Pivetta, Sox Top Guardians (6/24/22)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Jeter Downs was sent back to Worcester to make room for Christian Arroyo to come off the Covid List. This is going to create good competition because Rob Refsnyder has played well when he's gotten the chance. The more options to give their starters rest, the better.

                                                                           OUT

                                                                       IN

With the injuries to Garrett Whitlock, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Wacha during the course of the season, Nick Pivetta (8-5, 3.25 ERA) has been the ace of the Sox this year. Tonight he held the Cleveland Guardians to just 2 runs in 7 strong innings. Offensively the Sox got a big lift from the returning Christian Arroyo. Arroyo hot plunked to drive in a run and hit a two run shot to give the Sox the lead Pivetta would not relinquish. Tanner Houck got shelled in the ninth inning but held on to slam the door on Boston's fifth straight win. The Sox sent a message to the AL Central leaders with a 6-3 victory at Progressive Field. 

                                             "Patrizia Reggiani" approves of the win

Cal Quantrill got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran lined out to center to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and JD Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Steven Kwan got a base hit to center to start. Armed Rosario singled to left but Jose Ramirez popped up to first. Kwan moved to third on the fly out to center by Josh Naylor and Rosario stole second. Oscar Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Verdugo led off the top of the second with a line out to left but Trevor Story got a base hit to left. Franchy Cordero and Christian Vazquez drew back to back walks to load the bases but Jackie Bradley Jr struck out swinging. The returning Christian Arroyo got plunked to score Story and put the Sox on top. Duran lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.

                                                              Arroyo gets hit

Franmil Reyes took strike three to start the bottom of the second but Andres Giminez singled to left. Austin Hedges flied out to left but Giminez stole second and scored on the base hit to center by Myles Straw. Kwan flied out to left to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                                    Tie game

The Sox instantly got the lead back in the top of the third when Devers belted his 17th home run of the season. Martinez took strike three, Verdugo lined out to left and Story flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.

                                                             Devers with number 17

Rosario singled off the glove of Devers to start the bottom of the third but Ramirez flied out to right. Naylor forced Rosario at second and Gonzalez popped up to second to end the inning.

Cordero grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth but Vazquez hit a ball in the hole at short. Rosario foolishly airmailed the throw to first to move Christian to second....only for him to get picked off. JBJ flied out to left to end the inning. The Guardians struck again in the bottom of the fourth although Reyes struck out swinging to start. Giminez hit a home run all thr way to Lake Michigan to tie the game but Hedges hit a liner to Pivetta. Straw flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 2-2. 

                                                        Guardians tie it up

Arroyo tried to start a rally with a base hit to center to begin the top of the fifth but Duran took strike three. Devers smacked a double to right but Arroyo was thrown out at home trying to score on a pop up to right by Martinez to end the inning. 

                                                                 YERRRR OUT!

Kwan grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Rosario grounded out to short. Ramirez got a base hit to right but Naylor grounded out to second to end the inning. 

Sam Hentges came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Verdugo doubled to left to start. Story and Cordero both took strike three and Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning. Gonzalez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth but Reyes singled to left. Giminez popped up to third and Hedges grounded out to second to end the inning.

Bryan Shaw came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and Rob Refsnyder pinch hit for Bradley. Refsnyder walked and Arroyo clobbered his fourth home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Duran grounded out to first and Devers grounded out to third, but Martinez got a base hit to right. Anthony Gose came in to pitch to Verdugo and Alex stepped up with a double to left to score JD to increase the lead. Story was intentionally walked to get to Cordero but Sox manager Alex Cora countered by having Bobby Dalbec pinch hit for Franchy. Dalbec walked to load the bases but Vazquez popped up to third on a 3-1 count to end the inning with the Sox up 5-2.

                                                        Welcome back Arroyo

Pivetta battled back from 3-0 to freeze Straw looking to open the bottom of the seventh. Kwan hit a rocket but Story made a great catch and Rosario grounded out to short to end the inning. That was it for Pivetta who tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball to put the Sox in position to win. He allowed 8 hits and struck out 4.

