Red Sox 7, Giants 5: Return of the DH

Read the game, through my mind

It’s Rafael Devers’ first game against the Red Sox. It’s 10:15 PM and I’m already a little delirious. I hope you enjoy following my descent into madness during tonight’s game.

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Top First

10:15 pm: Can’t find my Fire Stick remote, off to a hot start.

10:19 pm: Roman Anthony with a green monster double, anywhere else flyout to end the inning. Nice swing though. 0-0, after a half inning.

Bottom First

10:22 pm: Not crazy about Dobbins’ two-strike approach against Yastrzemski. You’ve got that splitter/sinker/spinker, use it.

10:23 pm: 0-2, two hitters in a row. Better job against Ramos. Here comes Raffy.

10:24 pm: Thank god he didn’t immediately make them regret the trade. I’m sure he will later, though.

10:26 pm: The Dutch kid on my softball team who had never picked up a glove before last week probably catches that ball. Way to be, David Hamilton. 1-0 Giants, after one.

Top Second

10:29 pm: My NESN stream cut to commercial before the third out in the first and cut back in after the first out of the second. Gotta find that Fire TV remote.

10:31 pm: Very quick inning. Love the pace, not so much the score. 1-0, Giants.

Bottom Second

10:33 pm: Narvaez has dropped three or four balls already. I’m wondering if he has an equipment issue.

10:36 pm: Gotta throw strikes, Hunter.

10:38 pm: He’s hitting .180, Hunter.

10:39 pm: Three straight walks. This might get ugly.

10:40 pm: A double play and a single off the pitcher make it 3-0, Giants.

10:43 pm: That could have been a whole lot worse.

Top Third

10:47 pm: Really nice piece of hitting by Rafaela to get on top of a high fastball for a double.

10:48 pm: For some reason, I had the game on my laptop screen and this piece on my monitor. Switched to have the game on the big screen, and David Hamilton immediately went yard. 3-2, Giants.

10:51 pm: Duran looks like he wants to run, and I’d seriously advise against that with Patrick Bailey behind the plate.

Bottom Third

10:56 pm: Found the Fire Stick remote and a beer. What a haul.

10:58 pm: This Devers guy really needs to hit the weights. Only warning track power? Psh.

11:01 pm: Two-strike execution still needs to be better from Dobbins. Nice bounce-back inning, though. Still 3-2, Giants.

Top Fourth

11:05 pm: Welcome back, Wilyer.

11:05 pm: Just audibly groaned at the 0-0 hanger Trevor Story couldn’t pull the trigger on.

11:08 pm: Not crazy about the 3-0 swing by Mayer, but at least he moved the runner over.

11:11 pm: Ceddanne is really seeing Birdsong. He singles in Abreu to give us a whole new ballgame. 3-3.

Bottom Fourth

11:12 pm: Dobbins did a great job of pitching a shutdown inning after scoring two in the third. Would love to see him do that again here.

11:15 pm: Two ground ball singles to start the inning are less than ideal.

11:17 pm: Five walks and one strikeout, also less than ideal.

11:18 pm: Another double play by Christian Koss. 4-3, Giants.

Top Fifth

11:23 pm: Shoutout to NESN for pushing the Carlos Narvaez rookie of the year narrative.

11:26 pm: Jarren Duran steals second base. Great jump, but my god, Bailey has a cannon. I don’t know another catcher who makes it that close.

11:27 pm: Roman Anthony with a base hit up the middle to bring in Duran, and Bailey immediately throws the ball into center field. Just like that, it’s a tie game again.

11:28 pm: Watching Hayden Birdsong pitch would drive me insane if I were a Giants fan. The stuff is so good, but he can’t control an at-bat to save his life.

11:29 pm: Former Red Sox Christian Koss is having a nightmare of a game. He boots a ground ball, and the Red Sox take the lead. 5-4, good guys. Hayden Birdsong hits the bench for Sean Hjelle.

11:32 pm: How does someone as tall as Hjelle even live? You don’t even fit in most showers.

Bottom Fifth

11:37 pm: Heliot Ramos leads off with a single, and Brennan Bernardino comes in to face Devers. This game is about to hit a snail’s pace with both teams in the bullpen.

11:39 pm: What do we think, fellas? Should I crack another beer?

