38-48, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Angels tomorrow night when Sonny Gray (9-1, 2.69 ERA) goes for Boston against Sam Aldegheri of Los Angeles. The game begins at 9:30 PM at Angel Stadium.

Nationals Crush Tolle, Sox (7/1/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Connelly Early was placed on the Injured List with an elbow injury which almost certainly means Tommy John surgery. Also, no surprise here but Tommy Kahnle was designated for assignment. He was batting practice with Boston, better off giving one of the Worcester relievers. The Sox replaced them by activating Jovani Moran off the Injured List and calling up Alec Gamboa from Worcester. Finally the Sox made a minor league trade, sending 2024 20th round pick pitcher Ben Hansen to the Oakland A's for 28 year old utility infielder Brett Harris. The Sox are trying everyone and everything at short besides Mikey Romero and Kristian Campbell and the next man up is Harris. He was hitting .331 with 5 home runs for the Los Vegas Aviators and does have 73 games of major league experience although he hit only .193. That's on par with what Trevor Story and Tsung-Che Cheng was giving Boston.

                                                                       OUT

                                                                    IN

As for the game, looks like the wrong team got fired up. One day after the Washington Nationals scored 8 unanswered runs after a bench clearing fight between Jose Contreras and Nate Eaton with Cade Cavalli and Miles Mikolas, they kept up the attack by pounding out 10 runs and 13 hits against Payton Tolle (4-6, 3.39 ERA) and the Red Sox bullpen. The Nationals got a two run Andres Chaparro home run before most fans were in their seats and rallied for five runs in the top of the third to ice it early. Meanwhile the Angels bullpen led by Brad Lord allowed just 2 runs to the once again silent Boston bats. The Sox bullpen allowed four runs in the final six innings as the Nationals made this one a laugher 10-2 at Fenway Park.

                                           Outscored 18-3 by the Nationals in two games?

The Nationals jumped on Tolle right off the bat in the top of the first as James Wood struck out swinging to start. Curtis Mead tripled into the right field corner and Andres Chaparro hit his first home run of the season into the Charles River to put the Nationals on top. Dylan Crews walked but Daylen Lile line out to right. Jacob Young doubled to center and Jorbit Vivas grounded out to second to end the inning with the Nationals up 2-0.

                                                            Home run Chaparro

The Sox failed to respond against Lord in the bottom of the first as Anthony Seigler grounded out to second to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging but Wilyer Abreu singled past the mound. Willson Contreras walked but Romy Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning.

Nasim Nunez struck out swinging to start the top of the second and Drew Millas took strike three. Wood singled in the hole at third and Mead lined out to third to end the inning. Caleb Durbin grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second and Nate Eaton grounded out to third. Andruw Monasterio grounded out to third to end the inning.

Chaparro struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Crews got a base hit to left. Monasterio failed to throw out Crews at second on a grounder to short by Lile but Young struck out swinging. Vivas grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the third as Connor Wong blooped a base hit over the head of Vivas to start. Seigler walked but Rafaela flied out to right to move Wong to third. It looked like Abreu beat out a double play ball to score Wong but the Nationals challenged Abreu was out. Sure enough, Abreu was out to end the inning.

The Nationals knocked out Tolle in the top of the fourth as Nunez hit his first home run of the season into the Atlantic Ocean to start. Millas got a base hit to left, Wood walked and Mead walked to load the bases. That was it for Tolle who'd be charged with 6 runs in just 3 plus innings. Yikes. Ryan Watson came in to pour gas on the fire as Luis Garcia Jr pinch hit for Chaparro. Garcia got a base hit to left to score Millas and Wood, then Crews singled in the hole at third to reload the bases. Lile grounded into a double play to score Mead and Young doubled to left to score Garcia. Vivas grounded out to second to end the inning with the Nationals up by a touchdown 7-0.

                                                         Tolle got hammered

Contreras grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth and Gonzalez struck out swinging. Durbin grounded out to short to end the inning.

Nunez walked to start the top of the fifth but Millas walked. Wood grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the fifth as Eaton was hit with a pitch to start. Monasterio doubled to right but Eaton was thrown out at home on a grounder to the mound by Wong. Seigler struck out swinging and Rafaela walked to load the bases. With a chance to get back in the game...Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jovani Moran came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Mead flied out to left to start. Garcia Jr grounded out to first and Crews walked. Crews stole second and Lile struck out swinging to end the inning. Contreras got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the sixth but Gonzalez struck out swinging. Durbin forced Conteras at second but Eaton struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Nationals struck again in the top of the seventh as Young walked to start. Vivas was rung up for strike three and Nunez struck out swinging. Sox manager Chat Tracy wanted Alec Gamboa to face Millas. Millas walked and Wood clobbered a home run all the way to Brazil to increase the lead. Mead grounded out to first to end the inning with the Nationals ahead 10-0.

                                                     What a massacre

Monasterio grounded out to short to start the bottom of the seventh and Wong struck out swinging. Seigler flied out to center to end the inning.

