The Sox just recently signed Doug Fister when he opted out of his minor league contract with the Angels. Ironically, his first start with the Sox would be against the Angels. Fister pitched himself a quality start, however he got little run support, so he still ended up with a loss. If Fister can be serviceable, it’ll be a nice addition to the roster until Rodriguez is ready and maybe even afterwards. The loss on Sunday meant the Sox lost the series and remained tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East.
Fister gave up 3 runs in the 2nd inning and that was all the result of a double play that upon review ended up being overturned. The Sox thought they got out of the inning without any runs scored when Espinosa ground into a double play. The Angels reviewed the play though and Espinosa was rules safe at first. The run scored from 3rd to give the Angels a 1-0 lead. Fister then gave up a 2 run RBI single to Graterol to have the Angels up 3-0. While the reviewed call was correct, what an unlucky break for Fister and the Sox. The Sox got one of those runs back in the bottom of the 2nd when Mitch Moreland hit a solo home run. Sox 1-3. The Sox got within one run when Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a solo home run of his own in the bottom of the 5th. Sox 2-3. Fister pitched through 6 innings and even went back out for the 7th. He gave up a single and a walk to begin the inning and that meant it was Farrell’s time to come out and get him. Robby Scott came out and got two outs before handing the ball over to Heath Hembree for the 3rd out of the inning. While Fister would end up with the loss, his pitching line looked pretty promising for his first time with the ball club. His line was 105 pitches, 6+ IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB and 6 Ks.
Joe Kelly came out to pitch the 8th inning for the Sox. He gave up a single, but got the other three outs to end the inning without allowing the Angels to score. While it was not a save situation, Kimbrel came out for the 9th. Kimbrel did the unthinkable these days and not only allowed a hit, but a run. Kimbrel gave up an RBI single to Cowart to have the Angels leading 4-2. The Sox bats weren’t able to rally for the win in the 9th, so the Angels won the game and the series.
Red Sox 2 Angels 4 BOXSCORE
WP: Bridwell (2-0) LP: Fister (0-1) SV: Petit (1)
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