As for the game, Drew Pomeranz (1-4, 6.91 ERA) is not ready for prime time. The struggling starter did not recover his velocity during his stint on the disabled list and paid for it tonight against the Baltimore Orioles. Pomeranz failed to get out of the 5th inning, Joe Kelly gave up 3 huge insurance runs and the Orioles survived four total home runs and a late rally by the Sox to prevail 7-6 at Oriole Park in Camden Yards.
The Sox did manage to strike first in the top of the first inning against O's starter Yefry Ramirez. Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to left to begin before Andrew Benintendi whiffed. JD Martinez swatted his 30th home run of the season to right to put Boston on top. Mitch Moreland singled to center but Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Pomeranz did manage to have a successful bottom of the first as Tim Beckham lined out to center to start. Jonathan Schoop whiffed but Adam Jones walked. Mark Trumbo whiffed to end the inning but trouble brewed as Drew's velocity was down.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second inning as Jackie Bradley Jr struck out swinging to start. Eduardo Nunez grounded out to second and Rafael Devers flied out to center to end the inning. The O's started to figure out Drew in the bottom of the second as Danny Valencia singled to right to begin. Trey Mancini grounded out to third but Valencia made it to third. Chris Davis flied out to right but Renato Nunez whiffed to end the inning.
Ramirez struck out Blake Swihart to begin the top of the third before Mr. Mookie whiffed as well. Benintendi walked but Martinez popped up to short to end the inning. The O's struck back in the bottom of the third Caleb Joseph singled to start. Beckham lined out to center but Schoop smashed a 400,000 foot home run onto the Beltway to give the O's the lead. Jones and Trumbo both grounded out to short to end the inning with the O's up 2-1.
Mitch Moreland whiffed to begin the top of the fourth before Bogaerts flied out to right. JBJ lined out to center to end the inning. Valencia singled to start the bottom of the fourth but was erased on the Mancini force. Davis flied out to left and Nunez popped up to first to end the inning.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fifth although Nunez lined out to left to start. Devers grounded out to first but Swihart clocked his first home run of the year to tie the game. Mr. Mookie then smashed his 24th round tripper of the season to give the Sox the lead. Benintendi flied out to center to end the inning but the Sox had taken the lead 3-2.
Could Pomeranz pitch with the lead in the bottom of the fifth? HELL NO! Joseph walked to start the frame and Beckham crushed a 30,000 foot bomb to give Baltimore the lead back instantly. Schoop whiffed and Jones grounded out to short, but Trumbo singled to chase Pomeranz. The lefty was once again ineffective, giving up 4 runs in 4 2/3 innings. Is his fastball ever going to come back? Tyler Thornburg sprinted from the mound to freeze Valencia for strike three to end the inning before running into the dugout as fast as he could with the O's ahead 4-3.
The Sox failed to respond against Mike Wright Jr in the top of the sixth as Martinez whiffed to start. Moreland flied out to left and Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning. Joe Kelly came in to wreck the day in the bottom of the sixth although Mancini grounded out to third to begin. Davis and Nunez drew back to back walks before Joseph singled to load the bases. Beckham hit a sac fly to score Davis and Schoop singled home Nunez to chase the incompetent Kelly. Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez came in and Jones greeted him with a single to score Joseph for the final run. Trumbo lined out to center to end the inning with the O's ahead 7-3.
Joey Rickard took over in right for Trumbo and Paul Fry took the mound for the top of the seventh inning. JBJ whiffed and Nunez grounded back to the mound before Devers singled to left. Swihart grounded out to third to end the inning. Velazquez got Valencia to pop up to short to begin the bottom of the seventh but Mancini walked. Jace Peterson ran for Mancini and davis flied out to left. Peterson was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
The Sox somehow rallied in the top of the eighth as Mr. Mookie singled to start. Betts was erased on the force by Benintendi before Martinez whacked a 2 run bomb to cut the lead. Moreland whiffed and Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning but it was now 7-5 O's.
Velazquez kept the O's down in the bottom of the eighth as Nunez popped up to first to begin. Joseph grounded out to third before Beckham grounded out to short to end the inning.
Brad Brach came in to close out the top of the ninth but the Sox refused to surrender immediately. JBJ beat out an infield single to short and Beckham threw the ball away, advancing JBJ to second. Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for Nunez and grounded out to first, but JBJ went to third. Devers singled home JBJ and Swihart walked to put the tying run at second. That was it as Mr. Mookie banged into a double play to end the game. The O's had held on to win 7-6.
Jackass of the Night is Joe Kelly. He turned a one run deficit into a 7-3 game in 30 seconds flat to put it out of reach.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with a solo home run.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with 3 rbis and 2 runs off of two home runs.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Blake Swihart was 1 for 3 with a walk including a solo home run.
Tyler Thornburg struck out the only man he faced.
Hector Velazquez tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 3.
Brock Holt was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Drew Pomeranz allowed 4 runs in just 4 2/3 innings giving up 2 homers.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
So much for Drew Pomeranz' big comeback. The embattled lefty didn't recover his velocity and it showed. He got rocked and rolled the second time through the order and if he can't get his fastball back, he's batting practice. I like the fight showed by the Sox in spite of Joe Kelly and Pomeranz. I don't care how bad the O's are, if you give up 7 runs you aren't going to win too often. The New York Yankees are reeling and the Sox need to win these games to keep them in their review mirror. We're 8 days away from the next showdown at Fenway Park so the Sox need to take care of business against the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies. The less said of tonight's unmitigated disaster, the better. The loss dropped the Sox to 71-32, 5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to take the three game set as David Price (11-6, 4.17 ERA) goes up against Dylan "King Kong" Bundy at 7:05 PM at Oriole Park in Camden Yards.
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