Things went south right from the start in the top of the first inning. Brian Dozier flied out to left and Robbie Grossman looked at strike three, but the wheels fell off when Joe Mauer doubled. Miguel Sano doubled home Mauer and Max Kepler singled in Sano. Kennys Vargas struck out but it was 2-0 Twins.
The indomitable Adalberto Meija took the mound in the bottom of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts flied out. Dustin Pedroia flied out but somehow Xander Bogaerts singled. Mitch Moreland lined out to end the inning.
Porcello recovered in the top of the second inning as Eddie Rosario struck out and Jorge Polanco grounded out, but Jason Castro walked. Dozier struck out to end the inning. Chris Young led off the bottom of the second with a ground out but shockingly Jackie Bradley Jr doubled. Naturally Sam Travis flied out to right and Sandy Leon popped up to end the inning.
Rick pitched a clean inning in the top of the third. Grossman watched strike three go by, Mauer grounded out and Sano also grounded out to end the inning. Porcello was favoring his thumb in the bottom in the dug-out of the third inning as Marrero led off with a single to the Monster. Mr. Mookie singled up the middle to put the tying runs on....but naturally Pedroia popped up and Bogaerts whiffed. How many times this year did the Sox have a runner on second with one out and the batter struck out swinging? Also naturally Moreland whiffed to end the inning. Yet another mediocre starter was blinding them.
Porcello returned for the top of the fourth and battled. Kepler did manage to ground out to Pedroia on the first pitch but Vargas singled to center. Rosario grounded sharply to Moreland for the force but Vargas moved to second. Polanco took a borderline pitch for strike three to end the inning. The pathetic offense remained asleep in the bottom of the fourth as Young popped up and JBJ squibbed a dribbler in front of the catcher for an easy out. Travis somehow was hit with a pitch but Leon flied out to left to end the inning.
Porcello came back for the top of the fifth and nearly crapped his pants again. Castro singled to left to beat the shift but Dozier popped up. Grossman flied out to left and Mauer grounded out to end the inning. It didn't matter if it was Porcello or Cy Young on the mound because nobody was getting a run against Meija in the bottom of the fifth inning. Marrero struck out and Mr. Mookie grounded out but FINALLY Meija walked somebody, Pedroia. It didn't matter as Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning. 5 shut-out innings for Meija.
The Twins iced the game in the top of the sixth inning. Sano drew a four pitch walk then Kepler blasted a 2 run line drive home run into the Sox bullpen for a commanding lead. Porcello did manage to get Vargas to ground out, Rosario to pop up and Polanco to line out, but the game was over. Porcello had once again given up over 10 hits and 4 runs in just 6 innings, some Cy Young hero.
Then again, it didnt matter because this awful offense wasn't scoring off Meija in the bottom of the sixth. Moreland found a way to scratch out a single but Young said "oh no you don't" and popped up. JBJ grounded out and that was it for Meija. The Sox should be ashamed of themselves for getting shut out by HIM. Tyler Duffy came in and struck out Travis to end the inning.
Heath Hembree took over on the mound in the top of the seventh inning. Castro struck out, Dozier grounded out and Grossman looked at strike three to end the inning. Byron Buxton took over in center for Grossman in the bottom of the seventh with Kapler now in right. Somehow the Sox got on the board in the bottom of the seventh when Leon got a lucky single to right. Tzu-Wei Lin pinch hit for Marrero and flied out but Mr. Mookie walked. Pedroia walked to load the bases....only for Bogaerts to ground out. Leon scored and the runners moved into scoring position but there were now 2 out. Taylor Rodgers replaced Tyler Duffy and Moreland swung at air to end the rally. It was now 4-1 Twins and the game was all abut over.
Hembree ran into trouble literally in the top of the eighth inning. Mauer hit a roller toward Hembree and Mauer cleaned him out on his way to first for a single. Mauer stole second but Sano struck out. That was it for Hembree before he got himself killed.
Robby Scott came in and got Kepler to ground out. Eduardo Escobar pinch hit for Vargas and Scott intentionally walked him. Rosario walked to load the bases but Scott struck out Polanco to end the inning. The Sox had one last chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the eighth although Young flied out to start. JBJ was hit with a pitch but Travis looked at strike three. Leon nearly hit one out of the yard but it died at the left field wall to end the inning.
Matt Barnes had the top of the ninth inning and he struck out Castro to start. Dozier and Buxton grounded out to end the inning. Brandon Kintzler came in to close out the bottom of the 9th, getting Lin to ground out to start. Mr. Mookie doubled but Pedroia grounded out. Bogaerts whiffed to end the game. The Sox had lost 4-1. Another pathetic showing by the offense.
Jackass of the Night is Rick Porcello. He allowed 4 runs including a 2 run homer to a normally punchless Twins offense to take his 10th loss of the year.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3.
Deven Marrero was 1 for 2.
Heath Hembree tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Robby Scott pitched 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Chris Young was 0 for 4.
Sam Travis was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 2 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 3 but walked twice.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5 but drove in the only run.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4.
Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Yet another game where the offense couldn't hit a ball out of their hands when Porcello is on the mound. Being 4-10 means you're not getting the job done but its hard to get many wins when the offense scores literally no runs. Its an epidemic at this point of how bad the offense is and a lot of that has to do with the carefree attitudes of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. They're in the middle of a pennant race they have a shot to win, don't they have any pride? Its one thing if they run smack into Felix Hernandez or Clayton Kershaw, but ADALBERTO MEIJA is shutting them down these days. The Sox need to do something about third base or else things are going to get worse. The loss dropped the Sox to 43-35, 1/2 game in front of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow's finale features David Price (2-2, 4.76 ERA) taking on Kyle Gibson, the same guy who blinded the Sox in Fenway last June. Hopefully there won't be a repeat.
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