Odorizzi got the ball and pitched outstanding to start the top of the first. Mr. Mookie Betts led the game off with a ground out to second and Dustin Pedroia struck out swinging. David Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning. The schizophrenic Buchholz got the ball in the bottom of the first and struck out David Dejesus looking to open. Steven Souza Jr grounded out to third and Asdrubal Cabrera flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Pablo Sandoval doubled to right to start. Mike Napoli moved him over to third with a groundout and Daniel Nava brought him home with a sac fly to give the Sox the lead. Sad as it is, they would only have 2 hits the rest of the game. Allen Craig popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Rays struck back in the bottom of the second as Evan Longoria pounded a ground rule double to left and moved to third on the Desmond Jennings ground out to second. Allen Dykstra was hit by a pitch and Logan Forsythe singled in Longoria. Buchholz recovered strike out Kevin Kiermaier looking and Rene Rivera swinging to retire the side with the game tied 1-1.
Xander Bogaerts continued his slump by flying out to center to start the top of the third. Sandy Leon grounded out to first but Mr.Mookie got plunked. Betts stole second to keep the Sox perfect in stolen base attempts this season but Pedroia grounded out to short to end the inning. Dejesus walked to lead off the bottom of the third but Clay struck out Souza Jr looking. Cabrera whiffed before Longoria grounded out to second to end the inning.
Odorizzi cruised in the top of the fourth as Ortiz whiffed to start. Sandoval grounded out to first and Napoli grounded out to short to end the inning. Jennings struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the fourth before Dykstra grounded out to first.Forsythe walked but Kiermaier struck out swinging as well to end the inning.
Nava struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Craig flied out to center. The defensive play of the game occurred after Bogaerts singled to right and Leon walked. Betts lashed one to center that Kiermaier dove to get. Had he missed, possibly both runners score. Instead it was a loud out and the game remained tied.
Odorizzi cruised in the top of the fourth as Ortiz whiffed to start. Sandoval grounded out to first and Napoli grounded out to short to end the inning. Jennings struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the fourth before Dykstra grounded out to first.Forsythe walked but Kiermaier struck out swinging as well to end the inning.
Nava struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Craig flied out to center. The defensive play of the game occurred after Bogaerts singled to right and Leon walked. Betts lashed one to center that Kiermaier dove to get. Had he missed, possibly both runners score. Instead it was a loud out and the game remained tied.
Buchholz continued to be red hot as he got Rivera to fly out to start the bottom of the fifth. Dejesus grounded out to first and Souza Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.
Pedroia Ortiz both flied out to deep center to start the top of the sixth. Sandoval flied out to left to end the inning. Cabrera walked to start the bottom of the sixth but Longoria struck out looking. Cabrera was erased on the fielder's choice by Jennings and Clay ended his outing by striking out Dykstra swinging to end the inning. Buchholz was almost unhittable as he allowed just 1 run in 6 innings while striking out ten.
Napoli flied out to left to open the top of the seventh inning before Nava flied out to center. Craig singled to left and Bogaerts walked to chase Odorizzi. Brandon Gomes came in to pitch and Hanley Ramirez pinch hit for Leon. Hanley looked at strike three to end the inning, I could have done that!
Alexi Ogando came on for the bottom of the seventh as Ryan Hanigan took over behind the plate. Forsythe grounded out to short to start and Kiermaier grounded out to second. Rivera walked but Dejesus flied out to left to end the inning.
Kevin Jepsen took over for Gomes for the top of the eighth and got Mr. Mookie to fly out to center to start. Pedroia grounded out to short and Ortiz reached first on an error by Dykstra. Could the Sox capitalize? NO! Sandoval grounded out to short to end the inning. Junichi Tazawa came on for the bottom of the eighth andSouza Jr grounded out to short to start. Cabrera singled to right but Longoria flied out to right. Jennings popped up to short to end the inning.
Rays closer Brad Boxberger was brought in to pitch the top of the ninth and Napoli flied out to right to start. Nava struck out swinging and Craig popped up to second to end the inning. 1 run in 9 innings for the new and improved offense? Pathetic. Anthony Varvaro (0-1, 2.25 ERA) was brought in to pitch the bottom of the ninth over Koji Uehara since the game was tied. The move backfired as Dykstra singled to right to start and Tim Beckham pinch ran for him. Forsythe flied out to right but Kiermaier singled to left. The number 9 hitter, Rivera, slashed the game winning hit down the left field line to end it. Just like that, the Rays had taken 2 of 3 from the Sox with their 2-1 win.
Jackass of the night is Anthony Varvaro for blowing the game in the 9th inning.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 2 with a walk.
Sandy Leon walked once in two plate appearances.
Clay Buchholz pitched 6 solid innings and only allowed a single run while striking out 10. If the Sox offense had done anything, he would have won the game.
Alexi Ogando pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
David Ortiz was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Mike Napoli was 0 for 4.
Hanley Ramirez struck out in his only plate appearance.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 3 but walked, got hit with a pitch and stole second.
Mookie Betts was 0 for 3 but walked, got hit with a pitch and stole second.
Pablo Sandoval was just 1 for 4 but scored the team's only run.
Daniel Nava was 0 for 3 but drove in the team's only run with a sac fly.
Allen Craig was just 1 for 4.
Honorable Mention:
Ryan Hanigan caught the 8th and 9th inning.
Final Thoughts:
What a way to ruin a great start by Buchholz. The Sox 2,3 and 4 hitters combined to go 0 for 12 with 2 strikeouts. You're not going to win too many games with that kind of horrendous production from the heart of your order. The Sox dropped two in a row to the lowly Rays and looming on the horizon is three games with the defending AL East champion Baltimore Orioles. The New York Yankees have caught the Sox as well and its only a matter of time before the Sox get left in the dust unless they pick up their game. On paper their offense is stacked with a great mix of veterans and youth but their starters can only go six innings at a time. If they don't start going deeper into games, the bullpen will be toast by June at this rate. The Sox now head to Baltimore to face the Orioles with Rick Porcello on the mound facing Miguel Gonzalez tomorrow night in Baltimore. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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