Sox Snap Streak, Crush Cardinals (5/19/24)

After the Boston Red Sox dropped four straight games, they were due to bust out. Tonight was that night as they laid waste to the bungholes of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Sox bats pounded out 14 hits and 11 runs with almost everyone in the lineup getting a hit or driving in a run. Meanwhile Nick Pivetta (2-2, 3.04 ERA) looks to be healed from his injury as he held the Cardinals to just 1 run in six solid innings. Greg Weissert got tagged for a couple of runs bit it wasn't nearly enough ad the Sox broke their 4 game losing streak with an 11-3 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

                                                Xander Schauffele approves of the win

The Sox wasted no time getting to St. Louis starter Matthew Liberatore in the top of the first inning as Jarren Duran struck out swinging to start. Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging but Tyler O'Neill FINALLY belted his 11th home run of the season to put Boston ahead. Rafael Devers popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0. 

                                                            O'Neill jacks one out

Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Matt Carpenter struck out swinging. Lars Nootbaar popped up to short and Paul Goldschmidt struck out swinging to end the inning. 

The Sox struck again in the top of the second as Connor Wong walked to start. Connor took second on a passed ball and scored on the Garrett Cooper double to left. Cooper moved to third on the Romy Gonzalez line out to right but Vaughn Grissom grounded out to short. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.

                                                     Cooper drives in a run

Nolan Arenado grounded out to short to start the bottom of the second and so did Alec Burleson. Brendan Donovan struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Liberatore snuffed out Duran's bunt attempt to open the top of the third and Refsnyder singled in the hole at short. O'Neill got a base hit to left but Devers went down hacking. Wong flied out to center to end the inning. Brandon Crawford flied out to left to start the bottom of the third and Pedro Pages struck out swinging. Michael Siani struck out swinging to end the inning. 

The Sox struck again in the top of the fourth as Cooper singled down the third base line to start. Gonzalez doubled to left to score Cooper and chase Liberatore. Chris Roycroft came in and Grissom lined out to right to move Gonzalez to third. Rafaela hit a grounder to the mound to force Gonzalez out at home then took off for second. Pages threw the ball away and Ceddanne took third on the error. Arenado misjudged a pop-up by Duran amd it turned into an rbi triple. Siani made a great catch to rob Refsnyder of a hit to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.

                                                        "I got it, I got it....I don't got it"

The Cards struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Carpenter flied out to center to start. Nootbaar hit a home run all the way to Cuba then Goldschmidt lined out to left. Arenado popped up to short to end the inning with the Cardinals down 4-1.

                                                            Cards get on the board

The Sox iced the game in the top of the fifth as O'Neill and Devers drew back to back walks to start. Wong got a base hit down to third to load the bases and Wilyer Abreu pinch hit for Cooper. Abreu beat out a roller to first to score O'Neill and Dominic Smith pinch hit for Gonzalez. Smith got a base hit to left to score Devers and Wong, chasing Roycroft. Ryan Fernandez came in to pitch and Grissom grounded into a double play. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-1.

                                                              Smith ices it

Burleson struck out swinging to open the bottom of the fifth and Donovan lined out to center. Crawford grounded out to second to end the inning. 

Duran struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth and Refsnyder also went down hacking. O'Neill walked and Devers tied a Sox record with his 5th consecutive home run. Wong struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-1.

                                                "Tied with YOU, Canseco!" - Devers

Pivetta returned for one final inning in the bottom of the sixth as Pages took strike three to start. Siani struck out swinging and Carpenter popped up to short to end the inning. Rather than keep going in a now meaningless game, Cora yanked Pivetta after allowing just one hit in 6 innings, he was outstanding. 

                                                                 6 innings, 1 hit

Old pal Nick Robertson came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Abreu flied out to center to start. Smith flied out to center and Grissom lined out to third to end the inning. Greg Weissert came in to get tagged in the bottom of the seventh as Nootbaar grounded out to third to start. Goldschmidt doubled to center and Arenado singled to short before Burleson dumped a base hit to center to load the bases. Donovan got a base hit to left to score Goldschmidt but Crawford struck out swinging. A wild pitch scored Arenado but Pages struck out swinging to end the inning with the Cards down 9-3.

