Price took the mound in the top of the first inning and Matt Duffy grounded out to second to start. Kevin Kiermaier popped up to right on the first pitch and Carlos Gomez looked at strike three to end the inning. Chirinos took the mound in the bottom of the first and Mookie Betts popped up back to the mound to start. Andrew Benintendi singled to left but Hanley Ramirez whiffed and Benny was foolishly thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. This has got to be the dumbest baserunning team of all time.
Price returned for the top of the second and CJ Cron whiffed on a nasty curve to begin. Wilson Ramos flied out to dead center but Brad Miller singled to right. Betts made a basket catch to rob Adeiny Hechavarria of a hit to end the inning. The Sox caught a break when JD Martinez hit a routine fly out to center but the howling wind blew it off the glove of a diving Kiermaier. Martinez motored to third but strangely stayed there on a broken bat ground out to first by Xander Bogaerts. Rafael Devers grounded out to first and Eduardo Nunez grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Rays wasted no time taking advantage of the Sox incompetence when Daniel Robertson doubled to the wall to start the top of the third. Rob Refsyder walked and Nunez botched a double play when he dropped a routine ground ball hit by Duffy. They got Refsnyder at second but now there were runners at the corners. The Sox got a big out when Kiermaier popped up to short although Devers almost cleaned him out making the catch. Gomez popped up to first to end the inning with both teams squandering. The useless Sox offense continued to struggle in the bottom of the third as Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second and Christian Vazquez was rung up on a check swing in the dirt. Somehow Betts singled off the glove of Hechavarria but Benintendi grounded to first to end the inning. Apart from the two misplays, the Sox would not have a hit in this game.
Price came back for the top of the fourth inning and JBJ ran down a fly ball by Cron to start. Ramos and Miller also flied out to center to end the inning, lots of work for Jackie. The Sox failed to mount a threat as Ramirez grounded out to third, Martinez whiffed badly as well as Bogaerts to end the inning.
Price did what he could in the top of the fifth and he started by getting Hechavarria to ground out to second to start. Price proceeded to walk the 8 and 9 guys Robertson and Refsnyder. Duffy watched strike three go by and Kiermaier grounded out to short to end the inning. Chirinos came back for the bottom of the fifth and cruised. Devers popped up to center, Nunez grounded out to second and JBJ also grounded out to second to end the inning. Apart from the JD Martinez fly ball, the Sox had not even hit the ball hard the whole game.
Luckily for the Sox, the Rays offense equally sucks. Gomez popped up to center to start but Cron singled past the diving Bogaerts. Ramos grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Chaz Roe replaced Chirinos in the bottom of the sixth but it didn't matter as Vazquez popped up to center, Betts grounded out meekly to third and Benintendi grounded out meekly to second to end the inning.
Price returned for the top of the seventh inning and finished with a flurry. Miller popped up to left, Hechavarria whiffed and Robertson struck out swinging to end the inning. Price had thrown 7 shut-out innings allowing just 3 hits, he was outstanding.
Unfortunately Price would not get a win as the miserable offense did nothing in the bottom of the seventh inning against Sergio Romo. Ramirez took 6 pitches and and the last one was strike three and Refsnyder made a great catch to rob Martinez of a hit. Somehow Bogaerts walked for their first baserunner since the third inning and moved to second on a passed ball by Ramos.....but Devers whiffed badly to end the inning.
Carson Smith came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning and crapped his pants. Mallex Smith pinch hit for Refsnyder and walked before Duffy smashed a 50,000 foot home run to give the Rays the lead just like that. Smith recovered to strike out Kiermaier and get Gomez to line out to first. Cron grounded out to first to end the inning but the Rays had the lead 2-0.
