Conceding that the Sox cannot hit, they lost again, Danny Duffy owns them (and the rest of the league too, now), Miguel Gonzalez got hurt, and most of the results for the rest of the season are meaningless: hey hey, some good things happened Friday night!
1. Gonzalez looked really crisp for that inning he was in the game, striking out two and recording a scoreless inning, but all of sudden came to a stop with a 3-2 count to Salvador Perez and had to be pulled from the game. It’s been reported as a groin strain, and while the Sox have not officially announced it, he told beat writers he’s headed to the disabled list. Gonzalez had been nothing short of dominant since the beginning of July, accumulating a 2.76 ERA since the first of last month coming into Thursday night, going beyond simply being quite the savior as a league-average starter plucked from the waiver wire in Spring Training.
He was going to earn some money in arbitration, and this stinks for him.
2. Michael Ynoa is not the first name that comes to mind when multiple clean innings are needed, but he somehow dug up his best outing of the season, pitching three walkless, hitless and scoreless innings while striking out three. He really only flashed mildly upgraded control, and if his ability to hit the zone was the same with an only mild reordering of the pitches, he probably issues a couple walks, but it was nice to see him succeed for once. There’s a major league guy in there somewhere if the command ticks up a grade or two (or three).
After Ynoa gave way, Carson Fulmer came in for three innings of his own. He was dominant in his opening frame, twirling a perfect fifth, but started the sixth by issuing a leadoff walk to Jarrod Dyson–never smart, and Dyson getting thrown out at second by Dioner Navarro was overturned on replay–and hung a slider to new Royals tormentor Cheslor Cuthbert. A liner from Cuthbert to the right-center gap rolled all the way to wall past center fielder Adam Eaton, and tied the game a 1-1, and Eric Hosmer plated Cuthbert when he took a slightly sharper cutter and poked it to right.
3. That was all the offense the Royals would need. Their lineup had just four hits all night, but Duffy twirled a complete game with only 98 pitches, and didn’t allow anyone to reach third base after the Sox scratched across their only run in the second inning.
4. Sox rookies combined for the only offense as well. Demoted to the sixth spot for the night, Tim Anderson broke out for two hits, and flashed some more of his speed when Jason Coats inside-outed a two-out single to center to drive him in from second. Melky Cabrera was the only other Sox hitter to have a multi-hit night, but Cuthbert’s triple was the only extra-base hit of the entire game for either side.
5. Since the Sox have not formally announced Gonzalez’s move to the disabled list, they have not determined a roster replacement for Miami yet. Seeking help for a worn out bullpen and deciding on the replacement for Gonzalez in the rotation later seems like the move for the weekend. Matt Purke has already been up this year and would address the lefty void left by Zach Duke, Juan Minaya has been actually throwing strikes, which distinguishes him from the rest of the Charlotte pitching staff, and Zack Burdi‘s rapid ascent can only be held off for so long.
Team Record: 54-60
Next game is Friday at 6:10pm CT on CSN at Miami
Lead Image Credit: John Rieger // USA Today Sports Images
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