                                                           Donovan drives in a run

Rafaela struck out swinging to start the top of the eighth before Duran went down hacking. Refsnyder also struck out swinging to end the inning. Cam Booser came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Dylan Carlson pinch hitting for Siani. Carlson got a base hit to center and Ivan Herrera pinch hit for Carpenter. Herrera and Nootbaar both struck out swinging and Goldschmidt grounded out to short to end the inning.

The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the top of the ninth as O'Neill popped up to short to start. David Hamilton pinch hit for Devers and clobbered his second home run of the season to increase the lead. Wong got a base hit to right, Abreu doubled to center and Connor scored on the Smith grounder to first. Grissom grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 11-3.

                                                          Hamilton hits one out

Chris Martin came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Nolan Gorman pinch hit for Arenado. Gorman struck out swinging, Burleson went down hacking and Donovan completed the trifecta with a swinging strikeout to end the game. The Sox had won it 11-3.

                                                               Sox win

Hero of The Night is Nick Pivetta. He allowed just the one run off one hit in 6 innings while striking out 8.

                                                              Hero Pivetta

The Good:

Tyler O'Neill was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, a home run and 3 runs scored.

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

David Hamilton hit a pinch hit home run.

Connor Wong was 2 for 4 with a walk and 3 runs scored.

Garrett Cooper was 2 for 2 with an rbi and a run scored.

Wilyer Abreu was 2 for 3 with an rbi.

Romy Gonzalez was 1 for 2 with an rbi.

Dominic Smith was 1 for 3 with 3 total rbis.

Cam Booser pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Chris Martin tossed a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Vaughn Grissom was 0 for 5.

Greg Weissert allowed 2 runs in the seventh inning.

The Ugly:

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in a run.

Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but stole a base and stole a run.

Final Thoughts:

Its about time the offense broke out and it came at a good time too. The Sox were losing ground in the AL East and in danger of basically being out of it before the season really starts. The performance by Pivetta was a low key reminder of when Rick Porcello one hit the Yankees back in 2018 only it was just for six innings. Still, he had an arm problem earlier this year so it makes sense not to send him out for the seventh with the game well in hand. The only blemishes on the game were Weissert allowing two runs and the continued incompetence of Vaughn Grissom. Cora has already said that he's not fully recovered from whatever plagued him in April so why don't they just bench him until he feels better? Hamilton has come on strong the last few games, why not give him a start? Still, the Sox snapped their four game losing streak and now head to Tampa for another battle with the Rays. The win improved the Sox to 23-24, 9.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox play the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa tomorrow night with Tanner Houck (3-5) taking on Taj Bradley. The game begins at 6:50 PM at Tropicana Field.

Cards Explode Late, Beat Sox (5/18/24)

Guess the Boston Red Sox are who we thought they were. Their offense has been bad all season long and tonight was no different, but the bullpen for the second straight game got bashed by the St. Louis Cardinals. Kutter Crawford and Miles Mikolas battled to a 1-1 tie when both bullpen gave up a run to put the game at 2-2 going into the bottom of the eighth. Justin Slaten (2-2, 3.38 ERA) got rocked for 5 runs in the bottom of the eighth with the Sox making yet another error. Kyle Leahy slammed the door in the top of the ninth amd the Sox fell another game under .500 in a 7-2 defeat by the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

                                            "Haha you suck" - James Busch Orthwein

Mikolas got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran flied out to left to start. Wilyer Abreu walked, stole second and took third when Nolan Gorman booted a grounder by Connor Wong. Naturally Rafael Devers struck out swinging and Tyler O'Neill forced Wong at second to end the inning. Crawford got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Brendan Donovan grounded out to short to start. Lars Nootbaar grounded out to short but Paul Goldschmidt singled to left. Nolan Arenado walked but Ceddanne Rafaela made a good diving catch to rob Alec Burleson of a hit to end the inning. 

Dominic Smith struck out swinging to open the top of the second before Vaughn Grissom grounded out to third. David Hamilton flied out to center to end the inning. The Cards struck first in the bottom of the second as Ivan Herrera lined out to right to begin. Nolan Gorman then hit a home run all the way to Kentucky to put the Cards on top. Maysn Winn flied out to left but Michael Siani singled to right. Donovan flied out to left to end the inning with the Cardinals ahead 1-0.

