The O's wasted no time scoring off a sleeveless Chris Sale in the top of the first inning. Trey Mancini singled but Craig Gentry looked at strike three. Manny Machado doubled home Mancini to give the O's the lead 3 batters into the game. Adam Jones advanced Manny to third with a ground out and Danny Valencia grounded out to short to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.
Dylan "King Kong" Bundy needed just 5 pitches to wipe out the Sox in the bottom of the first. Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to center, Andrew Benintendi popped up to short and Hanley Ramirez popped up to second to end the inning, brutal.
Sale had a much easier top of the second as he froze Chris Davis for strike three to start. Tim Beckham flied out to center and Anthony Santander whiffed to end the inning. The Sox missed a big chance to tie the game due to the horrible weather in the bottom of the second. JD Martinez whiffed but Mitch Moreland was held to a ground rule double when an absolutely crushed ball didn't travel at all. Rafael Devers worked a walk but Christian Vazquez whiffed. Brock Holt popped up to third to end the inning.
Sale blew away Caleb Joseph to start the top of the third before Mancini grounded out to first. Gentry walked and stole second but Machado popped up to third to end the inning. More bad luck for the Sox in the bottom of the third as Lin launched a bomb to right but it died at the wall due to the frigid air. JBJ grounded out an Benintendi crushed another ball but it died, going off the Monster for a double. Ramirez whiffed to end the inning.
Jones whiffed to begin the top of the fourth but Valencia walked. Sale froze Davis again and whiffed Beckham to end the inning. Sale had already thrown 82 pitches and was only through four. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth although Martinez walked to begin. Moreland popped up to the tarp off the first base line and Devers whiffed badly. A wild pitch moved Martinez to second but Holt popped up to second to end the inning.
Sale returned for one final inning in the top of the fifth and he struck out Santander to start. Joseph grounded out to third and Mancini grounded out to deep third to end the inning. That was it for Sale after 93 pitches and just 5 innings.
Bundy continued his dominance in the bottom of the fifth as Davis made a diving grab off a Holt liner to start. Somehow Lin singled off the glove of Beckham into right but was erased on the force by JBJ. JBJ swiped second and Benitendi warmed up the crowd by striking a scintillating triple to tie the game. Ramirez lined a shot to center but once again it died in the air to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Heath Hembree (2-0, 4.50 ERA) got the call to pitch the top of the sixth inning and Gentry greeted him with a single to right. Machado popped up to short, Jones flied out to left and Valencia grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the sixth as Martinez reached on an error by Valencia before moving to third on the double to the left field wall by Moreland. A wild pitch by Bundy scored Martinez to give the Sox the lead. Devers whiffed badly after botching a bunt attempt and Vazquez whiffed as well, but Holt beat out an infield single to put runners at the corners. Lin would not be denied this time as he launched a ground rule double to right to score Moreland with an insurance run. That was it for King Kong Bundy as Richard Bleier replaced him to pitch to JBJ. Jackie grounded out to third to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-1.
Hembree returned for the top of the seventh and got Davis to ground out to first to start. Beckham whiffed and Heath struck out Santander to end the inning.
Benintendi singled to open the bottom of the seventh but Ramirez looked at strike three. Benintendi swiped second but Martinez whiffed. Moreland singled to left and Benintendi broke for home....YERRR OUT! Another out on the bases to end the inning.
Matt Barnes unzipped himself from the sleeping bags to take the mound for the top of the eighth inning. Chance Sisco pinch hit for Joseph and he was frozen for strike three. Mancini whiffed but Gentry walked. Machado flied out to right to end the inning. Devers singled to center to open the bottom of the eighth but was erased on the Vazquez force. Holt flied out to center and Lin grounded out to second to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel took over for the top of the ninth for the save and got Jones to line out to right to start. Pedro Alvarez pinch hit for Valencia and watched strike three go by before Davis whiffed to end the game. The Sox had won the chilly game 3-1.
Hero of the Night is Tzu-Wei Lin. He was 2 for 4 and knocked in the big insurance run. He's been great since he replaced the injured Xander Bogaerts
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 4 with the game tying rbi.
Mitch Moreland was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Chris Sale went 5 innings allowing just the 1 run while striking out 8.
Heath Hembree got the win with 2 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 5th save with a scoreless 9th.
The Bad:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 but scored a run.
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
That was too cold for comfort but a win is a win. Alex Cora stuck to his guns to lift Sale after 93 pitches and it may look bad now, but if Sale is pitching well in September and October you can look back at this as to why. Offense was at a premium today but there were a lot of balls hit hard that just died in the frigid air. Still, a win is a win no matter what the temperature is. The 1996 Red Sox started 6-19 and this year's team has a very good chance to go 19-6. Actually, going 19-6 would be somewhat of a disappointment at this point considering this win improved them to 13-2 on the season. Nobody knows if tomorrow's Patriots Day game will even take place due to the crummy weather but if it does, Brian Johnson (1-0, 2.70 ERA) gets the start for the Sox opposite Andrew Cashner at 11:05 AM at Fenway Park.
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