The carnage began in the top of the first when Yoan Moncada effortlessly hit one of the hardest hit singles ever on the first pitch of the game. Mitch Moreland botched a routine double play ball by Yolmer Sanchez and only got the out at second. Jose Abreu fouled off a bunch of worthless pitches before doubling home Moncada to give the White Sox the lead for 3 batters into it. Moreland bobbled another ball but miraculously got Daniel Palka at first with Abreu moving to third. Porcello somehow struck out Matt Davidson but the damage was done with Chicago ahead 1-0.
The miserable Red Sox offense did absolutely nothing against the immortal Reynaldo Lopez. It took just 8 pitches to get Andrew Benintendi to fly out to left, Xander Bogaerts to swing at air and Mitch Moreland to look foolish at strike three to end the inning.
Once again the incompetent Porcello had nothing in the top of the second but got lucky. Omar Narvaez effortlessly crushed a single off the Monster to start but somehow Tim Anderson struck out. Charlie Tilson smashed a rocket off the Monster for a single and both runners moved into scoring position when Brock Holt messed up another double play ball hit by Trayce Thompson. Miraculously Moncada was retired on a nearly botched grounder by Bogaerts to end the inning. The Sox pulled off an absolute miracle in the bottom of the second when JD Martinez hit a lucky ground rule double and Rafael Devers followed with a lucky single that Thompson should have had to score Martinez with the tying run. Brock Holt somehow beat out a double play ball and even more miraculously, Devers swiped third. It didn't matter as Jackie Bradley Jr hit a pitiful grounder to first and Devers tried to Ric Flair strut home and was out by a mile. JBJ somehow swiped second but naturally Blake Swihart whiffed badly on a pitch headed to the concession stands to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Naturally Porcello gave it back easily in the top of the third inning. Benintendi almost fell down catching a routine pop up by Sanchez before Porcello walked Abreu on a full count pitch that landed in the bleachers. Brock Holt tossed a routine double play ball by Palka to Devers who had his glove on the wrong hand and Abreu made it to third on the missed catch error. Davidson was plunked to load the bases and the only reason Narvaez popped up instead of easily hit a grand slam was he was too busy laughing at Devers. Porcello walked Anderson on 5 pitches nowhere close to give the White Sox the lead back. Bogaerts nearly tripped catching a pop up by Tilson to end the inning with the White Sox ahead for good 2-1.
The Sox meanwhile did absolutely nothing in the bottom of the third. Sandy Leon grounded out to first when he ran up the third base side on a ball hit to the Monster before Benintendi drew a lucky walk. Bogaerts hit a pathetic grounder to third but somehow Moreland walked too. Martinez hit a weak grounder to third to end the inning. Another typical squander.
Miraculously Porcello pitched a clean top of the fourth. Thompson flied out to left, Moncada flied out to center and Sanchez took strike three to end the inning. Naturally the Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Devers looked at strike three right down the middle to begin. Holt swung at a pitch that bounced before it got to home plate for strike three and JBJ popped up to center to end the inning.
Once again the ChiSox smacked Porcello around in the top of the fifth. JBJ almost fell down making a routine catch off the bat of Abreu before Palka effortlessly doubled to right. Davidson whiffed and Narvaez grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox once again did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Swihart flied out to right to start. Somehow Leon doubled to center but Benintendi grounded out to second. Bogaerts tried to slide into first on a weak grounder to short but slowing himself up cost him a hit to end the inning.
The White Sox tried some small ball against the bumbling Red Sox defense in the top of the sixth and it worked. Anderson drew a leadoff walk and Tilon sacrificed him to second with a bunt. Thompson hit a routine grounder to Moreland. Porcello fell down tagging the base on the flip from Mitch and Thompson raced all the way around to score easily. Moncada took strike three while laughing at Porcello to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 3-1. That was it for Porcello who tossed an average game of 6 innings and 3 runs allowed. If the Red Sox offense didn't suck today, maybe they could have won the game with this kind of average effort.
