The O's wasted no time getting to Doubront in the top of the first as Nick Markakis got a base hit to center to start. Markakis stole second as Young struck out swinging but Adam Jones walked. Chris Davis took strike three but Nelson Cruz got a base hit to left to score Markakis. Matt Wieters struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.
The Sox answered against Bud Norris in the bottom of the first as Grady Sizemore struck out swinging to start. Dustin Pedroia walked and David Ortiz singled off the Monster to move Dustin to third. Mike Napoli hit a routine grounder to Jonathan Schoop who bobbled it for an error to score Pedroia. Mike Carp hit into a double play to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
JJ Hardy grounded out to second to start the top of the second and Schoop took strike three. Lombardozzi grounded out to third to end the inning. David Ross struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Brock Holt also went down hacking. Jonathan Herrera popped up to short to end the inning.
Markakis struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Young grounded out to third. Jones flied out to right to end the inning. Jackie Bradley Jr led off the bottom of the third with a pop up to third before Sizemore flied out to left. Pedroia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Davis lined out to right to start the top of the fourth before Cruz grounded out to short. Wieters took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Ortiz launched his third home run of the season to put Boston on top. Napoli got a base hit up the middle but Carp grounded into a double play. Ross popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Hardy led off the top of the fifth by striking out swinging before Schoop popped up to third. Lombardozzi lined out to center to end the inning. Holt grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fifth before Herrera flied out to left. JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning.
The O's tied it in the top of the sixth as Markakis ripped a base hit to center to start. Young grounded into a double play. Jones doubled to left then stole third base. Davis was hit by a pitch then Cruz grounded out to third to end.....but wait! O's manager Buck Showalter challenged the call and New York Yankees manag.....err Head of MLB Operations Joe Torre DEMANDED the call be changed. Sure enough, the call was reversed and Jones scored to tie the game. Wieters hit a grounder to Holt who booted it for an error, but Hardy flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Sizemore flied out to left to start the bottom of the sixth but Pedroia doubled to center. Ortiz flied out to center and Napoli took strike three to end the inning.
Schoop grounded out to third to begin the top of the seventh and Lombardozzi popped up to first. Markakis walked and that was it for Doubront. Felix battled to allow just 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings off 5 hits and 2 walks. It was the Orient Express time as Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch and Young lined out to center to end the inning.
Good work by Doubront
The Sox took command in the bottom of the seventh as Carp walked to start but Norris threw high and in to Ross. Ross didn't like it and a shouting match occurred. When things calmed down Ross struck out swinging but Holt tripled to center to score Carp with the go-ahead run. That was it for Norris and Evan Meek (who shall not inherit the earth) came in to face Herrera. Herera dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Holt out of nowhere but JBJ grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Tazawa returned for the top of the eighth with Jonny Gomes in for Carp, and Jones flied out to right to start. Davis struck out swinging and Cruz grounded out to third to end the inning. Ryan Webb came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Sizemore grounded out to second to start. Pedroia dumped a base hit to right but Ortiz lined out to center. Napoli struck out swinging to end the inning.
The other half of the Orient Express, Koji Uehara, came in to close out the top of the ninth. Wieters walked to start but Hardy struck out swinging. Schoop and Lombardozzi both went down hacking to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.
Hero of The Night is Brock Holt. His rbi triple put the Sox up for good in the seventh.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Felix Doubront tossed 6 2/3 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7.
Junichi Tazawa got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Koji Uehara earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Grady Sizemore was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
David Ross was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Mike Carp was 0 for 2 but walked and scored a run.
Jonathan Herrera was 0 for 2 but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Jonny Gomes played left field in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
That was a good win and Doubront deserved better. He had Markakis struck out but got squeezed big time. The Sox rally in the seventh would have given him the win. Either way the Sox got timely offense to win this one including shut down pitching at the end. Tazawa and Uehara were one of the main reasons the Sox went as far as they did last year and today they slammed the door on the Orioles. Offensively Holt gave the team a lift big time and if the Sox do decide to bring back Stephen Drew, at least Holt had one moment in the sun. The Sox need to go on a nice winning streak to get back over .500 so hopefully this was the start. The Sox look to make it two in a row against Baltimore tomorrow night when Jake Peavy of the Sox takes on Ubaldo Jimenez of the Orioles. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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