Blaine Hardy got the start for Detroit and he froze Mr. Mookie Betts for strike three to begin the top of the first. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to second and JD Martinez also froze for strike three to end the inning. Sale was brilliant in the bottom of the first and he started by getting Ronny Rodriguez to ground out to third to start. Niko Goodrum flied out to right before Nicholas Castellanos whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Steve Pearce led of with a base hit to left. Xander Bogaerts doubled him to third and Pearce scored on the Rafael Devers ground out to second, Xander moving to third as well. Eduardo Nunez grounded out to short but Bogaerts scored to increase the lead. Jackie Bradley Jr beat out an infield single to short but Sandy Leon flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Sale blew away John Hicks to start the bottom of the second before Jeimer Candelario grounded out to third. James McCann whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the third inning as Mr. Mookie popped up to second to start. Benintendi whiffed and Martinez grounded out to third to end the inning. Sale blew away Jacoby Jones to begin the bottom of the third before Jose Iglesias grounded out to second. Victor Reyes singled to left but Rodriguez flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the fourth inning as Pearce singled and Bogaerts doubled him to third in a mirror image of the second inning. This time Devers hit a routine grounder to first but his throw to second was not in time, loading the bases. That was it for Hardy as Drew VerHagen replaced him as Nunez beat out yet another infield single to score Pearce although Devers was thrown out at third. JBJ put the game away by launching a 3 run opposite field bomb to clear out the crowd with Sale pitching. Leon whiffed and Mr. Mookie grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 6-0 Sox.
Sale kept up his pace in the bottom of the fourth by striking out Goodrum to start. Castellanos had the audacity to double but Hicks whiffed again. Candelario grounded out to third to end the inning.
Benintendi flied out to center to open the top of the fifth before Martinez flied out to right. Pearce whiffed to end the inning. The Tigers couldn't touch Sale in the bottom of the fifth as McCann flied out to right to start. Jones whiffe but Iglesias was plunked. Reyes lined out to right to end the inning.
Bogaerts flied out to right to start the top of the sixth before Devers looked at strike three. Nunez grounded out to the mound to end the inning. Sale came back for one final inning in the bottom of the sixth and blew away Rodriguez to start. Goodrum looked at strike three before Castellanos grounded out to short to end the inning. Sale had thrown 6 shutout innings giving up 2 hits while striking out 9, he was outstanding.
The Sox got some more runs in the top of the seventh with Daniel Stumpf now on the mound. JBJ whiffed but Leon walked. Mr. Mookie singled to left and Benintendi cleared the bases with a triple. That was it for Stumpf as Louis Coleman came in but Martinez greeted him with a sac fly to score Benintendi. Pearce flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-0.
Brandon Workman came in for the bottom of the seventh and got tagged. Hicks popped up to Workman but Candelario blasted a 2,000,000 foot home run into the Boise State campus. McCann singled but Jones flied out to right. Iglesias lined one off Workman but it deflected to Nunez who threw McCann out at third to end the inning with the Tigers down 9-1.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the eighth as Lin popped up to third to begin. Devers popped up to first before Nunez flied out to center to end the inning. Joe Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Reyes stepped in to greet him. Reyes hit a routine grounder to Lin who turned around and threw it to the confused Betts in right field for an error. Reyes was erased on the force by Rodriguez but Gooldrum walked. Jim Adduci pinch hit for Castellanos and lined out to short but Hicks walked to load the bases. Candelario flied out to center to end the inning.
Buck Farmer shut the Sox down in the top of the ninth as JBJ lined out to right to begin. Leon whiffed before Mr. Mookie flied out to center to end the inning. Tyler Thornburg bolted out of the bullpen onto the mound for the bottom of the ninth. McCann popped up to first to start before Jones whiffed. Iglesias popped up to second to end the game. The Sox had taken 2 out of 3 from the Tigers and this game 9-1.
Hero of the night is Chris Sale. He tossed 6 shutout innings allowing just 2 hits while striking out 9 batters.
The Good:
Steve Pearce was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 including a 3 run home run.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Tyler Thornburg pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Tzu-Wei Lin was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Brandon Workman allowed a run in the 7th inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs and scored.
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs and scored.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored.
Final Thoughts:
Welcome back Red Sox offense. After sleepwalking through the first two games of this series, the bats woke up big time today. Last year Sale couldn't buy a run with the horrendous offense they had last year but this year he's getting the support he deserves. JBJ stepped up with a big fly and the Sox took care of business when the Tigers made mistakes as well. It was a good win because the trade deadline is approaching and the Sox could use another power arm in the bullpen. Maybe a hard throwing lefty like Alan Embree used to be could be what the Sox need to put them over the top in the AL. As it is, the Sox continue to win no matter what. The win improved the Sox to 70-31, 5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox continue their road trip as they head to Baltimore to take on the god awful Baltimore Orioles. "Slick" Rick Porcello (11-4) goes for the Sox up against Kevin Gausman at 7:05 PM at Orioles Park in Camden Yards.
No comments:
Post a Comment