                                                        Pivetta gets it done

Yohan Ramirez came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Refsnyder took strike three to start. Arroyo beat out a roller to third but Duran forced him at second. Devers was plunked and a wild pitch moved both runners over. Martinez walked to load the bases but Giminez made a great catch to rob Verdugo of a double to end the inning. The Sox left the bases loaded three times in this one. John Schreiber came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Ramirez flied out to center to start. Naylor grounded out to short and Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Story got a base hit to right to start the top of the ninth but Dalbec lined out to center. Vazquez flied out to center but Refsnyder doubled into the left field corner to score Story with another run. Arroyo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.

                                                           Refsnyder drives in a run

Tanner Houck came in to close out the bottom of the ninth but Reyes singled to right to start. Giminez singled to right but Richie Palacios pinch hit for Hedges. Palacios struck out swinging but Houck but umpires ruled Straw was hit when he wasn't to load the bases. Kwan ripped a base hit to center to score Reyes but Rosario struck out swinging. Ramirez grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.

                                                               Sox win

Hero of the Night is Christian Arroyo. His two run home run put the Sox up for good.

                                                           Duran salutes our Hero

The Good:

Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a home run.

Alex Verdugo was 2 for 5 with an rbi.

Trevor Story was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Bobby Dalbec walked in two plate appearances.

Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 2 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.

Nick Pivetta got the win by tossing 7 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 8 hots, didn't walk anyone and struck out four.

John Schreiber pitched a scoreless eighth inning. 

The Bad:

Jarren Duran was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 2 with a strikeout. 

Tanner Houck allowed a run in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.

Franchy Cordero was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.

Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

That's five in a row for the Sox and that's 3 out of 4 against "good" teams like the Cardinals and Guardians. If it wasn't for the early season struggles Pivetta could be the odds on favorite to start the All-Star game. With Xander Bogaerts taking a night off, the duo of Refsnyder and Arroyo came up big. There's going to be a dogfight for spots on the team when Kike Hernandez gets back and it would be tough to send Refsnyder or Durran down the way they've been playing. The only thing to squawk about was the Guardians getting to Houck in the ninth, but they survived anyway. The Sox picked up a game on the New York Yankees so the division race isn't over yet. The Sox need to keep the momentum going if they hope to close the gap with New York. The win improved the Sox to 40-31, percentage points behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the first wild card. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Guardians and six in a row period tomorrow evening when Josh Winckowski (2-1, 3.68 ERA) goes up against Shane Bieber of Cleveland. The game begins at 6:10 PM Eastern time at Progressive Field.

Off-Day News: 2021 Draft Revisited (6/23/22)

Today is an off-day for the Boston Red Sox and rather than bore everyone with yet another "On this day", this would be a great time to look at how the Red Sox 2021 draft picks turned out a year later. This year's draft isn't for another month but here's how last year's guys turned out so far.

Leading off was the fourth overall pick in the draft, high school shortstop Marcello Mayer. Mayer was as good as advertised at the end of last year with the Florida Complex League and to start this season with the Salem Red Sox. He suffered an injury and his average dropped to .281, but if your average DROPS to .281 that means you're doing well. He's definitely progressing well for a 19 year old to be close to All-Star status in the Carolina League.

                                                                 So far, so good for Mayer

Boston's second round pick turned out to be a waste. The Sox drafted Jud Fabian as a junior out of Florida University where he slammed 20 home runs and drove in 46 runs. Instead of leaving school for the Sox, he stayed to play his senior year. For what its worth, he hit only .239 but had 24 home runs and 55 rbis his senior year. If "launch angle" is the wave of the future, his future teams will definitely take the tradeoff of hitting .230 if he can hit 30 plus home runs. The Sox better hope none of the players drafted after Fabian and before their third round pick turn into superstars because the Sox could have drafted them instead.

                                                         Sox drafted Fabian a year early

Boston's selected North Carolina State Wolfpack second baseman Tyler McDonough in the third round after he hit .339 and 15 home runs in his senior year. Tyler hit .296 in Salem to end last season and is currently hitting .245 with 7 home runs and 34 rbis along with 12 stolen bases for the Greenville Drive. Hitting just .245 isn't that good but this is his first full year of minor league ball after the short season last year. The fact he's made it past Low A at all is an encouraging sign.

                                                       From NC State to High A in one year

The Sox made a crapshoot with their fourth round pick as they drafted 17 year old right handed pitcher Elmer Cruz-Rodriguez out of high school in Puerto Rico. After he graduates, he'll be joining the Florida Complex Red Sox soon. It should be noted a few picks after drafting Rodriguez, the Los Angeles Angels drafted right handed pitcher Luke Murphy out of Vanderbilt University. Murphy is 6-1 with a 2.92 ERA out of the bullpen for LA's double A team. That could have been the Sox....just saying.

