Red Sox 9, Guardians 1

 

I saw this one coming. Sox pitcher Sonny Gray continued to feed off of Cleveland batting, getting seven strikeouts over a full six innings and giving up only one run on four hits. It took the Sox a while to wear down Cleveland's starting pitcher, Parker Messick, but once they finally got him off the mound after five innings, Wong scored a run in the sixth and Durbin scored his second of the game in the eighth.

But let's talk about that ninth inning. Cleveland reliever Will Dion loaded the bases with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and a single, and then walked Yoshida on five pitches to bring home a run. Wong hit a two-run single, giving him three RBIs on the day. Duran then tied Wong's three RBIs with a three-run blast into deep right center. It was Duran's ninth homer of the season, and five of them have come in the ninth inning. 

The Red Sox win, 9-1, and tie up the road series at one game each. What a team! I love these guys! 

Tampa Bay lost yesterday, so the Sox bounce from 13 games  back to "only" 12 in the division. Toronto lost as well, so the Sox are now four back in the Wild Card standings, with five teams ahead of them in the race. Yesterday was apparently a tough day for the AL East, and I can't pass up the opportunity to point out that the Yankees lost, too.

Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.02) takes on Tanner Bibee (0-7, 4.57) in this afternoon's rubber match. Suarez is 1-1 against Cleveland in three career games, giving up 11 hits and getting 11 K's. He's yet to give up his first homer to the Guardians. Bibee's had 10- and 12-win seasons, but he's off to a terrible start this year, taking the loss in seven of his 12 starts. He's  1-0 against the Sox in two career starts, striking out five over 10 innings and giving up nine hits, including a two-run homer by Connor Wong in 2024 (Wong's in the game as the DH today).

Let's go, Boston! Let's go, Wong! Let's go, Duran! Let's go, Suarez! Let's beat these Guardians!