                                                              Cards strike first

Rafaela flied out to center to begin the top of the third and Duran went down hacking. Abreu flied out to right to end the inning. Nootbaar got a base hit in the hole at short to begin the bottom of the third but Goldschmidt took strike three. Arenado popped up to second and Burleson lined out to right to end the inning. 

The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth as Wong flied out to right to start, but Devers bashed his eighth home run of the season to tie the game. O'Neill grounded out to short and Smith watched strike three go by to end the inning with the game tied 1-1. 

                                                          Devers ties it up

Herrera grounded out to third to open the bottom of the fourth and Gorman froze for strike three. Winn flied out to left to end the inning. 

Grissom grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth but Hamilton doubled to center. Rafaela flied out to center to move Hamilton to third but Duran popped up to third to end the inning. Siani walked to start the bottom of the fifth but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Donovan grounded out to third and Nootbaar struck out swinging to end the inning. 

John King came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Abreu grounded out to first to start. Wong grounded out first and Devers grounded out to short to end the inning. Goldschmidt struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth but Arenado singled to center. Burleson caught Devers asleep with a bunt single but Herrera struck out swinging. Rather than let Crawford go over 100 pitches, Sox manager Alex Cora yanked him after 5 2/3 innings where he allowed 1 run off 6 hits and 2 walks. Brennan Bernardino came in and Arenado got picked off by Wong to end the inning. 

                                                   "Run support would be nice" - Crawford

Andrew Kittredge came in to pitch the top of the seventh and O'Neill struck out swinging to start. Smith and Grissom both struck out swinging to end the inning. The Cards took command in the bottom of the seventh although Gorman struck out swinging to start. Winn singled to center and Dylan Carson pinch hit for Siani. Carlson singled to right and Bernardino had him picked off...if he didn't throw the ball away for an error. Donovan walked to load the bases and Winn scored on the grounder to first by Nootbaar. Cora got rid of Bernardino and Justin Slaten came in to get Goldschmidt to ground out to short to end the inning with the Cardinals up 2-1.

                                                      Cards get the lead back

The Sox fought back in the top of the eighth with JoJo Romero oh the mound. Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Hamilton and lashed a base hit to left.....but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Sox manager Alex Cora challenged that he was safe but the umpires upheld the call. Rafaela grounded out to short but Duran got a base hit to left. Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Abreu and doubled to center to score Duran. Wong flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 2-2. 

                                                        Refsnyder ties it up

Everything fell apart in the bottom of the eighth as Arenado got a base hit to left to start. Burleson got a base hit to right and Herrera lashed a single to left to score Arenado. Gorman singled to right to score Burleson and Winn hit a sac fly to right to score Herrera. Carlson took strike three but Donovan best out a roller to short to chase the incompetent Slaten. Zack Kelly came in and immediately Nootbaar got a base hit to right....under the glove of Refsnyder. Gorman and Donovan scored on the error but Goldschmidt flied out to center to end the inning with the Cardinals up 7-2.

                                                            What a disaster

Kyle Leahy came in to close out the top of the ninth and Devers flied out to center to start. O'Neill got a base hit to center but Smith grounded into a double play to end the game. The Cardinals had won it 7-2.

                                                                Cardinals win

Jackass of The Night is Justin Slaten. He got nailed for 5 runs in the seventh inning to take the loss.

                                                            Jackass Justin

The Good:

David Hamilton was 1 for 2.

Kutter Crawford allowed just 1 run in 5 2/3 innings off 6 hits and 2 walks. He also struck out 5.

The Bad:

Connor Wong was 0 for 4.

Dominic Smith was 0 for 4 with hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Vaughn Grissom was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3.

Brennan Bernardino allowed a run and committed an error in 1 inning of work.

The Ugly:

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 2 but walked and stole a base.

Rob Refsnyder got a base hit and an rbi but his error allowed 2 runs to score.

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but hit a home run.

Tyler O'Neill was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Romy Gonzalez got a base hit as a pinch hitter but was thrown out at second on the play.

Zack Kelly allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in 1/3 of an inning.

