Sale got the ball in the top of the first inning and got Dee Gordon to fly out to right to begin. Mitch Haniger whiffed before Nelson Cruz flied out to right to end the inning. Marco Gonzales got the start for the Mariners and Mr. Mookie Betts whiffed to start. Andrew Benintendi flied out to center and JD Martinez whiffed to end the inning.
Sale cruised in the top of the second inning as Ryon Healy grounded out to second to start. Kyle Seager whiffed before Guillermo Heredia grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Mitch Moreland grounded out to second to start. Xander Bogaerts flied to left before Eduardo Nunez popped up to first to end the inning.
Mike Zunino whiffed to open the top of the third before Denard Span single. Andrew Romine whiffed before Span was picked off to end the inning. The Sox failed to score in the bottom of the third as Rafael Devers grounded out to second to begin. Sandy Leon grounded out to short but Jackie Bradley Jr singled. Mr. Mookie whiffed to ens the inning.
Sale turned up the heat in the top of the fourth as he struck out both Gordon and Haniger. The pain in the ass Cruz tripled but Healy whiffed to end the inning. Gonzales matched Sale in the bottom of the fourth as Benintendi looked at strike three to start. Martinez and Moreland whiffed to end the inning.
Sale was unhittable in the top of the fifth as Seager whiffed to start. Heredia and Zunino whiffed to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fifth when Bogaerts doubled to start. Nunez singled him to third before Devers doubled home Bogaerts to give the Sox the lead. Leon hit a sac fly to score Nunez before JBJ singled Devers to third. Mr. Mookie hit a sac fly to score Devers before Benintendi flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Sale pitched well with the lead in the top of the 6th inning, getting Span to ground out to first to start. Romine caught Nunez asleep with a bunt single but was erased on the Gordon force. Haniger flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the bottom of the sixth when Martinez singled and Moreland belted his 11th home run of the year to ice the game. Bogaerts flied out to center, Nunez popped up to third and Devers popped up to first to end the inning but it was 5-0 Sox.
Sale returned for one more inning in the top of the seventh. The pain in the ass Cruz whiffed but Healy singled. Seager whiffed but Heredia walked. Zunino was the 13th and final strikeout victim by Sale to end the inning. The Sox needed a lift and Sale did the job with 7 shutout innings and 13 K's.
Chasen Bradford took over for the bottom of the seventh and Leon whiffed to start. JBJ singled and stole second but Mr. Mookie earned the hat trick with his third strikeout of the night. Benintendi grounded out to third to end the inning.
Joe Kelly came in to pitch the top of the eighth and he got Span to line out to short to start. Romine grounded out to short and Gordon lined out to left to end the inning. Nick Vincent had the bottom of the eighth for Seattle and Martinez grounded out to third to start. Moreland flied out to left and Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.
Matt Barnes had mop up duty in the top of the ninth and Haniger grounded out to short to start. Cruz lined out to right and Healy grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox collectively pitched a shutout to win this one 5-0.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. The ace spun a beauty, striking out 13 men without allowing a run in 7 great innings.
The Good:
Eduardo Nunez was 1 for 3.
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 3 for 3 with a stolen base.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintedni was 0 for 4 with a walk.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of three strikeouts but walked.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 but the hit was a 2 run home run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 2 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
After getting their brains beat in the first two games it was nice for the pitching to step up tonight. Sale was just the tonic they needed to get back on track with his 7 inning gem. It was nice to see JBJ get multiple hits and the multiple hit innings keyed the two rallies. Gonzales stayed tough so offense had to be timely but the Sox got it. Going forward if they can beat good teams then come October they should be able to make some noise in the playoffs for once. The big series with the Yankees is less than a week away and that could decide first place before the All-Star break. The win improved the Sox to 52-27, percentage points behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day Monday the Sox welcome the Los Angeles Angels to town for a 3 game set. John Lamb goes for the Angels opposite David Price (8-5) at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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