Sale got the ball in the top of the first inning. Steven Souza Jr looked at strike threee Peter Bourjos popped up and Evan Longoria also popped up to end the inning. Jake Odorizzi got the start for Tampa Bay and Dustin Pedroia greeted him with a bloop single to left. Andrew Benintendi lined out to left. Mr. Mookie Betts lined out to center and Hanley Ramirez popped up to end the inning.
Rickie Weeks struck out to begin the top of the second inning. Derek Norris flied out but Mr. Mookie lost a fly ball by Logan Morrison in the sun, allowing Morrison to reach first. Daniel Robertson grounded out to end the inning. The Sox caught a break in the bottom of the second when Jake Odorizzi pulled a groin on the first pitch to Mitch Moreland and had to leave the game. Erasmo Ramirez came in to pitch and Moreland greeted him with a solo home run to give the Sox a 1-0. Poor Odorizzi. Xander Bogaerts flied out to left and Pablo Sandoval flied out to center. Chris Young struck out to end the inning but the Sox had the lead.
The Rays pounced on Sale in the top of the third inning. Sale then committed a sin by walking Kevin Kiermaier. Sale did strike out Tim Beckham but Souza Jr singled. Sale struck out Bourjos but Longoria tied the game with a single that scored Kiermaier and advance Souza to third. He walked Weeks to load the bases but Sale bore down to strike out Norris to end the inning, but the Rays had tied it. Sandy Leon lined out to open the bottom of the third. Pedroia whiffed and Benny The Kid grounded out to end the inning.
Morrison grounded into the shift to begin the top of the fourth inning. Robertson worked a walk and Sale snared a line drive by Kiermaier and doubled off Robertson to end the inning. The Sox almost did nothing in the bottom of the fourth inning. Mr. Mookie grounded out and Ramirez flied out but Moreland hit a double to extend the inning. Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Sale turned up the power in the top of the fifth inning to strike out both Beckham and Souza Jr looking. Bourjos whiffed to end the inning. Sandoval was robbed of a double to begin the bottom of the fifth inning. Young legged out an infield single and moved to second on the ground out by Leon. Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. Once again the Sox couldn't generate any offense.
Sale returned for the top of the sixth inning. Longoria whiffed after Rays manager Kevin Cash challenged a fan reaching over to grab a foul ball. Weeks struck out and Norris grounded out to end the inning. Tommy Hunter took over for Ramirez in the bottom of the sixth. Benny The Kid froze on a strike three, Mr. Mookie grounded out and Ramirez did as well to end the inning. Sale just can't catch a break.
Sale returned for the top of the seventh and got Morrison to ground out. He struck out Longoria for his 11th strikeout and froze Kiermaier for his 12th to end the inning. An outstanding start by Sale as he tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball and struck out 12.
Could the Sox get a run in the bottom of the seventh? YES! Moreland and Bogaerts stroked back to back singles...unfortunately that brought up Sandoval. Bogaerts was erased on a force by Sandoval but the Sox now had runners at the corners with just one out. Young walked to load the bases to chase Hunter. Xavier Cedeno was brought in to face Leon. Leon grounded out but it hit softly enough to score Moreland to give the Sox a 2-1 lead. Pedroia as intentionally walked but Benny The Kid grounded out to end the inning. The Sox needed just 6 outs to preserve Sale's win.
Matt Barnes took over for the top of the eighth with Brad Miller pinch hitting for Beckham. Barnes struck him out but walked Souza Jr. Chris Dickerson pinch hit for Bourjos and walked as well. Barnes got out of it by getting Longoria to bang into a double play to end the inning. 3 outs to go. The appropriately named Jumbo Diaz came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Mr. Mookie grounded out, Ramirez lined out to right and Moreland whiffed a triple shy of the cycle to end the inning.
Could Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel save the game for sale in the top of the ninth? He did manage to strike out Weeks. Shane Peterson hit for Norris and looked at strike three. Morrison grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had held on to lock down Chris Sale's first win, 2-1.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. The ace got his first win with a 7 inning, 1 run gem where he struck out 12 Rays.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Mitch Moreland nearly hit for the cycle, going 3 for 4 with a single, double and a home run.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3.
Chris Young was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 4th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4.
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4.
Pablo Sandoval was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 but drove in the go-ahead run.
Final Thoughts:
This season has been up and down but Chris Sale has been as great as advertised, he just seems to be snakebit when it comes to run support. Luckily the punchless lineup was able to do just enough to scrape by in this one. Mitch Moreland has done all he can to replace David Ortiz, its too bad he's getting no help from anyone else right now. There will be better days, this lineup is too talented to be silent for too long. It was nice to see Barnes recover on a day he didn't have his best stuff and Kimbrel locked it down with no trouble. The Sox play Game 3 tomorrow at 1:35 PM with Drew Pomeranz (1-0) opposite Alex Cobb.
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