Jose Alvarado came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and the Sox did absolutely nothing. Nunez grounded out to first, JBJ whiffed and Vazquez looked at strike three to end the inning. The Sox had been held to 3 hits and no runs by the Tampa Bay Rays, pathetic.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez got the ball in the top of the ninth inning. Ramos grounded out to short, Miller grounded out to first and Hechavarria flied out to center to end the inning. Somehow the Sox exploded in the bottom of the ninth inning against Alex Colome. Betts got the rally started with a single and Benintendi worked a walk. Ramirez singled home Betts to cut the lead to 1. Martinez didn't help at all when he banged into a double play although Benintendi moved to third. Down to their last strike Bogaerts hit a line drive to the Monster....AND SMITH MISSED IT! Smith mistimed his jump and the ball landed just out of his reach for an rbi double to tie the game. Devers was intentionally walked and Nunez beat out an infield single to load the bases. A travesty occurred when JBJ was out on a bang bang play at first. Sox manager Alex Cora demanded a replay and the replay showed a clear tie......OUT! Yankees manag....errr head of operations Joe Torre upheld the out call and it was on to extra innings, although the Sox had tied it 2-2.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to pitch the top of the tenth although he nearly vomited up his intestines. Dernard Span pinch hit for Robertson and singled. Span moved to second on a ground out by Smith but Kimbrel blew away Duffy. Kiermaier and Gomez drew back to back walks to load the bases, but Kimbrel blew away Cron to end the inning. Joey Wendle took over at second and Andrew Kittredge took over on the mound for the bottom of the 10th. Vazquez grounded out to second, Betts whiffed and Benintendi flied out to center to end the inning.
Rookie Bobby Poyner (1-0, 1.93 ERA) made his Fenway debut in the top of the 11th inning by striking out Ramos to start. Miller whiffed as well and Betts made a running catch on Hechavarria to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the 11th as Ramirez grounded out to short to start. Martinez singled and Blake Swihart ran for him, only for Duffy to make a jumping catch to rob Bogaerts of extra bases. A passed ball moved Swihart to second and Devers was intentionally walked. The gamble worked as Nunez grounded out to end the inning, another waste.
Poyner returned for the top of the 12th inning and Wendle led off with a single. Smith dropped down a sac bunt to move Joey to second and he moved to third on Duffy's line out to Betts. Poyner got the big out by striking out Kiermaier to end the inning. The Sox finally won it in the bottom of the 12th. JBJ led off with a double and Vazquez dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Jackie to third. Betts was intentionally walked and that was it for Kittredge. Ryan Yarbrough came in and Betts stole second to get rid of the double play. Benintendi battled back from 0-2 to draw a walk with the bases loaded. Ramirez then lined one inches short of a grand slam but deep enough to drop in for a single to win the game. The Sox had walked it off with a 3-2 win in 12 innings.
Hero of the night is a no-brainer. Hanley Ramirez' 12th inning walkoff won the game for the Sox.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with a walk, stolen base and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 5.
David Price tossed 7 outstanding innings, giving up just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5.
Hector Velazquez pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 10th inning.
Bobby Poyner got the win by pitching 2 shut out innings.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Carson Smith gave up the two run home run in the top of the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but walked twice and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but walked and drove in a run.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 but walked twice.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 5.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but scored the winning run.
Honorable Mention:
Blake Swihart ran for Martinez in the bottom of the 11th inning.
Final Thoughts:
Holy moly this season is too much like last year. A frustrating offense and extra innings wins will give 21 year old fans gray hair by the end of this season Still, a win is a win no matter how ugly it is. Everyone says the offense will come, yet it didn't last year and who knows if it will this year. Apart from Carson Smith stinking out the joint, the pitching has been solid this year and the Sox really should be 7-0. David Price looks great and they missed him in the rotation last year. If Alex Cora plays Dr Quick Hook in April, hopefully it pays dividends by September. Ramirez looked to be bought in to Cora's ideology and so far he looks locked in. Hopefully he can keep this pace all year. After an off-day the Sox return to action Saturday aftertoon against the same Rays. Rick Porcello (1-0, 1.69 ERA) gets the start opposite Jake Faria at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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