Joe Kelly (1-0) took the ball to start the game and promptly walked Joey Rickard. Manny Machado flied out and Kelly whiffed Chris Davis. Mark Trumbo grounded out but Kelly was throwing too many pitches. Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1) took the mount in the bottom of the first for the O's. Mr. Mookie Betts singled and stole second to begin the game. Pedroia walked and Bogaerts nearly banged into a triple play, just barely beating out the throw to first. Bogaerts swiped second as Ortiz walked. Bogaerts swiped third as well, giving the Sox 3 in the inning. Hanley Ramirez grounded out to end the inning.
In the top of the second inning, JJ Hardy found out the hard way not to run on Jackie Bradley Jr, he was gunned down at third stretching a double into a triple.
Alvarez walked but Kelly struck out Jonathan Schoop. Caleb Joseph legged out an infield single then Hyun Soo Kim walked to load the bases. Rickard grounded out but Kelly was definitely not long for this game. Travis Shaw and Brock Holt looked at strike 3 to start the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Hanigan singled but Jackie Bradley Jr was robbed of a hit at first to end the inning.
The O's struck first in the top of the third. Manny Machado doubled and Chris Davis blasted yet another home run to give the O's the 2-0 lead. Trumbo popped up to third and Hardy grounded out but Alvarez singled. Schoop struck out to end the inning. Would the Sox go quietly? Not on your life! Mr. Mookie singled and Pedroia legged out an infield single of his own. Bogaerts doubled them both home to tie the game. Ortiz walked to put Jimenez on the ropes and Ramirez let him off the hook, but not before his bat was heaved halfway down Yawkey Way unintentionally.
The bat went further than the ball
Ramirez lined into a double play when Bogaerts was doubled off second. Shaw grounded out but the Sox had tied the game.
Kelly still had to control the O's offense with the game tied in the top of the fourth. Joseph whiffed but Kim walked. Rickard lined out to right but Machado reached on an infield single. Kelly was on the ropes but he got himself off by getting Davis to ground out to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth inning. Holt walked but Hanigan struck out. Jackie Bradley Jr then gave the Sox the lead with a mad dash around the bases, ending up with an rbi triple. He then scored on the Mr. Mookie ground out to give the Sox a 4-2 lead. Pedroia struck out to end the inning, but the Sox had the lead.
Now it was up to the Sox pitching staff to nail down the win. Trumbo struck out to start the top of the fifth. Hardy grounded out but Alvarez walked. Schoop singled and Sox manager John Farrell was about to yank Kelly when Joe bared down to strike out Joseph on his 116th pitch of the night. It wasn't pretty but Kelly went 5 innings and only allowed 2 runs, leaving with the lead. Not the best start but at least he didn't fall apart like Buchholz yesterday.
The Sox failed to mount anymore offense against Jimenez. Bogaerts popped up to begin the bottom of the 5th inning. Ortiz grounded out and Ramirez looked at strike three.
It was up to the bullpen now and first out of the gate was Matt Barnes. He punched out Kim and got Rickard to fly out. Unfortunately, Machado doubled to right to chase him. Farrell wanted the lefty-lefty matchup and brought in Tommy Layne to face Davis. Turns out the matchup would have to wait as the alert Hanigan gunned down Machado trying to steal third to end the inning.
Jimenez was gone, replaced by Tyler Wilson. Shaw greeted Wilson in the bottom of the 6th with a single to to center. Holt and Hanigan both popped up then JBJ grounded out. So much for that.
Layne stayed in to face Davis for real this time to start the top of the 7th. Davis flied out and that was that. Farrell lifted him for Junichi Tazawa. Trumbo flied out and Hardy grounded out in short order. Good work Layne and Tazawa. Mr. Mookie led off the bottom of the 7th with a pop up. Pedroia struck out but Bogaerts singled. Ortiz popped up to end the inning.
It was Koji Time in the top of the 8th inning. Alvarez grounded out and Schoop flied out, but Joseph singled. With the tying run at the plate, Kim lined out to end the inning. The Sox offense went with a whimper in the bottom of the 8th. Ramirez struck out and Shaw grounded out. Holt grounded out to end the inning. Its a good thing the bullpen was doing their job, this was a close game.
It was time for Craig Kimbrel to light them up. Could he? Rickard...WHAM! Strike 3 swinging. Machado...BAM! Strike 3 swinging. Davis? THANK YOU MA'AM! Strike 3 swinging, game over.
Hero of the Night could go to a variety of people. I'm going with Craig Kimbrel. He had something to prove after the O's bombed him on the home opener. Striking out the side to earn the save slammed the door on the Dirty Birds.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with an rbi, run scored and stolen base. Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with 2 rbi's and a stolen base. Ryan Hanigan was 1 for 3 and gunned down Machado trying to steal. Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk, run scored, rbi and outfield assist. Tommy Layne got credited with 2/3 of an inning even though he only faced, and retired, Davis. Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara pitched scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
David Ortiz was 0 for 2 but walked twice. Travis Shaw was just 1 for 4 but luckily was not pinch hit for. Brock Holt was 0 for 3 but walked and scored. Joe Kelly got the win but had to throw 116 pitches in just 5 innings to do it. Still, he only allowed the 2 run jack by Davis, giving up 6 other hits and 5 walks. He pitched out of trouble most of the night and struck out 6. Matt Barnes got the first two batters he faced before allowing the double by Machado.
Final Thoughts:
Another short start and more taxing of the bullpen is not good. They got the win but this can't last. The bullpen, as good as it is, can't afford to be pitching in every single game. At least the set-up guys and closer anyway. Still, they got the job done this time which allowed the Sox to win the game and climb back to 4-4 on the season. The Dirty Birds offense is formidable but good pitching would shut them down. If Eduardo Rodiguez comes back and pitches like he did last year, David Price finds himself and either Kelly or Porcello can step up to be the third starter, this team may go places. As it is now, you don't know who to trust on a day to day basis to take the ball. The Sox have an off-day tomorrow and friday night the Toronto Blue Jays are in town. Rick Porcello will be taking on RA Dickey.
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