Old pal Doug Fister took the mound in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts greeted him with a single to right. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to first but the throw to second hit Betts in the shoulder, knocking him flat. Betts got up and stayed in the game as JD Martinez worked a walk. Mitch Moreland lashed a double that scored Betts, advanced Martinez to third and give the Sox the lead. The Sox ran into another out as Xander Bogaerts hit a ground ball to short and Martinez was thrown out at home easily. Rafael Devers grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Sale took the ball in the bottom of the first and blew away Delino DeShields Jr to start. Shin-Soo Choo whiffed and Isiah Kiner-Falefa watched strike three go by to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Eduardo Nunez grounded out to third to begin. Jackie Bradley Jr struck out but Sandy Leon singled up the middle. Mr. Mookie lined out to center to end the inning.
As expected, Betts keeled over and had to be carried out on a stretcher to an ambulance. Blake Swihart took over for him defensively in the bottom of the second as Sale plunked Nomar Mazars to start. Jurickson Profar singled past the diving Nunez but Reynato Nunez struck out. Ryan Rua struck out but Ronald Guzman hit a routine grounder to Rafael Devers who dove on top of the ball and wrestled with it for an error to load the bases. Carlos Perez lined a bullet up the middle but Sale snared it at the last second to end the inning.
The Sox struck again with some heads up baseball in the top of the third inning. Benintndi looked at strike three but Martinez doubled to left when Rua misplayed it. Moreland grounded out to third but Bogaerts singled in Martinez when Perez dropped the throw home. Devers flied out to center to end the inning but it was 2-0.
The Rangers fought back in the bottom of the third when DeShields singled. Choo whiffed but Kiner walked. Mazara whiffed and Profar hit a routine grounder to Devers. Devers nearly threw it away but Moreland got the toe on the first base bag just in time to end the inning to save Devers' ass from another error.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Nunez lined out to left to start. JBJ looked to have reached on a throwing error by Profar but wait! The Rangers challenged the call and Bradley was out. Leon walked and was foolishly thrown out by a mile going to third on a single by Swihart to end the inning. Sale returned for the bottom of the fourth and as usual Nunez singled to start. Rua banged into a double play on a great stab by Sale before Guzman whiffed to end the inning.
Still nothing in the top of the fifth as Benintendi flied out to center, Martinez lined out to center and Moreland grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Rangers almost struck back in the bottom of the fifth although Perez whiffed to start. DeShields was plunked on an 0-2 count before Choo flied out to center. DeShelds stole second but Kiner grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the top of the sixth inning although Bogaerts and Devers both struck out to start. Nunez singled and JBJ was hit by a pitch before Leon crushed a 3 run bomb to give Sale a huge lead. Swihart grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Could Sale pitch with a 5 run lead? YES! Mazara whiffed and Profar grounded out to second to begin. Nunez whiffed to end the inning for Sale's 11th strikeout today.
The Sox iced it in the top of the seventh as Benintendi whiffed to start but Martinez smashed an opposite field home run just over the run to chase Fister. Jesse Chavez replaced Doug and Moreland greeted him with a single to left. Bogaerts flied out to left and Devers grounded out to first to end the inning but the Sox were up 6-0.
For whatever reason Alex Cora had Carson Smith warming but let Sale go back out for the bottom of the seventh. It looked to be a big mistake when Rua smashed a 700 foot opposite field home run to put the Rangers on the board. Sale recovered to whiff Guzman and get Perez to fly out into the right field corner. DeShields grounded out to second to end the inning and that was it for Sale. He went 7 innings, struck out 12 and allowed just the one run.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the eighth as Nunez grounded back to the mound, JBJ whiffed and Leon grounded out to first to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and got Choo to ground out into the shift to start. Kiner and Mazara both grounded out to short to end the inning.
Tony Barnette came in to pitch the top of the ninth and cruised. Swihart grounded out to first, Benintendi flied out to right and Martinez froze for strike three to end the inning. Carson Smith came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and got Profar to ground out to short to start. Some yahoo bellowed "COME ON NUNEZ START THE RALLY!" and Nunez did manage to beat out an infield single to short. Rua whiffed on a nasty slider by Smith before Nunez took second and third on defensive indifference. Smith whiffed Guzman on the same pitch to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-1 and heads to New York still in first place.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. He tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 12 to earn the much needed win.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 2 with a run scored before leaving with injury.
Blake Swihart was 1 for 3.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with 2 total runs scored, a walk and a solo home run.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 3 with a 3 run home run.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Carson Smith pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and another error.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Bring on the Yankees. Chris Sale was masterful today and the offense woke up to get him enough run support for once. It sucks seeing Betts carried out on a stretcher probably never to return but the Sox are going to have to rally around the injury to survive in New York. Too bad the Sox won't have Sale but he was outstanding today, it'll be up to the other starters to step up big time. As for this game, they need to get Devers out of the field because he's a menace to society over there. Too bad there's nowhere else to put him since they have Hanley Ramirez, Martinez and Moreland. At least, like last night, he can hit the ball out of the yard. The win propelled the Sox to 25-9, their best start since 2002 and just 1 game ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow its time for the big showdown in New York with the Yankees on Tuesday Night. Drew Pomeranz (1-1, 6.14 ERA) goes for the Sox up against Yankees ace Luis Severino at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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