Biagini took the mound in the top of the first and the Sox wasted no time getting to him. Mr. Mookie Betts was rung up on a fastball down the middle but Andrew Benintendi singled. JD Martinez smashed an opposite field 2 run bomb to put the Sox up already. Mitch Moreland grounded out to second and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Pomeranz took forever to get through the bottom of the first inning. Teoscar Hernandez lined out to short on a full count before Josh Donaldson doubled. Justin Smoak walked but was erased on the force by Yangervis Solarte. Kevin Pillar grounded out on a full count to end the inning.
Rafael Devers whiffed to open the top of the second before Brock "The Hitman" Holt whiffed as well. Christian Vazquez lined out to right to end the inning. The Jays threatened in the bottom of the second when Russell Martin singled and Kendrys Morales walked to start. Pomeranz recovered to strike out Anthony Alford and Richard Urena before Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third inning when Jackie Bradley Jr walked to start. Mr. Mookie singled him to third but JBJ couldn't score on the pop up to left by Benintendi. Betts swiped second and Martinez walked to load the bases. Moreland walked to drive in a run but Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Donaldson whiffed to begin the bottom of the third inning but Smoak walked. Smoak took second on a balk but Solarte was rung up for strike three. Pillar flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fourth inning as Devers grounded out to third, Holt grounded out to short and Vazquez grounded out to second to end the inning. Pomeranz returned for the bottom of the fourth and Martin watched strike three go by to start. Morales walked and took second on a wild pitch. Alford was rung up on a lollipop curve for strike three and Betts made a great diving catch to rob Urena of a triple to end the inning but Pomeranz had thrown 84 pitches.
Biagini returned for the top of the fifth and got JBJ on a pathetic squibber in front of the mound to start. Mr. Mookie singled to center and stole second before moving to third on the fly out to the left field wall by Benintendi. That was it for Biagini who was replaced by John Axford. Martinez greeted him with an rbi single to increase the lead. Moreland watched strike three go by but it was 4-0 Sox.
The Jays struck back in the bottom of the fifth inning as Hernandez and Donaldson singled to start. Smoak doubled home both runners and Solarte walked to chase the incompetent Pomeranz. He failed to last more than four innings and never touched more than 89 on the gun, pathetic.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez (5-0) was brought in to salvage the situation. He did manage to strike out Pillar but Martin blooped a single into left to score Smoak. He got a big double play by Morales to end the inning but the lead was down to 4-3 Sox.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as Bogaerts flied out to left, Devers tried to bunt his way on and failed and Holt grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Curtis Granderson pinch hit for Alford and lined out to center to begin the bottom of the sixth, but Urena singled. Hernandez popped up to short and Donaldson whiffed to end the inning.
Sam Gaviglio took over for the top of the seventh and got Vazquez to ground out to second to start. JBJ whiffed and Mr. Mookie looked at strike three to end the inning. Matt Barnes got the call for the bottom of the seventh and got Smoak to fly out to center to start. Solarte singled but Barnes whiffed Pillar on a nasty splitter. Martin lined a double to left and Solarte broke for home. The relay throw went to Bogaerts who fired home....OUT!!!! Solarte was out and the Sox kept the lead.
Benintendi walked and stole second to begin the top of the eighth but Martinez whiffed. Moreland singled Benintendi to third and chase Gaviglio. Tyler Clippard was brought in and Bogaerts hit one back to the mound...but Clippard bungled it. Bogaerts was out at first but Benintendi scored the insurance run. Devers popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
The struggling Heath Hembree took the mound for the bottom of the eighth and sure enough Morales singled to start. Hembree did whiff Granderson but Urena beat out a double play ball. Hembree struck out Hernandez to end the inning, good bounce back from Hembree.
The Sox missed a big chance to ice the game in the top of the ninth inning. Holt doubled to start the inning but Vazquez popped up to first and Holt was foolishly thrown out at third trying to steal. JBj compounded the caught stealing by lining a base hit to right. Mr. Mookie walked but Benintendi grounded out to second to end the inning. "Machine Gun" Joe Kelly came in to close out the bottom of the ninth with Craig Kimbrel unavailable. Donaldson grounded out to first, Smoak flied out to center and Solarte grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3.
Hero of the Night is JD Martinez. He drove in 3 runs including a 2 run home run
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with walk, 2 stolen bases and a run scored.
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk, stolen base and a run scored.
Hector Velazquez earned the win with 2 scoreless innings.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Joe Kelly earned his second save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4.
Drew Pomeranz sucked again, allowing 3 runs in just 4 innings before getting the hook.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but walked, stole a base and scored 2 runs.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
Talk about finishing the road trip on a high note. The Sox bashed the Blue Jays into submission and now head home for an extended homestand, hopefully this could put some distance between themselves and the New York Yankees. Velazquez has been a godsend so far considering the ineffectiveness of some of the starters and relievers for that matter. Pomeranz is all out of sorts but hopefully he can turn it around. If Betts and Martinez can keep this up all season, they could be the most prolific hitters since David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. The win improved the Sox to 28-12, tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look for revenge against Sean Manaea and the Oakland A's as "Slick" Rick Porcello (5-0) stands in the way. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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