Pomeranz got the ball in the top of the first inning and Brian Dozier grounded out to third to start the ballgame. Eduardo Escobar grounded out to first and Joe Mauer whiffed to end the inning. The Sox threatened in the bottom half of the first against Hector Santiago but as usual couldn't capitalize. Mr. Mookie Betts watched strike three go by but Dustin Pedroia walked. Xander Bogaerts was hit with a pitch but Chris Young and Jackie Bradley Jr both popped up to end the inning.
Pomeranz cruised in the top of the second inning, striking out Miguel Sano to start. Max Kepler struck out and Jorge Polanco grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Sam Travis worked a walk but Andrew Benintendi watched strike 3 go by. Christian Vazquez stepped up and swatted a two run home run to give the Sox the lead early. Deven Marrero popped up and so did Mr Mookie to end the inning, but it was 2-0 Boston.
Vazquez then helped with his arm after his at bat when Eddie Rosario stroked a lead-off double in the top of the third. Rosario tried for third and Christian gunned him down. Pomeranz punched out Byron Buxton and Jason Castro to end the inning.
After a huge rain delay chased away most of the crowd, The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third inning against Alan Busenitz. Pedroia and Bogaerts stroked back to back singles but Chris Young popped up. JBJ lined one into center and Buxton's throw home got away, Pedroia scoring while the others moved into scoring position. As usual lady luck was not on the Sox side as Travis hit an absolute bullet but snared by the shortstop, tagging out Bogaerts for the double play to end the inning. Still, it was 3-0 Red Sox.
The Twins tried to fight back in the top of the fourth when Dozier singled to start. Marrero snared a liner by Escobar and Mauer flied out. Sano flied out to end the inning. Old pal Craig Breslow came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and struck out Benny The Kid to start. Marrero then lined one just out of reach of Buxton. Vazquez had to stop to see if the ball was caught so he only advanced to third base. Deven ended up on second with a double and Mr. Mookie scored Vazquez with a sac fly. Pedroia slashed a single to score Marrero but was thrown out at second trying to stretch. Bad baserunning aside, it was now 5-0 Sox.
The Twins struck back in the top of the fifth although Kepler grounded out to start the frame. Polanco then hit a routine grounder to Marrero who bizarrely screamed, threw his glove high in the air and pounced on the ball like it was a live grenade. Polanco reached on the error and took second on a wild pitch by Pomeranz. Rosario then hit a ball down the first base line snared by Travis but couldn't make the play, putting runners at the corners. Buxton atoned for his error with a run scoring single to cut the lead. Pomeranz recovered to strike out both Castro and Dozier to end the inning but it was now 5-1.
The Sox got that run right back in the bottom of the fifth. Bogaerts singled and Young worked a walk before JBJ stepped in. He lashed one to second and Dozier tried to blow the ball out of bounds to make it a foul ball.....from second base. Obviously that failed and Bogaerts scored on the play. That was it for Craig Breslow as Matt Belisle replaced him to strike out Sam Travis. Young and JBJ pulled off a double steal so Benny The Kid was intentionally waked. The gamble worked as Vazquez banged into a double play to end the inning but it was now 6-1.
After more rain, drought, snow and tornadoes ripped through Boston, Blaine Boyer replaced Pomeranz for the top of the sixth inning. Escobar grounded out to second but Mauer singled. Boyer recovered to get Sano and Kepler to fly out to end the inning.
The Sox poured it on in the bottom of the sixth inning. Marrero and Mr. Mookie grounded out but Pedroia singled. The Twins made another boo-boo when Escobar booted Bogaerts' grounder at third. Young iced the game with a 3 run blast to left to light up the crowd as much as the lightning did. JBJ grounded out to end the inning but it was now 9-1 Sox.
With the game out of reach, Pedroia was given the rest of the night off as Tzu-Wei Lin came in to play second in the top of the seventh inning. Polanco greeted Boyer with a base hit and Rosario followed with one of his own. Boyer got Buxton to bang into a double play but Castro walked. Dozier grounded into a force to end the inning. Good work Boyer. Trevor Hildenberger was brought in to pitch the bottom of the seventh inning. Travis and Benny The Kid grounded out but Vazquez walked. A wild pitch moved Vaz to second but Marrero struck out to end the inning.
Fernando Abad came on to pitch the top of the eighth and was rudely greeted with a lead-off home run by Escobar to center. Abad recovered to get Mauer to ground out, Sano to pop up and Kepler to fly out to end the inning. Kennys Vargas came in to play first for Mauer in the bottom of the eighth as Mr. Mookie led off with a single. Lin beat out a double play ball but Bogaerts struck out. Young walked but JBJ grounded out to end the inning.
Abad returned to close it out in the top of the ninth. Polanco and Rosario grounded out and Buxton flied out to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-2.
Hero of the Night is Christian Vazquez. His 2 run homer set the tone for the offensive explosion that was about to commence.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 3 with a walk, rbi and 2 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Chris Young was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a 3 run home run.
Drew Pomeranz earned his 7th win with 5 gutty innings during and after a huge rainstorm.
Blaine Boyer tossed two scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 1 after replacing Pedroia.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5.
Sam Travis was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked.
Deven Marrero was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Fernando Abad gave up a run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
Now see what happens when you score runs for once? You actually win the game! What a concept! Its too bad they scored 9 runs in just one game, they'll be lucky to score 2 tomorrow. Still, a win is a win and every single one of them counts. Big props to Pomeranz to pitch through the rain and kudos to Blaine Boyer for getting out of his own jam. Good to see guys like Vazquez and Young come up with homers to make things easier. If the rest of the team could hit, that would be nice. The win improved the Sox to 43-34, 1/2 game in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Rick Porcello (4-9, 5.00 ERA) looks for his second win in a row as he goes up against Adalberto Meija. First pitch is at 7:10 PM so don't miss it, or else.
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