Final Thoughts:

Well if this is how the rest of the season is going to go, at least the Sox made it look interesting for two months. The lack of offense and the lack of aces on the pitching staff combined with the frightening amount of injuries has the Sox two games under .500. This time not only was the offense pretty bad, but the bullpen was as well. That's two games in a row the bullpen got lit up. Not even Cora's fault as Crawford was already at 99 pitches and Bernardino was coming in for the seventh inning anyway. Slaten getting lit up represents a common problem in rookie pitchers where they start out like a house of fire but hitters start figuring them out. Hitters looked to have figured out Slaten so its up to him to re-adjust. The only saving grace about this year's team is the three wildcards mean the Sox can play mediocre for four months then turn it on at the end. Problem is they still need to keep it close and they won't at this pace. The less said of this game, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 22-24, 9.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to snap their four game losing streak tomorrow night when Nick Pivetta (1-2) takes on Matthew Libatore of St. Louis. The game begins at 7:15 PM Eastern time at Busch Stadium.

Cards Outslug Sox (5/17/24)

It was bad news all around as the Boston Bruins were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of their second round NHL playoff series and the Boston Red Sox lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. Sox fans might have jumped the gun when it comes to anointing Brayan Bello (4-2, 3.96 ERA) as the ace of the Red Sox. Bello has been average this season including tonight's miserable start against the Cardinals. Bello got rocked for 5 runs in 4/23 innings to put the Sox in a hole. The Sox did fight back but it was after they got bested once again by Kyle Gibson. The normally reliable Sox bullpen melted down. Cam Booser and Chase Anderson allowed five runs combined with the St. Louis bats pounding out 14 hits and 10 runs. It all added up to the Cards outslugging the sox 10-6 at Busch Stadium.

                                               "I'm gonna need more beer watching the Sox"

Gibson got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran walked to start. Wilyer Abreu forced Duran at second but Connor Wong got a base hit to left. Rafael Devers grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Cards wasted no time getting to Bello in the bottom of the first inning. Brendan Donovan ripped a ground rule double down the left field line and Lars Nootbaar hit a home run all the way to Central America to put the Cards on top. Paul Goldschmidt struck out swinging but Nolan Arenado got a base hit to center but Alec Burleson grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Cards up 2-0.

                                                              Home run for Nootbaar

The Sox struck back in the top of the second as Tyler O'Neill got a base hit to center to start. Dominic Smith doubled to left but Garrett Cooper struck out swinging. Vaughn Grissom struck out swinging but David Hamilton tripled down the right field line to tie the game. Duran walked and stole second but Abreu flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                    Hamilton ties it up

The Cards answered in the bottom of the second as Ivan Herrera lined out to short to start. Nolan Gorman hit a home run all the way to Finland to put St. Louis back on top. Masyn Winn grounded out to second and Michael Siani flied out to right to end the inning with the Cards up 3-2.

                                                       Gorman hits one out

The Sox fought back in the top of the third as Wong grounded out to third to start. Devers then bashed his seventh home run of the season to tie the game. O'Neill flied out to center and Smith grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.

                                                             Another home run for Devers

Donovan struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Nootbaar grounded out to second. Grissom booted a grounder by Goldschmidt but Arenado popped up to short to end the inning.

Cooper grounded out to third to open the top of the fourth before Grissom struck out swinging. Hamilton grounded out to second to end the inning. The Cards went up for good in the bottom of the fourth as Burleson hit a home run all the way to Rome to start. Herrera took strike three, Gorman struck out swinging and Winn grounded out to second to end the inning with the Cards up 4-3.

                                                              Another home run allowed

Duran got a base hit to center to start the top of the fifth but Abreu hit into a double play. Wong got a base hit to right but Devers forced him at second to end the inning. The Cards finally knocked out Bello in the bottom of the fifth as Siani grounded out to first to start. Donovan doubled to left but Nootbaar flied out to center to move Donovan to third. Goldschmidt singled to center to score Donovan and Sox manager Alex Cora finally yanked Bello. Brayan was batting practice, allowing 5 runs in 4 2/3 innings off 7 hits including 3 home runs. Cam Booser was brought in and Arenado singled to center to move Goldschmidt to third. Burleson flied out to left to end the inning with the Cards up 5-3.

