It was a bad day for Boston sports as the Boston Bruins lost Game 4 of their first round NHL playoff series against the Ottawa Senators and the Boston Red Sox lost to the Toronto Blue Jays. Poor Rick Porcello can't catch a break so far this year. Tonight both his offense and his defense let him down with costly errors and ineptitude at the plate as the Red Sox fell to the Blue Jays 3-0 at Skydome.
Fransisco Liriano was the one who pitched well for the Jays and he cruised in the top of the first inning. Dustin Pedroia led the game off by flying out and Andrew Benintendi struck out. Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to end the inning. At first Porcello did well in the bottom of the first. Kevin Pillar hit a leadoff single but got ground outs from Ezequiel Carrera, Jose Bautista and Kenrys Morales to end the inning.
Liriano picked up where he led off in the top of the second inning. Hanley Ramirez lined out and Mitch Moreland struck out, but Xander Bogaerts singled. Chris Young struck out to end the inning. Things all went to hell in the bottom of the second inning. Porcello got a ground ball off the bat of Troy Tulowitzky but Sandoval threw the ball away. Then Porcello got a ground ball off the bat of Russell Martin but Moreland booted it. Back to back errors had runners on second and third although Porcello struck out Justin Smoak. Darwin Barney singled home both runners to make it 2-0. Devon Travis lined out but Pillar singled. Carrera singled home Barney but Bautista flied out to end the inning. Brutal display of defense by the Red Sox led to a 3-0 lead by Toronto.
2-0 may as well been 200-0 the way Liriano was pitching in the top of the third inning. Sandoval looked at strike three, Sandy Leon popped up and Pedroia grounded out in short order. Porcello walked Morales to begin the bottom of the third inning. Tulowitzky, Martin and Smoak all flied out in short order to end the inning.
Liriano remained red hot in the top of the fourth inning. Benny The Kid grounded out and Mr. Mookie struck out although Tulowitzky booted a ground ball to allow Ramirez to reach base. Moreland struck out to end the inning. Porcello matched Liriano in the bottom of the fourth inning. Barney and Travis grounded out then Pillar struck out to end the inning.
The Sox got their first real chance in the top of the fifth. Bogaerts worked a leadoff walk but was erased on the Young force. Sandoval singled to bring the tying run to the plate but Leon banged into a double play to end the inning. Porcello did what he could to keep the Sox in it in the bottom of the fifth inning. Carrera and Bautista struck out and Morales flied out to end the inning.
The Sox wasted their last real chance in the top of the sixth inning. Pedroia grounded out but Benny The Kid and Mr. Mookie hit back to back singles to chase Liriano. Joe Biagini came in....only for Ramirez to ground into a double play to end the inning. Porcello remained tough in the bottom of the sixth inning although Tulowitzky hit a single to begin. Martin and Smoak flied out before Barney grounded out to end the inning.
Moreland earned a hat trick for his third strikeout to open the top of the seventh. Bogaerts and Young grounded out to end the inning quickly. Porcello returned for the bottom of the seventh inning and it got dicey. Travis lined out but Pillar singled. Pillar swiped second as Carrera flied out. Pillar swiped third but Bautista struck out to end the inning. A strong effort by Porcello who would have been working a shut-out if not for lousy defense in the second inning.
Jason Grilli replaced Biagini in the top of the eighth inning and Sandoval greeted him with a single. Leon whiffed and Pedroia moved Sandoval to second with a ground out. Benny The Kid walked to put the tying run at the plate but Mr. Mookie grounded out to end the inning. Making his first relief appearance ever, the activated Eduardo Rodriguez came in to pitch the 8th inning, getting some work in before his Sunday start. Morales struck out, Tulowitzky grounded out and Martin struck out to end the inning.
Jays closer Roberto Osuna was brought in to close out the game. Ramirez grounded but Moreland singled. Bogaerts whiffed and Young grounded out to end the game. The Jays had won it 3-0.
Jackass of the night is a tough one but I'm gonna go with Mitch Moreland. He earned a hat trick of 3 strikeouts at the plate and made a crucial error which led to the 3 run rally in the second inning.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a walk
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
One of the few times the losing pitcher ends up on the Good list but Rick Porcello pitched good. He tossed 7 innings of 3 run ball and none of the runs were earned while striking out 5. He would have gotten the win had the Sox generated any offense.
Eduardo Rodriguez pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4.
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4.
Chris Young was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 4.
Pablo Sandoval was 2 for 3 at the plate but his error in the second started the 3 run rally.
Final Thoughts:
There are going to be games where the Sox won't be able to generate any offense and this was one of them. Fransisco Liriano turned back the clock to his Minnesota Twins days to shut out the Sox and the boneheaded errors by Sandoval and Moreland led to their demise. Still, Porcello showed some life and pitched very well apart from the errors so its a step in the right direction. Nothing more to say as the Sox just didn't have it tonight. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to bounce back with Chris Sale on the mound against Marco Estrada at 12:35 PM.
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