The Sox struck first against Royals starter Jason Hammel when Mr. Mookie Betts took the third pitch of the game and launched it into the left field stands for a leadoff home run. Andrew Benintendi flied out to center but JD Martinez singled. Steve Pearce beat out an infield single before Xander Bogaerts walked to load the bases. Brock "The Hitman" Holt singled to right to score Martinez and Pearce. Eduardo Nunez popped up to second but Sandy Leon singled home Bogaerts for another run. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 4-0 Sox.
Sale with a four run lead was unhittable in the bottom of the first as Whit Merrifield popped up to second to start. Rosell Herrera looked at strike three before Mike Moustakas whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game early in the top of the second although Mr. Mookie flied out to right to start. Benintendi singled and Martinez blasted his 27th homer of the year to ice the game. Pearce doubled and Bogaerts sent the crowd home early with a 2 run bomb to put the game out of reach with Sale on the mound. Holt grounded out to second and Nunez lined out to short but it was 8-0 Sox.
The Royals did try to fight back in the bottom of the second although Sale blew away Salvador Perez to begin. Jorge Bonifacio hit a fly ball deep to center and JBJ tried to catch the ball in his hat, missing it completely and Jorge took third on the error. Hunter Dozier walked but Lucas Duda whiffed. Alcides Escobar made Jackie pay with a base hit to left to score Bonifacio. Adalberto Mondesi whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-1.
Burch Smith replaced Hammel in the top of the third and Leon grounded out to second to begin. JBJ whiffed before Mr. Mookie flied out to right to end the inning. Sale cruised in the bottom of the third by blowing away Merrifield to start. Herrera looked at strike three before Moustakas popped up to third to end the inning.
Benintendi singled to open the top of the fourth before Martinez lined out to right. Pearce popped up to short and Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning. Sale froze Perez for strike three to start the bottom of the fourth but Bonifacio had the unmitigated audacity to single to short. Dozier whiffed and Duda struck out swinging to end the inning.
Holt singled to start the top of the fifth but Nunez banged into a double play. Leon lined out to right to end the inning. Escobar grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the fifth before Mondesi flied out to right. Merrifield doubled but Herrera grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the sixth as JBJ whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie lined out to center and Benintendi whiffed to end the inning. Sale came back for one final inning in the bottom of the sixth as Moustakas popped up to Chris to begin. Perez singled but Bonifacio looked at strike three. Dozier took a full count slider for strike three to end the inning. Sale pitched great, tossing 6 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 12.
Brian Flynn took over in the top of the seventh and Martinez flied out to center to begin. Pearce and Bogaerts both grounded out to third to end the inning. Tyler Thornburg made his Red Sox debut in the bottom of the seventh and Duda rudely ruined it with a leadoff triple. Escobar flied out to center but Duda scored on the dropped liner by Holt although he threw Mondesi out at first. Merrifield lined out to center to end the inning with the Royals down 8-2, not the best debut for Tyler.
Drew Butera took over behind the plate for Perez as the Sox struck again in the top of the eighth. Holt grounded out to second but Nunez doubled. Leon flied out to center but JBJ doubled home Nunez. Mr. Mookie grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-2.
Blake Swihart took over in left with Brandon Workman on the mound in the bottom of the eighth. Herrera singled and Moustakas crushed a 100,000 foot home run to cut into the lead. Butera grounded out to short before Bonifacio hit one up the elevator shaft. Dozier grounded out to short to end the inning with the Royals down 9-4.
The Sox struck one last time in the top of the ninth inning as Swihart singled to start. Martinez looked at strike three but Pearce doubled home Blake. Brandon Maurer came in for Flynn and Bogaerts walked. Holt lined out to center but Nunez popped up to Workman to end the inning with the Sox up 10-4.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez had mop up duty in the bottom of the ninth and Duda grounded out to second to start. Escobar grounded out to third but Mondesi singled and took second on defensive indifference. Merrifield singled home Mondesi but Herrera grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had won it 10-5.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. With everyone contributing on offense, Sale dazzled for 6 innings allowing just 1 run while striking out 12.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Blake Swihart singled and scored as a pinch hitter.
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with 2 total runs scored including a 2 run home run.
Steve Pearce was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 total runs scored including a 2 run home run.
Brock Holt was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis.
The Bad:
Tyler Thornburg allowed a run in the 7th inning.
Brandon Workman allowed 2 runs in the 8th inning.
Hector Velazquez allowed a run in the 9th inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a home run.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
That's four in a row for the Sox after they lost the series to New York and tonight the offense pounded the Royals. Chris Sale was dominant again but the bullpen was a mess, allowing 4 runs in 3 innings. Tyler Thornburg looked rusty as hell but that's expected since he hasn't faced ML competition in a year and a half. Steve Pearce has filled in admirably for Mitch Moreland and the duo of Betts and Martinez are becoming the second coming of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. The Sox became the first team to win 60 games and this team is on pace for about 110 wins, a far cry from struggling to get 93 the past two seasons. If the Sox can keep a win streak going they will have some serious momentum going into the all-star break. The win improved the Sox to 60-29, 2 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night David Price looks to rebound from his New York disaster when he meets Brad Keller of the Royals at 7:10 PM at Kauffman Stadium.
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