                                                        "GAAAAAAADZOOKS!" - Bello

O'Neill flied out to left to start the top of the sixth before Smith flied out to center. Cooper flied out to center as well to end the inning. The Cards got another run in the bottom of the sixth as Herrera singled to left to start. Gorman flied out to center but Winn hit a home run all the way to Wales to increase the lead. Siani struck out swinging and Donovan popped up to first to end the inning with the Cards up 7-3.

                                                          Home run Winn

The Sox did fight back in the top of the seventh as Grissom walked to start. Hamilton doubled to left to chase Gibson and JoJo Romero came in to pitch. Duran grounded out to short to score Grissom and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Abreu. Refsnyder struck out swinging but Wong doubled to right to score Hamilton. With a chance to tie the game...Devers grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox down 7-5.

                                                         Wong drives in a run

Chase Anderson came in to take a beating in the bottom of the seventh as Nootbaar walked to start. Goldschmidt got a base hit to center but Arenado flied out to left. Burleson got a base hit to center to score Nootbaar and Herrera got a base hit to center to score Goldschmidt. Gorman struck out swinging and Winn forced Herrera at second to end the inning with the Cards up 9-5.

                                                        Cards pour it on

Andrew Kittredge came in to pitch the top of the eighth and O'Neill grounded out to second to start. Smith walked but was forced at second by Cooper. Grissom got a base hit to right but Hamilton lined out to left to end the inning. The Cards got another run in the bottom of the eighth as Siani grounded out to first to start. Donovan grounded out to second but Nootbaar walked. Goldschmidt walked and Arenado got a base hit to center to score Nootbaar. Burleson popped up to third to end the inning with the Cards up 10-5.

                                                         Arenado with another rbi

John King came in to close out the top of the ninth and Duran grounded back to the mound to start. Refsnyder hit a roller to King who threw the ball away for an error to allow Rob to reach second. Wong got a base hit to center to move Refsnyder to third and he scored when Devers beat out a double play ball. O'Neill lined out to center to end the game. The Cards had won the game 10-6.

                                                            Cardinals win

Jackass of the Night is Brayan Bello. He put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of by allowing 5 runs off three home runs in 4 2/3 innings.

                                                            Jackass Bello

The Good:

Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, a stolen base and an rbi.

Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 2 with a run scored.

Connor Wong was 4 for 5 with an rbi.

Dominic Smith was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Vaughn Grissom was 1 for 3 with a walk and a runs scored.

David Hamilton was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.

The Bad:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3.

Garrett Cooper was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Cam Booser allowed 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Chase Anderson allowed 3 runs in 2 innings.

The Ugly:

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 but hit a home run and drove in two total runs.

Tyler O'Neill was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.

Final Thoughts:

Finally the Sox scored more than five runs and it just happens to be in a game where the pitching completely fails against a sub .500 team like the Cardinals. The Cards couldn't miss getting 14 total hits and Bello didn't look good at all. The problem is Sox fans are hyping him up to be the next Sox ace similar to Felix Doubront back in 2012 only to find out in 2013 that he wasn't. Losing to Kyle Gibson is a tradition worse than bellowing Sweet Caroline trailing in the eighth inning at Fenway Park. At least the offense looks like it can score a run now, that's one silver lining to the game. Devers got his power stroke back and Wong went 4 for 5. Other than that, the less said about this game the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 22-23, 8.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow night against the Cardinals when Kutter Crawford (2-2) takes the hill against Miles Mikolas of St. Louis. The game begins at 7:15 PM Eastern time at Busch Stadium.

Rays Drop Jansen, Sox (5/16/24)

As usual, the Boston Red Sox faltered against an AL East team. Once again the Tampa Bay Rays established their dominance over the Sox by beating them when it counted. The Rays jumped out to a 5-1 lead, knocking out Boston starter Cooper Criswell in the fourth inning. The Sox rallied to cut the lead in the bottom of the fifth and managed to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth with a Jarren Duran home run, but then came the ninth inning. Kenley Jansen (1-1, 3.45 ERA) allowed two runs in the top of the ninth and the Sox once again failed in the clutch in the bottom of the ninth. It all added up to a bitter 7-5 defeat by the Rays at Fenway Park.

