The game started sloppy as sloppy could get. Tillman got tagged right off the bat in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts led the game off with a base hit and Andrew Benintendi worked a walk. Xander Bogaerts popped up but Mitch Moreland walked to load the bases. Hanley Ramirez popped up to shallow center but Jackie Bradley Jr ashed a single to right. Betts and Benintendi scored but Moreland was caught in a run down, getting tagged out to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
The lead lasted about 5 minutes thanks to horrendous defense in the bottom of the first with Sale on the mound. Joey Rickard led off with a double but Adam Jones whiffed. Manny Machado walked and the O's went for the double steal. Sandoval set up on the wrong side of the bag an the throw came in....OUT! Oh wait, O's manager Buck Showalter challenged the call and the replays overturned it. With runners on second and third Sale struck out Mark Trumbo. Chris Davis then tied the game with a 2 run single. Trey Mancini grounded to Sandoval who had all day to throw to first but instead went to second.....400 feet over the head of Deven Marrero at second, and everyone was safe. Jonathan Schoop highlighted Sandoval's incompetence with a double that scored Davis to give the O's the lead. Fransisco Pena whiffed to end the inning but Sale threw 37 pitches and was tagged for 3 earned runs...woof.
Sandoval tried to atone for his gaff by doubling to lead off the top of the second inning, Sandy Leon grounded out and failed to advance Sandoval. Marrero whiffed and Mr. Mookie popped up to end the inning. Sale settled down in the bottom of the second as well. JJ Hardy grounded out, Rickard flied out and Jones whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the third inning. The slumping Benny The Kid broke out of it by hitting a high, towering home run to right field to tie the game. Bogaerts singled but was erased by the Moreland force. Ramirez flied out and JBJ grounded out to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Sale cruised in the bottom of the third as Machado grounded out, Trumbo popped up and Davis looked at strike three to end the inning.
Tillman got back on track in the top of the fourth inning. Sandoval grounded out, Leon ined out and Marrero grounded out to end the inning. The O's almost got away with one in the bottom of the fourth as Mr. Mookie dove for a ball struck by Mancini, originally ruled a trap. Sox manager John Farrell challenged the call and correctly it was overruled to an out. It was a good thing because Schoop immediately doubled. Pena whiffed but a wild pitch moved Schoop to third. Sale froze Hardy to end the inning.
Tillman cruised in the top of the fifth inning, getting Mr. Mookie to ground out and Benny The Kid to pop up. Bogaerts hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. Sale came back for the bottom of the fifth nearing 100 pitches and got Rickard to line out. Sale struck out Jones for the third time but Machado doubled. Trumbo struck out to end the inning.
The Sox took the lead on really bawful defense by Baltimore in the top of the sixth inning. Moreland singled but Ramirez whiffed. JBJ and Sandoval worked back to back walks to load the bases but Leon whiffed. With the light hitting Marrero at the plate, Tillman bounced a ball into the dirt and Moreland dashed halfway home before suddenly stopping. Moreland tried to go back to third and Pena tried to throw him out, only to airmail Machado by a mile allowing both Moreland and JBJ to score the go-ahead runs. Marrero flied out to end the inning anyway to highlight Pena's error with the Sox now up 5-3.
With over 100 pitches on his arm, Sale came back for the bottom of the sixth. Davis grounded out but Mancini singled. Sale bore down to get Schoop to ground into a double play to end the inning. Take away Sandoval's incompetence and Sale had pitched really well all things considering.
Mike Wright replaced Tillman in the top of the seventh and the Sox tagged him again. Mr. Mookie grounded out but Benny The Kid blasted a no doubt home run to right to increase the lead. Bogaerts singled but was erased on the Moreland force. Ramirez whiffed to end the inning but the Sox had a 6-3 lead.
With Craig Kimbrel given the day off after last night, Blaine Boyer came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and was greeted with a Pena single. Boyer got Hardy to bang into a double play and Rickard to line out to end the inning.
Wright cruised in the top of the eighth inning. JBJ grounded out, Sandoval struck out and Leon grounded out to end the inning. Boyer returned for the bottom of the eighth with Josh Rutledge in at third with Marrero moving to second, getting Sandoval out of the game. Jones grounded out but Machado doubled. Boyer's last pitch got Trumbo to pop up and that was it for him. Good work by Blaine to retire 5 guys. Lefty specialist Robby Scott came in and froze Davis to end the inning.
Wright returned brietly in the top of the ninth to strike out Marrero but walk Mr. Mookie. Richard Bleier came on and Mr. Mookie swiped second on a botched pickoff throw. Benny The Kid singled home Mr. Mookie for another insurance run. Benny stole a base himself just because but Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning with the Sox up 7-3.
Matt Barnes came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth to close the game out. Mancini grounded out but Schoop singled. Hun Soo Kim pinch hit for Pena but grounded out. Barnes caught Hardy looking with a curve to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-3.
Hero of the Night is a no brainer. Andrew Benintendi almost beat the O's by himself. He was 3 for 4 with 3 total rbi's, 3 total runs scored, a walk and 2 home runs.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbi's and a run scored.
Chris Sale earned his 7th win after surviving a disastrous first inning. He hung on to toss 6 innings of 3 run ball while striking out 9.
Blaine Boyer tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Robby Scott retired the only man he faced.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Deven Marrero was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but walked, stole a base and scored 2 runs.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 with a walk but scored the crucial run in the 6th.
Pablo Sandoval was 1 for 3 with a walk but made two boneheaded errors that could have cost the team the win.
Honorable Mention:
Josh Rutledge played third base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
It wasn't pretty but a win is a win. It was great to see Benintendi bust out of his slump because the top of the order has been a black hole lately. You expect the bottom of the order to stink but apart from Bogaerts, the top of the order has been ice cold. Sale had to battle and its obvious he wasn't the lights out pitcher he wasn't in April and May, but to be fair this is a pretty loaded Baltimore lineup. More good news is on the horizon that Dustin Pedroia is feeling a lot better and could pay on Friday, Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg are almost ready to face live hitters and Brian Johnson only tweaked a hamstring. The problem is now Rodriguez. This is the same knee and the same injury from last year that rendered him useless most of the season. If he can get his head on straight and the knee fixed, the Sox rotation with a healthy Sale, Price and Eddy could be devastating to opponents. The win propelled the Sox to 31-25 on the season, 2 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow is an off-day and the Sox play the Yankees themselves in a three game set beginning Tuesday night. Taking two of three would put them 1 game out and give the team a major boost. Drew Pomeranz (5-3,4.24 ERA) looks to continue his winning ways against the struggling Masahiro Tanaka. The Sox remember being humiliated by him in his start at Fenway so Tuesday night would be a great time for revenge at 7:05 PM.
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