                                                         See you soon Elmer....we hope

If the Sox whiffed on Fabian in the second round, they got another crack at the Florida Gators when they drafted their catcher Nathan Hickey in the fifth round. Hickey had a reputation of a below average catcher but could hit. He hit .319 with 9 home runs and 50 rbis for the Gators in 2021. This season he's hitting .270 with 7 home runs and 39 rbis so far with the Salem Red Sox. If Connor Wong isn't going to be the catcher of the future if and when Christian Vazquez moves on, Hickey could be a contender in a few years.

                                               "Vazquez, I'm comin for YOU sucka!" - Hickey

The Sox went back to high school for their sixth round pick, scooping up 18 year old shortstop Daniel McElveny from Bonita Vista High School in California. Basically he was insurance just in case Marcelo Mayer didn't develop or switched positions. He played just 9 games for the Florida Complex League last year and is going to be in the lineup this season when the league gets going. It'll be a few years before we can judge how he turns out, good luck to him.

                                                  McElveny is ready to roll in 2022

The Sox turned in a head scratcher with their seventh round pick, taking right handed pitcher Wyatt Olds from Oklahoma University. He quite frankly had a bad senior year going 4-6 with a 5.17 ERA. Sox brass feel they can fix him and so far this season.....he's 1-5 with a 6.28 ERA. Like I said last year when he was drafted, either they picked the wrong guy or they must have saw something everyone else in the country didn't. Time will tell if he can be fixed.

                                         Struggled his senior year, still struggling in Greenville

If taking a bum with their seventh round pick wasn't bad enough, they topped it by taking an injured right handed pitcher in the eighth round. Hunter Dobbins had Tommy John surgery and missed his senior year at Texas Tech before being drafted by the Red Sox. He's only pitched in 3 games so far for the Salem Red Sox this season so it would be unfair to judge him coming off TJ when he hasn't basically pitched since 2019 since 2020 was cut short by Covid. Let's give him another year before dropping the anvil on him.

                                                        Bouncing back from TJ surgery

The Sox selected Auburn University third baseman Tyler Miller with their ninth round pick after he hit 16 home runs in 51 games. He had 14 hits in 9 games to end 2021 with Salem although he's only hitting .184 in 54 games this year. He has hit 8 home runs so its pretty much all or nothing for him as of now. He better learn how to get on base more or he won't make it too far past Greenville.

                                                 Hitting only .184 in Low A isn't good

Rounding out the top 10 was 10th round pick Matt Litwicki, the right handed closer of Indiana University. He's yet to pitch for the organization as he didn't pitch following the draft and is on the inactive list for Salem. Who knows when he'll pitch again, if he doesn't, just a bad 10th round pick. Every team has them.

                                                               Will he ever pitch again?

The Sox selected Notre Dame first baseman Niko Kavadas with their 11th round pick after he slammed 21 home runs in 46 games for the Fighting Irish. He hit 2 home runs in 15 games to finish last year in Salem and is thriving so far this year. He's hitting .287 with 13 home runs with 47 runs batted in for Salem and he's a hot streak away from being promoted to Greenville.

                                                           Things are going well for Kavadas

In the 12th round, the Sox took UC-Santa Barbara right handed pitcher Christopher Troye. He struck out 29 batters in 18 innings but also walked 25 his senior year. Things didn't get any better this year as he's allowed 8 runs and 8 walks in 10 innings pitched. Not everyone is going to figure it out their first year so we'll see how he looks a year or even a month from now

                                                 Struggling for now

In the 13th round the Sox selected Florida prep school shortstop Zack Ehrhard who was committed to playing at Oklahoma State. True to his word Erhard chose to go to Oklahoma State and hit .332 as a Freshman with 73 hits in 55 games. If he keeps up this pace, he'll be one of the top players in the country three years from now. Just like with Fabian, the Sox simply drafted him too early.

