Thanks To Verdugo's HR In The 8th, Sox Rally For Their MLB-Best 33rd Comeback Win Of The Season

 

    Their games still might take way too long to complete but at least the Red Sox (62-39 overall, 32-20 home) in 2021 are making it worth your while if you stick around for the later innings since they seem to have a special ability to never be out of almost any contest. Tonight in their series opener against the Blue Jays (49-47 overall, 27-25 away) at smoky Fenway Park (because of the wildfires in California), they trailed 4-3 in the eighth inning before left fielder Alex Verdugo crushed a two-run bomb (his 10th of the season) into the right centerfield seats that scored right fielder Hunter Renfroe (2-for-3 w/2B, 2 runs, BB). Closer and UConn product Matt Barnes worked an easy 1-2-3 ninth inning on just nine pitches to record his 22nd save of the season. 

    The win over the stunned Jays was the 33rd comeback victory of the season for Boston-the most in MLB-and it put them a season-high 23 games over .500 while their slim lead over the second-place Rays (60-40 overall) in the AL East slightly increased to 1.5 games while Tampa Bay has a game in hand. The Sox struck first with a pair of runs in the second inning on an RBI single by Verdugo that plated Renfroe and second baseman Michael Chavis drove in Verdugo with a ground out. Toronto tied it with a pair of RBI singles in the third inning by their superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (that scored catcher Reese McGuire) and second baseman Marcus Semien (that scored UConn's George Springer). 

    Boston's star third baseman Rafael Devers (2-for-4) helped the Red Sox pull ahead again 3-2 with a solo homer (his team-leading 27th of the season) in the third inning that hooked a few rows back into the right field seats. Red Sox killer and Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette hit a two-run blast over the Green Monster (his 18th of the season also scored Springer) in the fifth inning that gave the Jays a 4-3 advantage. From there, it was a battle of the bullpens which the Red Sox predictably dominated as relievers Phillips Valdez (2.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts) and Northeastern's Adam Ottavino (3-3; scoreless eighth inning) bridged the gap from the ineffective starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 hits, 3 Ks, 2 BBs) to Barnes. One of the main reasons why the Blue Jays currently sit where they are in the standings is due to their putrid bullpen.

    Boston improved to 8-4 against Toronto this season and they'll go for their fourth straight win against them tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as good old Garrett Richards (6-5) faces Jays ace Robbie Ray (8-5). Obviously, Ray is a much better pitcher than Richards but this same matchup actually happened last Wednesday in Buffalo with Richards outlasting Ray in a 7-4 Red Sox triumph. The Sox are 7-3 since the All-Star break and they own the best record in the American League with the Giants (62-37) being the only team with a better mark than them at this point of the season. Oh yeah and the trade deadline is Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. so if you need me, I'll be busy reading juicy tweets and rumor-filled stories about possible deals until that time.

After 6-5 Win In 10 Innings, Red Sox Earned Their First Series Sweep At Yankee Stadium Since 2011

 

    This weekend's three-game set in the Bronx served as a classic baseball snapshot of two teams headed in different directions. The Red Sox (36-23 overall, 20-10 away) put an exclamation point on a great few days at Yankee Stadium as they escaped with a 6-5 victory in 10 innings this evening. Down 3-1 in the seventh inning and allowing the tying run in the bottom of the ninth did not deter Boston as they kept grinding until they came away with their third win in a row against the fading Yankees (31-29 overall, 17-16 home) who have lost four straight games and they are 2-8 in their last 10 games which has dropped them into fourth-place in the AL East. For Boston, this exorcised some recent demons in NY as they picked up their first sweep at Yankee Stadium since 2011 and they ended their ugly streak of 12 series losses in a row there. 

    NY's starting pitcher Domingo German gave them their best outing of the series as he allowed a solo homer to left fielder Alex Verdugo (his 8th of the season) in the first inning but then he settled down to go 5.2 innings, allowing just that one earned run on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks. The Red Sox' starting pitcher Garrett Richards (5 IP, 3 ER, 8 hits, 6 Ks, 2 BBs) was not very good but Boston's bullpen (5 other guys) were able to outlast New York's (4 guys). Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had a two-run double in the first that scored DH Aaron Judge (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks) and shortstop Gleyber Torres (2 hits). Judge's ground out in the fourth inning plated another run for the home team and extended their lead to 3-1. 