                                                 Ren turns his back on the Sox season

Criswell got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yandy Diaz grounded out to short to start. Josh Lowe struck out swinging and Randy Arozarena struck out swinging. Littell got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Jarren Duran grounded out to second to start. Wilyer Abreu flied out to center and Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Rays struck first in the top of the second as Jonathan Aranda walked to start. Isaac Parades got a base hit to right to move Aranda to third and it looked like Richie Palacios grounded a ball off his foot. The umpire ruled it a fair ball and Dominic Smith retired Richie at first, but Aranda scored. Jose Caballero lined out to left and Ben Rortvedt grounded out to first to end the inning but the Rays were up 1-0.

                                                   What the heck happened here?

The Sox answered in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers mashed his sixth home run of the season to tie the game. Smith flied out to left but Garrett Cooper was hit with a pitch. Reese McGuire forced Cooper at second but Vaughn Grissom got a base hit inside the bag at third. Naturally with two men on Ceddanne Rafaela flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                          Devers ties it up

The Rays went up for good in the top of the third as Jose Siri walked to start. Diaz grounded out to short but Lowe hit a home run all the way to Egypt to put the game away. Arozarena got a base hit just past Criswell before moving to second on a grounder to first by Aranda. Parades popped up to third to end the inning with the game already over, 3-1 Rays.

                                                       Lowe ices it early

The Sox blew another rally in the bottom of the third as Duran doubled to center to start. Jarren moved to third on a grounder to second by Abreu but Refsnyder popped up to right. Devers struck out swinging as the boo's started to rain down.

Palacios struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth but Rafaela threw another grounder away by Caballero for an error. Naturally Rortvedt doubled off the Monster and a wild pitch scored Caballero Diaz grounded out to short to score Rortvedt and that was it for Criswell. He got hammered for five runs in just 3 2/3 innings allowing 4 hits and 2 walks. Brennan Bernardino came in to get Lowe looking to end the inning with the Rays up 5-1.

                               "Gimmie that ball...AND...AND GET OUTTA HERE!" - Cora

The Sox blew yet another rally in the bottom of the fourth as Smith got a base hit to right to start. Palacios dropped a double play grounder hit by Cooper but McGuire flied out to right. Grissom beat out a double play ball but Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning as more boos rained down.

Arozarena flied out to center to start the top of the fifth before Aranda lined a base hit to center. Parades struck out swinging and Palacios grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox woke up in the bottom of the fifth as Duran doubled to center to start. Abreu flied out to right to move Duran to third and Refsnyder beat out a roller to first. Devers walked to load the bases but Smith could only score Duran with a grounder to first. Suddenly Cooper doubled off the Monster to score both runners to cut the lead. McGuire flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 5-4.

                                                      Cooper drives in a pair

Zack Kelly came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Caballero walked to start. Caballero was thrown out at second trying to steal but Rortvedt walked. Siri struck out swinging but Diaz and Lowe drew back to back walks to load the bases. Arozarena grounded out to short to end the inning with the Rays drawing four walks but not scoring. Kevin Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Grissom grounded out to short to start. Rafaela grounded out to short but Duran clobbered his second home run of the season to tie the game. Abreu flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.

                                                       Duran ties it up

Justin Slaten came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Aranda struck out swinging. Parades struck out swinging and Palacios took strike three to end the inning. Garrett Cleavinger came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Refsnyder grounded out to short to start. Devers struck out swinging but Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Smith. Gonzalez walked but Cooper struck out swinging to end the inning.

Chris Martin came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Caballero singled to center to start. Caballero moved to second on a grounder to first by Rortvedt and Harold Ramirez pinch hit for Siri. Ramirez lined out to center and Diaz grounded out to first to end the inning. Johnny DeLuca came in for Ramirez with Manuel Rodriguez in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and McGuire grounded out to second to start. Grissom struck out swinging and Rafaela flied out to right to end the inning.

Kenley Jansen came in to take a beating in the top of the ninth as Lowe struck out swinging to start. Arozarena walked and Aranda got a base hit to right to move Randy to third. Parades lashed a base hit off the Monster to score Arozarena and move Aranda to third. Palacios hit a sac fly to center to score Aranda with the insurance run. Caballero struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rays ahead 7-5.

                                                               Rays take the lead.