                                                    Heck of a Freshman year for Ehrhard

The Sox selected the 6'5 right handed pitcher Jacob Webb out of Miami Ohio University with their 14th round pick after he struck out 59 batters in 39 innings. He allowed just 1 run in 10 innings at the end of 2021 in Salem and struck out 39 batters in 24 innings to earn a promotion to Greenville. He's struck out 5 batters in 3 innings so far with Greenville so Webb has all the makings of a future closer if he can keep the walks down.

                              From Miami U to Greenville in less than a year, good work

The Sox next whiff was when they selected North Carolina high school prep shortstop Peyton Green in the 15th round. Green ended up committing to North Carolina State where he hit .256 with 7 home runs his Freshman year with the Wolfpack. Unlike Erhard, Green didn't have that outstanding of a season. Maybe the Sox caught a break by him choosing to go to college rather than potentially stink up Salem or the Florida Complex team.

                                                  Green chose school over the Red Sox

The 16th round draft choice was California high school second baseman BJ Vela. He was originally committed to St. Mary's but instead chose to turn pro. He hit just .219 to end 2021 in the Florida Complex although he has 4 hits in 5 games to start this year in Complex. It'll be 2 or 3 years before we can get a true judgment on him.

                                                         He looks happy to sign....for now

The Sox went to Junior College to get their 17th round pick, right handed pitcher Luis Guerrero out of Chipola. Kyle Hart was a 17th round pick and he made it to the majors so there's hope for Guerrero yet. He pitched just 2 innings for the Complex before being promoted to Salem. He's allowed 4 runs in 7 1/3 innings so far but going from JuCo to pro ball is going to take time to adjust. Check back in another year.

                                                     From JuCo to Salem, never give up

The Sox 18th round pick was Texas Christian University pitcher turned outfielder Phillip Sikes. At 23 years old he's already an elder statesman and he hit .392 for the Complex to end last season. This year he's hitting only .233 but has 11 steals, he could be a possible designated runner like Dave Roberts for Salem or Greenville if he ever gets there.

                                                 Going to have to do better, Sikes

In the 19th round, the Sox took a gamble on another bum, Northwestern University right handed pitcher Tyler Uberstine. Uberstine had a bad senior year going 3-3 with a 5.90 ERA but allowed just 1 run in 7 innings to end 2021 in the Complex. This year he's been mediocre in Salem, going 4-3 with an ERA of 4.36 ERA. Still, that's still an improvement over last year and against better competition this season. He'll have to pick up the pace to make it to Greenville but he's done better than expected.

                                               From a bum in college to mediocre in Salem

The Sox 20th and final pick was another waste only of a different kind. They selected Pennsylvania shortstop Josh Hood who was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2019 and who's 2020 season was cut short. Rather than sign with the Sox, he chose to transfer to North Carolina State as a redshirt junior. He hit .268 with 13 home runs for the Wolfpack this year and has another year to go before he graduates. 20th round picks rarely turn into superstars so just chalk this up as a "meh, who cares" pick. He and Peyton Green can both say they were drafted by the Sox.

                                     Ditched the Sox and Pennsylvania U for the Wolfpack

The Sox signed two players that went undrafted and one of them was Clemson University outfielder Kier Meredith who hit .283 with the Tigers his senior year. He's hitting only .250 with Salem this year but does have 9 steals. Still, the fact that all 30 ML teams including the Red Sox passed on him 20 times and he still got to Salem is a victory in itself. Keep fighting Kier!

                                                             From undrafted to Salem

The other rookie free agent the Sox signed was a local guy so to speak, right handed pitcher Jhonny Felix who went to high school in Brighton, MA. He's already 23 and had to play JuCo at Western Oklahoma State just to get noticed. The Sox signed him at 23 years old and he allowed 10 runs in 3 innings to finish 2021 in the Complex. This year was even worse as he allowed 23 runs in just 16 innings for Salem before being sent back to the Complex when their season started. Can't really expect much out of someone who wasn't even drafted.

                                                               Doesn't look good for Felix

Well there you go, there's the 22 players drafted or signed by the Sox. Only four of them didn't sign so the rest of them have a month to show what they can do before the next group is drafted and signed. Very, very rarely does someone immediately go from drafted to the big leagues like Craig Hansen in 2005 and even then, rushing someone will ruin them (like Craig). It would be unfair to expect any of these guys to be in Worcester to end this season but if Mayer, Hickey, Kavadas and Webb continue to hit or pitch well, they may see Portland by September. Andrew Benintendi was drafted in 2015 and was in the majors by August of 2016 so there's the bar set for most of them. If anyone wants to head down to Florida, Greenville or Salem to see these guys, do it. Most of them may never see Worcester let alone Boston due to trades, injuries or incompetence. Still, the goal is to find new talent and hopefully some of these guys can make it to Boston eventually.