    Second baseman Marwin Gonzalez tied it for the Red Sox with a two-run home run (his 2nd of the season) in the seventh inning that scored right fielder Hunter Renfroe. Boston took back the lead in the following inning as pinch hitter Christian Arroyo scored on Bogaerts' sacrifice fly. Each Red Sox reliever went one inning: Darwinzon Hernandez (2 BBs) had the sixth, former Yankee and Brooklyn native Adam Ottavino (1 BB) pitched the seventh, Josh Taylor struck out two in a scoreless eighth which set closer Matt Barnes up with a 4-3 lead in the ninth. He was working for the third game in a row and that probably played a major factor since he was not lights out as usual. Torres drove in Judge with a clutch RBI double to tie it up at 4-4. 

    I've said earlier this season that Bogaerts is the best shortstop in MLB but I'll extend that praise even further by calling him one of the top all-around players in baseball. He came through with another huge play: a two-run single in the 10th inning that scored catcher Christian Arroyo and first baseman Bobby Dalbec with the tying and go-ahead runs. Barnes threw 23 pitches in the ninth inning so who the hell did Boston's manager Alex Cora use in the 10th inning to wrap up the sweep? It was Phillips Valdez who allowed a run on an infield single but he also got a key double play and survived to record his first career save in MLB. 

    Boston returns home in second-place in the AL East-one game behind first-place Tampa Bay (38-23)-with an eight-game homestand about to begin. Before they can play three games with Houston (33-26) and a four-game series against Toronto (30-27), the Red Sox have a makeup date with Miami (25-33) tomorrow night (5:10, NESN). The Marlins are also 2-8 in their last 10 games so Boston hopes to keep them on their recent tailspin as Nick Pivetta (6-1) faces Pablo Lopez (1-3). After a series in Pittsburgh (23-35), Miami has to come here for one more game so hopefully their interest level isn't too high vs. an interleague opponent as they try to avoid a three-game sweep in their last meeting of the season with the Sox (haha assuming that Boston-Miami World Series ain't happening in 2021). Ideally, Boston doesn't get caught looking ahead to its more difficult opponents that they will see later this week.  

Down To Their Last Out, The Red Sox Rallied For An 8-7 Victory & Series Win Against The Blue Jays

 

    With their lead in the AL East dwindling, the Red Sox (27-18 overall, 14-6 away) picked the perfect time to stage their best comeback win of the season, 8-7 tonight in Dunedin, FL (Toronto's spring training home stadium) against the Blue Jays (23-19 overall, 10-7 home). Down 7-6 in the ninth inning with two outs against the Blue Jays' shaky closer Rafael Dolis (1-1), Boston's star DH J.D. Martinez hit a two-run bomb (his 12th of the season and the 250th of his career) to right center that scored second baseman Michael Chavis (2-for-4, 2B, 2 runs). From there, UConn's Matt Barnes worked around a walk to strike out the side in the bottom of the ninth for his 10th save of the season. 

    After getting blanked 8-0 in the series opener on Tuesday, the Sox won 7-3 yesterday and topped that with this evening's dramatic victory which leaves them one game ahead of Tampa Bay (26-19)-who has won seven games in a row; 1.5 games in front of the Yankees (25-19) who are 7-3 in their last 10 games and the Jays dropped to 2.5 games in back of Boston. With an absurd six no-hitters (1 fewer than the MLB record for an entire season) already thrown in 2021, it was refreshing to see something more along the lines of a softball game. The final score could have been much higher too since the teams combined for 25 hits and they left 17 on base.

    Nick Pivetta (5 IP, 5 runs, 4 ER, 7 hits, 8 Ks, 2 BBs) has surprisingly been the best starting pitcher for the Red Sox this season but he predictably came back down to Earth a bit with this outing. He was better though than the Jays starter Steven Matz (6 IP, 5 ER, 10 hits, 4 Ks, 2 BBs) who looked like the mediocre former Met that he has always been. Weirdly, Boston only scored in two different innings-the second and the ninth. After Toronto scored twice in the first inning on RBI doubles by first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2 hits, 2 runs) and right fielder Randal Grichuk, the Red Sox exploded for five runs in the second inning. First baseman Bobby Dalbec hit a three-run bomb that just stayed fair down the right field line for his fifth homer of the season that scored catcher Christian Vazquez (2 hits, walk) and right fielder Hunter Renfroe. The other two runs came on an infield single by center fielder Kike Hernandez (2 hits) that plated Dalbec and an RBI single by Martinez which scored Hernandez. 

