The Red Sox Opened The White Sox Series At Fenway With Another Comeback Victory, 7-4

 

    After Friday night's series opener vs. Chicago (6-8 overall, 3-5 away) was postponed due to rain (haha and snow!), the teams got things started at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon with the Red Sox (10-4 overall, 4-3 home) picking up a solid 7-4 win. The White Sox scored twice in the first inning and later tied it at three in the seventh inning but both times, the home team had a timely response. First baseman Marwin Gonzalez hit his first home run for the Red Sox to ignite the four-run eighth inning which ended with a two-run double by shortstop Xander Bogaerts (4-for-5, 18th career 4-hit game). 

    Boston survived a poor start by Nick Pivetta (3.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 3 Ks, 4 BBs) who wasn't able to get out of the fourth inning. That forced Red Sox manager Alex Cora to dip into his bullpen early but it worked out as Josh Taylor struck out the one guy he faced in the fourth then Matt Andriese went three valuable innings. Northeastern's Adam Ottavino (2-1) had an impressive eighth inning, striking out the side on 12 pitches to earn the win. The only downside from a pitching perspective (besides Pivetta's dud) was that Cora burned closer Matt Barnes (28 pitches) in a non-save situation since he warmed up in the eighth for a long time and was ready to go before Boston rallied to break the game open. 

    Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on first baseman Jose Abreu's (2 hits) RBI double that scored Adam Eaton. The other White Sox run came on a groundout. Boston tied it with a pair of sacrifice flies-by right fielder Alex Verdugo and third baseman Rafael Devers-in the third inning. Center fielder Kike Hernandez (4-for-5, 2B, RBI) had his best game in a Red Sox uniform and he put them ahead 3-2 in the sixth with an RBI single that scored catcher Kevin Plawecki. 

    A sacrifice fly by Chicago in the seventh tied it at three before Gonzalez hit his bomb to right center in the eighth. J.D. Martinez added a bases loaded walk for an insurance run before Xander's clutch extra-base hit. Get ready for plenty of baseball today as there will be a doubleheader: rookie Tanner Houck (0-1) faces Dallas Kuechel (0-0) in Game 1 (1:10, NESN) followed by Martin Perez (0-0) vs. TBA in Game 2 (5:10, NESN). Boston is 9-1 in their last 10 games and they own the best record in the American League so they just want to keep it rolling on this beautiful Sunday.

Let the Rusney Castillo Era Begin In Boston Aka Havana North

Up until a few weeks ago, like everyone else in the world besides those virgins at Baseball America, I had never heard of Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo. That all changed quickly as the Red Sox' season simultaneously went nowhere while they also got into serious contract discussions with him (along with a host of other teams). That culminated with the great news today that they had signed him to a seven-year deal worth $72.5 million-the most ever for a free agent amateur.

I'll save the scouting report since I know as little about him as you do. Check out YouTube for the bizarre highlights from Cuba. Castillo is said to be 27 but as we know with any guys from Cuba, Domincan Republic, etc., that means nothing. He could be a complete failure but this moves makes me happy for two main reasons: 1) it shows the Red Sox realized how pitiful their outfield options are in terms of prospects and guys in Boston; 2) they are committed to turning things around in 2015 after this steaming pile of elephant shit disguised as a season.

More than anything, Cuban players are really in vogue at the moment in MLB. White Sox rookie Jose Abreu-soon to be AL Rookie of the Year, Dodgers star Yasiel Puig, lights out Reds closer Aroldis Chapman and new Red Sox outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to name a few. Haha ever heard of any of them? While their fundamentals can be questionable at best, who cares since they are light years ahead of most players in terms of raw talent. Plus they play an exciting brand of baseball which the game desperately needs these days.

Boston could be gathering all these assets to make a serious run at Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton this winter. Miami is obviously filled with Cubans so Cespedes and Castillo surely would be fan favorites there from day one. Something to keep in mind before you buy that Cespedes or Castillo jersey.

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Are You Not Entertained? Another Day, Another Walk-Off Win for the Red Sox

At this rate, we can only conclude that A.J. Pierzynski is the anti-Christ while Dan Shaughnessy puts together his newest classic: "The Curse of A.J." The Red Sox improved to 2-0 in the post-Pierzynski era (that has a nice ring to it) and both came in walk-off fashion vs. the White Sox' dogshit bullpen. This afternoon on a perfect summer day at Fenway Park, Boston (41-51 overall, 23-26 home) came away with a 4-3 win in 10 innings thanks to Mike Carp's RBI single that scored Daniel Nava.

In the home finale before the All-Star break, the Red Sox earned a split of the four-game series with the White Sox and built some momentum (what a concept!) heading into the last series of the unofficial first half: three games in Houston.

I'm not Jon Lester's agent, though I wish I was with the dump trucks of money soon coming his way, but this game served as a perfect example of why Boston would be crazy to let him go either in free agency or via trade. He's pitching as well as he ever has in the regular season. It went down as a no-decision but he was brilliant, going seven innings and allowing one earned run on seven hits with 12 strikeouts and no walks. His ERA is down to 2.65.