Sox Sweep Tigers (6/22/22)

Bring on the Cleveland Guardians! The Boston Red Sox continued their march back toward a playoff spot by sweeping the Detroit Tigers to set up a showdown this weekend with the AL Central leading Cleveland teams. Michael Wacha (6-1, 2.34 ERA) tossed six solid innings against the hapless Tigers with his only mistake being a first inning two run home run by Javier Baez. Offensively the Sox got a lift from the role players. Trailing 2-0, Jarren Duran knocked in two big runs to tie the game and Rob Refsnyder clobbered a two run shot to put the Sox on top. Alex Verdugo knocked in two big insurance runs and the Sox bullpen slammed the door with 3 scoreless innings. The Sox needed to make a statement and they did with an impressive series sweep of the Tigers highlighted by a 6-2 victory at Fenway Park.

                                                              Thor approves of the win

Wacha got the ball in the top of the first inning and Victor Reyes lined out to right to start. Riley Greene got a base hit to center and Javier Baez hit a home run all the way to the beaches of Normandy to put the Tigers up three batters into the game. Miguel Cabrera struck out swinging and Harold Castro grounded out to third to end the inning but the Tigers led 2-0.

                                                                   Tigers take the lead

Skubal got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jarren Duran reached on an error by Baez to start. Naturally Rob Refsnyder banged into a double play and JD Martinez flied out to right to end the inning. 

Robbie Grossman took strike three to start the top of the second and Spencer Torkelson grounded out to third. Jonathan Schoop pounded a ground rule double down the right field line but Tucker Barnhart flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging. Alex Verdugo struck out swinging and Trevor Story grounded out to short to end the inning.

Reyes grounded out to first to start the top of the third but Greene grounded out to second. The red hot Baez got a base hit to right but Cabrera struck out swinging again to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the third as Christian Vazquez doubled to center to start. Bobby Dalbec drew a walk but Jeter Downs made his Major League debut by striking out swinging on a pitch that bounced in the dirt. Duran doubled to left to score both runners and tie the game. Refsnyder hit a blast off the top of the Monster that was initially ruled a double but the umpires got together and called it a home run correctly to put the Sox on top. Martinez lined out to short but Bogaerts walked on a full count. Verdugo forced Xander at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.

                                                  Duran and Refsnyder get it done

Castro struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth but Grossman walked. Torkelson lined out to left and Schoop grounded out to second to end the inning. Story struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth before Vazquez grounded out to first. Dalbec singled to center but Downs struck out swinging again to end the inning.

Barnhart took strike three to start the top of the fifth and Reyes popped up to short. Greene grounded out to second to end the inning. Duran lined out to left to start the bottom of the fifth but Refsnyder doubled to left. Martinez worked a ten pitch walk but Bogaerts peculiarly dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over. The gamble worked as Verdugo lashed a base hit to left to score both runners and chase Skubal. Joe Jimenez came in to pitch to Story and Trevor forced Verdugo at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.

                                                    Verdugo drives in a pair

The pain in the ass Baez walked to start the top of the sixth and Cabrera got a base hit to right to move Javier to third. Wacha got a gift when Castro was rung up for strike three on a pitch outside and Grossman went down hacking. Torkelson lined out to center to end the threat and Wacha's night. Wacha didn't have his best stuff but still held the Tigers to just 2 runs in 6 solid innings to give the Sox a chance to win.

                                                       Wacha with six solid innings

Vazquez tried to start a rally with a base hit to center to start the bottom of the sixth but Dalbec took strike three. Downs flied out to left and Duran struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Jake Diekman came in to pitch the top of the seventh and right on cue he walked Schoop to begin. Barnhart lined out to right, Reyes went down hacking and Greene grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Wily Peralta came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Refsnyder popped up to first to start. Martinez flied out to center but Bogaerts dropped a base hit to left. Verdugo popped up to third to end the inning. 