The Sox lack of effort was appalling in the bottom of the sixth as Moreland hit a ball to the centerfield wall and he did a disco shimmy to first base for a single rather than run out the double. Right on cue Martinez banged into a double play but somehow Devers drew a walk. Holt lashed a lucky single and JBJ was plunked to load the bases. Naturally Swihart hit a ball 25 feet into the glove of Anderson to end the inning. A guy scores from second on a groundout for the White Sox and the Red Sox can't even push across the run with the bases loaded, pathetic.
Heath Hembree took over for the top of the seventh and got Sanchez to pop up to short before blowing away Abreu. Palka watched strike three go by to end the inning. The Sox had scored just 7 runs the past four games and the miserable offense somehow scored in the bottom of the seventh. Leon whiffed badly but somehow Benintendi hit a ground rule double. That was it for Lopez who had totally shut down the Sox for 6 1/3 innings allowing just 1 run. Nate Jones came in and plunked Bogaerts and wisely walked Martinez to load the bases. Jace Fry replaced Nate and Eduardo Nunez pinch hit for Devers only to get lucky and reach on an error by Moncada, scoring Benintendi. With the bases re-loaded and a chance to give the Sox the lead.....Holt flied out to center to end the inning with Boston behind 3-2.
Brandon Workman took over for the top of the eighth and whiffed Davidson to start. Navaraez singled but Anderson watched strike three go by. Tilson also looked at strike three to end the inning. As expected the bottom of the order did absolutely nothing in the bottom of the eighth. JBJ grounded out to second but Swihart somehow stroked a lucky single. Naturally Leon whiffed and Benintendi lined out to center to end the inning. That's 10 men left on base by the Red Sox, they deserved to lose.
Matt Barnes took over for the top of the ninth inning and blew away Thompson to start. Moncada beat out a bang bang play at first and advanced to second on a grouder to the mound by Sanchez. Abreu was intentionally walked and Palka made the Sox pay with a bases clearing double, advancing to third when Bogaerts threw the relay throw into the right field bleachers. Davidson whiffed to end the inning but the damage was done, 5-2 White Sox.
Joakim Soria came in to close out the ninth and did it effortlessly. Bogaerts grounded out to third but Moreland drew a lucky walk. Martinez and Nunez both whiffed to end the game. The White Sox had defeated the bumbling Red Sox 5-2.
Jackass of the Night is Matt Barnes. Not that the Red Sox offense was going to score anything the way they had in playing, but Barnes coughing up 2 runs in the ninth pretty much ended all hope of a rally.
The Good:
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 2 with a stolen base, rbi and a walk.
Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but stole a base.
Blake Swihart was just 1 for 4.
Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4.
Rick Porcello took the loss by allowing 3 runs but only 2 earned in 6 innings. Better offense would have won this game.
Final Thoughts:
This was one of the worst losses of the season due to the fact they didn't do ANYTHING right. Like I previousy mentioned, its one thing to get shelled or shutout, a pitcher or a lineup can have an off-day. Its another to make one error after another and leave multiple men on base all game. The White Sox would have been pounded by a team like the New York Yankees who have won 5 in a row and have begun to pull away in the AL East standings with 5 games in hand to boot. The bottom of the order is a bonafide black hole from Devers in the 5th slot down to Bradley in the 9th. The losses of Dustin Pedroia and Mookie Betts along with the release of Hanley Ramirez bit this team big time. The sad part is the Sox KNEW Pedroia was never going to be the same and they knew Ramirez could get hot, now they have neither of them. Its rumored that Mookie Betts has completely broken ribs which would put him out until August at least. All in all the season is sliding down the drain and its been mostly self inflicted. The loss to these bums dropped the Red Sox to 43-21, 2 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now head out on the road for a 10 game road trip. Their first defeat will be in Baltimore tomorrow night against the Orioles. Steven Wright (2-0) takes on Dylan Bundy at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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