Boston had more runs than total hits (3), so how did they come out on top? Well Chicago was 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base, sound familiar? White Sox starter Jose Quintana (7 innings, 3 earned runs, 2 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks) pitched well too but for the second game in a row, Chicago's pathetic relievers blew it.

Jose Abreu (2 for 4, walk, stolen base)-who is a lock to be AL Rookie of the Year now that Masahiro Tanaka is on the DL-made it 1-0 with an RBI double in the first that scored Adam Eaton (3 for 5). Quintana was working on a perfect game until the sixth when Boston tied it on Jackie Bradley Jr.'s RBI single and went ahead 3-1 on David Ortiz's two-run double off the Green Monster.

That looked to be enough for the Red Sox as Junichi Tazawa worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts. Koji Uehara couldn't nail down the save though as pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie took him deep for a two-run bomb wrapped around Pesky's Pole. Alexei Ramirez was 3 for 5 with a double, run and stolen base in the loss for Chicago.

No worries, Nava led off the bottom of the tenth with a walk then Mookie Betts sacrificed him over with a bunt. After Stephen Drew was intentionally walked, Carp (pinch hitting for David Ross) delivered with an opposite field single to left that scored Nava. Andrew Miller (3-5) had worked around a single and intentional walk to Abreu to survive the top of the frame.

I'm still not used to having the Astros (39-54 overall, 4th in AL West) in the AL (change is hard!) because I wanted to call this an interleague series. By looking at their record, you'd think Houston is awful and I suppose that yes they still are really bad. The difference is that now they have young stars like Dallas Kuechel and UConn's George Springer doing their thing in H-Town.

The two Texas starters on the Red Sox get outings in their home state-shoutout to Brandon Workman toiling away in Pawtucket!-as John Lackey (9-6) faces Scott Feldman (4-5) tomorrow night (8:10, NESN) in the series opener. Clay Buchholz (3-5) takes on Collin McHugh (4-8) on Saturday afternoon (4:10, NESN) then the jets will be lined up on the runway Sunday afternoon (2:10, NESN) when TBA opposes Houston's Jarred Cosart (9-6). After that, John Farrell, his coaching staff, Lester and Uehara will head to Minnesota for the Midsummer Classic while everyone else scatters around the country with four glorious days off in a row.

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The Curse of A.J. Pierzynski is Broken, Red Sox Start a Fresh New Chapter

A funny thing happened to the Red Sox tonight on the way to another heartless loss: they actually pulled out an improbable comeback capped off by a walk-off single by Brock Holt to beat the White Sox 5-4 at Fenway Park. Chicago (44-48 overall, 20-27 away) had been up 4-0 in the eighth inning before Boston (40-51 overall, 22-26 home) scored three in the eighth then two in the ninth for their seventh walk-off win of the season.

With their ace Chris Sale (7.2 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts) on the mound, this was a game that the White Sox had no business losing. He left after throwing 107 pitches; relievers Jake Patricka and Javy Guerra (0-1) each gave up two earned runs to blow it after Chicago had won the first two games of the series. It sounds cheesy but wins have been so hard to come by lately that I almost forgot how sweet they can feel in situations like that.

Rubby De La Rosa (5 innings, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts) made his first start for Boston since June 21 after he was called up to take Brandon Workman's place (while he went back to Pawtucket). Rookie catcher Christian Vazquez made his MLB debut and with Boston designating A.J. Pierzynski for assignment earlier in the day, this means that the highly touted youngster will be getting plenty of playing time to see what he can do.

Jose Abreu (2 for 4) hit a solo homer to center field, his 28th of the season (!), in the first inning. Conor Gillaspie (2 for 4 with double, 2 runs) followed with a solo shot of his own in the second for a 2-0 White Sox advantage. Chicago scored a run in the fourth on Mike Napoli's error and it was 4-0 in the seventh following an RBI double by Adam Eaton.

The Red Sox' rally started with something I've never seen before: an infield double by Mookie Betts (2 for 3 with 2 runs, double). Dustin Pedroia drove him in with a single then David Ortiz (2 for 4 with run) crushed an opposite field double off the wall in left center to cut it to 4-2. Jonny Gomes (2 for 3) made it 4-3 with an RBI double.

He batted ninth as part of Boston's five rookies in the lineup (their most since 1987) but Betts came through again in the ninth. He was hit by a pitch then scored the tying run on Daniel Nava's pinch hit double. That set the stage for Holt's first career walk-off hit and who better to provide it with how incredible he's been since he was called up (again).

It didn't seem like much at the time but this victory wouldn't have been possible without Craig Breslow (1-2-3 6th), Junichi Tazawa (scoreless 8th) and the newest All-Star Koji Uehara (5-2) who struck out the side in the ninth to set the tone.

In their last home game before the All-Star break, Jon Lester (9-7) faces Jose Quintana (5-7) tomorrow afternoon (4:05, NESN) as Boston tries to split the four-game series with Chicago.

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