The Sox wasted no time scoring in the top of the first. Mr. Mookie Betts popped up to short but Dustin Pedroia walked. Xander Bogaerts singled and Travis Shaw crushed a 418 foot 3 run bomb to right to give the Sox a quick 3-0 lead. Hanley Ramirez flied out but Jackie Bradley Jr was hit with a pitch, it was on the foot so it wasn't in retaliation the night before. Brock Holt doubled him home to make it 4-0. Christian Vazquez was intentionally walked to bring up the Price. David looked at strike 3 to end the inning but it was 4-0 Boston.
Now could Price maintain the lead against a crummy offense? NO! Nick Markakis flied out to Holt to begin the bottom of the first. Daniel Castro flied out to right but Adonis Garcia and Freddie Freeman hit back to back singles. Jeff Francoer singled in Garcia to make it 4-1 and Sox fans began to groan. Trey Flowers walked to load the bases but Drew Stubbs struck out to end the inning. It took Price 4 pitches to retire the first 2 batters then took 19 more to get out of the inning. Absolutely terrible.
The Sox offense evaporated in the top of the second after Price's melt-down in the first. Mr. Mookie flied out to center, Pedroia popped up but Bogaerts singled. Xander swiped second but Shaw struck out to end the inning. Price came back for the bottom of the second and Erick Aybar hit a rocket but Bogaerts nabbed it and slung it to first for the out. The pitcher Matt Wisler struck out but it took 5 pitches to get him. Markakis looked at strike three to end the inning.
Ramirez looked at strike 3 to begin the top of the third. JBJ grounded out and Holt did as well in short order. Castro grounded out to begin the bottom of the third. Garcia whiffed badly and so did Freeman to end the inning. Good for Price to retire seven in a row, 5 by strikeout.
The Sox offense went quietly again in the top of the fourth. Vazquez grounded out but Price worked a walk...yes of course I'm serious. Price was then foolishly doubled off first when Castro bobbled, then caught a pop up from Mr. Mookie. Price looked to redeem himself in the bottom of the fourth, instead he gave up another run. Francoer led off with a single but Flowers struck out. Stubbs walked and Aybar singled to load the bases. Wisler the PITCHER hit a sac fly that scored Francoer and moved Stubbs to third, Markakis flied out to Holt to end the inning but it was now 4-2. The Sox needed to score some runs or this was going to be tied pretty quick.
Pedroia led off the top of the fifth with a double. Bogaerts moved him to third with a fly ball and a passed ball scored Pedroia to make it 5-2. Shaw grounded out (which would have scored the run) and Ramirez gave it a ride but was caught at the wall to end the inning. Castro lined out to begin the bottom of the fifth. Garcia grounded out to Price on the first pitch. Freeman flied out to end the inning.
Eric O'Flaherty replaced Wisler in the top of the sixth inning. JBJ grounded out, Holt struck out and Vazquez grounded out to end the inning. Price turned up the heat in the bottom of the sixth. Francoer and Flowers both struck out but Stubbs singled and Aybar reached when Shaw threw a ball away. Kelly Johnson pinch hit for O'Flaherty and struck out to end the inning.
The Sox scored again in the top of the 7th off Chris Withrow. Price grounded out but Mr. Mookie singled. Betts swiped second and advanced to third on the Pedroia flyout. Bogaerts slammed a single to score Mookie and chase Withrow. Hunter Cervenka was brought in and Bogaerts swiped third base. Shaw popped up but it was now 6-2.
The rejuvinated Price got Markakis to ground out to start the bottom of the 7th. Castro and Garcia both looked at strike 3 to end the inning.
Ryan Weber came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning. Ramirez grounded out, JBJ struck out and Holt grounded out to end the inning. Price returned for one more inning and it was a good one. Freeman....struck out. Francoer...struck out. Flowers....struck out. That was 14 strikeouts for Price in 8 innings of work. I'd say he had himself a night.
The Sox put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth. Vazquez doubled and Chris Young pinch hit for Price. Young doubled Vazquez to third but Mr. Mookie grounded back to Weber. Pedroia singled home Vazquez but was erased at second on the force by Bogaerts. Shaw doubled home both runners and he came around on the Ramirez double. JBJ got in on the fun with a triple that scored Ramirez but Holt grounded out to end the inning.
Pat Light made his Major League debut in the bottom of the ninth....and was nervous to say the least. Jeff Rutledge took over at second base and Young stayed in the game in left field, replacing Holt. Stubbs and Aybar singled before Mallex Smith walked to load the bases. Markakis grounded out but scored Stubbs from third and advanced the runners. Castro grounded out and scored Aybar in the process. Garcia grounded out to end the game. The Sox had prevailed 11-4 in their last game at Turner Field.
We have Co-Heroes of the night because both were equally impressive. Hero number 1 is David Price. He struggled early but survived 8 full innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 14. He gave the bullpen a much needed rest with his third win of the year. At the plate he was 0 for 2 but walked.
Hero number 2 is Travis Shaw. Travis singlehandedly outscored the entire Braves offense with his 3 run home run and 2 run double. He played his way into the starting lineup over Pablo Sandoval and never looked back.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, a walk and an rbi. Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 5 with an rbi, stolen base, and 2 runs scored. Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a walk and run scored. Chris Young pinch hit for Price, singled and scored.
The Bad:
Pat Light made his major league debut by giving up 2 runs in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 but stole a base and scored a run. Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run and scored one of his own. Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but was hit with a pitch, drove in a run and scored a run of his own. Brock Holt was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Jeff Rutledge played second base in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Beating up on the worst team in baseball is not a notable accomplishment but the Sox won the game they had to. Even though it was against a putrid offense, Price still struck out 14 and lasted 8 innings. The offense once again delivered and put themselves in a position to have a rested bullpen tomorrow night. Bogaerts seems to have broken his slump and the offense is picking up because of it. The scene shifts to Fenway Park tomorrow night but the teams remain the same. Bud Norris goes for the Braves and the hard luck Steven Wright (1-2, 1.40 ERA) goes for the Sox at 7:10 PM.
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