Sox nemesis Chris Archer took the mound to begin the game. Archer was famous for celebrating strikeouts but complained when David Ortiz "pimps" his home runs. Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to center and Dustin Pedroia grounded out to third. Archer took the first battle against Ortiz when he lined out to left to end the inning. Miley got the ball to start the bottom of the first and got Brandon Guyer to ground out to second. Steven Souza Jr smashed one but it was snared by Pablo Sandoval at third. Logan Forsythe struck out looking to end the inning.
Hanley Ramirez singled to right to begin the top of the third inning but Sandoval struck out swinging. Ramirez took second on the strikeout for his first stolen base of the year. Daniel Nava struck out looking and Shane Victorino popped up to second to end the inning. Evan Longoria began the bottom of the third by flying out to right. Desmond Jennings also flied out to right but Tim Beckham walked. Rene Rivera grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox broke through in the top of the third. Brock "Hitman" Holt lined out to third but Ryan Hanigan beat out a bobbled shot to Archer, for some reason it was ruled as a hit. Mr. Mookie walked and Pedroia appeared to have grounded into a double play...only second baseman Ryan Brett chucked the ball into the dugout on the throw to first, allowing Hanigan to score. As sad as it was, this was the only run the Sox would score the whole game. Ortiz grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Brett atoned for his error by getting a base hit to lead off the bottom of the third. Bobby Wilson struck out swinging and Brett nearly got picked off. During the at bat to Guyer, he DID get picked off. Inexcusable base running that's for sure. Guyer grounded out to third to end the inning.
Brett left the game holding his hand so Forsythe moved to second base and Allan Dykstra came in at first in the top of the fourth. Ramirez singled off Archer (again ruled a hit for whatever reason) and took second on a wild pitch. Sandoval, Nava and Victorino all struck out swinging to end that threat. Miley remained hot in the bottom of the fourth. Souza Jr walked but Forsythe flied out to right. Longoria struck out swinging and Jennings popped up to second to end the inning.
Holt grounded out to second to begin the top of the fifth. Hanigan and Mr. Mookie hit back to back singles but Archer rallied to strike out Pedroia and his nemesis Ortiz swinging to end the inning. Archer celebrated coming off the mound. Sounds hypocritical but it would get worse. Miley let his pitching do the talking in the bottom of the fifth as Beckham lined out to Betts to begin. Rivera singled to left but was erased on the Dykstra double play to end the inning.
Ramirez struck out to begin the top of the sixth but Sandoval singled to center. Nava singled to right but Archer struck out Victorino swinging for his 9th K of his outing. That was it for Archer as Rays manager Kevin Cash pulled him for Brandon Gomes. Holt flied out to left and Archer began celebrating loudly in the Rays dugout as the inning ended. Last time I checked, he was losing.
Wilson grounded back to the mound to begin the bottom of the sixth and predictably, the wheels fell off for Miley. Guyer singled to left but was erased on the fielder's choice by Souza Jr. Forsythe and Longoria walked to load the bases and Sox manager John Farrell pulled the plug. He learned his lesson by leaving Rick Porcello in too long, so this time he brought in Alexi Ogando to pitch to Jennings. Jennings grounded into a force to end the inning but Miley didn't celebrate and dance around in the dugout like Archer did. Miley did manage to throw 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball.
Hanigan struck out swinging to lead off the top of the seventh. Mr. Mookie popped up to third and Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning. Ogando returned for the bottom of the frame to retire Beckham on a fly out to left to start. Rivera whiffed and Farrell didn't want to leave Ogando in too long so he replaced him with Robbie Ross Jr to pitch to pinch hitter Asdrubal Cabrera. Asdrubal grounded out to short to end the inning. Good situational pitching and managing there.
Forsythe moved back to first base, Beckham moved to second and Cabrera took over at short in the top of the eighth. Ernesto Frieri, the man who blazed through the Red Sox in the heartbreaker 2 years ago in LA, relieved Gomes and walked Ortiz to begin. Ramirez lined out to center, Sandoval flied out to left and Nava popped up to third to end the inning. It was time for the Orient Express to put the game away as Junichi Tazawa relieved Ross for the bottom of the eighth. David DeJesus pinch hit for Wilson (which cost them the DH) and popped up to short. Guyer grounded out to second and Souza Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
Rivera moved to catcher and DeJesus stayed in left as Jose Dominguez relieved Frieri in the top of the ninth. Victorino got his first extra base hit of the season when he doubled to right. Shane moved to third on the sacrifice bunt by Holt but Hanigan struck out swinging. Mr. Mookie flied out to left to end the inning. Still, Koji Uehara took the mound to close the game in the bottom of the ninth. Forsythe made things interesting by getting a base hit to left but Longoria banged into a double play. Jennings grounded to third and that was it, the Sox had won it 1-0.
Hero of the Night is Wade Miley. The Sox offense sputtered but the shut-out pitching got them the victory. Wade fell apart in the 6th inning but still tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings with just 3 hits allowed.
The Good:
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a stolen base.
Ryan Hanigan was 2 for 4 and scored the game's only run.
Alexi Ogando pitched out of the bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 6th and ended his outing with 1 total scoreless inning.
Robbie Ross Jr pitched in by retiring the only man he faced in the bottom of the 7th
Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 8th.
Koji Uehara got his second save of the year with a scoreless 9th.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Brock Holt was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a walk.
David Ortiz was 0 for 3 but walked.
Pablo Sandoval was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Daniel Nava was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Shane Victorino was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Chris Archer can dance in the dugout all he wants but he lost the game. Once again the Sox took advantage of shoddy defense although the real reason was their pitching. Getting double plays and out of jams when needed. Sure the Rays offense wouldn't scare Steve Urkel, but the Sox still have to win the game. Miley, Ogando and The Orient Express was lights out and you're going to need games like that on days when the offense does nothing. Its encouraging to win a game like that. Archer is a clown but he held the Sox to a lone run and the Tampa bullpen allowed nothing. Every win counts and tomorrow night Joe Kelly looks to keep the momentum going when he goes up against Nate Karns. The Sox have yet to lose a series this season and winning tomorrow night will keep that going. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Tropicana Field.
No comments:
Post a Comment