The Red Sox returned to the "W" column on Monday night with a 6-5 win over the feisty Dodgers. The win moves the Red Sox to 4-1 on the season and keeps them a half game behind the division leading Braves. The five inning affair came down to a close play at the plate with Lawrence Gilliam throwing to Grant Craddolph to get a Dodgers runner attempting to steal home.
1st Inning
Dodger ace, Morgan, got the start on the mound and made quick work of the Red Sox in the first; retiring the first three batters.
Tristan Williams (2-0, 6.00 ERA) got his fourth start of the year for the Red Sox on the mound. Phil Lawrence led things off for the Dodgers by reaching base on a mishandled infield ground ball. The Dodgers stuck first as Phil moved to 2nd and 3rd on wild pitches and then took home on a Red Sox throwing error. Dodger third baseman, Akia, singled on an infield fly ball but was left stranded as Tristan buckled down and recorded 3 strike outs to get out of the inning.
At the end of 1, the Dodgers led 1-0.
2nd Inning
Morgan stayed on the mound to pitch to the first 2 Red Sox batters at the top of the 2nd and continued his dominance by striking both batters out. Akia replaced Morgan to face Red Sox third baseman, Kyle Reece (.275 BA, .467 OBP). Kyle reached on an infield ground ball. Lawrence (.455 BA, .600 OBP) followed with a single through the 4-3 gap. Both runners were left stranded on a nice play by Dodger first baseman, Mike, who fielded a well hit ball by Dominic Vasquez (.300 BA, .462 OBP) and stepped on first base for the out.
Tristan turned in a nearly flawless performance in the bottom of the second by retiring the Dodger side on strikes.
At the end of 2, the score remained Dodgers 1, Red Sox 0.
3rd Inning
Bailey Goldstein stepped to the plate at the top of the 3rd and slugged a fly ball to deep right field that was caught by Dodger right fielder Khalid. Bailey's stroke would be a harbinger of things to come as the Red Sox bats shook of the "i-tus" and came alive. Grant (.667 BA, .737 OBP) stepped to the plate and singled to get the rally started. Derek Marshall (.667 BA, .714 OBP) brought Grant in with an infield ground ball single up the middle. Derek, following 3rd Base Coach Lawrence's instruction to "Get Here!!!!", was caught attempting to reach 3rd on the play for out number 2. Desmond Box collected his first hit of the year on an impressive fly ball to left field. Tristan (.455 BA, .625 OBP) followed with a walk. Dodger pitcher, Akia, dug deep and put an end to the 2 out rally by recording out 3 on a strike out.
Tristan stayed on in the 3rd and retired the first batter by catching a high fly ball on the edge of the grass. Dodger pitcher, Akia, stepped to the plate and helped his own cause by stroking a line drive to deep right field. The sharply hit ball was misplayed by the Red Sox right fielder, and the swift footed Akia stretched the double into a home run. Full of grit, Tristan beared down a struck out the next 2 Dodger batters to end the inning. This would close the book on another solid starting performance for Tristan. In 3 innings of work, he allowed 2 runs. He struck out an astounding 8 batters, walked 1 and allowed 2 hits; lowering his season ERA to 6.00.
With 3 innings in the bag, the score was Dodgers 2, Red Sox 1.
4th Inning
Kyle got things started in the 4th with a walk but was put out on a solid throw from Morgan to Phil as he tried to steal second. Lawrence followed with a ground ball single to right field. Lawrence would advance to second on a stolen base as Terrance Gant drew a walk. With runners at 1st and 2nd, Bailey stepped to the plate and delivered an infield single to 3rd base to load the bases. Grant doubled to left field to score Lawrence and Terrance. In his exuberance, he rounded second and met Bailey at third base – forcing Bailey home. Bailey was put out at home for out 2. Leading the team with a 1.500 Slugging Percentage and 9 RBIs, Red Sox catcher, Derek Marshall, stepped to the plate and delivered an inside the park home run on a line drive that skimmed the first base line to stay fair. Grant scored on the home run. Desmond followed with a walk but was left stranded as the next batter struck out. In all, the Red Sox rally tallied 4 runs.
Grant (1-0, 7.50 ERA) relieved Tristan to start the fourth. Dodger first baseman, Mike, walked to start the inning. Red Sox catcher, Derek, recorded his third CS of the season by firing a shot to Tristan at second to catch Mike attempting to steal. Grant would take care of the rest by recording outs 2 and 3 with strike outs. The final numbers on Grant: 1 inning of work, 2 strike outs, 2 walks, no hits, and no runs – a performance par excellence.
At the end of 4, the Red Sox led 5-2.
5th Inning
Phillip Lawrence relieved Akia for the Dodgers to start the 5th. Evan Lott was robbed of a base hit by Dodger SS, Kaelin, as he handled a shot off of Evan's bat at short stop for out number 1. Kyle delivered a double to left field. Lawrence and Dominic followed with walks to load the bases. Grant drew a walk to force in Kyle and add a very important insurance run. Phil would work himself out of the inning with 2 strike outs.
Lawrence (1-0, 6.00 ERA) came in to close the game for the Red Sox. He started strong with a strike out to get out number 1. He would then load the bases on walks bringing the tying run to the plate. Lawrence buckled down to record out 2 on a strike out. The next batter walked, bringing in a run for the Dodgers and making the score 6-3. Dodger utility man, Jordan Horton, stepped to the plate and hit a towering fly ball to 1st base. The Red Sox were unable to handle the fly ball and two runs scored on the missed ball and an overthrow to home. Grant's throw to Lawrence on the mound got away and the Dodgers attempted to send a runner from 3rd to score the tying run. Lawrence alertly retrieved the ball and flipped to Grant at home who applied the tag on the runner for out 3 – game over on a close call at home – way too close for comfort. Red Sox 6, Dodgers 5.
Game Balls go to the following players:
- Tristan for another solid performance on the mound – 8 strike outs.
- Derek for hitting a home run, scoring a run, driving in 3 runs, and playing solid defense at the catcher position.
- Lawrence and Grant for making the game saving play at home.
In other league news, the Dodgers defeated the Nationals tonight.
You can find the latest standings here.
I have attached the usual documents.
- Score Sheet
- Game Summary
I have also modified the Red Sox schedule to include the new snack responsibilities. You will also see 2 new columns for each game that allow you to link out to the Game Summary and Box Score for each game.
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Lawrence Gilliam
Red Sox Schedule
Minor Division Standings
http://LaderaRedSox.shorturl.com - Stats
http://LaderaRedSox.blogspot.com - Blog
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