It was a great day for Boston sports as the Boston Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards in Game 2 of their second round NBA playoff series and the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles. Once again things got testy between the Orioles and the Red Sox with fireworks at the plate and on the mound. Chris Sale (2-2) responded to Mookie Betts getting drilled last night by throwing behind Manny Machado. In the end the Sox survived the O's and defeated them 5-2 at Fenway Park.
Sale got the ball to start the top of the first inning and immediately blew away Joey Rickard. Sale took a minute to let Adam Jones get a standing ovation from the Fenway crowd to show that not everyone is racist before striking him out too. Then Sale threw behind Manny Machado and all hell broke loose. Machado and whinebag Orioles manager Buck Showalter complained that Sale should be ejected but no dice. Both dugouts were warned meaning Baltimore couldn't retaliate without someone getting tossed. Sale struck out Manny anyway to end the inning but the O's were heated.
Alec Asher got the start for Baltimore and he cruised in the bottom of the first inning. Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi grounded out and Mr. Mookie Betts lined out to end the inning.
Sale continued his dominance in the top of the second inning. Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis both took strike three and Jonathan Schoop lined out to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Hanley Ramirez grounded out but Mitch Moreland doubled. Dustin Pedroia singled to center and Moreland chugged for home. Jones' throw went wide and Moreland scored, Pedroia advancing to second on the throw. Jackie Bradley Jr walked but Sandy Leon lined out. Marco Hernandez struck out to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Sale continued to dominate in the top of the third as well. Trey Mancini whiffed, JJ Hardy grounded out and Caleb Joseph struck out to end the inning. Asher matched Sale in the bottom of the third. Bogaerts grounded out, Benny The Kid struck out and Mr. Mookie lined out to end the inning.
Sale tossed more zeroes in the top of the fourth. Rickard grounded out, Jones popped up and Machado struck out again to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth when Ramirez blasted a moon shot to left to increase the lead. Moreland and Pedroia grounded out and JBJ lined out to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
The O's struck back in the top of the fifth inning. Trumbo flied out but Davis walked to break up the perfect game. Davis was erased on the Schoop fielder's choice but Mancini broke up the no-hitter and the shut out with an rbi double. Hardy grounded out to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 2-1. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning but couldn't score. Leon struck out and Hernandez grounded out but Bogaerts beat out an infield single. Benny The Kid singled but Mr. Mookie lined out to end the inning.
Sale continued his dominance in the top of the sixth inning. Joseph and Rickard grounded out then Jones lined out to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the sixth inning and once again it was Ramirez with another tape measure blast to left. Moreland and Pedroia flied out then JBJ struck out to end the inning with the Sox up 3-1.
The O's answered in the top of the seventh when Machado got the last laugh on Sale with a solo blast to left to cut the lead to 1. Trumbo struck out and Davis grounded out, but Schoop walked. Mancini struck out to end the inning with the Sox still up 3-2. Donnie Hart relieved Asher and the Sox were more than happy to see Asher go in the bottom of the seventh. Leon singled but Hernandez botched the sacrifice bunt attempt by getting Leon thrown out at second. Bogaerts singled Hernandez to third but the rally almost ended with Benny The Kid grounded back to the mound, getting Hernandez thrown out at home. Mychal Givens replaced Hart to pitch to Betts and Mr. Mookie made him pay with a 2 run double to give the Sox a commanding 5-2 lead. Ramirez popped up to end the inning with Sale 6 outs away from a victory.
Sale returned for the top of the eighth inning. Hardy singled but Joseph struck out. Rickard and Jones flied out to end the inning. Sale had tossed 8 innings of 2 run ball and struck out 11, outstanding.
The Sox made bizarre history in the bottom of the eighth inning with Zach Britton taking over for the Orioles. Moreland singled and Pedroia walked before JBJ lofted an infield fly.....except it wasn't called an infield fly. JJ Hardy tagged out Moreland and Pedroia before getting JBJ at first for...oh yes...a triple play. Sox manager John Farrell argued it should have been an infield fly rule but to no avail.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel gunned for the save in the top of the ninth inning. Machado grounded out, Trumbo flied out and Davis struck out to end the game. The Sox had won 5-2.
Hero of the Night is once again Chris Sale. He dazzled by tossing 8 innings of 2 run ball while striking out 11. He's been the closest thing to 1999-2000 Pedro Martinez since Pedro himself.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with both hits being tape measure home runs.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run batted in.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 3.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 9th save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Marco Hernandez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but scored a run
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but the one hit drove in 2 runs.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Quite frankly these two teams are sick of each other. They've played each other too much and the Machado/Pedroia feud won't die. These two teams need to have a bench clearing brawl and squash the beef once and for all before someone gets hurt. There's not much to say about the game as Sale was once again outstanding and the Sox finally hit for him somewhat. They still haven't scored 10 runs in a game yet, that's how pathetic the offense has been this season. Yes they've ran into a lot of ace pitching but you'd think they'd run into a bum at least once? The win propels the Sox to 14-12 on the season. Tomorrow Drew Pomeranz goes for the Sox against Kevin Gausmann in Game 3 of this series at 7:10 PM.
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