Price Tames Champs, Sox Salvage Game 2 (5/18/16)

If there was any doubt that Price fixed himself, this start erased it for sure. Some said his victory against Houston was a fluke, but this was certainly not. Price was masterful, holding the defending world champions to 2 runs as the Sox offense kicked in just enough to take Game 2 of the double-header at Fenway Park against the Kansas City Royals 5-2.

                                              Randy Quaid is happy...for now

Mr. Mookie Betts led the game off with a double and Xander Bogaerts walked. Edison Volquez bared down to get Ortiz to fly out, although it advanced Betts to third. Hanley Ramirez killed the rally by bouncing into a double play to end the inning. Price took the mound in the bottom of the first and got Alcides Escobar to fly out. Lorenzo Cain grounded out and Eric Hosmer struck out to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the second. Travis Shaw struck out and Josh Rutledge popped up. Jackie Bradley Jr extended his hitting streak to 24 games with solo blast to dead center to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. Christian Vazquez singled but Brock Holt struck out to end the inning. Kenrys Morales hit a lead-off double to begin the bottom of the second. Salvador Perez flied out but it wasn't deep enough to advance Morales. Chester Cuthbert flied out and Omar Infante struck out to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the third as Mr. Mookie smashed a 427 foot rocket to left to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. Bogaerts grounded out and Ortiz flied out. Ramirez grounded out to end the inning. Paulo Orlando singled to open the bottom of the third but Whit Merrifield flied out. Escobar struck out and Cain grounded out to end the inning.

Shaw grounded out to start the top of the fourth but Rutledge singled. JBJ struck out but Rutledge swiped second. Vazquez whiffed to end the inning. The Royals struck back in the bottom of the fourth. Hosmer grounded out and Morales struck out but Perez homered to dead center to cut the lead 2-1. Cuthbert flied out to end the inning.

Holt grounded out to begin the top of the fifth but Mr. Mookie walked...only to be erased on the Bogaerts double-play. Infante flied out to begin the bottom of the fifth but Orlando walked and Merrifield singled. Whit was erased on the force by Escobar and Cain grounded out to end the inning.

The Sox got some much needed insurance in the top of the sixth. Ortiz grounded out and Ramirez whiffed but Shaw walked and Rutledge doubled him to third. JBJ was intentionally walked to load the bases and Vazquez made the Royals pay with a single that scored both Shaw and Rutledge to make it 4-1. Holt grounded out to end the inning. Hosmer and Morales grounded out to start the bottom of the sixth and Perez flied out to end the inning.

Peter Moylan relieved Volquez for the top of the seventh. Mr. Mookie struck out but Bogaerts singled to chase Moylan. Scott Alexander relieved Moylan and struck out Ortiz. Ramirez singled but Shaw flied out to end the inning. Price returned for the bottom of the seventh and got Cuthbert to pop up. Infante flied out and Orlando grounded out to end the inning.

The Sox got some more insurance in the top of the eighth against Alec Mills. Rutledge walked and JBJ singled him to third. Vazquez beat out a double play ball to score Rutledge to give the Sox a 5-1 lead. Holt popped up but Betts was plunked. Bogaerts walked to load the bases and Chien-Ming Wang rose from the dead to get Ortiz to ground out to end the inning. Sox manager John Farrell tried to squeeze one more inning out of Price and the gamble initially worked when Merrifield struck out. Escobar doubled to chase Price but it was a great start by David. Junichi Tazawa came in and Cain singled home Escobar. That was Taz' first inherited runner allowed to score all-season. The Sox defense pitched in as Hosmer lined out and Cain was doubled off first to end the inning.

Wang came back to pitch the top of the ninth. Ramirez grounded out and Shaw struck out. Rutledge grounded out to end the inning. With a save situation in play, Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel took the mound for the bottom of the ninth. Morales was plunked but was immediately erased on the Perez double play. Kimbrel blew away Cuthbert to end the game. The Sox had salvaged the series and taken the nightcap 5-2.

Hero of the night is easy. David Price took on the defending world champions and held them to 2 runs in 7 1/3 innings on 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5.

                                          Hero of the Night: David Price



The Good:

Mookie Betts was 2 for 3 with a walk and a home run. Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with 2 walks. Josh Rutledge was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored. Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 3 with a walk and a home run. Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with 3 total rbi's. Craig Kimbrel earned his 11th save of the year with a scoreless 9th.


The Bad:

David Ortiz was 0 for 5 with a strikeout. Brock Holt continues to struggle by going 0 for 4. Something's wrong with him.


The Ugly:

Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 5. Travis Shaw was 0 for 4 but walked and scored. Junichi Tazawa got the final 2 outs of the 8th but allowed an inherited runner to score.



Final Thoughts:

If Price is on track for good, that bodes well for the Sox the way Porcello and Wright have pitched this season (not counting Porcello's last start). Seeing the offense continue to roll at record pace means the Sox are on the verge of overtaking Baltimore for the AL East lead. The win puts the Sox at 25-16 a game behind the Dirty Birds for 1st place. Tomorrow is an off-day and the Sox return home on Friday night to play Terry Francona's Cleveland Indians. Rick Porcello (6-1) gets the start against Cleveland ace Corey Kluber.