Eduardo Rodriguez got the ball to start the top of the first inning and Tim Anderson flied out to right to begin the game.Tyler Saladino lined out softly to short and Jose Abreu grounded out to end the inning. Carlos Rodon was equally tough in the bottom of the first inning. Mookie Betts grounded out meekly, Andrew Benintendi lined out to second and Eduardo Nunez lined out to center to end the inning.
Things almost went south in the top of the second inning when Kevan Smith hit a routine ground ball to Xander Bogaerts. Rather than the make the play, he decided to drop an elbow on the ball and say "Ohhhhhh yeahhhhh!" allowing Smith to reach first. Rodriguez recovered to get Leury Garcia to fly out to right and Yoan Moncada to ground out, moving Smith to second. Nicky Delmonico looked at strike three to end the inning. Hanley Ramirez led off the bottom of the second inning with a routine fly out to right field. Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts both struck out to end the inning.
Things got testy in the top of the third inning. Adam Engel lined out to center but Yolmer Sanchez doubled off the top of the Monster. Anderson then looked at strike three and smashed his bat into smithereens, screaming invectives going back to the dug out. Saladino lined out to center to end the inning. The Sox mustered almost nothing in the bottom of the third inning. Chris Young lined out to center but Christian Vazquez singled. Jackie Bradley Jr looked at strike three and Betts grounded into a force to end the inning.
The White Sox struck first in the top of the fourth inning when Abreu doubled to center. Rodriguez recovered to get Smith to line out to right but Garcia walked. Moncada grounded out to move both runners into scoring position where both scored on the Delmonico double. Engel looked at strike three to end the inning with Chicago up 2-0....yuck. Naturally the BoSox couldn't get the runs back in the bottom of the fourth inning. Benintendi flied out to center, Nunez struck out and Ramirez whiffed badly to end the inning.
Rodriguez kept it a 2-0 game in the top of the fifth. Sanchez flied out and Anderson grounded out but Saladino walked. Abreu whiffed to end the inning. The Sox squandered a huge chance to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth. Devers singled into center and Bogaerts singled him to third. Young singled home Devers to cut the lead in half. Then the rally was killed dead when Vazquez whiffed, although JBJ singled in the hole up the middle, Anderson diving to save a run. The bases were loaded but Bogaerts was out at home on the force by Betts. Benintendi continued his cold streak by striking out to end the inning. After 4 hits in the inning, 3 to start the inning, it was still 2-1 White Sox.
With 94 pitches on his arm, Rodriguez returned for the top of the sixth inning. 9 pitches later Smith flied out to left. Garcia grounded out to second but Moncada singled. Rodriguez bore down to strike out Delmonico to end the inning. That was it for Rodriguez, he only went 6 innings but kept the damage to 2 runs. If he had run support, he'd be in line for the win.
Just when it seemed the Sox would never scored again, Nunez crushed a home run over the Monster Seats to tie the game on the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth. Ramirez whiffed and Devers grounded out before Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning. Still, Nunez had tied the game up 2-2.
Once again it was Addison Reed to pitch the top of the seventh proving Farrell has zero faith in him again. He started by striking out both Engel and Sanchez before Anderson singled. Anderson then forgot who was behind the plate and was gunned down by Vazquez trying to steal to end the inning. The Sox failed to score in the bottom of the seventh as Young looked at strike three, Vazquez flied out to center and JBJ whiffed to end the inning.
Matt Barnes got the call in the top of the eighth inning as Alen Hanson pinch hit for Saladino only to strike out. Abreu walked but was erased at second on the force by Smith. Barnes got Garcia looking to end the inning. Rodon returned for the bottom of the eighth and got Betts looking before Benintendi grounded out. That was it for Rodon as White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled him for Jake Petricka. Once again a mediocre starter tossed 7 2/3 innings of 2 run ball. Nunez greeted Petricka with a base hit but Ramirez struck out to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel got the ball in the top of the ninth inning and allowed back to back hits by Moncada and Delmonico. Things looked bleak when Engel sacrifice bunted both runners over but Kimbrel recovered to strike out Sanchez. Anderson whiffed to end the inning as the crowd went wild. Could Boston finish it off in the bottom of the ninth? Hell no. Tyler Clippard came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Devers whiffed to start the inning. Bogaerts struck out and Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for Young. Holt grounded out and it was on to extra innings again.
Mitch Moreland replaced Ramirez at first who left with an oblique strain with Brandon Workman now on the mound. Hanson struck out and Abreu grounded out but Smith singled. Garcia grounded out to end the inning. Clippard returned for the bottom of the 10th but the BoSox still couldn't score. Vazquez popped up to right, JBJ grounded to third and Betts flied out to left to end the inning.
Heath Hembree got the ball in the top of the eleventh inning and Moncada drew a walk to lead-off. Delmonico singled to center to put the pressure on. Engel laid down the perfect bunt and Hembree tried to get Moncada at third, safe! Bases loaded with nobody....wait, what's what? Birthday boy manager John Farrell challenged the play at third? Well this won't work right? Not so fast, the umpires overturned the call, YERRR OUT! Things got even better when Vazquez caught the napping Delmonico at second base on a pickoff throw thanks to a great block by Bogaerts. Sanchez grounded out to end the inning. Great D to save the game.
Moved by the D's effort, the O finally came through in the bottom of the 11th. Aaron Bummer was brought in to pitch and he got Benintendi to fly out to left. Nunez popped up to right and in stepped Mitch Moreland. Mitch wanted to go home so he decided to launch a walk-off home run into the Monster Seats as Sox analyst Dave O'Brien shouted "What a bummer!" The Sox had taken the game 3-2 in extras for their fourth straight win.
Hero of the Night is easy. Mitch Moreland's walkoff bomb ended the game and gave the Sox the win.
The Good:
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 5 with a solo home run.
Chris Young was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Eduardo Rodriguez tossed 6 innings of 2 run ball to keep the Sox in the game. It wasn't his best start but a huge improvement over his last game.
Addison Reed pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless 10th inning.
Heath Hembree got the win with a scoreless 11th inning.
The Bad:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts before leaving with injury.
Brock Holt was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
Another game with a lack of offense but an extra innings win is still a win. After the team's miserable July on and off the field, these are the kind of games the Sox need to win to get rapport back. Nunez continues to be very impressive considering he was just supposed to plug a hole at third base. Instead he's become a one man wrecking crew. It was good to see Rodriguez bounce back after looking like garbage the last time out and pretty much since he came off the DL. If Brandon Workman is healthy and continues to pitch like he's doing, that's a pretty tough bullpen to beat once Joe Kelly comes back healthy. The offense continues to struggle but who knows if it will ever be fixed at this point. In another shocking turn of events, the New York Yankees lost their fourth in a row so the 61-49 Red Sox are now 3 games ahead of them in the division race. Who saw that coming about 6 days ago? Tomorrow night Drew Pomeranz (10-4, 3.46 ERA) takes on "Big Game" James Shields in the third game of this series at 7:10 at Fenway Park.
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