Rays - 000 000 000 3 - 3 6 0 Red Sox - 000 000 000 0 - 0 1 1After a demoralizing bullpen failure for the second consecutive day and a complete absence of batting by the Red Sox, it's probably healthy to focus first on the night's silver lining: Once Joe Kelly (.2-0-0-2-1, 23) walked off the mound after only four batters with a "right shoulder impingement", the Boston bullpen threw 8.1 shutout innings, allowing only three hits and one walk, while striking out 11.
Heath Hembree (3.1-2-0-0-4, 45) was the first man out of the pen, followed by Robbie Ross (3-1-0-0-4, 39), Junichi Tazawa (1-0-0-1-3, 20) and Craig Kimbrel (1-0-0-0-0, 12). Unfortunately, with Koji Uehara getting a much-needed day of rest, that left only Matt Barnes and Tommy Layne as possible arms once the scoreless game went into extra innings.
Barnes's first batter in the top of the tenth, Kevin Kiermaier, lined a 2-2 pitch down the right field line for a home run, snapping the 0-0 tie. After Curt Casali struck out, Logan Forsythe doubled off the Wall. Logan Morrison flied to center for the second out. After Evan Longoria got ahead 2-0, the Sox elected to put him on. Then the lefty Layne came in to face Tampa DH Corey Dickerson, but Rays manager Kevin Cash sent up Brandon Guyer instead. Guyer hit a hot shot right at Travis Shaw, but the ball caromed off the third baseman's left wrist for an error, and the bases were loaded. Desmond Jennings sealed the Red Sox's fate by slicing an opposite-field ground rule double to right, scoring two more runs. After a walk to Brad Miller reloaded the bases, Layne finally recorded the inning's final third out, as Steven Souza flied to center.
Drew Smyly (8-1-0-2-11, 105) was superb, tying a career high in strikeouts. The Red Sox were retired in order in the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth innings. And the one inning in which they managed to get someone on base was a squanderific disaster: they loaded the bases with no outs and did not score.
Smyly walked both Chris Young and Ryan Hanigan to start the home third and Bradley, celebrating his 26th birthday, grounded a clean single to center. With the bases full, Mookie Betts grounded to Longoria at third, who throw home to force Young. Dustin Pedroia then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
Tampa Bay pitchers struck out 14 Boston batters, while the Red Sox pitchers struck out 13 Rays. Smyly fanned David Ortiz three times, and got Betts and Shaw twice each.
Betts, RFNoe Ramirez has been sent to Pawtucket with Heath Hembree called up to take his place.
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Shaw, 3B
Young, LF
Hanigan, C
Bradley, CF
Craig Kimbrel's bases-loaded walk of Troy Tulowitzki yesterday afternoon was the first bases-loaded walk Kimbrel had issued in seven major league seasons (32 batters).
David Ortiz had an opportunity to win yesterday's game in the bottom of the ninth. However, walk-off hits from Big Papi have been few and far between. His last two: July 31, 2010 and and June 6, 2013.
Also, the Yankees lost in 11 innings.
ReplyDeleteTwo Elias notes:
ReplyDeleteThe Red Sox were held to just one hit by three Tampa Bay pitchers in a 3-0 loss in 10 innings on Tuesday night. It marked the first time that Boston had one or fewer hits in an extra-inning game since September 18, 1934 in a contest the Red Sox would win 2-1 over the St. Louis Browns in 10 innings.
Drew Smyly allowed one hit and struck out 11 in eight innings of work for the Rays. He is the first left-handed opposing pitcher to allow one hit and register 10 or more strikeouts at Fenway Park and the only right-handers to do that against the Red Sox at Fenway are Walter Johnson (July 1, 1920), Bob Feller (May 25, 1939), Jim Bunning (July 20, 1958), Mike Mussina (September 2, 2001) and Jake Arrieta (June 30, 2014).