THAT is the Rick Porcello (3-2, 4.38 ERA) the Boston Red Sox were hoping to get when they sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Detroit Tigers. Porcello was masterful tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays, holding Tampa scoreless in 7 strong innings. The Red Sox bats were once again relatively silenced but a sixth inning home run by Mookie Betts off Drew Smyly was all the offense the Sox would need. In the bottom of the eighth, Mookie hit yet another home run for the big insurance run. Koji Uehara slammed the door in the top of the ninth and the Red Sox had blanked the Rays 2-0 at Fenway Park.
Porcello got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kevin Kiermaier singled past a diving Xander Bogaerts to start. Steven Souza Jr struck out swinging and James Loney popped up to Allen Craig in left. Porcello had Kiermaier picked off....if he didn't throw the ball away for an error. Evan Longoria was frozen for strike three to end the inning. Smyly got the ball in the bottom of the first as Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to third to start. Dustin Pedroia drew a walk and stole second, but David Ortiz struck out swinging. Mike Napoli grounded out to second to end the inning.
David Dejesus singled to right to start the top of the second before Logan Forsythe lined out to center. Asdrubal Cabrera struck out swinging but Dejesus stole second on the play. Joey Butler flied out to right to end the inning. Pablo Sandoval grounded out to short to start before Allen Craig drew a walk. Brock "The Hitman" Holt took strike three and Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning.
Bobby Wilson grounded out to third to start the top of the third before Kiermaier grounded out to second. Souza Jr beat out an infield single to third but Loney grounded out to second to end the inning. Blake Swihart grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the third before Mr. Mookie popped up to short. Pedroia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Longoria singled to center to start the top of the fourth before Dejesus singled to left. Forsythe hit a bullet to Betts who doubled off Longoria at second. Cabrera struck out swinging to end the inning. Kiermaier absolutely robbed Ortiz of a double at the wall to start the bottom of the fourth but Smyly booted a grounder by Napoli. Sandoval struck out swinging and Craig flied out to left to end the inning.
Butler struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Wilson got a base hit to center. Kiermaier forced Wilson at second before Souza Jr got a base hit to left. Loney grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Holt grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and Bogaerts struck out swinging. Swihart hit a bullet but right to Cabrera to end the inning.
Longoria grounded out to third to start the top of the sixth although Sox analyst Don Orsillo hilariously went "Longoria's long throw is in time. As Sandoval is able to get Betts....wait, what am I talking about?" Even "Psycho" Steve Lyons had to laugh at that one. DeJesus grounded out to first but Forsythe singled to left. A wild pitch moved Forsythe to second....but wait! Sox manager John Farrell challenged that Forsythe was out. The umpires upheld the call but Cabrera popped up to first to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the bottom of the sixth as Mr. Mookie belted his third home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Pedroia grounded out to third but Ortiz doubled to right. Napoli grounded out to third and Sandoval struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Porcello returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh as Butler grounded out to short to start. Wilson struck out swinging and Kiermaier lined out to first to end the inning. Porcello was outstanding, tossing 7 shutout innings allowing 8 hits while striking out six.
Xavier Cedeno came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Craig ripped a base hit to left....only to get thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. Holt grounded out to second but Bogaerts walked. Swihart grounded out to third to end the inning.
Alexi Ogando came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Souza Jr popped up to first to start. Loney popped up to short and Longoria lined out to left to end the inning. Ernesto Frieri came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Mr. Mookie clobbered his second home run of the game for an insurance run. Pedroia flied out to center and Ortiz popped up to short, but Kiermaier couldn't catch a pop up by Napoli for a "single". Sandoval flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Mr. Mookie does it again
Koji Uehara came in to close out the top of the ninth and DeJesus grounded out to second to start. Forsythe hit one up the elevator shaft and Cabrera grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-0.
Sox win
Hero Porcello
Hero of The Night is Rick Porcello. He pitched seven shutout innings allowing 8 hits and no walks. He struck out 6 batters.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with 2 home runs.
Allen Craig was 1 for 2 with a walk.
Alexi Ogando pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Koji Uehara earned his fifth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Brock Holt was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Blake Swihart was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Damn good win by the Red Sox and second straight strong outing by Porcello. If he can get back on track, that would solve a little bit of Boston's pitching woes. The offense was once again held in check and its starting to get concerning. Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino and Ryan Hanigan all being out hurts but the Sox are going to have to make due. They still have plenty of time to turn it around but with this rotation, they NEED to start hitting again. Still, Porcello did a great job but so did Ogando and Uehara as well. Mr. Mookie continues to be a solid investment with two big home runs that the Sox desperately needed. All in all it was a good win and hopefully they can build some momentum out of it. The win improved the Sox to 13-14, 4 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against Tampa tomorrow night when Justin Masterson (2-0) faces Alex Colome of Tampa. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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