As for the game, the slumping Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts finally got the offense going and it led to a convincing 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Rick Porcello pitched well and the Sox got to feast on Chris Archer again.
Rick Porcello took the mound and struck out both Logan Forsythe and Logan Morrison to begin the game. Evan Longoria flied out to end the inning. It took the Sox 3 batters to score more runs in this game than last game total. Chris Archer had nothing in the bottom of the first. Mr. Mookie Betts walked, Dustin Pedroia singled and Xander Bogaerts singled home Betts. David Ortiz doubled both Pedroia and Bogaerts home to make it 3-0. Ortiz moved to third on the wild pitch by Archer, unfortunately Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw let Archer off the ropes by striking out in succession. Brock "Hitman" Holt grounded out to end the inning. Not getting that fourth run could have proved fatal, luckily it didn't.
Porcello pitched with the lead and determination in the top of the second. Corey Dickerson flied out, Desmond Jennings struck out and Brad Miller struck out as well to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second.Christian Vazquez struck out but Jackie Bradley Jr doubled. Betts had been slumping but not today as he launched a 2 run bomb to left to give the Sox a 5-0 lead.
Pedroia flied out and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning. Nice to see Betts break out.
The Rays threatened in the top of the third. Steven Souza Jr hit one in the hole at short and reached. Kevin Kiermaier grounded out but advanced the runner. Souza Jr challenged Vazquez arm and somehow won by swiping third. Hank Conger popped up and Forsythe struck out to end the threat. Ortiz struck out to begin the bottom of the third. Ramirez grounded out but Shaw singled. Holt flied out to end the inning.
Morrison flied out to right to begin the top of the fourth inning. Longoria grounded right back to Porcello. The Rays threatened when Dickerson doubled and Jennings walked. Miller lined out to right to end the threat. Vazquez struck out for the second time to open the bottom of the fourth. JBJ and Mr. Mookie both walked but Pedroia banged into a double play. Sox analyst Joe Castiglione said that Pedroia banged into his 5th double play this season already, he had hit into just 6 all last year.
Porcello cruised through the top of the fifth inning. Souza Jr grounded out then both Kiermaier and Conger struck out to end the frame. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the 6th, but it came at a price. Bogaerts singled and Ortiz doubled him home, but Bogaerts pulled up lame running the bases and had to leave the game. Ramirez struck out and that was it for Archer, Rays manager Kevin Cash pulled him trailing 6-0 for former Pawsox reliever Dana Eveland.
Shaw flied out and Hitman Holt singled Ortiz to third. Holt then swiped second but was stranded when Vazquez earned the hat trick with his third strikeout.
The Rays finally got on the board in the top of the 6th. Bogaerts left the game with a strained quad as Holt took his place at short and Chris Young took over in left. Forsythe tripled into the alley in center but Morrison struck out. Longoria got the run in but it was on a groundout. The Sox were in position to trade runs for outs. Unfortunately Dickerson hit an absolute rocket into the bullpen for a solo home run. The longball has been Porcello's achillies heel the past two seasons, but as a power pitcher, that happens. Jennings grounded to third but it was 6-2 Boston. The Sox got one of the runs back in the bottom of the 6th. JBJ was plunked and Cash relieved Eveland with Ryan Webb. JBJ made a boo-boo by falling down on the base path and getting picked off. Not good.
The miscue by Bradley loomed large as Betts singled and stole second. Pedroia struck out but a wild pitch moved Betts to third. Young singled home Betts to make it 7-2. Finally Young contributed. Ortiz grounded out to end the inning.
Porcello began to run out of gas in the top of the 7th inning. Miller grounded out and Souza Jr struck out...but Kiermaier doubled and Conger singled him home to make it 7-3. Porcello had just enough left to get Forsythe to fly out to end the inning. "Slick" Rick managed to go 7 full and give up just 3 runs, another good quality start.
The Sox failed to get the run back in the bottom of the seventh against Danny Farquhar. Ramirez lined out but Shaw singled. Holt flied out and Vazquez earned the golden sombrero with his fourth strikeout of the night, brutal.
Junichi Tazawa got the call for the top of the 8th and made the fans groan by walking Morrison. Luckily he managed to get Longoria to pop up and Dickerson to fly out. Jennings flied out to end the inning.Steven Geltz got the call for the bottom of the eighth. JBJ lined out, Betts flied out and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning.
The recently returned Noe Ramirez (who was gone for all of one day) got the ball in the top of the 9th to give Kimbrel, Hembree, Ross Jr and Uehara a rest after last night's marathon of relievers. Miller struck out and Souza Jr grounded out to begin the inning. The pain in the ass Kiermaier singled and took second on defensive indifference, but was stranded when Conger struck out to end the game. The Sox had won 7-3.
Hero of the Night is Mr. Mookie Betts. He was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 3 runs scored, a stolen base and he swatted a two run bomb off Archer
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 3 with an rbi and 2 runs scored before leaving with a quad injury. Chris Young singled in a run in his only plate appearance after coming in for Xander. David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with 3 rbi's. Travis Shaw was 2 for 4. Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 2 with a walk, got hit with a pitch and scored a run. Rick Porcello got his 3rd win of the season by going 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk with 9 strikeouts. Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Noe Ramirez pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. He's in a slump now too. Christian Vazquez earned the golden sombrero by going 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 with a run scored. Brock Holt was just 1 for 4 with a stolen base.
Final Thoughts:
He may have gotten the golden sombrero at the plate but the impact Christian Vazquez has on the starters has been very evident since he returned. They're going deeper into games, giving the Sox a chance to win. If Betts and Bogaerts bust out of their slumps and hit like they did all of last season, the Sox are going to take off.....if Bogaerts is okay that is. Tomorrow afternoon Jake Odorizzi goes up against David Price (2-0) in the rubber game of the series at 1:35 PM.
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