The Boston Red Sox should be in San Diego right now enjoying an off day, but Mother Nature had other ideas.
You’ll remember that earlier in the month (Aug. 7 to be exact), the Sox and Kansas City Royals were playing the series finale of their three-game set at Fenway Park. However, it started raining like mad during the top of the 10th inning, forcing the game to be suspended. Thursday was the most logical option for the game to be continued, so the Royals flew back up to Boston following a series in Baltimore to close the game out. It will resume at 1 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game on NESN.
It could take 15 minutes or three hours, but here’s a refresher on where things stand.
When the game resumes it will be tied 4-4 in the middle of an at-bat in the top of the 10th. Meibrys Viloria worked into a 2-1 count from Josh Taylor before the rain suspended the game, so that’s the precise spot they’ll restart the game. Viloria is the inning’s leadoff hitter, so the bases are clear. Taylor pitched one inning in Tuesday’s game, so he should be fresh.
Now, they got to extras due in part to a nice comeback from the Royals.
Viloria’s two-run single to center in the third inning put the KC up 2-0. But in the bottom of the fourth, J.D. Martinez launched a two-run shot to center to tie the game, then Boston grabbed a 4-2 lead in the fifth on a Xander Bogaerts double. The Royals started clawing back when Whit Merrifield roped an RBI single in the sixth to pull within one, then they completed the comeback with Nicky Lopez’s game-tying double in the seventh.
Kansas City has exhausted five pitchers (including their starter), while the Red Sox have used four (Eduardo Rodriguez, Darwinzon Hernandez, Nathan Eovaldi and Brandon Workman) — none of the previously used pitchers can return to the game. Neither team went to their bench, so all of those players are available.
One other unique quirk: Since this game, the Royals released center fielder Billy Hamilton, who was scheduled to hit third in the top of the 10th inning. Because of that, the Royals are able to replace him with somebody not already in the lineup.
This is an unusual one for sure, but a win would put the Red Sox 6 1/2 games out of the second wild-card spot, so they badly need a victory.
