The much maligned Dempster got the ball and immediately ran into trouble in the top of the first. Elvis Andrus popped up to first but old pal David Murphy was hit with a pitch. Lance Berkman dropped down a bunt single but Nelson Cruz beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Mitch Moreland grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox got on the board in the bottom of the inning off ineffective starter Justin Grimm. Daniel Nava began his amazing night by working a walk. Mike Carp singled him over to third but Dustin Pedroia struck out swinging. David Ortiz smacked a double to left that scored Nava and moved Carp over to third. Mike Napoli walked to load the bases then Jarrod Saltalamacchia beat out a double play ball that scored Carp with the second run. Stephen "PU" Drew flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
AJ Pierzynski singled in the hole at short to start the top of the second but Jeff Baker took strike three. Jurickson Profar flied out to right and Leonys Martin struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox then went into beast mode in the bottom of the second. Jose Iglesias doubled to center then rookie Jackie Bradley Jr smoked a 2 run home run as the Fenway faithful cheered. After his early season struggles, its nice to see Bradley contribute.
Bradley's first home run
The Sox weren't done yet. Nava singled to right and Carp worked a walk. After Pedroia flied out to right, Ortiz electrified the crowd with a hilarious 2 run triple. Watching Ortiz romp around the bases reminded old time Sox fans of Luis Tiant in the 1975 World Series. Ortiz then had to run some more as he scored on Mike Napoli's sac fly to increase the lead. Saltalamacchia doubled to left to chase Grimm from the game. Michael Kirkman replaced Grimm and PU Drew greeted him with a run scoring double to cemter. The man who started the inning, Iglesias, ended it with a strikeout but when the dust settled it was 8-0 Boston.
Dempster responded by striking out Andrus looking to start the top of the third. Murphy whiffed then Berkman grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third although JBJ lined out to left to start. Nava hit a ground rule double into the right field bleachers and MagiCarp singled him in to increase the lead. Pedroia doubled Carp to third but Ortiz struck out swinging. Napoli was intentionally walked to load the bases for Saltalamacchia who crapped his pants by striking out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-0.
The Sox weren't done yet. Nava singled to right and Carp worked a walk. After Pedroia flied out to right, Ortiz electrified the crowd with a hilarious 2 run triple. Watching Ortiz romp around the bases reminded old time Sox fans of Luis Tiant in the 1975 World Series. Ortiz then had to run some more as he scored on Mike Napoli's sac fly to increase the lead. Saltalamacchia doubled to left to chase Grimm from the game. Michael Kirkman replaced Grimm and PU Drew greeted him with a run scoring double to cemter. The man who started the inning, Iglesias, ended it with a strikeout but when the dust settled it was 8-0 Boston.
The unlikely speedster motors around for a triple
Dempster responded by striking out Andrus looking to start the top of the third. Murphy whiffed then Berkman grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third although JBJ lined out to left to start. Nava hit a ground rule double into the right field bleachers and MagiCarp singled him in to increase the lead. Pedroia doubled Carp to third but Ortiz struck out swinging. Napoli was intentionally walked to load the bases for Saltalamacchia who crapped his pants by striking out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-0.
The Rangers struck back in the top of the fourth although Cruz flied out to right to start. Moreland grounded out to second but AJ Pierzynski hit a ground rule double. Baker hit a cheap home run around the foul pole to cut the lead but Profar popped up to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-2.
Joe Ortiz relieved Kirkman for the bottom of the 4th and PU Drew led off with a 400 foot bomb to center, his 5th of the year. The Sox then beat the ball in the dirt as Iglesias grounded out to short, JBJ grounded out to second and Nava grounded out to short to end the inning with Boston ahead 10-2.
Not so PU tonight. Home run Drew
Martin drew a walk to start the top of the fifth but Andrus whiffed. Murphy popped up to third and Berkman grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as MagiCarp led off with his 4th home run of the year to extend the lead. Pedroia flied out to right and both Ortiz and Napoli grounded out to third to end the inning. The rout was on as it was 11-2 Sox.
Martin drew a walk to start the top of the fifth but Andrus whiffed. Murphy popped up to third and Berkman grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as MagiCarp led off with his 4th home run of the year to extend the lead. Pedroia flied out to right and both Ortiz and Napoli grounded out to third to end the inning. The rout was on as it was 11-2 Sox.
