Mike Pelfrey took the mound in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to center to start the game. Andrew Benintendi and Xander Bogaerts both whiffed to end the inning. Pomeranz hung tough in the bottom of the first inning. Leury Garcia whiffed, Melky Cabrera grounded back to Drew and Jose Abreu looked at strike three to end the inning.
Pelfrey cruised in the top of the second inning. Mitch Moreland popped up, Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out and Josh Rutledge struck out to end the inning. The White Sox struck first in the bottom of the second. Todd Frazier grounded out but Avisail singled. Matt Davidson struck out but Garcia took off for second Sox catcher Christian Vazquez turned and fired the ball into the NESN broadcast booth, allowing Garcia to reach third. Tim Anderson doubled home Garcia to give the White Sox the lead. Kevan Smith grounded out to end the inning with Chicago ahead 1-0.
The returning Pablo Sandoval blooped a single to start the top of the third. Vazquez grounded out but Pablo moved to second. Deven Marrero grounded out but Mr. Mookie walked. Benny The Kid grounded out to end the inning. Pomeranz ran into trouble in the bottom of the third. Yolmer Sanchez struck out but Garcia singled. A wild pitch moved Garica to third as he had already swiped second. Cabrera grounded out to third to hold Garcia and Abreu lined out to end the inning,
The Sox failed to score in the top of the fourth. Bogaerts grounded out but Moreland walked. JBJ singled but Rutledge lined out. Sandoval struck out on a fastball down the middle to end the inning. Pomeranz ran into trouble again in the bottom of the fourth. Frazier and Garcia grounded out but Davidson and Anderson stroked back to back hits. Smith flied out to end the inning.
Pelfrey cruised in the top of the fifth as Vazquez struck out. Marrero and Mr. Mookie both grounded out to end the inning. The mediocre Pelfrey had shut the Sox out for 5 innings on 83 pitches, unreal. Luckily Pomeranz was up to the challenge in the bottom of the fifth. Sanchez hit a ground ball to Marrero who threw the ball in the air and swatted it with his glove like a tennis serve over to first. The ball never made it and Sanchez made it to third. The White Sox made a booboo as Garcia bunted right back to Pomeranz who threw Sanchez out at third. Cabrera and Abreu struck out to end the inning.
For some reason White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Pelfrey after just 83 pitches. The Sox exploded on Anthony Swarzak in the top of the sixth inning. Benny The Kid popped up but Bogaerts singled. Moreland singled and took second when Bogaerts was safe at third on the throw. JBJ was intentionally walked and Rutledge did manage to hit a ground ball to short. Anderson double clutched on the throw to second and Rutledge was safe at first on the relay and the game was tied at 1. Sandoval stepped up and singled home Moreland to give Boston the lead. A wild pitch moved both runners and Vazquez atoned for his earlier earlier with a bases clearing double to give the Sox a commanding lead. Marrero popped up but the Sox now led 4-1.
Could Pomeranz pitch with the lead? Well Frazier and Garcia hit back to back singles but Davidson popped up. Anderson struck out and Smith grounded out to end the inning. Good work Drew.
The Sox offense was done for the night in the top of the seventh against Chris Beck. Mr. Mookie and Benny The Kid struck out then Bogaerts flied out to end the inning. Pomeranz hadn't gone 7 innings all year but this was his night. Sanchez struck out, Garcia popped up to short and Cabrera popped up to second to end the inning. Pomeranz had finally gone 7 innings to give the Sox a chance to win the game. Back to back good starts.
Beck returned for the top of the eighth inning and struck out Moreland to start. JBJ grounded out and Rutledge struck out to end the inning. The much maligned Matt Barnes came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Abreu lined out, Frazier grounded out and Garcia grounded out to end the inning.
Gregorgy Infante got the call to pitch the top of the ninth and Sandoval singled again, only to be erased on the Vazquez double play. Marrero flied out to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel got the call to pitch the bottom of the ninth. All he did was strike out Davidson looking, Anderson swinging and pinch hitter Omar Narvaez looking to end the game. Boston had beaten Chicago 4-1.
Hero of the Night is a no brainer. Drew Pomeranz was outstanding, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 8.
The Good:
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Pablo Sandoval was 3 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel struck out the side to earn his 15th save in the 9th.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Deven Marrero was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Josh Rutledge was 0 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 with an error but his 2 run single knocked in insurance runs
Final Thoughts:
I guess the on-screen tongue lashing by John Farrell fired up Pomeranz in a good way. Actually, behind the scenes, Farrell and the coaching staff suggested Pomeranz throw more cut-fastballs instead of his usual fastball and curve. The results spoke for themselves tonight, THIS was the pitcher Dave Dombrowski saw last year when he traded Anthony Espinoza for him. Once again the Sox struggled against mediocre starting pitching but was able to pounce on the bullpen enough to win. Betts, Benintendi and Ramirez are all struggling and we all know about the black hole at the bottom of the order with JBJ and Marrero. This is not a recipe for success with Dustin Pedroia out for at least 2 weeks. The wild card is Sandoval, is he going to suck or is he going to pick up the slack? Also can Pomeranz continue this success? We'll see down the road in the upcoming weeks. The win propelled the Bosox to 29-23, 2 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Red Sox travel to Baltimore for a 4 game series that's pretty important considered the logjam in the AL East standings. Eduardo Rodriguez goes for the Red Sox opposite Wade Miley at 7:10 PM.
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