As for the game, the Boston Red Sox once again failed to hit a starting pitcher. It seemed they were heading to another tough loss, wasting a great Eduardo Rodriguez start. Mookie Betts said "not today young fella" as he belted a 3 run go-ahead home run. Craig Kimbrel slammed the door and the Sox came out of Milwaukee with a 4-1 in over the Brewers.
The Sox wasted no time scoring in the top of the first against Jimmy Nelson. Mr. Mookie Betts doubled and moved to third on the sacrifice bunt by Dustin Pedroia. The Sox caught a break when Jesus Aguilar booted a ground ball hit by Xander Bogaerts, allowing Betts to score. Andrew Benintendi flied out but Bogaerts swiped second. Mitch Moreland struck out but the Sox had a 1-0 lead. As sad as it sounds, they were shut down the next SEVEN innings.
Eduardo Rodriguez got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and struck out Jonathan Villar to begin. Keon Broxton doubled but was gunned down trying to steal by Christian Vazquez. Hernan Perez flied out to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally against Nelson in the top of the second. Jackie Bradley Jr looked at strike three but Josh Rutledge walked and Vazquez singled. Rodriguez looked at strike three but Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases. With a chance to bust the game open...Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. Rodriguez hung tough in the bottom of the second. Travis Shaw grounded out, Domingo Santana struck out and Aguilar grounded out to end the inning.
Bogaerts led off the top of the third with a single but Benny The Kid lined out and Moreland grounded into a double play to end the inning. Rodriguez continued to dominate in the bottom of the third. Manny Pina grounded out, Orlando Arcia flied out and Nelson grounded out to end the inning,
The Sox didn't score in the top of the fourth inning. JBJ grounded out but Rutledge walked. Vazquez and Rodriguez struck out to end the inning. Eduardo cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Villar grounded out. Broxton and Perez whiffed to end the inning.
Stop me if you've heard this one, Mr. Mookie walked but Pedroia grounded into a double play in the top of the fifth. Bogaerts watched strike three go by to end the inning. Eduardo racked up more zeroes in the bottom of the fifth as Shaw flied out, Santana whiffed and Aguilar grounded out in short order. That's 13 in a row by Rodriguez.
There was no double play in the top of the sixth as there were no baserunners either. Benny The Kid grounded out, Moreland struck out and JBJ grounded out to end the inning. The Brewers broke the streak with a Pina single to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. Arcia popped up and Nelson sacrificed Pina to second with a bunt. Villar doubled home Pina to tie the game. Broxton grounded out to end the inning but it was now 1-1. Rodriguez had tossed 6 innings of 1 run ball, a wasted effort but not un-appreciated.
Rutledge singled to lead off the top of the seventh although Vazquez lined out. Sox manager John Farrell made the call to pull Rodriguez for a pinch hitter....only for Chris Young to whiff. That was it for Nelson as Corey Knebel came in to strike out Mr. Mookie to end the inning. Joe Kelly got the call in the bottom of the seventh and got Perez to line out, but allowed a double to Shaw. Santana struck out and Aguilar grounded out to end the inning with the game still tied.
The Sox had a golden chance to take the game in the top of the eighth but wasted it. Pedroia hit a ground rule double and Bogaerts singled him to third. Bogaerts swiped second to put runners in scoring position but Benny The Kid popped up, Moreland walked to load the bases but JBJ and Rutledge struck out to end the inning, what a waste. Matt Barnes came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and got Pina to ground out, but Arcia walked. Brewers manager Craig Counsell sent Eric Thames to pinch hit for Knebel and Sox manager John Farrell countered with a double switch. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel (2-0) came in to pitch and Marrero took over for Rutledge at third. Kimbrel blew away Thames but Villar singled. A wild pitch moved Arcia to third but Craig blew away Broxton to end the inning.
The Sox finally showed some late inning grit in the top of the ninth inning against Neftali Feliz. Vazquez walked and Arcia botched the double play ball hit by Marrero. Mr. Mookie made Arcia pay by smashing a 3 run home run to left to give the Sox a commanding 4-1 lead. Pedroia singled to chase Feliz. Carlos Torres came in and got Bogaerts to ground out. Benny The Kid flied out to end the inning with the Sox in command.
Kimbrel responded with an immaculate inning in the bottom of the ninth. 9 pitches, 9 strikes to Perez, Shaw and Santana to end the game. The Sox had pulled one out of their ass 4-1.
Hero of the Night is a no brainer, Mookie Betts jacked a 3 run home run in the ninth inning to put the game away.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5.
Josh Rutledge was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball with 5 strikeouts, also going 0 for 2 at the plate.
Deven Marrero reached in his only plate appearance and scored.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Mat Barnes pitched 1/3 of a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 5.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Chris Young was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Say what you will about the Red Sox incompetence on offense, in the field and at third base...but they still fight hard to the end. They've been struggling pretty much all season but they stole this one. Every win counts in the era of the second wild card so this one can be looked at come September if they're still anywhere in contention. Rodriguez continues to pitch well which means when David Price comes back, the Sox theoretically have 4 starters that can be relied upon and move guys like Pomeranz and Kendrick to the 5th slot. Price is close to starting a rehab start and the Sox can't get him back fast enough. The win propelled the Sox to 18-16, 4 1/2 games behind Baltimore for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Rick Porcello (2-4) goes up against Alex Cobb and the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:10 PM.
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