The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Monday, Aug. 7, at Fenway Park. This was the opener of a four-game series against the last-place Royals. Having suffered three consecutive losses in the wild card standings, the Red Sox needed to take advantage of this weak opponent.
The Red Sox got both an outstanding performance out of starter Brayan Bello and a career game out of shortstop Pablo Reyes. The Red Sox won in walk-off fashion after a controversial check swing call that went their way. With the win, the Sox have overtaken the Yankees for fourth place in the American League East but still stand five games out of the wildcard, behind the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners.
Both starting pitchers excelled in this game, going 6 and 2/3 innings. The Royals’ starter, Cole Ragans, gave up the first run of the game, allowing one earned run and one unearned run, while Bello allowed two runs with an otherwise great performance. After Reyes singled to begin the third inning, he stole second and advanced to third off a throwing error from catcher Freddy Fermín. Center fielder Rob Refsnyder then walked before left fielder Masataka Yoshida scored Reyes on a sacrifice fly. The Red Sox doubled their lead in the fifth after catcher Connor Wong doubled in Reyes.
Meanwhile, Bello was escaping jams left and right. In the first inning, he gave up a walk and a single before getting first baseman Matt Beaty to ground out, ending the inning. In the fourth inning, he faced runners at first and second after an error and a single. He struck out Beaty and got Fermín to ground into a double play. Bello got another massive twin killer one inning later. After right fielder Drew Waters doubled to start the frame, he stole third and, after review, was called safe. Left fielder Dairon Blanco walked, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Bello then got center fielder Kyle Isbel to pop out to Wong before inducing third baseman Maikel Garcia into a double play to end the inning.
The Royals tied the game up in the seventh inning on an incredible two-out rally. With Bello one strike away from ending the inning and completing a seven-inning shutout, Isbel hit a hustle double into right field.
Manager Alex Cora then took out Bello and went to reliever Josh Winckowski. However, Winckowski did not succeed in stranding the runner at second. The first batter he faced singled home Isbel and put the Royals on the board. The next batter, shortstop Bobby Whit Jr., double homed Garcia to tie the game 2-2. Fortunately for the Red Sox, the Royals would not score again, but they shocked the Fenway crowd by tightening the game.
The Red Sox kept the Royals scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings, thanks to scoreless innings from relievers Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen. At this point, the game had become a must-win. The Sox had used up all their high-leverage relievers. If you were to ask Cora, he would tell you that the Red Sox could not afford to lose a game in which Bello, Winckowski, Martin and Jansen all pitched.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Sox had a chance to win the game which was still tied 2-2. With one out, third baseman Rafael Devers ripped one down into the corner in right, which bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Right fielder Adam Duvall then struck out, leaving the Red Sox only one out to spare. The Royals intentionally walked first baseman Triston Casas to put runners on first and second for second baseman Luis Urias. On a full-count pitch, Urias checked his swing on ball four to load the bases. Royals manager Matt Quatraro was so upset at the check swing call that he was ejected. The replay would show that Urias did swing and the umpire was wrong, however the play was not reviewable and the bases were loaded for Reyes as he walked up to the plate.
Reyes took the first pitch for a ball from reliever Carlos Hernandez, before launching the next pitch for a grand slam and his first home run of the season to end the ballgame. The ball hit the left-field foul pole, sending Fenway into a frenzy, and making this game an instant classic for the 2023 Red Sox.
The Red Sox are now 7-0 this season and 22-4 all-time when they wear their yellow city connect uniforms. When Cora was asked in an interview if they would wear these same uniforms the next game, he said, “We ain’t changing.” The next game will also see the return of shortstop Trevor Story after elbow surgery in January. Kutter Crawford will start pitching for the Sox, coming off a five-inning scoreless performance against the Mariners. The Royals will start pitcher Brady Singer, who is 7-8 with a 5.10 earned run average. The Red Sox hope for two straight wins with a victory in game two of this four-game series against the Royals.
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