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.
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.
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.
