Pomeranz wasted no time pooping his pants in the top of the first inning. Ian Kinsler singled to left and the pain in the ass Nick Castellanos homered to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 lead 2 batters into the game. Miguel Cabrera walked but was erased on the Victor Martinez double play. JD Martinez singled, took second on a wild pitch and scored on the Justin Upton single. Mike Mahtook flied out to right but the Tigers led 3-0 before anyone knew it.
Somehow the Sox struck back in the bottom of the first against Detroit starter Daniel Norris. Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to left but Dustin Pedroia doubled into the gap. Xander Bogaerts watched strike three go by but Hanley Ramirez singled home Pedroia.....only to be foolishly thrown out at second trying to stretch into a double. Still, the Sox had gotten on the board 3-1.
Somehow Pomeranz pitched a clean top of the second inning. James McCann and Jose Iglesias flied out to right then Kinsler grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox failed to score in the bottom of the second inning. Mitch Moreland struck out but Chris Young singled. Josh Rutledge then banged into a double play to end the inning.
Pomeranz threw too many pitches but got out of the top of the third inning. Castellanos grounded out to short, Cabrera grounded out to first and V-Mart grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third inning. Jackie Bradley Jr singled but Christian Vazquez struck out. Mr. Mookie singled and Pedroia doubled home JBJ. The play of the game came when Bogaerts popped up, huge out there. Ramirez was intentionally walked to load the bases but Moreland flied out to end the inning. The Sox trailed 3-2 but could have tied it with more clutch hitting.
Pomeranz ran into big trouble in the top of the fourth inning. Martinez, Upton and Mahtook all singled to load the bases with nobody out. Pomeranz showed some balls to strike out McCann and Iglesias. Kinsler flied out to end the inning, good work by Drew to escape that jam.
Unfortunately the Sox couldn't tie it up in the bottom of the fourth inning. Young struck out but Rutledge single. JBJ walked but Vazquez flied out to end the inning.
The Tigers blew the game wide open in the top of the fifth inning. It all started when Castellanos hit a ground ball to Bogaerts who picked it up and threw it 300 feet away into the Monster seats, allowing Nick to reach second. Cabrera singled but Castellanos was erased at third on the force by V-Mart. The other Martinez walked and that was it for Pomeranz. Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough after 93 pitches and pulled him for Heath Hembree. The move backfired as Upton crushed a pop up home run that just struck the Pesky Pole for a grand slam, putting the game out of reach. The fun didn't end there, no sirree bob. Mahtook grounded out but McCann doubled. Iglesias walked and Kinsler singled home McCann. Castellanos started the inning and he ended it by striking out. The Tigers now led 8-2 and the game was all but over.
If the Sox had any hope, they had to rally in the bottom of the fifth inning. Things started well when Mr. Mookie doubled off the Monster and Pedroia walked. Things turned for the worse when Bogaerts popped up and Ramirez struck out even though Betts stole third. Moreland struck out to end the inning.
Blaine Boyer got the call to pitch the top of the sixth inning. Cabrera singled but V-Mart flied out. The other Martinez struck out then Boyer froze Upton to end the inning. The Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the sixth inning. Young struck out and Rutledge grounded out, but JBJ doubled. Vazquez singled in Jackie but Mr. Mookie flied out to end the inning with the Sox down 8-3. That 8th run was huge because the Tigers bullpen is terrible, but not THAT terrible.
Boyer returned for the top of the 7th inning. Mathook singled but was erased on the McCann double play. Iglesias singled but Kinsler struck out to end the inning. 2 scoreless innings for Boyer.
Fransisco Rodriguez got the call to pitch the bottom of the seventh inning. Pedroia walked but Bogaerts struck out. Ramirez singled but Moreland struck out and Young flied out to end the inning.
Fernando Abad came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning. Castellanos grounded out to third, Cabrera grounded out to second and V-Mart flied out to right. Alex Wilson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Rutledge greeted him with a single only for JBJ to ground into a double play. Vazquez grounded out to end the inning.
Abad returned for the top of the ninth inning. Martinez popped up to short, Upton grounded out to third and Mahtook flied out to end the inning. The moral victory was Boyer and Abad had tossed 4 scoreless innings. The game came to a bitter end in the bottom of the ninth against Justin Wilson. Mr. Mookie worked a walk then took second on defensive indifference. Pedroia and Bogaerts whiffed but Ramirez walked. Moreland grounded out to end the game....but wait! As if the game needed any more nonsense, Sox manager John Farrell challenged the call. Now if it was a 1-3 run game I'd understand but it was a 5 run game. Moreland was ruled safe but the torture continued briefly. Young lined out to end the game. The Tigers had won 8-3.
Jackass of the Night is Drew Pomeranz. Yes Hembree gave up the grand slam but Pomeranz put the Sox in that position. He gave up 6 runs (5 earned) in just 4 1/3 innings. If Eduardo Rodriguez wasn't hurt, Drew would probably be in the bullpen now.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base.
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, rbi and run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and an rbi.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Blaine Boyer tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Fernando Abad tossed 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts would have been Jackass if this was a one run game, he went 0 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts and made an error.
Heath Hembree gave up a grand slam and another run in just 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 5.
Chris Young was just 1 for 5.
Josh Rutledge was just 1 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Well that sucked. The Sox had a golden chance to sweep the Tigers and have some momentum going up against the last place Philadelphia Phillies. Instead they drank too much prune juice and crapped themselves, dropping this game while the New York Yankees won yet again. Pomeranz reveals that when he throws the cut fastball, it hurts his forearm. His fastball/curve is too predictable which is why he gets hammered. This is not an ideal situation to be in. The loss drops the Sox to 34-28, 4 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox start a 4 game, home and home series with the Phillies. Rick Porcello (3-8) gets the call tomorrow night opposite The 0-7 Jerad Eickhoff. This would be a good time for Porcello to break out of his slump at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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