Controversy erupted in the bottom of the ninth with Jason Adam in to close out the bottom of the ninth. Duran flied out to right to start and Abreu struck out swinging. Refsnyder walked and Devers singled down the third base line to move Refsnyder to third. The catcher then came out to talk to Adam and alert Sox manager Alex Cora came out to argue that they were out of mound visits, therefore, they needed to take the pitcher out. The umpires got together and sure enough, Cora was right and Adam got the heave ho. Erasmo Ramirez came in to face Gonzalez but Romy grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Rays had won it 7-5.

                                              "Get it right or pay the price!" - Cora

Jackass of the Night is Kenley Jansen. He took the loss by allowing the go ahead runs to score in the top of the ninth.

                                                          Jackass Jansen

The Good:

Jarren Duran was 3 for 5 with a home run and two total runs scored.

Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a walk, a home run and two total runs scored.

Dominic Smith was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

Garrett Cooper was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch and 2 rbis.

Brennan Bernardino tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Zack Kelly tossed a scoreless inning.

Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless inning.

Chris Martin pitched a scoreless inning.

The Bad:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.

Reese McGuire was 0 for 4.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error.

Cooper Criswell allowed 5 runs in 3 2/3 innings off four hits and 2 walks.

The Ugly:

Rob Refsnyder was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 1 but walked.

Vaughn Grissom was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Final Thoughts:

What deal with the devil did John Henry make for the 2018 World Series title that now the Sox can't beat the AL East anymore? The Rays beat the Sox two out of three again and they did it with offense. On paper they have a weak lineup but they STILL outhit the Sox when it mattered. Jansen had been solid lately but tonight he got tagged. Even so, the Sox bats went completely asleep after Duran tied the game and its been a theme all season of failure in the clutch. Criswell getting knocked out early didn't help but can't blame Cora for that one. The Sox look like they're crashing down to earth against superior competition and we're only halfway through May. Abreu, McGuire and Rafaela going 0 for 13 with 2 strikeouts and an error certainly didn't help. If the Sox are crashing down to earth, they could be sellers at the deadline in two months. Hopefully that doesn't happen. The loss dropped the Sox to 22-22, 7.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now travel to St. Louis for a three game set with the Cardinals. Brayan Bello (4-1) takes on old nemesis Kyle Gibson of the Cardinals. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Busch Stadium.

Rays Edge Sox (5/15/24)

The good news was the Boston Celtics eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of their second round NBA playoff series but the bad news was the Boston Red Sox once again failed to score more than four runs in a defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays. Taj Bradley held the punchless Sox to just 2 runs in 5 innings while the Rays bullpen surrendered just 1 run the rest of the way. The Sox were leading 2-1 when Tanner Houck (3-5, 2.17 ERA) was yanked in the sixth inning only for Greg Weissert and yet another fielding error gave the Rays a three run lead. Rafael Devers hit a home run to cut the lead but the Sox offense failed to generate any baserunners in the final two innings. The Sox have now gone 10 days without scoring more than four runs in regulation as the Rays won the game 4-3 at Fenway Park.

                                            Al Horford scores more than the Red Sox

Houck got the ball in the top of the first and Yandy Diaz took strike three to start. Josh Lowe grounded out to second and Randy Arozarena struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the first against Bradley as Jarren Duran doubled to center to start. Duran moved to third on the Wilyer Abreu fly ball to center and scored on the Connor Wong sac fly to center. Rafael Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.

                                                                Sac fly for Wong

Jonathan Aranda grounded out to first to start the top of the second and Isaac Parades flied out to center. Richie Palacios was hit with a pitch but Jose Caballero struck out swinging to end the inning. Tyler O'Neill led off the bottom of the second by watching strike three go by then Dominic Smith went down hacking. Garrett Cooper lined out to second to end the inning.

The Rays almost struck back in the top of the third as Ben Rortvedt walked to start and Jose Siri got a base hit to center. Diaz grounded into a double play and Lowe grounded out to short to end the inning. David Hamilton grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third and Ceddane Rafaela did the same. Duran flied out to center to end the inning.

Arozarena flied out to right to start the top of the fourth but Aranda walked. Parades got a base hit down the third base line and Garrett Cooper booted a grounder by Palacios for an error that scored Parades. Caballero struck out swinging and Rortvedt grounded out to second to end the inning but the game was tied 1-1.