    Toronto cut it to 5-3 in the bottom of the second with an RBI double by DH Bo Bichette (3 hits, 2 doubles, walk) that scored shortstop Marcus Semien, they tied it with a pair of runs in the fifth inning and they went ahead 7-5 in the sixth with two more runs. Semien scored on an error by Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers in the fifth and second baseman Cavan Biggio drove in Guerrero Jr. with an RBI single. Center fielder Jonathan Davis knocked in catcher Danny Jansen with an RBI single in the seventh then he was the tying run as Grichuk drove him in with an RBI single of his own. 

    Boston's bullpen finally settled things down beginning with Darwinzon Hernandez (1 IP, 1 K, 1 BB) who was followed by Phillips Valdez (2-0) who picked up four outs on just nine pitches to earn the win. Dalbec scored on a ground out in the ninth that preceded Martinez's heroics. This six-game road trip for the Red Sox ends with three games this weekend in Philadelphia (22-22 overall, 14-8 home) who is managed by former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi. Martin Perez (1-2) faces Phillies ace Aaron Nola (3-3) tomorrow night (7:05, NESNplus) followed by Nathan Eovaldi (4-2) against Chase Anderson (2-4) on Saturday night (7:15, FOX) and ending with the scuffling Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2 but 4.70 ERA) vs. Zack Wheeler (3-2, 2.52 ERA) on Sunday afternoon (1:05, NESN). The NL East is the worst division in baseball and the Phillies are 4-6 in their last 10 games so taking two more out of three games in another series would be a good way to end this trip for the Red Sox.

Until Further Notice, There Will Be No Angels In The Outfield This Season For That Wretched Team

 

    After seeing last year's disaster of a season, I think that Red Sox (25-16 overall, 13-11 home) fans are experts on what an awful baseball team looks like (along with Boston's other last-place finishers from recent years). The Angels (16-22 overall, 8-13 away) appear to be that type of lifeless bunch as they got destroyed 9-0 this afternoon at Fenway Park on a beautiful day that felt like summer. Boston's starting pitcher Martin Perez (6 IP, 3 hits, 5 Ks, 4 BBs) threw six shutout innings to pick up his first win of the season (1-2) then three relievers followed him with scoreless outings. Former Orioles stiff Dylan "Don't Call Me Bud" Bundy (0-5) got rocked for seven earned runs in just four-plus innings of work if you can call it that. 

    The Red Sox had three times as many hits as the Angels (12-4) and Los Angeles did not record a single extra base hit while Boston had five doubles and three home runs on the day. Is that good? Center fielder Alex Verdugo (2-for-4 w/2 runs) celebrated his 25th birthday (damn I am old) with a solo homer (his 5th HR of the season) in the first inning that gave the Sox an early 1-0 lead. For the second game in a row, the last two hitters in Boston's lineup came through as first baseman Bobby Dalbec (2 doubles, 2 runs) had a two-run double in the fourth inning, followed by an RBI double by left fielder Franchy Cordero. PS you know that your team is rolling when that bum is doing positive things. 

    The best shortstop in MLB-Xander Bogaerts (double, 2 runs)-put it out of reach for LA with a three-run bomb over the Green Monster (and the Monster seats!) in the fifth inning. It was his ninth home run of the season and he continues to lead MLB in hits along with many other offensive categories for his position. Cordero notched another RBI double in the sixth inning and third baseman Rafael Devers (2 runs, walk) provided the last run with a solo blast to the bleachers in right field in the seventh inning-his 10th homer of the season (tied for the team lead with J.D. Martinez). The unlikely trio of Phillips Valdez (strikeout), Darwinzon Hernandez (strikeout) and Austin Brice (strikeout) each pitched an inning of scoreless relief to wrap the second shutout of the year for the Red Sox.

    Boston goes for the three-game sweep tomorrow afternoon (1:10, NESN) as Nathan Eovaldi (4-2) faces Jose Quintana (0-3, 9.00 ERA) who is off to a nightmare start to 2021. The Red Sox have won their last three games in a row and Monday is an off-day so another beating of the Angels would be the perfect ending to this recent stretch of strong play against an overmatched opponent. The Yankees (22-17), Blue Jays (21-17) and Rays (22-19) are all playing pretty well at the moment too so even though Boston has the best record in baseball, they only lead their AL East rivals by two games, two and a half games and three games respectively. The early returns show that their division is the best in the American League and maybe even MLB depending on how you view the top heavy NL West (home of the Giants, Padres and Dodgers).

