It was a great day for Boston Sports as the Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of their NBA East Finals series and the Boston Red Sox finally beat the Oakland A's. The Red Sox had lost 3 in a row and needed an easy win like this to go into an off-day with some confidence. The Sox offense had a blast against the dreadful A's starting pitching and Eduardo Rodriguez (3-1, 3.10 ERA) was amazing. All in all it meant the Sox had beaten the Oakland A's 12-3 to avoid a sweep at the Oakland Coliseum.
The Sox wasted no time scoring in the top of the first for once against Andrew Triggs. Mr. Mookie Betts walked and Dustin Pedroia singled, only for Mark Canha to throw the ball away. Bets scored and Pedroia advanced to second. A wild pitch moved Pedroia to third but Xander Bogaerts struck out. Andrew Benintendi ht a sac fly to score Pedroia but Hanley Ramirez grounded out to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Rodriguez had a strong bottom of the first although Rajai Davis singled to begin. Mark Canha struck out and Jed Lowrie popped up, then Khris Davis struck out to end the inning.
The errors continued for Oakland in the top of the second as Chad Pinder booted a ground ball hit by Mitch Moreland, allowing Moreland to reach first. Moreland then made a boo-boo as Jackie Bradley Jr hit a rocket to center and somehow caught it then dropped it on the transfer. Moreland saw the ball rolling so he ran all the way home...only to be doubled off first. Nice going Mitch. Christian Vazquez whiffed to end the inning. Right on cue the A's bashed their way back into the game although Trevor Plouffe struck out to begin the bottom of the second. Ryon Healy flied out but Pinder doubled to the wall and scored on the Josh Phegley rbi single. Adam Rosales popped up to end the inning but the A's cut it to 2-1.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the third as Deven Marrero popped up, Mr. Mookie struck out and Pedroia popped up to end the inning. Davis flied out to start the bottom of the third as Moreland battled the sun to stab a pop up from Canha. Lowrie then singled in the hole but Davis whiffed to end the inning.
Triggs gutted through the top of the fourth as Bogaerts popped up. Somehow Benny The Kid beat out an infield single and swiped second. Ramirez walked but Moreland struck out, only for Benintendi to swipe third. With runners at the corners JBJ struck out as usual and the inning was over. Right on cue the A's took command in the bottom of the fourth. Plouffe lined out but Healy singled and Pinder blasted a 2 run bomb to give the A's a 3-2 lead. Phegley lined out and Rosales struck out to end the inning with the A's up.
Shockingly the Sox roared back in the top of the fifth. Vazquez somehow singled to lead off the top of the fifth, swiped second and took third on a bad throw by Phegley. Marrero struck out but Mr. Mookie singled in Vazquez to tie the game. Pedroia then singled Betts all the way from first to give the Sox the lead back. Pedroia was then thrown out trying to steal but Bogaerts walked. HE stole second but was stranded as Benny The Kid flied out to end the inning, but the Sox had taken a 4-3 lead.
Rodriguez recovered to strike out Davis to begin the bottom of the fifth. Canha popped up and Lowrie grounded out to end the inning.
It was time for more offense in the top of the sixth inning. Ramirez led off with a single and Moreland blasted a no doubt home run into the upper deck to increase the lead. JBJ struck out again but Vazquez singled to chase Triggs. Bobby Wahl took over and got Marrero to ground out although Vaz moved to second. Mr. Mookie walked but Pedroia grounded out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Rodriguez responded with a clean bottom of the sixth. Davis flied out, Plouffe struck out and Healy flied out in short order.
The Sox threatened in the top of the seventh. Bogaerts singled but Benny The Kid popped up. Ramirez singled Bogaerts to third to chase Wahl. Danil Coulombe came in and got Moreland to bang into a double play to end the inning. Rodriguez returned for the bottom of the seventh and finished with a flurry. Pinder and Phegley flied out to right, but Rosales walked. Davis flied out to end the inning. That's 7 strong innings by Rodriguez, just what the doctor ordered.
The Sox got another one in the top of the eighth against John Axord. JBJ hustled to second on a double before moving to third on the fly out by Vazquez. Marrero grounded out but JBJ scored to increase the lead. Mr. Mookie grounded out but the Sox were in front 7-3.
With only 89 pitches on his arm, Rodriguez returned for the bottom of the eighth and got a little help from Betts on his knees to retire Canha on a line drive. Lowrie thought he had ball four but instead he had strike three for the second out....just as NESN decided to show Rodriguez' near no-hitter last September when Bob Melvin decided that being 20 games under .500 was better than 21 and challenged an out call at first. Still not over that. Back in present time, Mr. Mookie made a jumping catch at the wall to rob Davis of a hit to end the inning. 8 innings of 3 run ball by Rodriguez, outstanding.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the ninth with Josh Smith on the mound. Pedroia grounded out as a flock of seagulls invaded the empty left field bleachers. Bogaerts and Benny The Kid worked back to back walks and Ramirez cleared the bases with a double. Moreland flied out but JBJ singled home Hanley for another run. Vazquez then doubled down the right field line to score JBJ. Marrero joined the hit parade with a bloop single to right to score Vaz. Mr. Mookie popped up to end the inning with the Sox ahead 12-3.
With the game all but over, Rodriguez sat down and Matt Barnes took over in the bottom of the ninth. Matt Joyce pinch hit for Plouffe and struck out. Healy grounded out to first and Pinder popped up to end the game. The Sox had won it 12-3.
Hero of the Night is Eduardo Rodriguez. He went 8 strong innings and allowed 3 runs to give the bullpen a much needed break.
The Good:
Mookie Betts walked twice, singled, drove in a run and scored twice.
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 runs batted in and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 5 with a an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Christian Vazquez was 3 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None...wow
The Ugly:
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 5 but made the hit count as it was a 2 run home run.
Deven Marrero was just 1 for 5 but drove in 2 runs.
Final Thoughts:
It was a lousy road trip but a win is a win. The Sox needed a game like this on both sides of the ball because they have been struggling to hit mediocre pitching and anyone not named Chris Sale has had trouble going 6 innings lately. Luckily the Sox smashed around the A's pitching and Rodriguez went 8 strong innings. The emergence of Rodriguez comes at a crucial time with David Price near returning. If Porcello can get some run support and Sale keeps doing what he's doing, the Sox could have a 1-4 as good as anyone. As for the 5th starter, Brandon Workman is back from the dead, why not him instead of Drew Pomeranz? He did go 1-10 in 2014 but that was a lost year and his arm was hanging by a thread, now that he's healthy, let's see what he can do. The win propelled the Sox to 22-21, still 4 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees. As bad as the Sox have played, they're still within striking distance in the AL East. Tomorrow is an off-day and the Sox return to action this Tuesday in Texas....no not the WWF pay per view from 1991. Rick Porcello (2-5, 4.23 ERA) takes on Andrew Cashner in Game 1 at 7:10 PM.
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