Garcia Jr grounded out to short to start the top of the eighth and Crews struck out swinging. Lile doubled to center but Young walked. Vivas grounded out to second to end the inning. Riley Cornelio came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and the Sox finally woke up. Rafaela got a base hit to left but Abreu struck out swinging. Contreras got a base hit to center and Gonzalez got a base hit to right to load the bases. Durbin walked to score Rafaela and Eaton beat out a double play ball to score Contreras. Monasterio took strike three to end the inning with the Sox down 10-2.

                                                             Eaton drives in a run

Nunez walked to start the top of the ninth but Millas flied out to left. Wood walked and MEad singled to left, but Nunez was thrown out at home by Eaton. Garcia grounded out to second to end the inning. Carson Palmquist came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Wong got a base hit in the hole at third to start. Seigler flied out to center but Rafaela doubled to center. Abreu struck out swinging and Contreras popped up to second to end the game. The Nationals had won 10-2.

                                                               Nationals win

Jackass of The Night is Payton Tolle. He was charged with 7 runs in just 3 plus innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

                                                      "Get out of here, Jackass" - Tracy

The Good:

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Willson Contreras was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.

Connor Wong was 2 for 4.

The Bad:

Ryan Watson allowed a run and 3 inherited runners to score in two innings.

Jovani Moran was charged with a run in 1 2/3 innings.

Alec Gamboa allowed 2 runs and an inherited runner to score in 2 1/3 innings.

The Ugly:

Anthony Seigler was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Romy Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Caleb Durbin was 0 for 3 but walked and drove in a run.

Nate Eaton was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch and drove in a run.

Andruw Monasterio was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Final Thoughts:

What a complete disaster the past two days have been. After riding high on a five game winning streak, the Sox lose two in a row, it was announced Willson Contreras and Nate Eaton have been suspended and Connelly Early got hurt. Its amazing how fans went from "they might have a chance" to "sell the team" again. Fans need to realize the Sox had a historically bad offense for the first two months and only slightly improved it. If the rookies Jake Bennett, Tolle and Early hit a rookie wall, this year's over. Garrett Crochet isn't coming back and who knows what the mental state of Brayan Bello is. Sox might have to make a move at the trade deadline just to field a competitive team. This game also showed the black hole in middle relief pitching with Chris Murphy & Brenan Bernardino gone and Johan Oviedo out. Moran, Watson and Gamboa turned a 3-0 game into 10-0 and THAT can't happen. The Sox did manage to scratch out two runs and if the game was 3-2 going into the ninth, you never know what can happen. The Sox have nine games left before the All-Star break and as unfair as it sounds, they might have to win all nine to have any short of hope for the second half of the season. The loss dropped the Sox to 37-48, good for last place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox are back on the road for the rest of the first half. On Friday night the Sox are in Anaheim to play the Los Angeles Angels in a three game set. Jake Bennett (2-3) takes on Reid Detmers of the Angels at 9:30 PM eastern time this Friday night at Angel Stadium.

Red Sox Walkoff Yankees in Ten Innings (6/28/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Mickey Gasper was sent down to Worcester to make room for the returning Romy Gonzalez. Gasper wasnt doing well the last few weeks and Cheng is your starting shortstop by default. Hopefully Gonzalez can get back to 2024-25 form.

                                                                     OUT

                                                                     IN

As for the game, the bad news was bad defense ruined an outstanding start by Sonny Gray where he tossed 7 1/3 hitless innings against the New York Yankees. A two run single by Caleb Durbin against Carlos Rodon should have been all the run support needed. It wasn't. Aroldis Chapman came in to protect the lead and thanks to a Wilyer Abreu throwing error, the Yankees tied the game in the top of the ninth. Thanks to another throwing error by Abreu, Justin Slaten (1-4, 5.89 ERA) looked to have allowed the winning runs to score in the tenth. Suddenly the Sox rallied against Fernando Cruz in the bottom of the tenth. Anthony Seigler drove in Durbin, Tsung-Che Cheng drove in pinch runner Andruw Monasterio and Jarren Duran drove in Masataka Yoshida to shock the Yankees. The Sox were 0-42 when trailing after 8 innings and hadn't won four games all year. Well now the Sox are 1-42 and they swept the Yankees 5-4 in 10 innings at Fenway Park.

                                                                  How sweep it is

Gray got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jazz Chisholm Jr struck out swinging to start. Ben Rice flied out to left and Jasson Dominguez lined out to second to end the inning. Rodon got the ball in the bottom of the first and Nate Eaton grounded out to third to start. Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to right but Wilyer Abreu walked. Willson Contreras struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Cody Bellinger flied out to right to start the top of the second and Spencer Jones struck out swinging. Amed Rosario lined out to right to end the inning. Romy Gonzalez made his return to the lineup and grounded out to first to start the bottom of the second. Caleb Durbin struck out swinging and Anthony Seigler lined out to center to end the inning.