After You Went To Bed, The Red Sox Walked-Off The Rays In 12 Innings On Martinez's 2-Run 2B

 

    I'm nothing if not a man of my word and while I pledged on Opening Day to never talk about the Red Sox (2-3 overall, 2-3 home) again until they deserved even a sliver of your attention, tonight was the first time this season that they made me feel any type of joy. After getting swept in the three-game opening weekend series by Baltimore (3-2), they have bounced back to win their first two games at Fenway Park vs. Tampa Bay (2-3 overall, 2-3 away). Last night's 11-2 domination was nice and all but what can you say about that which will make it remotely interesting? Tonight was much more of what the blogger ordered as Boston rallied in the ninth inning to tie it at three, scored one run in the 11th to keep it going then won it 6-5 in the 12th inning on DH J.D. Martinez's two-run double to right. 

    The Rays did make the World Series last season (granted it was after a goofy 60-game regular season), the point being that they are expected to be way better than the Red Sox in 2021. Also, Boston was able to find a way to survive despite facing their ace Tyler Glasnow (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 hits, 9 Ks, 2 BBs) who mostly shut them down. Boston's starter Martin Perez (5 IP, 3 ER, 5 hits, 6 Ks, 2 BBs) didn't do much but at least he lasted long enough to give his bullpen a chance to go to work. You can't ask for much more than that from your fifth starter, especially when he goes against someone way better than him.

    Before they won it in extra innings, the only lead the Red Sox had came in the first inning when third baseman Christian Arroyo scored on a wild pitch. Former Red Sox prospect center fielder Manuel Margot dropped in a two-run single in the third inning which scored first baseman Yandy Diaz and catcher Mike Zunino. In the sixth inning, pinch hitter Joey Wendle made it 3-1 in favor of Tampa as he singled in second baseman Brandon Lowe. Martinez has been on fire to start the season-a welcome sight after his horrific 2020-and he cut it to 3-2 in the eighth inning with an RBI double which scored center fielder Alex Verdugo. 

    Catcher Christian Vazquez was the hero for the Red Sox in the ninth inning as he blasted a solo home run over the Monster off Tampa Bay's closer Diego Castillo who already had two saves this season. MLB instituted a new extra innings rule last year that you might not know about: every inning starts with a runner on second base and no outs, with the hope that the games don't last very long once they reach that point. After Boston's closer (we think) Matt Barnes pitched two sparkling innings (0 hits, 4 strikeouts), Rays shortstop Willy Adames drove in Lowe with an RBI double in the 11th to put Tampa Bay ahead 4-3. Boston answered in the bottom of the frame with a clutch RBI single by third baseman Rafael Devers (who had been ice cold to start 2021) that scored shortstop Xander Bogaerts with the tying run.  

     Rays right fielder Randy Arozarena (a breakout star last postseason) put Tampa back in front with a ground out in the 12th that plated Zunino. No matter, that set the stage for Martinez to come up against a sidearm reliever named Ryan Thompson (0-1) who hit Verdugo with a pitch then threw a wild pitch to advance right fielder Hunter Renfroe to third base and Verdugo to second base. Martinez hit an opposite field line drive that crossed up Arozarena-who made an incredible diving catch last night-and then he dove for it but the baseball landed behind him. Reliever Phillips Valdez (1-0) was credited with the win-his first-for Boston.

    The Red Sox will go for the three-game sweep tomorrow afternoon (1:10, YouTube) as Nathan Eovaldi faces lefty Ryan Yarbrough. Alert your grandpa and any other olds in your life that yes, the game will not be available on NESN or any other TV station, only YouTube. Thanks John Henry! Winning three straight against Tampa Bay would be a sweet way to erase some of the bitter feelings from the debacle of a series against Baltimore. With the Bruins and Celtics on this evening as well, I can't say that I paid much attention to the Red Sox until those other games were long over but credit to them for at least keeping my attention in the late innings. I still don't believe in this team at all but hopefully they prove me wrong and we have something resembling a baseball season this summer. Wouldn't that be a welcome change after the last two lost years for the Red Sox?