Hiro Sawamura came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Baez was finally retired on a grounder to short. Cabrera grounded out to short and Castro grounded out to second to end the inning. Jason Foley came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Story got a base hit to right to start. Story swiped second but was frozen for strike three. Dalbec struck out swinging and Downs earned the hat trick by striking out swinging to end the inning.

Grossman flied out to left to start the top of the ninth and Torkelson grounded out to first. Schoop grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had swept the Tigers out of Fenway 6-2.

                                                               Sox win

Hero of The Night is Rob Refsnyder. His two run home run put the Sox up for good.

                                                            Refsnyder The Hero

The Good:

Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Michael Wacha earned the win by allowing just 2 runs in 6 innings. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 7.

Jake Diekman pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Hiro Sawmaura tossed two scoreless innings.

The Bad:

Jeter Downs made his ML debut by going 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Jarren Duran was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in two runs and scored a run.

JD Martinez was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.

Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs.

Trevor Story was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Final Thoughts:

The Sox needed to sweep the Tigers and they did it. The Sox gained two games on the Tampa Bay Rays who lost 2 of 3 to the New York Yankees and a game on the Toronto Blue Jays who took two of three from the Chicago White Sox. It seems unlikely the Sox will claw all the way back to catch the Yankees but they did what they had to to climb out of their 11-20 hole they found themselves in. The Sox got a big hit from the role players with Rafael Devers out and the duo of Bogaerts and Martinez held to just 1 hit and a run scored combined. Duran is everything they need in a leadoff hitter in the mold of 2013 Jacoby Ellsbury and the question is will Sox brass leave him there or put Kike Hernandez back when Hernandez is back from the Injured List. Wacha gave the Sox a big lift and he and Pivetta has kept them alive this season with injuries and ineffectiveness derailing the other starters. Diekman and Sawamura holding the fort was a big lift because now the Sox have a rested bullpen going into the Cleveland series coming up. It'll be vital to take two of three from them at least to send a message the Sox are for real. The win improved the Sox to 39-31, a half game behind the Blue Jays for the first wild card spot. After an off-day tomorrow the Sox hit the road and the first stop is Cleveland for a three game set with the Guardians. Nick Pivetta (7-5, 3.31 ERA) gets the start for the Sox against Cal Quantrill of Cleveland this Friday night. The game begins at 7:10 PM Eastern time at Progressive Field.

Sox Hold On To Beat Tigers (6/21/22)

Don't look now but the Boston Red Sox are climbing up the ranks in the American League standings. Tonight they survived a late rally by the Detroit Tigers to win their 15th game this month. Rich Hill (3-4, 4.50 ERA) allowed 3 runs to the Tigers but lasted 5 innings to earn the win. The Sox got a big lift from a Trevor Story 3 run home run and a Christian Vazquez solo shot. Ryan Brasier tossed two much needed scoreless innings but the Tigers rallied in the ninth. With the tying run on first, John Schreiber got Miguel Cabrera to ground out to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-4 at Fenway Park. 

                                                  "Colonel Tom Parker" approves of the win

The Tigers wasted no time getting to Hill in the top of the first inning as Robbie Grossman grounded out to short to start. Javier Baez tripled into the centerfield triangle and Miguel Cabrera ripped a base hit to center to score Baez. Eric Haase struck out swinging and Riley Greene lined out to second to end the inning with the Tigers up 1-0.

                                                             Baez with a triple

The Sox tied the game in the bottom of the first against Brieske as Jarren Duran beat out a roller to third to start. Rafael Devers hit a seeing eye single to move Duran to third and Jarren scored on the sac fly to center by Martinez. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging and Alex Verdugo forced Devers at second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1. 

                                                                 Martinez ties it up

Spencer Torkelson walked to start the top of the second but Jeimer Candelario struck out swinging. Jonathan Schoop grounded into a double play to end the inning. Trevor Story flied out to right to start the bottom of the second and Franchy Cordero took strike three. Christian Vazquez grounded out to second to end the inning.

Will Castro flied out to right to start the top of the third and Grossman struck out swinging. Baez put the Tigers back on top with a home run all the way to Wyoming and Cabrera followed with a base hit to center. Haase popped up to third to end the inning but the Tigers were up 2-1.

                                                            Baez with a home run

Jackie Bradley Jr grounded back to the mound to start the bottom of the third before Duran grounded out to short. Devers lined out to center to end the inning.