Oswaldo Cabrera struck out swinging to start the top of the third and Austin Wells flied out to right. Jose Caballero grounded out to third to end the inning. Connor Wong struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the third and Tsung-Che Cheng took strike three. Eaton struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Chisholm Jr flied out to center to start the top of the fourth and Rice flied out to right. Dominguez took strike three to end the inning. Rafaela flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth but Abreu walked. Cabrera booted a grounder by Contreras and both runners moved over on a grounder to the mound by Gonzalez. Durbin ripped a base hit to center to score both runners to put the Sox on top. Durbin stole second and then stole third when Seigler walked. Wong walked to load the bases but naturally Cheng struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                               Sox strike first

Bellinger lined out to right to start the top of the fifth and Jones struck out swinging. Rosario walked but Cabrera grounded out to third to end the inning. Eaton grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fifth and Rafaela lined out to center. Abreu flied out to left to end the inning. 

Wells flied out to center to start the top of the sixth and Caballero grounded out to third. Chisholm Jr struck out swinging to end the inning and Gray was hitless through six. Chisholm Jr was thrown out of the game by first base umpire Tim Tichenor.

                                                       "What you lookin at?" JC

Anthony Volpe took Chishom's place with Pete Blackburn on the mound for the bottom of the sixth. Contreras took strike three and Gonzalez grounded out to second. Durbin popped up to first to end the inning.

Rice grounded out to second to start the top of the seventh and Dominguez took strike three. Bellinger struck out swinging to end the inning. Seigler grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh but Wong got a base hit to right. Cheng grounded into a double play to end the inning. 

Jones struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth but Rosario broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to center. That was it for Gray who tossed 7 1/3 innings of 1 hit ball, getting a standing ovation. Tyrone Guerrero came in and Cabrera forced Rosario at second. Wells lined out to center to end the inning. 

                                                            Great work Gray

David Bednar came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Jarren Duran pinch hit for Eaton. Duran took strike three right down the middle and Rafaela grounded out to short. Abreu flied out to right to end the inning. 

Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the sweep in the top of the ninth and naturally Caballero got a base hit to left. Caballero stole second and Volpe walked on 4 pitches not even close. Rice hit a routine fly to right but Abreu inexplicably fired the ball into the bullpen for an error to score Caballero and move Volpe to third. Goldschmidt hot a grounder to short and Cheng fired home....safe, the game was tied. Bellinger took strike three and Max Schuemann pinch hit for Jones. Schuemann struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                          Yankees tie it

Goldschmidt was out of the game and Bednar would now hit in his spot as he came back for the bottom of the ninth. Contreras hit a routine pop up...DROPPED BY CABALLERO for a "single". Naturally Gonzalez grounded into a double play. Durbin was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to end the inning.

Justin Slaten came in to pitch the top of the tenth with Schuemann on the mound and Rosario got a base hit to right...booted for an error by Abreu to allow Schuemann to score. Cabrera dropped down a bunt to move Rosario to third and Wells hit a routine grounder to Slaten.....who just held the ball to score Rosario to ice the game. Wells stole second but Caballero struck out swinging. Volpe grounded out to short to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 4-2.

                                                                    Not his night

Fernando Cruz came in to close out the bottom of the tenth with Durbin starting at second base. Seigler got a base hit to right to score Durbin and Andruw Monasterio pinch ran for him. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Wong and doubled to right. Cheng hit a sac fly to right to score Monasterio and move Yoshida to third. The much maligned Duran dumped a base hit to right to score Yoshida with the winning run. The Sox were 0-42 when trailing after 8 innings...until now. The Sox had walked it off 5-4.

                                                                      Red Sox win

Hero of The Night is Jarren Duran. He came off the bench to deliver the knockout blow

                                                                  Hero Duran

The Good:

Sonny Gray tossed 7 1/3 shoutout innings allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out 9.

Tyron Guerrero got the final two outs of the eighth inning.

Anthony Seigler was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi

Andruw Monasterio scored a run as a pinch runner.

Connor Wong was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Masataka Yoshida doubled and scored a run as a pinch hitter.

The Bad:

Nate Eaton was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4.

Aroldis Chapman allowed the tying runs to score in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 2 with 2 big errors but walked twice and scored a run.

Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in 2 runs, stole 2 bases and scored a run.

Tsung-Che Cheng was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.

Justin Slaten got the win but allowed 2 unearned runs in the 10th inning.

Final Thoughts:

Not too many games have been "must win" this season but this was definitely one of them. After taking the first three games of the series, the Sox desperately needed a win tonight. Sonny Gray went from 5 outs away from a no-hitter to a no-decision thanks to Aroldis Chapman and Wilyer Abreu. Then the Sox appeared headed for a loss after Abreu and Justin Slaten. Thankfully the Sox role players picked up the slack in the 10th inning. Seigler knocking in a run and Yoshida's double paved the way to victory. This was the first win all the season after the Sox trailed after 8 and also the first four game winning streak of the season. Now with both stigmas out of the way, maybe the Sox can ride this momentum all the way to the All-Star break. That's exactly what happened last year. The sad part is the Sox are still within striking distance of the third wild card this far into the season. As long as they fix the offense, they have a chance. Getting Gonzalez back might help short term but getting Trevor Story back might help long term. Either way a long win streak might give the fans hope again. The win improved the Sox to 36-46, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox now welcome in the Washington Nationals for a three game set beginning tomorrow night. The Sox look to win their fifth straight game when Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.83 ERA) takes on Miles Mikolas of Washington. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.