                                                              Rays tie it on an error

The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Abreu launched his fourth home run of the year to put the Sox back on top. Wong got a seeing eye single into left but Devers grounded into a double play. O'Neill took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.

                                                          Abreu goes yard

Siri took strike three to start the top of the fifth but Diaz drew a walk. Lowe got a base hit to left but Arozarena lined out to center. Aranda lined out to second to end the inning. Smith lined out to Bradley to start the bottom of the fifth before Cooper struck out swinging. Hamilton got a base hit in the hole at short, Rafaela walked and Duran was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Naturally Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.

Houck came back for the top of the sixth and froze Parades for strike three to start. Palacios got a base hit to center and Calaberro got base hit to left, but Rortvedt struck out swinging. Sox manager Alex Cora finally had enough of Houck as Tanner struggled big time allowing 5 hits and 3 walks in 5 2/3 innings. Greg Weissert came in and Siri immediately gave up a base hit to Siri that scored Palacios to tie the game. The Rays pulled off a double steal when Wong threw another ball away for an error and Diaz hit the kill shot with a base hit to left to clear the bases. Lowe struck out swinging but the Rays were up for good 4-2

                                                           Houck deserved better

The Sox did get one back in the bottom of the sixth against Phil Maton although Wong popped up to second to start. Devers clobbered his fifth home run of the season but O'Neill struck out swinging. Smith got a base hit to right and Cooper got a base hit to center, hut Hamilton grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 4-3.

                                                        Home run Devers

Cam Booser came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Arozarena struck out swinging to start. Aranda took strike three and Parades went down hacking to end the inning. Shawn Armstrong came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh Rafaela lined out to center to start. Duran doubled off the Monster but Abreu struck out swinging. Wong flied out to right to end the inning.

Palacios grounded out to short to begin the top of the eighth and Caballero struck out swinging. Rortvedt lined out to center to end the inning. Jonny DeLuca took over for Aranda and Pete Fairbanks came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Devers grounded out to second, O'Neill went down hacking and Smith struck out swinging to end the inning.

Chase Anderson came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Siri flied out to center to start. Diaz grounded out to short and Lowe lined out to center to end the inning. Kevin Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Cooper struck out swinging to start. Hamilton took strike three and Rafaela grounded out to second to end the game. The Rays had won it 4-3.

                                                             Rays win

Jackass of The Night is Greg Weissert. He inherited a 2-1 lead and turned it into 4-3 in no time flat

                                                        Jackass Weissert

The Good:

Jarren Duran was 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch and a run scored.

Cam Booser tossed two scoreless innings.

Chase Anderson pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Tyler O'Neill was 0 for 4 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a home run.

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but the one hit was a home run.

Dominic Smith was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Garrett Cooper was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeout and an error.

David Hamilton was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 0 for 3 but walked.

Tanner Houck took the loss as he was charged with 3 runs in 5 2/3 innings but only 1 run was earned due to errors. He allowed 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out seven.

Final Thoughts:

What more can be said about this rancid Red Sox offense that hasn't already been said? Its been 10 days since they scored more than four runs in regulation and failing with the bases loaded was a microcosm of this run of ineptitude. They do enough to get men on base but once they're on, nobody can drive them in. Sure they can hit solo home runs but when there's men on base, they just swing at air. Can't even blame Cora for this one because Houck went further than he's ever gone in terms of pitch count and Wong threw the ball away on the double steal attempt with Weissert on the mound. Weissert was in the game because all the other relievers had to pitch in the 12 inning marathon last night. What can be done to fix the offense? For starters, Niko Kavadas is hitting .310 with 9 homers and 25 rbis in Worcester but the concern is none of the home runs came on pitches above 92 mph and he's a lousy first baseman. At this point its worth a try because Cooper is hitting .235 and he made a crucial error tonight while Dominic Smith is hitting .167. We all know Bobby Dalbec can't get it done so may as well go with Kavadas. This year is starting to remind us of 2017, 2014 and 1992 where the offense was tragic compared to the pitching. Hopefully the Sox can get their act together before they fall further behind in the standings. The loss drops the Sox to 22-21, 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to tie up the series tomorrow night against the Rays when Cooper Criswell (2-1, 2.10 ERA) takes on Zack Littell of Tampa. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.