The Rangers shelled Porcello in the top of the first as Shin-Soo Choo grounded out to second to start. Ian Desmond raked a base hit to right then moved to second on the grounder to third by Nomar Mazara. Adrian Beltre punched a base hit to center to score Desmond and put Texas on top. Prince Fielder hit a line drive off the right field fence and Fielder would have been dead to rights if Pedroia threw to second, but he threw home to keep Beltre at third. Rougned Odor ripped a bullet to right and Mookie Betts' throw home was bungled by catcher Sandy Leon to allow both runners to score. Jurickson Profar hit a seeing eye single into right to score Odor and bring the boo-birds out. Elvis Andrus forced Profar at second to end the inning but the Sox were in a 4-0 hole.
The Sox did try to fight back against Texas starter Nick Martinez as Mr. Mookie Betts ripped a base hit to center to start. Dustin Pedroia banged into a double play but Xander Bogaerts beat out an infield single to short. David Ortiz pounded a ground rule double into the right field stands and Hanley Ramirez walked to load the bases. JBJ almost got robbed of a walk when Andy Fletcher called a clear ball strike two. Unlike Ron Kulpa earlier this year, the next pitch was called a ball down at JBJ's ankles for a bases loaded walk to cut the lead. Brock "The Hitman" Holt grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 4-1.
Porcello settled down in the top of the second as Robinson Chirinos popped up to Pedroia to start. Choo struck out swinging but Desmond ripped a base hit to center. Mazara grounded out to third to end the inning. Travis Shaw struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second but Leon made up for his error with a double to the Monster. Mr. Mookie looked to have hit a home run over the left field foul pole but it was ruled foul. Betts ended up popping up to center and Pedroia grounded out to second to end the inning.
Beltre singled in the hole at short to start the top of the third but Fielder banged into a double play. Odor ripped a base hit to center but Profar popped up to a running Holt to end the inning. The Sox came back in the bottom of the third as Bogaerts lined a base hit just inside the third base line to begin. Ortiz doubled to the Monster to score Xander and Ramirez also doubled off the Monster to score David. JBJ popped up to Andrus in left field but Holt hit a ball off the top of the bullpen into the hat of Robbie Ross Jr for a home run to put the Sox on top. Shaw grounded out to third but Leon hit a rocket off the centerfield wall that caromed into the bullpen for a ground rule double. Mr. Mookie lined out to a running Choo to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-4.
Andrus grounded out to short to start the top of the fourth before Chirinos grounded out to third. Choo hit a double off the Monster and almost got thrown out at second getting back to the bag. Desmond hit a ball in the hole at short and Choo made a mad dash home. Holt came up gunning....OUT AT HOME! The Sox were out of the inning with the lead intact.
The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fourth as Pedroia flied out to right to start. Bogaerts singled in the hole at short but Ortiz flied out to left. Bogaerts swiped second and Ramirez walked, but JBJ flied out to left to end the inning.
Porcello continued to pitch well in the top of the fifth as Mazara grounded out to third to start. Beltre flied out to center but Fielder blooped a single to right. Odor flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox chased Martinez in the bottom of the fifth as Holt grounded out to short to start. Shaw doubled off the bullpen fence in right and Rangers manager Brian Bannister had enough, pulling Martinez. Michael Roth came in to pitch and Shaw moved to third on the grounder to short by Leon. Mr. Mookie walked and Pedroia dumped a base hit to left to score Travis with another run. It looked like Pedroia beat a force to second by Bogaerts but the umpires called him out. Sox manager John Farrell challenged the call but the umpires upheld the call to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-4.
Porcello came back for one final inning in the top of the sixth as Profar grounded out to first to start. Andrus singled off the side fence in left but Chirino went down hacking. Choo also went down hacking to end the inning. That was it for Porcello who looked like he was finished in the first inning but hung on to throw 6 innings and limit the damage to four runs.
Papi salutes Porcello
The Sox continued to pour it on in the bottom of the sixth as Ortiz flied out to center to start. Ramirez doubled high off the Monster and JBJ hit a routine fly ball down the left field line that Mazara missed completely. The ball bounced into the stands for a ground rule double to score Ramirez. JBJ moved to third on a grounder to first by Holt and scored on the Shaw single off the Monster. Leon blooped a base hit to left but Mr. Mookie forced Sandy at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-4.
Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and struck out Desmond swinging on a curve in the dirt to start. Mazara ripped a base hit to right but the ball went under Betts' glove for an error to move Mazara to second. Beltre grounded out to third and Fielder popped up to Pedroia to end the inning. Pedroia joined the home run parade in the bottom of the seventh with his 8th round tripper of the year to begin. Bogaerts grounded out to third, Ortiz and Ramirez both struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 9-4.
Pedroia with a big fly
Koji Uehara came in to crap his pants in the top of the eighth inning as Rougned Odor led off with a 600,000 foot home run to start. Profar grounded out to second but Andrus doubled off the bottom of the Monster. Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Chirinos but Sox manager John Farrell countered by bringing in Robbie Ross Jr. Rangers manager Jeff Banister called back Moreland and sent in Ryan Rua to hit instead. Rua grounded out to short and Choo flied out to Holt at the base of the wall to end the inning with Boston still ahead 9-5.
Odor tags Uehara
Bobby Wilson came in to catch the bottom of the eighth as the Sox rallied again. JBJ grounded out to first before Holt took strike three. Shaw then drilled a home run off the Pesky Pole before Leon followed with a double into the left field corner. Mr. Mookie wrapped up the scoring with his 18th home run of the season before Pedroia got a base hit to center. Bogaerts broke his bat on a grounder to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 12-5.
Ross Jr came back to finish the top of the ninth and Desmond struck out swinging to start. Mazara grounded out to short but Beltre doubled down the left field line. Bryan Holaday pinch ran for Beltre but Fielder popped up to Holt to end the game. The Sox had won it 12-5.
Another victory
Hitman Hero
David Ortiz was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Hero of the Night is Brock Holt. His 2 run home run put the Sox up for good and he threw out Choo at home.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with a 2 run home run and a walk.
Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 6 with a home run and 2 total rbis.
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 6 with a stolen base and 2 runs scored.
David Ortiz was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Travis Shaw was 3 for 5 with a home run, 2 total rbis and 2 total runs scored.
Sandy Leon was 4 for 5 with a run scored.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Robbie Ross Jr pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Koji Uehara allowed a home run to Rougned Odor in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but walked in a run, drove in another run and scored a run.
Rick Porcello got the win but allowed 4 runs and 12 hits in just 6 innings of work.
Rick Porcello got the win but allowed 4 runs and 12 hits in just 6 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
That was a fun game wasn't it? The Red Sox offense is as good as anyone but the warts in the pitching was on full display. The Sox pounded out 21 hits and this offense is as deadly as anyone in the AL with Betts, Bogaerts, Pedroia, Ortiz, Ramirez, Bradley, Leon and Shaw. 8 of the 9 batters are hitting over .270 and the one guy that isn't is The Hitman, the best slap hitter on the team. Porcello actually surpassed his win total from last year and is halfway to 20....who saw that coming last year? The disintegration of Uehara is tough to watch but at 41 years old, it was bound to happen. Still, if the offense can keep up this pace they have as good a chance of anyone to take the AL East in the second half. They could use some bullpen help at the deadline but that'll be easy to find for someone like Sox GM Dave Dombrowski. All in all it was a good win that should be enjoyed by all. The win improved the Sox to 45-37, 2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Rangers tomorrow night when David Price (8-5) goes for the Sox up against AJ Griffin of the Texas. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment