The inteptitude started in the top of the first as Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to third to begin the game. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to short but Xander Bogaerts beat out an infield single to third. Mitch Moreland flied out to left to end the inning. Porcello got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mallex Smith greeted him with a single to right. Corey Dickerson grounded back to the mound as Smith moved to second. Evan Longoria moved Smith to third with a groundout but Logan Morrison struck out to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the second inning as Hanley Ramirez lined out to short, Andrew Benintendi whiffed and Chris Young hit a comebacker to the mound to end the inning. The Rays rallied for their first and only run in the bottom of the second inning. Steven Souza Jr singled to right and Brad Miller singled as well. Adeiny Hechavarria beat out a double play ball as Shane Peterson was hit with a pitch to load the bases. Jesus Sucre hit a sac fly to score Souza Jr as Smith struck out to end the inning. The Rays led 1-0 and who would have thought this would have been the final score?
The Sox tried to fight back in the top of the third although Sandy Leon popped up to start. Tzu-Wei Lin struck out but Mr. Mookie singled up the middle. Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. Porcello recovered to get Dickerson to pop up to open the bottom of the third inning. Longoria got plunked but Morrison popped up to short. Souza Jr whiffed to end the inning.
Cobb set down the Sox in the top of the fourth inning as Bogaerts grounded out to second, Moreland grounded out to third and Ramirez looked at strike three to end the inning. Porcello matched Cobb in the bottom of the fourth inning as Miller lined out to Bogaerts to start. Hechavarria popped up to first but Peterson singled. Sucre flied out to end the inning.
Cobb dominated the top of the fifth as Benny The Kid lined out to center, Young grounded out to third and Leon lined to short to end the inning.
Porcello stayed strong in the bottom of the fifth as Smith tried to bunt his way on but got thrown out. Dickerson whiffed but Longoria hit a ground rule double before swiping third base. Morrison struck out to end the inning.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the sixth inning as Lin flied out to left, Mr. Mookie popped to left and Pedroia grounded to short to end the inning. Porcello matched Cobb in the bottom of the sixth inning as he got Souza Jr to ground out to short to start. Miller struck out and Hechvarria grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox got one of their few chances to strike in the top of the seventh inning. Bogaerts hit a comebacker to the mound but Moreland reached when Miller booted a ball at second. It didnt matter as Ramirez popped up to second and Benny The Kid grounded out to end the inning. Even with the missed chance, Porcello pitched with passion in the bottom of the seventh inning. Peterson flied out to center and Sucre grounded out to third, but Smith tripled. Dickerson grounded out to short to end the inning.
Peter Boujors replaced Peterson in the top of the eighth inning as Young popped up to start. Leon drew a walk to put the tying run on and Sam Travis pinch ran for him, only for Lin to line out. That was it for Cobb after 7 2/3 outstanding innings. Alex Colome came in and got Mr. Mookie to pop up to end the inning. Porcello returned for the bottom of the eighth with Christian Vazquez now behind the plate. Longoria and Morrison both flied out to right before Souza Jr froze for strike three. Porcello was about to throw a complete game 6 hitter...and lose.
The Sox had one last chance to tie it in the top of the ninth. Pedroia grounded out to short but Bogaerts drew a walk. Moreland stepped up with a double to right. The tying run was at third and the go-ahead run at second. A base hit would win it and a sac fly would at least tie it with Marrero running for Moreland at second. What did Hanley do? He struck out....natually. Colome intentionally walked Benny The Kid to load the bases but Young popped up to end the game. The lack of clutch hitting ruined an outstanding Porcello start and the Sox had lost 1-0.
Jackass of the Night is Hanley Ramirez. He was 0 for 4 including the huge strikeout with 2 men in scoring position in the top of the ninth.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
One of the rare instances where the losing pitcher ends up on the good list. Rick Porcello was outstanding, tossing a complete game 6 hitter that 9 times out of 10 would have been an easy win.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4.
Chris Young was 0 for 4.
Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 3.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 2 but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Deven Marrero ran for Moreland in the top of the ninth.
Sam Travis pinch ran for Leon in the top of the eighth.
Christian Vazquez caught the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
Well that royally sucked. The Sox just mustered 3 hits and 3 walks against Cobb and crew. They wasted chances all night but none bigger than having 2 on and no out for Ramirez to gag, then for him to gag with 2 on, one out in the ninth. The offense has looked lifeless most of the season and they certainly did tonight. Bogaerts and Moreland are playing hurt but Betts and Ramirez look totally lost. Cant expect much from Lin or Marrero either. The Sox need to do something to generate offense or this season is going to go to hell in a hurry. The loss dropped the Sox to 50-38, 4 1/2 games ahead of the Rays for 1st place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to David Price (4-2, 4.02 ERA) to salvage the series opposite Rays ace Chris Archer at 1:05 PM at Tropicana Field.
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