“We’re staring a four-game sweep at home”.
Advertisement
With limited options available, the Red Sox have turned to outfielder Bryce Brentz, a power-hitting free-swinger who has spent the bulk of his seven-year professional career in the minor leagues. And while the final three innings Thursday were certainly disappointing, starter James Shields exited the game with a lead and Abreu momentarily picked up for a strung-out bullpen in the seventh.
Chicago has won three of the first four games in this series against Boston, one of the AL’s top teams this season. Ryan LaMarre came in as a pinch-runner and stayed in the game in left.
Add in Shields’ last outing with the Padres, and he had a 24.62 ERA going 0-4 in his previous four starts.
Shields held Boston to one run through five innings and left with a 4-1 lead in the sixth, but the Red Sox rallied to take the lead, squander it, and then send the game into extra innings before winning it 8-7 in the 10th on Xander Bogaerts’ walkoff single.
With Tazawa’s first batter of the day, Jose Abreu hits a three run home run onto the Green Monster to erase the short lived Boston lead, and go up seven to five.
The Red Sox are in a stretch in which 35 of 41 games are against teams that entered Thursday with at least a.500 record.
“The quality of baseball we played this series was probably the best baseball we played all year, including the nice start that we had”, catcher Alex Avila, who had four hits Thursday, said.
The Rangers now have a strangle hold on the AL Central leading second place by 10 games. With two men on and none out, Kimbrel also walked Avisail Garcia to load the bases. He is the first major league pitcher to give up 31 earned runs over a four-start span since Jose Contreras did so in 2007 – for the White Sox.
The former Rays ace allowed one run through five innings and left with a 4-1 lead in the sixth.
Red Sox: RHP Rick Porcello (8-2, 3.76) looks to raise his record in Fenway Park to 7-0 this season.
Shields was brought in to provide a veteran presence and stabilize the rotation behind Chris Sale and Jose Quintana but has been nothing short of very bad in his return to the American League.
Giants 5, Pirates 3 – At Pittsburgh: Joe Panik hit a bases-loaded triple, Mac Williamson launched a 446-foot home run and San Francisco beat Pittsburgh for its 12th win in 14 games.
Advertisement
Moving into the rotation this weekend are right-hander Nick Martinez (Friday) and right-hander A.J. Griffin (Saturday).
