A road trip that looked like it would be a wild success before two preventable losses at the tail end was followed by a return to Fenway Park and a chance for the Boston Red Sox to make some home hay while the sun shined. But the scorching hot Kansas City Royals rained on that parade, taking two out of three from the Red Sox after a 10-4 walloping at Fenway Park last night.
This looked like a game the Red Sox could and probably should have won, taking a 4-2 lead into the sixth inning, but the sixth was a disaster for Boston, as starter Eddie Rodriguez hit a wall, and the bullpen had it collapse right on top of them. In the end, the Royals put up eight runs in the inning, and there's plenty of blame to go around. Start with Rodriguez, who only retired one batter in the sixth and gave up three runs, ending his night having yielded five overall. But Matt Barnes was even worse, giving up five runs on three hits capped off by a bases loaded triple off the bat of Raul Mondesi.
The only highlight of the night for Boston was yet another record book milestone for David Ortiz, who hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. That homer was number 534 for Big Papi's career and moved him into a tie with Jimmie Foxx for eighteenth on the all-time career home run list.
But individual honors are not motivating Ortiz at this point. He would much rather get into the playoffs one more time before he hangs up the cleats for good at the end of the season, and if the Red Sox are going to get there, they'll need a much better effort from the bullpen, and to play better at home in the few games they have remaining at the Fens. No team has more of its remaining games on the road than the Red Sox, a seeming disadvantage except for how badly they've played at home of late. The Sox have lost four of their last five and have now dropped two games behind the division leading Toronto Blue Jays, who feasted on the hapless Minnesota Twins last night. Baltimore also won over the Yankees so the Sox have just a one game lead over the Orioles for the first wild card playoff berth. As for the Royals, they looked dead and buried about a month ago for defending their world series title, but they've since won seventeen of their last twenty one to get back within striking distance, five and a half games, of the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians.
As for the Yankees, hopes for a sweep of the Orioles were halted by Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman, who scattered seven hits over seven innings of shut-out ball in beating the Yankees 5-0 at the Stadium in the Bronx. Mark Trumbo launched his fortieth home run of the year, which is tops in the majors, and Steve Pearce also went yard for the Birds, who snapped a three game losing skid with the victory. CC Sabathia took the loss for New York and maybe the biggest news from this one is that Gary Sanchez did not hit a home run for the Yankees. The rookie catcher recently made history by hitting his eleventh home run in just twenty-three games, the fewest games any player in major league history has ever needed to get to that total.
The NY Mets are banged up and scrapping to stay alive in the National League playoff race, but the injury bug bit again yesterday in a 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Already missing sluggers Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker to nagging recurring injuries that kept them out of the line-up, the Mets lost short stop Asbrudal Cabrera in the first inning when he left with soreness in his knee. The game was still up for grabs in the seventh when A.J. Ellis broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run double, a nice debut for his new team. Ellis was acquired by the Phillies from the L.A. Dodgers late last week in a swap for long time Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz.
In the NY Penn League, another tight game, this one in Norwich, Connecticut between the Tigers and Vermont Lake Monsters went the Tigers' way when a scoreless tie was broken with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, giving Connecticut a 3-0 win. Will Savage had the tie-breaking single for the Tigers.
The University of Vermont womens' soccer team got a late goal from Julia Smith, the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Manhattan at Virtue Field yesterday. Smith knocked in the deciding goal with just three and a half minutes left in regulation. Coco Speckmaier had four saves for UVM in recording the shutout as the Catamounts improve to 2-0 on the year.
The UVM women were also winners in field hockey, beating La Salle in an overtime thriller, the game-winner coming off the stick of Carla Godsman in Burlington yesterday. Landon Warren had the other two goals for UVM, who scored a comeback victory after falling behind 2-1, then getting the tying goal from Warren in the 69th minute to set up Godsman's OT winner. UVM is now 2-0 to start the field hockey season.