Greene got a base hit in the hole at second to start the top of the fourth but Torkelson lined out to right. Candelario forced Greene at second and Schoop struck out swinging to end the inning. Martinez flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth but Bogaerts got a base hit off the glove of Baez. Verdugo got a base hit to left and Story stepped up with a 3 run blast to put the Sox back on top. Cordero struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.

                                                              Big hit for Story

Castro struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth but Grossman walked. Baez lined out to right but Cabrera got a base hit to right to move Robbie to third. Haase got a base hit to left to score Grossman but Greene struck out swinging to end the inning with the Tigers down 4-3. That was it for Hill who couldn't put away Cabrera or Baez to save his life but was still in line for the win after 5 innings.

                                                       Not great but it'll do

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the fifth as Duran flied out to center to start. Devers was robbed of a double by Greene and Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Torkelson grounded back to the mound to start. Candelario got a base hit to left but Schoop banged into a double play to end the inning. Jason Foley came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Bogaerts got a base hit to center to start. Verdugo forced Xander at second, Story struck out swinging and Cordero earned the hat trick by striking it swinging to end the inning.

Castro lined out to center to start the top of the seventh and Grossman flied out to left. Story made a great catch to rob Baez of a hit to end the inning. Good work by Brasier to get the Sox to the eighth inning with the lead. Andrew Chafin came in to pitch the bottom I'd the seventh and Vazquez aided the cause with his fourth home run of the season to give the Sox an insurance run. JBJ lined out to right, Duran grounded out to second and Devers grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.

                                                         Home run Vazquez

Bobby Dalbec came in to play first with Tyler Danish taking over on the mound to start the top of the eighth. Naturally Cabrera was plunked but Haase flied out to center. Greene singled to right to put the tying run on but Torkelson popped up to first. Candelario flied out to center to end the inning. Alex Lang came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Martinez grounded out to second to start. Bogaerts grounded out to third and Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Tanner Houck worked two days in a row so Matt Strahm was tasked with closing out the top of the ninth. Naturally Schoop hit a home run all the way to the jungles of Peru to start. Castro popped up to first and Grossman took strike three to bring out Sox manager Alex Cora. He wanted John Schreiber to pitch to Baez and naturally Javier singled to right to bring up Cabrera and somehow Miguel grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-4.

                                                               Red Sox win

Hero of the Night is Trevor Story. His 3 run homer put the Sox up for good and he also made a great diving catch.

                                                            Laundry cart Hero

The Good:

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Christian Vazquez was 2 for 3 with a home run.

Ryan Brasier pitched two scoreless innings.

Tyler Danish pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

John Schreiber got the save by getting the final out of the ninth inning.

The Bad:

Franchy Cordero was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3.

Matt Strahm allowed a run in the ninth inning.

The Ugly:

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

Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4.

JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Honorable Mention:

Bobby Dalbec played first base in the top of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

This was a much needed win for the Sox because not only did they remain a half game ahead of the Rays, but they gained a game on the New York Yankees (who the Rays beat) and the Toronto Blue Jays who gagged to the Chicago White Sox. The Sox are just 1/2 game behind Toronto for not only second place in the division but for the first wild card spot. It seems unlikely that the Sox can catch the Yankees but they're gonna get their chance in a few weeks when the Sox play 20 straight games against the AL East beginning on July 4th. The Sox are going to have a bit of a dilemma because Tanner Houck won't be allowed to go to Toronto next week so the Sox are going to need a closer by then. Its imperative the Sox sweep the Tigers in this series because the Sox are going to travel to Cleveland for a big series with the newly renamed Guardians (formerly Indians) who are neck and neck with the White Sox for the AL Central lead. The Sox have gone 27-11 since their horrible start and now that they're out of the hole, they need to make a statement against the good teams if they hope to march toward the playoffs. Chris Sale has begun his rehab and Josh Taylor is finally ready to begin his. Taylor was one of their most consistent bullpen pitchers last year and if he can recover his form, there's your power lefty to go with John Schreiber in the late innings. All in all it was a good win tonight and hopefully the Sox can keep the momentum going in their final homestand game. The win improved the Sox to 38-31, good for third place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the Tigers out of Fenway and win their fourth game in a row tomorrow night when Michael Wacha (5-1, 2.28 ERA) takes on Tarik Skrubal of Detroit. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.