Porcello got the ball in the top of the first and Corey Dickerson popped up to Leon by the Rays dug-out. Kevin Kiermaier grounded out to first but Evan Longoria doubled over the head of Chris Young. Porcello froze Brad Miller for strike three to end the inning. Rays ace Chris Archer took the hill in the bottom of the first and whiffed Dustin Pedroia to start. Andrew Benintendi lined out to left and Mr. Mookie Betts lined out to right to end the inning.
The Rays struck first in the top of the second inning. He struck out Steven Souza Jr but Logan Morrison doubled into the triangle. Derek Norris struck out swinging but recent call-up Shane Peterson blasted a two run home run around the Pesky Pole to give the Rays the lead. Tim Beckham hit one in the hole at short for a base hit. Dickerson popped up but the Rays led 2-0. Archer dominated the bottom of the second as he struck out Hanley Ramirez to start. Mitch Moreland grounded into the shift but Xander Bogaerts poked one into right for the Sox first hit off Archer. Pablo Sandoval flied out to end the inning.
Porcello got hammered in the top of the third inning. Kiermaier grounded out but Longoria walked and Miller blooped a single to center. Souza Jr walked and Morrison crushed a grand slam right around Pesky's Pole to give the Rays a commanding 6-0 lead. Norris whiffed and Peterson lined out to left but this one was over early. Archer wasnt going to give the Sox a chance as he dominated the bottom of the third. Chris Young grounded out, Sandy Leon struck out and Pedroia lined out to end the inning.
Porcello returned for the top of the fourth and Beckham lined out sharply to center. Dickerson grounded out back to Porcello and Kiermaier also grounded out to end the inning. Somehow Benny The Kid walked to start the bottom of the fourth and Mr. Mookie followed with a rare base hit. Things went back to normal as Ramirez struck out and Moreland flied out, moving Benintendi to third. Bogaerts walked to load the bases but Sandoval swung at a pitch that bounced in the dirt before grounding a 3-2 fastball meekly to second base. That was as close as the Sox got the rest of the night.
Porcello came back for the top of the fifth and struck out Longoria to start the inning but Miller jacked one way out of the yard for a solo home run. Souza Jr followed with a homer of his own and mercifully Porcello's night came to an end. Robbie Ross Jr made his season debut by getting Morrison to ground out. Norris popped up to end the inning. The 2015 Porcello is back in full force as he got lit up for 8 runs and 4 home runs. In fact, the Sox offense only has 4 home runs total and Porcello served up 4 tonight alone. Yuck.
The Sox finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Young lined out to left and Leon struck out although Pedroia got a lucky ground rule double. Benny The Kid singled home Pedroia for the Sox' first run. Mr. Mookie doubled into the left field corner but Ramirez killed the rally with a fly-out to center.
Ross Jr returned for the top of the sixth inning to retire Peterson as the Sox announcers got so bored they started focusing on planet Jupiter. Beckham grounded out but Dickerson walked. Kiermaier flied out to end the inning. Archer returned for the bottom of the fifth as Moreland grounded into the shift again. Bogaerts grounded out but Sandoval singled one inning too late to chase Archer. The hefty Jumbo Diaz relieved Archer who had lost 11 straight decisions to the Sox. Young worked a walk but Leon struck out again to end the inning.
Ross returned for the top of the seventh and got pounded. Longoria to struck out but Miller stroked a triple to right field and Souza Jr singled him home. The Sox defense made a boo-boo as Ross Jr failed to cover third base on a grounder by Morrison, allowing Souza Jr to reach third. Ross plunked Norris and Peterson singled home Souza. Beckham struck out but it was now 10-1. Austin Pruitt took over for the bottom of the seventh inning. Pedroia blooped a single that Morrison lost in the lights and Marco Hernandez pinch ran for him as Benny The Kid flied out to right. Mr. Mookie singled and Ramirez singled home Hernandez but was called out trying to stretch. Sox manager John Farrell challenged the play but Ramirez was still out. Moreland grounded out to end the inning with the Sox now down 10-2.
Fernando Abad took over for the top of the eighth and Dickerson greeted him with a double against the shift. Kiermaier grounded out but advanced Dickerson to third. The runner held as Longoria grounded out to short but Miller walked. Souza Jr grounded out to Abad to end the inning. Peter Bourjos took over in center with Robertson at third as Bogaerts led off the bottom of the eighth with a shot to center for a base hit. Sandoval was robbed of a double by a jumping Dickerson. Young whiffed and Leon flied out to end the inning.
Robbie Scott was given the ball in the top of the ninth inning. Morrison popped up and Norris grounded out to third. Peterson popped up to end the inning. Hernandez singled off Beckham to open the bottom of the ninth. Benny The Kid hit a ground rule double to left and Mr. Mookie singled to left, scoring Hernandez and moving Benintendi to third. Ramirez scored Benintendi with a ground out as Betts moved to second. Leon got plunked and Bogaerts singled home Betts to chase Pruitt with the Sox now down 10-5. If Ross didn't allow the the final two runs, Sandoval would actually end up representing the tying run. Alex Colome came in and got the game ending double play ball...only the ball got away from the first basemen so Sandoval scampered to second, Leon moving to third. Young popped up to end the game. The Rays had won 10-5.
Jackass of the Night is Rick Porcello. He got shelled for 8 runs off four home runs and left a hole too big for the Sox to climb out of.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a run scored before being lifted.
Marco Hernandez pinch ran for Pedroia, singled and scored both times he was on base.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a run scored and a walk.
Mookie Betts was 4 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi.
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 4 with a walk and run diven in.
Fernando Abad pitched a scoreless inning
Robbie Scott pitched a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Robbie Ross Jr got lit up for 2 runs in 2 2/3 innings
The Ugly:
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 5 but drove in 2 runs.
Pablo Sandoval was just 1 for 5.
Chris Young was 0 for 4 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
It would have been unfair to expect Porcello to match his 2016 season but who thought he was going to revert back to his 2015 self? This was bawful as bawful can get and Porcello looked like hot garbage. It was nice to see the offense scratch out some runs which would have been enough to win had Porcello pitched halfway decent, but he didn't. You can't win games getting shelled like that. Hopefully it was just one bad start and he'll come around next game. Tomorrow the Sox look to bounce back tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Rays as Chris Sale looks for his first win opposite Jake Odorizzi.
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