MagiCarp once again is better as a starter than pinch hitter
The Rangers struck back in the top of the sixth when Cruz led off with a home run into the centerfield bleacher camerawell to start. Moreland took strike three, Pierzynski flied out to center and Baker grounded out to third to end the inning but it was 11-3 Sox.
For the third straight inning, the Sox led off with a home run. This time it was Saltalamacchia who clobbered his sixth of the year to begin the bottom of the sixth. "No longer PU" Drew singled to left and Baker threw a ground ball by Iglesias into the dugout allowing Drew to reach third. JBJ grounded out but Drew scored and Iglesias moved to third. Nava then lofted a fly ball that Cruz flubbed, allowing Iglesias to score and Nava to motor his way to third. Jason Frasor relieved Ortiz and MagiCarp drove in yet another run with a sac fly that scored Nava. Pedroia struck out swinging but the game was truly out of hand with the Sox ahead 15-3.
Dempster returned for one more inning in the top of the seventh as Profar grounded out to second to start. Martin grounded out to first but Leury Garcia pinch hit for Andrus. Garcia grounded out to second to end the inning. That was it for Dempster who pitched one of his better games this season, allowing just 3 runs in 7 innings of work.
Craig Gentry came in for Cruz and Ross Wolf relieved Frasor for the bottom of the seventh. Ortiz grounded out to first and Napoli popped up to first, but Saltalamacchia singled to left. Drew doubled to right and Iglesias singled home both runners to wrap up the scoring for the Sox. JBJ grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 17-3 Red Sox.
Clayton "Vigo" Mortensen came in for the top of the eighth while Pedro Ciriaco took over at third and Iglesias moved to second, giving Pedroia the rest of the night off. Vigo struck out both Murphy and Berkman, but bobbled a ground ball by Gentry to allow him to reach first. It was a huge mistake as Moreland swatted a 2 run home run into the Charles River to cut the lead. Pierzynski singled to center and Baker singled to short. Profar walked to chase Vigo, he was just one out away from a clean inning before pooping his pants. Andrew Miller came in and got Martin to ground into a force to end the inning with the Rangers down 17-5.
Rangers manager Ron Washington then tried to save his bullpen by having Murphy pitch the bottom of the eighth with Geovany Soto taking over for Berkman. Nava doubled to left to lead the inning off and MagiCarp looked at strike three. Carp was so outraged that a position player could strike him out, he complained to umpire Andy Fletcher who gave him the boot. Ciriaco lined out to left and Ortiz flied out to right to end the inning. Ironic that it was a position player that held the Sox scoreless for the first time all night.
Jonny Gomes came in to play left with Miller returning to close out the top of the ninth. Garcia watched strike three go by, Murphy flied out to left and Soto took strike three to end the game. The Sox beat the daylights out of the Rangers with a 17-5 win.
So many, many choices for Hero of the Night with 19 total hits but I'll go with Mike Carp. Carp was 3 for 4 including a home run as well as a walk. He drove in 3 runs and scored 3 times before getting ejected for complaining about being struck out by Murphy.
Hero of the night: MagiCarp
The Good:
Daniel Nava was 3 for 4 with a walk, rbi and 4 runs scored.
David Ortiz was 2 for 6 with 3 rbis and a run scored.
Mike Napoli walked twice and drove in a run.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 3 for 5 with 2 total rbis, 3 total runs scored and a home run.
Stephen Drew was 4 for 5 with 2 total rbis, 3 total runs scored and a home run.
Jose Iglesias was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Ryan Dempster tossed 7 innings of 3 run ball to earn the win. He struck out 6 batters while walking one.
Andrew Miller tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Pedro Ciriaco was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Clayton Mortensen allowed 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but drove in 3 runs with a 2 run home run.
Honorable Mention:
Johnny Gomes played left field in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Wow, what a massacre. It was sweet revenge as the Rangers have pretty much had their way with the Red Sox for the past few years. Banging out 19 hits was a lot of frustration being released. Unfortunately what this usually means is they'll struggle to score runs tomorrow. Still, it was an impressive win and its nice to see the offense get going. Nava is hitting .307 with 38 rbi's, only one less than Ortiz which is great news considering the fragility of Ellsbury and Shane Victorino. Dempster stepped up tonight and its too bad he can't pitch like that more often. What else can be said in a game like this? The win improved the Sox to 36-23, 2 1/2 games in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. This time last year they were 28-26. Tomorrow the Sox look to make it two in a row against the Rangers when John Lackey (3-5, 2.96 ERA) takes the hill against Alexi Ogando of Texas. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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