11:41 pm: Never seen Devers run that fast in my life. He’s 0-3 tonight after a groundout to shortstop.

11:43 pm: I’ve never seen Rafaela leave a throw so short as well. Nice recovery to get the runner trying to advance on the throw, I think? We’re tied up again, though. 5-5.

Top Sixth

11:48 pm: *CRACK*

11:52 pm: Have a game, Ceddane Rafaela! Home run to straightaway center field, and he’s a triple away from the cycle. 6-5. Red Sox.

11:56 pm: My dog sat behind me for the whole pitching change without making a peep. She gets a peanut butter pretzel for being well-behaved.

Bottom Sixth

12:02 am: It’s after midnight, and Zack Kelly is pitching in a one-run game. We’ve officially hit silly hours.

12:03 am: I’ve actually always liked Kelly’s stuff, it’s just never really played how it seems it should. Would love to see him put together a nice inning here.

12:07 am: Kelly strikes out two and walks one. The Giants bring a pinch hitter to the plate, so Cora counters with Justin Wilson. This feels like a game where Jorge Alcala ends up pitching the tenth inning.

12:09 am: Justin Wilson throws one to the backstop on his first pitch to put the tying run in scoring position. I think Narvaez could have caught that one, but it will go down as a wild pitch.

12:10 am: Wilson gets the strikeout to end the inning. Nice job.

Top Seventh

12:12 am: Joey Parcheesi into the game to face some lefties.

12:16 am: Wilyer Abreu brings in Abraham Toro with a base hit up the middle. 7-5, Sox.

12:17 am: Joey Fettucini is lifted in favor of Ryan Walker.

12:20 am: How many people do you think are keeping the scorebook for this game on the East Coast right now? My guess is that it’s only me.

Bottom Seventh

12:25 am: Heliot Ramos hits a single to bring up Devers as the tying run with one out.

12:26 am: Careful with the high fastball, Justin.

12:26 am: He tried to go downstairs, but missed down. Devers flies out to center and is 0-4. On comes Greg Weissert.

12:30 am: Weissert gets the out to end the inning. Way to go, Greg.

Top Eighth

12:32 am: Ceddane Rafaela up, needing a triple for the cycle.

12:33 am: He grounds out to first. I seriously hope he doesn’t get another chance at the cycle.

Bottom Eighth

12:39 am: Garrett Whitlock takes the mound for the eighth. One more domestic light lager, anyone?

12:40 am: If two hitters reach, Devers will get to the plate again. Decent chance it’s with the game in the balance.

12:41 am: Carlos Narvaez cost Garrett Whitlock a strikeout with his receiving, gotta be better than that.

12:44 am: Whitlock surrenders a walk and a single, so unless Bailey grounds into a double play, Devers will get to the plate one more time.

12:46 am: Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Dom Smith enters the game for San Francisco.

12:50 am: Whitlock walks Smith. Bases loaded, two outs.

12:51 am: Brett Wisely runs for Dom Smith. The Giants have now used five players in the ninth spot, and eight players in the other eight spots. Weird.

12:53 am: Cora and Bailey get warned for arguing a check swing call. Someone is going to get tossed shortly.

12:53 am: Whitlock with a HUGE pitch to strikeout Yaz. End of the eighth, 7-5. Sox.

Top Ninth

12:57 am: Carlos Narvaez gets rung up on a pitch about six inches off the plate. Sick.

1:00 am: Quick top of the ninth. Here comes Chapman. I’m definitely not nervous. Why would I be nervous?

Bottom Ninth

1:01 am: Devers hitting a home run early in his Giants career off Aroldis Chapman would truly break my heart.

1:03 am: Thank goodness they got that first out, and Devers isn’t the tying run. I’m not sure I could take that.

1:06 am: 102 mph to strike out Devers. 0-5. Welcome to San Francisco.

1:08 am: Chapman gets called for a pitch clock violation, and Cora is angry.

1:09 am: Flores pops out, and the Red Sox win. A little bit of a post-game scuffle as Chapman and Flores exchange words. Something to watch for tomorrow.

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Don’t look now, but the Red Sox are only four games back in the AL East. It wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done tonight. I have to get up early to watch my friend pogo stick five miles around a track, stopping to eat a cup of applesauce each lap, so that’s all I’ve got for tonight. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings. Until next time, go Sox.