Yefry Ramirez made his major league debut in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts greeted him by flying out to right to begin. Andrew Benintendi singled to left and took second on the error by Jace Peterson. Xander Bogaerts whiffed and JD Martinez popped up to first to end the inning. Sale made quick work of the O's in the bottom of the first by getting Joey Rickard to ground out to short to start. Trey Mancini whiffed and Manny Machado grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Rafael Devers popped up to third to begin. Eduardo Nunez grounded out to short but Brock "The Hitman" Holt was plunked. Sandy Leon whiffed to end the inning. Sale turned up the heat in the bottom of the second to strike out both Danny Valencia and Jonathan Schoop to start. Mark Trumbo was plunked but Craig Gentry grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third although Jackie Bradley Jr extended his latest slump by lining out to center. Mr. Mookie served notice he was back with his 18th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Benintendi struck out but Machado booted a ground ball by Bogaerts, allowing Xander to be safe at first. Martinez grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Sale was unhittable in the bottom of the third as Austin Wynns whiffed to start. Peterson walked but Rickard whiffed too. Peterson stole second but Mancini struck out to end the inning.
The Sox ran into yet another out in the top of the fourth as Devers stuck out to begin. Nunez singled but was thrown out at second trying to steal. Holt singled but Leon whiffed to end the inning. The O's got their first hit in the bottom of the fourth although Machado flied out to left to start. Schoop whiffed but Trumbo walked. Gentry flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the top of the fifth although JBJ whiffed badly to begin. Mr. Mookie and Benintendi both walked to chase the rookie. He ran out of gas but that was a much better debut by Ramirez than Twin Beeks last week. Mike Wright Jr came in and a wild pitch moved Betts to third and he scored on the Bogaerts sac fly. Martinez walked and Devers singled home Benintendi. Nunez singled and Martinez motored around trying to score only for Gentry to airmail the throw, scoring JD. Holt looked at strike three to end the inning but it was 4-0 Sox.
Sale cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Wynns struck out to begin. Peterson lined out to left and Rickard popped up to center to end the inning.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the sixth inning as Leon grounded out to second to begin. JBJ hit one up the elevator shaft and Mr. Mookie flied out to center to end the inning. Sale gave up his second hit when Mancini singled to open the bottom of the sixth but Machado grounded out to third. Valencia whiffed and Schoop grounded out to short to end the inning. 96 pitches through 6 for Sale with a shutout going.
The Sox got another run in the top of the seventh as Benintendi drew a leadoff walk. Bogaerts banged into a doubled play but Martinez clobbered his 22nd homer of the year to increase the lead. That was it for Wright as Richard Bleier came in to get Devers to ground out to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Sale came back for the bottom of the seventh but walked Trumbo. Sale thought he had Gentry punched out but home plate umpire felt otherwise and Craig walked. That was it for Cora who made the move to bring in Brandon Workman. Suddenly after Sale gave the ball to Cora he bolted toward home plate umpire Brian Knight shouting invectives and throwing his glove at him. Knight ran around the infield saying Sale was out of the game before Cora and Workman was able to calm Sale down and politely told him to please leave the premises. A tough way for Sale to go but he did manage to toss a shutout through 6.
Chance Sisco pinch hit for Wynns and grounded out to first but moved both runners over in the process. Peterson hit a sac fly to score Trumbo and break up the shut-out. It was rumored Sale trashed the clubhouse after Trumbo crossed home plate. Rickard flied out to left to end the inning but it was 5-1 Sox with six outs to go.
Nunez grounded out to second to open the top of the eighth with Brad Brach coming in to face Holt. Brock singled but Leon banged into a double play to end the inning. Justin Haley made his Red Sox debut in the bottom of the eighth inning. Mancini grounded out to second but Machado walked. Machado was erased on the force by Valencia and Schoop lined out to right to end the inning. Good work Justin.
Mychal Givens got the call for the top of the ninth and JBJ lined out to first. Mr. Mookie whiffed but Benintendi singled. Bogaerts popped up to first to end the inning. Haley returned for the bottom of the ninth to close it out and retired Trumbo on a line drive back to him to begin. Gentry grounded out to third but Sisco singled and Peterson doubled. One hit away from making things interesting, Haley got Rickard to ground out to third to end the game. The Sox had swept Baltimore in Baltimore and won this game 5-1.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. He tossed 6 innings of 1 run ball (1 run charged) when the Sox desperately needed a good start with their offense sputtering lately.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored with the hit being a 2 run home run.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Brock Holt was 2 for 3.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Justin Haley pitched 2 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a walk but scored 2 runs and the hit was a solo home run.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 but drove in a run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but drive in arun.
Final Thoughts:
Finally the Sox scored some runs with Sale on the mound. Maybe now he won't want to choke the entire Boston Red Sox offense to death for screwing up time and time again. Getting Betts back healthy was huge with the big roadtrip the Sox are currently on, now they just need Dustin Pedroia back to be whole again. Holt and Nunez are great in the 6th man role but they need a full time .300 hitter and that's what Pedroia is. If Brandon Workman is as good as he showed last season after missing the previous 2 seasons, fans will wonder why Bobby Poyner and Marcus Walden got the nod over him to start the year. The win improved the Sox to 47-22, percentage points behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox head to Seattle for one of those damn late night west coast trips. David Price (7-4, 4.00 ERA) goes for the Sox opposite "King" Felix Hernandez in Game 1 at 10:10 PM at Safeco Field. It should be noted that at this time in 2013, the eventual world champion Sox were 41-28, 6 games behind where the Sox are now.
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