Oakland starter Sean Manaea dominated in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts lined out. Dustin Pedroia popped up and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning. Pomeranz was all over the place in the bottom of the first but struck out Rajai Davis on a 2-2 count. Mark Canha flied out on a full count but Jed Lowrie singled. Khris Davis whiffed on a full count to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second when Hanley Ramirez clobbered a solo home run to center. Chris Young looked to have doubled but the pain in the ass Oakland manager Bob Melvin challenged the play at second, luckily the call was upheld. Up yours Melvin. Andrew Benintendi grounded out but Young moved to third. Josh Rutledge grounded out but Young scored to increase the lead. Christian Vazquez singled but Deven Marrero whiffed to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Just as soon as the Sox got the lead, Pomeranz gave it back in the bottom of the second inning. Trevor Plouffe walked on a full count but Ryon Healy struck out on a 2-2 count. Chad Pinder walked on a full count and Josh Phegley squibbed one in front of the mound. Vazquez decided to throw the ball over his head like a grenade and put his fingers in his ears awaiting the non-existent explosion. This error allowed Plouffe to score and the others moving into scoring position. All of a sudden Melvin sprinted out of the dugout raving like a lunatic that the runners should have been allowed to score because the ball reached the visitor's bullpen. After the umpires told him to calm down, he starting tearing his clothes off and was given the HEAVE-HOOOOO for that indiscretion. Pomeranz recovered to strike out Adam Rosales but Davis singled home Pinder and advance Phegley to third. Davis swiped second but Canha flied out to end the inning with the score tied 2-2.
Manaea settled down in the top of the third inning. Mr. Mookie lined out, Pedroia lined out and Bogaerts lined out to end the inning. Pomeranz got Lowrie to line out on the first pitch but went to a full count to get Davis on a ground out. He needed another full count to get Plouffe to fly out to end the inning.
The Sox blew a chance to take the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Ramirez whiffed but Young singled. Chris was erased on the force by Benny The Kid but a passed ball advanced Benintendi to second. Rutledge lined out to end the inning. Pomeranz returned for the bottom of the fourth inning and struggled again. Healy singled but Pinder popped up. Phegley singled but Drew struck out Rosales on a 2-2 count. After going to a full count on Davis, he struck him out with his 97th pitch. Took him almost 100 pitches to get through four innings, pathetic.
The Sox somehow took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Vazquez flied out but Healy muffed a grounder by Marrero, allowing Deven to reach second. Mr. Mookie flied out but Pedroia singled home Marrero to give the Sox to lead. Bogaerts struck out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
In a move that had to be done, Farrell pulled Pomeranz who was very upset about it. Rookie Ben Taylor came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth.....and vomited up his intestines. Canha blasted a solo home run to tie the game, Lowrie singled and Davis also launched a home run to put the A's up 5-3 in a blink of an eye. Plouffe walked and that was it for Taylor. 2 home runs, a single and a walk.....wonderful.
Noe Ramirez came in and poured gas on the fire. Healy grounded out but Pinder homered to increase the lead. Phegley walked but Rosales grounded out. Davis popped up to end the inning but the A's were now up 7-3.
Frankie Montas came in to pitch the top of the sixth and the offense was done for the night. During the inning there was a heated discussion in the dugout but first Ramirez popped up. Young and Benny The Kid looked at strike three to end the inning. Apparently Pomeranz was mad that he was taken out of the game and John Farrell said he didn't need Pomeranz to nibble and hee-haw around only to throw 97 pitches in 4 innings. He told Drew to hit the bricks and Pomeranz stormed into the clubhouse. What a disaster.
The homer parade continued in the bottom of the sixth as Canha grounded out but Lowrie smashed a home run. Davis singled but Plouffe looked at strike three. Healy popped up to end the inning with the A's ahead 8-3.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the seventh as Rutledge popped up, Vazquez flied out and Marrero struck out to end the inning. Ramirez finally had a clean inning in the bottom of the seventh. Pinder struck out, Phegley flied out and Roasales struck out to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally in the top of the eighth inning as Mr. Mookie flied out, but Pedroia singled. Bogaerts struck out but Ramirez singled. With two men on...Young struck out to end the inning. Fernando Abad came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Davis grounded out but Canha walked. Lowrie flied out and Davis struck out to end the inning.
Josh Smith came on to pitch the top of the ninth and Benny The Kid nearly homered but it was ruled foul. On the next pitch, Benny threw his bat in the air under protest and the umpire ruled it a swinging strikeout. Rutledge flied out to right and Vazquez grounded out to end the game. The A's had taken 3 out of 4 and dropped the Sox to .500 with their 8-3 win.
Jackass of the Night is Ben Taylor. He entered the game with a 3-2 lead and left trailing 5-3, not good relief at all.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a solo home run.
Chris Young was 2 for 4 with an rbi
Fernando Abad pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Drew Pomeranz lasted just 4 innings and gave up 2 runs, 1 earned on 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 6 but took 97 pitches to get through four.
Noe Ramirez gave up 2 runs in 3 innings of work, making a comeback impossible.
The Ugly:
Josh Rutledge was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4
Deven Marrero was 0 for 3 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Watching the Red Sox this season is like banging your head up against a brick wall. Eventually you're going to have brain damage. For some ungodly reason the Sox are just not generating offense and apart from David Ortiz (replaced by Moreland) this is the exact same team from last year. I know they miss Ortiz but this is ridiculous. The back end of the rotation has been attrocious with Pomeranz being the main culprit. Either he leaves early due to injury or leaves early due to ineffectiveness and it looks like John Farrell has had enough. A LOT of people are complaining about Farrell but I liked this move of sitting his ass down. The only problem is Price still hurt and anyone they bring up from Pawtucket is batting practice, so there's no one to replace him. Things are falling apart for the Red Sox but by the grace of unknown gods, they're still in the race because New York and Baltimore have also struggled lately. The loss dropped the Sox to .500, 21-21 on the season. Tomorrow Eduardo Rodriguez (2-1) takes on Andrew Triggs in the finale at 4:05 PM.
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