As for the game, Chris Sale (5-2, 2.34 ERA) was surprisingly mortal. Normally this is bad news for the Boston Red Sox but for the first time all season, the Sox offense picked up Sale with a huge late inning rally to beat the Texas Rangers 9-4 at Fenway Park.
Sale got the ball in the top of the first and immediately struck out Delino Deshields Jr to begin the game. Shin-Soo Choo grounded out to short and Elvis Andrus flied out to right to end the inning. Martin Perez matched Sale in the bottom of the first as Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to short to begin. Dustin Pedroia flied out to right and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Sale got Jonathan Lucroy to ground out to begin the top of the second inning. Rougned Odor struck out swinging and Mike Napoli also whiffed to end the inning. The Sox almost went quietly in the bottom of the second. Ramirez popped up on a full count but Chris Young walked. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to end the inning.
Sale remained red hot in the top of the third inning. Ryan Rua flied out to left, Joey Gallo flied out to right and Robinson Chirinos whiffed to end the inning. In his major league debut, Sam Travis grounded out to short on a bang bang play. Leon popped up but Deven Marrero singled to right over the head of Odor. Marrero swiped second and scored on the Mr. Mookie single up the middle past the diving Odor. A wild pitch by Perez moved Mookie to second and Pedroia walked. Bogaerts struck out to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Sale gave up his first base runner when DeShields Jr walked to start the top of the fourth inning then moved to second on a passed ball. Choo advanced DeShields to third on a ground out and Andrus drove in Delino with a sac fly to tie the game. Lucroy grounded out but the Rangers had tied it up 1-1. Napoli made a boo-boo by dropping a pop-up off the bat of Ramirez, but Hanley flied out anyway to begin the bottom of the fourth. Young struck out and Benny The Kid grounded out to end the inning.
The wheels fell off for Sale in the top of the fifth inning. Odor whiffed but Napoli did what he did so many times for the Sox in the past, he homered to left to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Rua doubled and Gallo singled home Rua. With Sale on the ropes, he fought his way off by getting Chirinos to ground into a fielder's choice and DeShields Jr to fly out to right. The damage was done and the Rangers led 3-1.
The Sox couldnt strike back in the bottom of the fifth inning against Perez although Travis got his first major league hit by beating out an infield single. Leon promptly banged into a double play and Marrero whiffed to end the inning.
Sale settled down in the top of the sixth as Choo flied out, Andrus grounded out to third and Lucroy grounded back to Chris to end the inning. The Sox still couldn't crack Perez in the bottom of the sixth as Mr. Mookie flied out to the wall to start. Pedroia grounded out but Bogaerts beat out an infield single. Ramirez whiffed to end the inning.
Sale came back out for the top of the seventh and Odor grounded out. Napoli singled but Rua struck out. Gallo flied out to end the inning. The Sox absolutely exploded in the bottom of the seventh inning. Young flied out but Benny The Kid beat out an infield single. Travis singled Benny The Kid to third and that was it for Perez. Sam Dyson came in and poured gas on the fire as Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Leon. Moreland singled home Benintendi. Sox manager John Farrell pinch hit Marrero with Josh Rutledge and he singled home Travis, everybody advancing when Choo threw wide of home. Mr. Mookie was intentionally walked to load the bases and Perez gifted the Sox another run with a wild pitch, scoring Moreland and advancing both runners. Pedroia singled home both runners off the glove of Gallo at third. Bogaerts hit a ground rule double into the bullpen and Ramirez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Young walked to score Pedroia and that was it for Dyson who didn't retire a single batter. Austin Bibers-Dirkx came in and got a pop up from Benny The Kid only Napoli dropped it. Benny made Napoli pay by hitting a sac fly to score Bogaerts. Travis struck out to end the inning but the Sox rallied for 7 runs to take an 8-3 lead.
Sale sat for nearly a half hour and it showed as he came back for the top of the eighth. Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate and Moreland took over at first, replacing Travis and Leon. Chirinos popped up but DeShields doubled. Choo singled home DeShields Jr to chase Sale. He gave it his all but had allowed 4 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings. Normally that's not good enough but the Sox scored for once.
Joe Kelly replaced Sale and got Andrus to line out. Lucroy grounded out to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the eighth as Moreland singled to start and took second on another wild pitch. Rutledge flied out but Mr. Mookie singled home Moreland to increase the lead. Pedroia lined out and Bogaerts popped up to end the inning but the Sox now had a 9-4 lead.
With a commanding lead, Craig Kimbrel sat down and Joe Kelly came out to finish the the game in the top of the ninth. Odor singled but Napoli struck out. Nomar Mazara pinch hit for Rua and Odor was out at second on a force. Vazquez then went under a pop up but decided to check out a woman bending over, muffing the pop up for an error. Luckily Kelly picked up Vaz by striking out Gallo to end the game, The Sox had won it 9-4.
Hero of the Night is Sam Travis. He got his first major league hit then sparked the 7 run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbi's and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Chris Young walked twice in four plate appearances, driving in a run with his second.
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 with a run scored and rbi.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 2 as a pinch hitter, scoring twice and driving in a run.
Deven Marrero was 1 for 2 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Josh Rutledge was 1 for 2 with a run scored and an rbi.
Joe Kelly pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was brought in to play defense and he muffed a pop up in the ninth.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 2.
The Ugly;
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in 2 runs and scored one of his own.
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Chris Sale got the win but he was mortal in this one.
Final Thoughts:
Looks like the offense has come back in a big way. They still aren't hitting home runs but a run scored is a run scored. Sam Travis looked to be the real deal after tearing up the minors from 2014-15 before a knee injury wiped out his 2016. Its too bad Marco Hernandez is out for the year because he could have joined Travis and turning the corners into on base machines this season. Still, a Moreland/Travis platoon would be ideal for now if Hanley Ramirez continues to refuse to play first. Marrero is a defensive wizard but his offense was never very good. Meanwhile down in Pawtucket, Pablo Sandoval looked good while David Price got lit up. His velocity was there but his command wasn't. Considering Price never really had spring training, that's partially expected to be rusty. Still, if he's too rusty to contribute, that means the Sox have to rely on the revolving door of Pawtucket guys and Drew Pomeranz...not good. Still, the top of the order is producing and the bottom of the order looks to be improving. We'll see how this turns out real quick. The win improved the Sox to 24-21, 3 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night is the final game of the series and Pomeranz (3-3, 4.97 ERA) looks to bounce back opposite Nick Martinez at 7:10 PM in Fenway Park.
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