Wei-Yin Chen got the start for Baltimore and Jonny Gomes led off the top of the first with a single to right. Who says you need to be a fast runner to hit leadoff? Dustin Pedroia hit a sharp liner that was stabbed by Nick Markakis and David Ortiz singled to right. With 2 men on....Mike Napoli grounded into a double play to end the inning. So much for that. Doubront got the ball to start the bottom of the first and Markakis greeted him with a single to left. JJ Hardy hit a hard liner to Nava but Chris Davis beat out a double play ball. Adam Jones walked but Sox killer Nelson Cruz grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second. Xander Bogaerts singled to left and Daniel Nava singled him over to third. Will Middlebrooks banged into a double play but Bogaerts scored to give the Sox the 1-0 lead. David Ross struck out to end the inning, but 1 run is better than none.
Could Doubront pitch with the lead in the bottom of the second? Matt Wieters flied out to center, Delmon Young struck out swinging and Jonathan Schoop flied out to right to end the inning. That answered that.
Time for more offense in the top of the third. Jackie Bradley Jr reached on an infield single but Gomes lined out to left and Pedroia flied out to right. Ortiz then smacked what should have been a double but he had a load in his pants getting out of the box and it was just a long, rbi single as Bradley motored all the way home. Napoli struck out swinging to end the inning but again, 2-0 is better than nothing.
Once again Doubront remained red hot in the bottom of the third. He got Ryan Flaherty to ground out to second but Markakis singled to left. No problem, Hardy grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox tacked it on in the top of the 4th. Bogaerts singled to left but Nava flied out to center. Middlebrooks finally got a hit to left and that inspired Ross to single home Bogaerts to increase the lead. JBJ flied out to right but Middlebrooks moved to third. Gomes whiffed to end the inning but its nice to see Ross pick up where he left off in the World Series to give the Sox a 3-0 lead.
The O's fought back in the bottom of the 4th. Davis doubled to center and moved to third on a groundout by Jones. Cruz made things easier by grounding out to Middlebrooks but Doubront couldn't escape unscathed. Wieters doubled home Davis and Young singled home Wieters just like that. Doubront recovered to strike out Schoop but the lead just shrunk to 3-2.
Chen appeared to settle down in the top of the 5th. Pedroia flied out to left but Ortiz singled to right. Napoli flied out to right and Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning. As it was, Doubront got back in form in the bottom of the 5th. He struck out Flaherty swinging, got Markakis to pop up to short and whiffed Hardy to end the inning.
The Sox scored again in the top of the 6th. Nava struck out looking but Middlebrooks doubled to left. Ross grounded out to third so Middlebrooks couldn't advance but JBJ took care of that with a single that scored Will. JBJ reached second on the throw home to boot. That was it for Chen as O's manager Buck Showalter pulled him for Evan Meek. He did NOT inherit the earth but he did plunk Jonny Gomes only for Pedroia to ground out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Doubront would be chased in the bottom of the 6th as Davis singled to center to start. Jones flied out to right but Red Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough as he lifted Doubront after just 75 pitches for Brandon Workman. Normally someone comes out of the game that early with so few pitches if he's hurt, but Farrell knows his starters didn't really work long in spring training plus the wear and tear of October baseball last year means he's got to lighten the load a little. Doubront kept the Sox in the game with 5 1/3 gutty innings while being charged with 3 runs.
Workman made his season debut by striking out Cruz swinging but allowing a single to Wieters. Brandon uncorked a wild pitch that scored Davis to cut the lead as Young walked. With the pressure mounting and the go-ahead run on first....Workman got Schoop to ground out to second to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 4-3.
Meek returned for the too of the seventh inning and got Ortiz to pop up to second. Napoli struck out swinging but Bogaerts singled to right. Nava lined out to center to end the inning but its great to see Bogaerts tearing it up so far. Chris Capuano, the winner of the final bullpen spot battle royal relieved Workman for the bottom of the 7th. Chris made good by striking out Flaherty looking to start. Markakis grounded out to short and Hardy grounded out to second to end the inning.
Zach Britton replaced Meek to pitch the top of the eighth. Middlebrooks struck out swinging but Ross walked. JBJ banged into a double play to end the inning just like that. Now it was time for The Orient Express to save the day for the second game in a row. Junichi Tazawa struck out Davis to open the bottom of the 8th but Jones singled to center. Cruz beat out a double play ball and Wieters singled to center. With the go-ahead run on.....Young grounded out to second to end the inning. It wasn't pretty but Taz got the job done.
On to the top of the 9th where Gomes struck out swinging to start but Pedroia doubled to right. Ortiz grounded out to third and Napoli grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Now it was on to the bottom of the 9th where birthday boy Koji Uehara came on to save it. The now 39 year old struck out Schoop swinging then got two pop ups to Middlebrooks off the bats of Flaherty and Markakis to end the game. The Sox had grinded out a 4-3 win to take the season opening series 2 games to 1.
Because everyone pitched in, its hard to select just one Hero of the Night but because of how things have gone the first 3 games, we're going with The Orient Express. Yes, both of them. Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara have pitched a combined 5 innings and haven't allowed a run yet, saving both the second game as well as tonight's.
The Good:
David Ortiz was 3 for 5 with an rbi,
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Despite hitting into a double play
Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
David Ross was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi.
Felix Doubront picked up the win by allowing 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings. To be fair, he may have been able to pitch longer but Farrell pulled the plug early.
Chris Capuano pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
THE BAD:
Mike Napoli was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
THE UGLY:
Jonny Gomes was just 1 for 4.
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5.
Daniel Nava was just 1 for 4.
Brandon Workman allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in the sixth inning.
Final Thoughts:
It wasn't pretty but a win's a win. This was a typical grind it out win that was reminiscent of last year's run. It's nice to see the whole team step up in a win, especially early in the season. Doubront had one bad inning but looked great while he was out there and the bullpen has looked impeccable so far. Other than the wild pitch by Workman (which technically was Doubront's run) the bullpen hasn't allowed a run yet in 3 games. Like I mentioned earlier, its good to see the young guns (Bogaerts, Bradley, Middlebrooks) deliver. It may not happen all the time but its still great to see. The home opener is tomorrow which means ring ceremony, flyover, hoopla, etc and possibly an actual game. Jake "Duckboat" Peavy takes the hill in his season debut against Marco Estrada and the Milwaukee Brewers at 2:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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