Porcello took the mound in the top of the first and Corey Dickerson popped up to third to begin the game. Brad Miller lined out but Evan Longoria doubled off the Monster. Logan Morrison grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox mustered nothing against Alex Cobb in the bottom of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts popped up to first and Dustin Pedroia grounded out, but Xander Bogaerts singled. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to end the inning.
Rickie Weeks Jr led off the top of the second with a double to the gap. Porcello recovered to strike out Colby Rasmus and Weeks was foolishly tagged out trying to go to third on a ground ball by Tim Beckham. Kevin Kiermaier popped up to end the inning. Chris Young began the bottom of the second looking at strike three. Mitch Moreland and Josh Rutledge grounded out to end the inning.
Derek Norris began the top of the third inning by grounding a ball to Rutledge who turned around and threw it 100 feet into the third base grandstand for an error, for some reason it was changed to a hit later. Luckily Dickerson banged into a double play and Miller grounded out as well to end the inning. Cobb was equally tough in the bottom of the third as Sandy Leon struck out. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out and Mr. Mookie grounded out on a bang bang play to end the inning.
The Rays struck first when Rutledge fielded a ground ball by Longoria and spiked the ball like a football, allowing Evan to reach. Morrison struck out but Weeks singled. Both runners advanced on a passed ball by Leon. Rick recovered to strike out Rasmus but Beckham slammed a 2 run single to put the Rays on the board. Kiermaier flied out but the damage was done. Could the Sox respond against Cobb? Hell no. Pedroia looked at strike three. Bogaerts walked but Benny The Kid struck out. Young grounded out to end the inning, Porcello continued to get no run support.
The Rays struck again in the top of the fifth as Norris singled and Dickerson doubled him home. Corey moved to third on the Miller fly out and Longoria iced the game with a 2 run blast. Morrison flied out and Weeks struck out to end the inning but the game was over, 5-0 Rays.
Cobb continued his mastery in the bottom of the fifth. Moreland walked but Rutledge looked at strike three. Leon and JBJ popped up to end the inning. The Sox had just 1 hit in the game.
Porcello returned for the top of the sixth and struck out Rasmus. Beckham struck out and then Betts dropped an elbow on a double by Kiermaier, allowing him to reach third on the error. Norris struck out to end the inning. Porcello had gone 6 but had given up 5, not good.
Cobb continued to dominate in the bottom of the sixth. Mr. Mookie lined out, Pedroia flied out and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
The returning Robbie Ross Jr took over for Porcello in the top of the seventh and struck out Dickerson. Miller singled but Longoria lined out. Morrison struck out to end the inning. Cobb finally tired in the bottom of the seventh as Benny The Kid lined out but Young doubled. Moreland walked. Rutledge hit a picture perfect double play ball to Cobb but Alex threw it away, scoring Young and moving the others into scoring position. Leon smacked a ground rule double to clear the bases and chase Cobb, now down 5-3. Jose Alvarado replaced Cobb and Miller booted and threw a ball hit by JBJ away allowing Leon to score and JBJ to reach second. Erasmo Ramirez replaced Alvarado and Mr. Mookie grounded out. Pedroia flied out to end the inning but the Sox had clawed their way back to trail 5-4.
Heath Hembree took over in the top of the eighth. Weeks flied out and Rasmus grounded out. Beckham lined out to end the inning. The Sox nearly tied the the game in the bottom of the eighth when Bogaerts led off with a double. Benny The Kid worked a walk and Young flied out, moving Bogaerts to third. That was it for Ramirez as Danny Farquhar replaced him to pitch to Moreland. Moreland whiffed and that was it for Farquhar as Alex Colome was brought in to pitch to Rutledge. Rutledge grounded out to end the inning, what a waste.
Hembree returned for the top of the ninth inning. Kiermaier singled and Rutledge dropped a pop up by Norris, but still managed to get Kiermaier at second. That was it for Hembree as Sox manager John Farrell brought in Robby Scott to pitch to Dickerson. Corey grounded into a force out and Miller struck out to end the inning. Colome came back out to close out the game and the Sox offered no resistance. Leon grounded out, JBJ looked at strike three and Mr. Mookie flied out to end the game. The Rays had won 5-4.
Jackass of the Night is Josh Rutledge. He couldn't do anything right at the plate or in the field which led to the team's demise.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Mitch Moreland walked twice in 4 plate appearances and scored a run.
Robbie Ross Jr pitched a scoreless 7th inning
Heath Hembree tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Robby Scott got the final two outs.
The Bad:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 5
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked.
Chris Young was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count as he drove in 2 runs and scored one.
Rick Porcello took the loss but was victimized by poor defense. He tossed 6 innings and allowed just 3 earned runs, which would have been enough to win the game.
Final Thoughts:
As the season begins to slip away, one has to wonder how long the Sox can hold on without David Price, a regressing Porcello, 2 injured bullpen arms and no third basemen? The sad thing is this is the same team that won the AL East last year facing teams they should be defeating. The Sox miss David Ortiz big time not just on the field but in the clubhouse. He was the guy that got the big hit to spark the offense and rallied the troops during a losing streak. Dustin Pedroia is not that guy. The loss drops the Sox to 18-17, 4 1/2 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow Chris Sale goes up against Ian Snell at 1:05 PM.
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