Confession: I began the game in a mood because of the FOX broadcast. As a dedicated no-cable streamer for years, I have the MLB subscription and resent it when MLB spreads games across multiple platforms throughout the season. (How many subscriptions is a sports fan expected to have, for pete’s sake?!) I was ready with a new subscription, specifically to stream this game on FOX, but FOX, in all their brilliance, went with regional games and my market was showing the Brewers and Dodgers instead. Well, I didn’t want to watch that. I had to listen to the game on WEEI, rather than watch it. Infuriating!
Rant over. But my simmering carried into the first inning.
Ceddanne Rafaela, second batter of the game, did nothing to improve my mood. Three pitches, three swings—with the final pitch (I’m told) a foot above the strike zone. What the hell? Jared Jones, the Pirates starter, threw 10 pitches, nine of them strikes, and got two punchouts.
I was mad right up until midway through the second inning, when Wilyer Abreu mashed his 22nd home run. Nice to get out to a quick lead, 1-0.
Sonny Gray pitched well, doing his absolute best to be the stopper the Sox need, with four strikeouts through two innings. Masataka Yoshida tweaked a hamstring running out a double and came out of the game. We didn’t need that. The Sox had plenty of chances but were unable to capitalize; case in point, Durbin was picked off of first in the second inning.
It was a tense, frustrating game through eight innings, despite the Sox having the one-run lead for most of it. Thank god for the wakeup call to the offense in the ninth. Andrew Monasterio plated two insurance runs and then he was driven in by Jahmai Jones. Aroldis Chapman locked it down and we can all breathe a sigh of relief and sleep well tonight.
StudsWilyer AbreuWith a homer and two doubles, he almost singlehandedly contributed most of the offense, until the ninth inning.
PitchingSonny Gray bore down: 7 IP, 6H, 1 BB, 7K. Erik Miller did his job. Chapman got in some needed work and the pitching once again shone.
Andruw MonasterioBig hero tonight. What will happen to him with Trevor Story starting a rehab stint in Worcester on Sunday? He deserves to keep playing.
DudsCeddanne RafaelaHe’s gone back to his free-swingin’ ways and it ain’t good. He swung at some pitches he had no business giving a second thought to. 1-5, 3K.
Masa’s Tight HamstringDon’t like the look of this.
Offense, Innings 1-8Why do they make us wait until the 9th inning? Coming back to win a game is exciting but a sleepy offense coming alive late—but delivering too little, too late—is a tired act. Tonight’s one-run lead felt precarious simply because of that inability to score—until Monasterio broke it open, bless his heart.
- In the third inning, there were runners on second and third with one out: the second and third hitters (Rafaela and Rutschman) both struck out.
- The Sox had a second chance with runners at second and third, with no outs this time, in the fourth. Durbin grounded out, while Duran struck out on a pitch that was well out of the zone.
- They had a lot of chances, including getting the leadoff man aboard in the 4th, 6th, and 7th but they didn’t come through. Why no small ball to try to advance runners?
- The Sox left six on base and didn’t capitalize on a single RISP in these innings. They need to do more.
Andruw Monasterio’s double that plated two insurance runs in the ninth. Big exhale.
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