As for the game, what a game. For 8 innings it looked like Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox would cruise to an easy win over the Minnesota Twins. All of a sudden the Twins rallied against normally reliable closer Craig Kimbrel and took the lead. A clutch home run by Rafael Devers in the bottom of the ninth tied the game and Mookie Betts did the honors with his first walkoff home run in the bottom of the tenth to walk off on the Twins 4-3 at Fenway Park.
Sale took the mound in the top of the first inning and struck Jorge Polanco out swinging to begin. Eddie Rosario singled to left but Brian Dozier whiffed. Mitch Garver struck out swinging to end the inning. Twins starter Lance Lynn was equally tough in the bottom of the first as Mr. Mookie flied out to right to begin. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to second but JD Martinez singled to right. Xander Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning.
Logan Morrison singled to open the top of the second but Ehire Adrianza looked at strike three. Max Kepler whiffed before Robbie Grossman grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Steve Pearce grounded out to short to open the bottom of the second but Devers grounded out to second. Nunez lined out to center to end the inning.
Jake Cave grounded out to short to open the top of the third but Polanco singled. Rosario erased Polanco on a force before Dozier popped up to first to end the inning. Sandy Leon grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the third before Jackie Bradley Jr singled to left. JBJ was erased on the force by Betts before Mr. Mookie swiped second. Benintendi flied out to left to end the inning.
Sale got in trouble in the top of the fourth although Garver lined out to left to begin. Morrison grounded out to short but Adrianza walked. Kepler was plunked and Grossman walked to load the bases but Cave whiffed on a full count to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Martinez flied out to right to start. Bogaerts whiffed but Pearce was hit with a pitch. Devers grounded out to short to end the inning.
Sale had an easier fifth inning as Polanco whiffed to start. Rosario popped up to first and Dozier looked at strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fifth as Nunez doubled to left to begin. Leon lined out to right but JBJ crushed his 8th home run of the year to give the Sox the lead. Mr. Mookie walked and advanced to second on a Benintendi grounder before going to third on a wild pitch. Martinez whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Sale cruised in the top of the sixth as Garver grounded out to short to start. Morrison and Adrianza both whiffed to end the inning. Sale was masterful, tossing 6 shutout innings while allowing just 3 hits while striking out ten.
The Sox threatened in the bottom of the sixth as Bogaerts grounded out to third to begin. Pearce singled to right but Devers popped up to short. Nunez singled to left but Leon lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox bullpen came in to wreck the day at this point and the first one out was Ryan Brasier in the top of the seventh. Kepler began with a double and moved to third on the Grossman grounder to the mound. Cave hit a routine grounder to Nunez who decided to breakdance with the ball instead of field it for an error, scoring Kepler. Polanco singled to put runners at the corners but Rosario banged into a double play to end the inning with the Twins down 2-1.
Taylor Rogers shut down the Sox in the bottom of the seventh as JBJ whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie lined out to center and Benintendi whiffed to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in for the top of the eighth inning and got Dozier to ground out to short to start. Garver whiffed and Sox manager Alex Cora made the weird decision to lift Matt for Craig Kimbrel for the 4 out save. Morrison walked and Joe Mauer pinch hit for Adrianza only to fly out to left to end the inning. Rosario went from left to third with Morrison going to left and Mauer going to first with Trevor Hildenberger on the mound for the bottom of the eighth. Martinez whiffed, Bogaerts grounded out to third and Pearce whiffed to end the inning.
Kimbrel began the top of the ninth by getting Kepler to line out to left. Grossman walked but Cave also lined out to left. One strike away from victory Polanco walked on a full count and Rosario doubled home both runners to give the Twins the lead. Dozier grounded out to second to end the inning but the Twins quieted Fenway with taking a 3-2 lead.
Fernando Rodney came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth but Devers had enough of him and launched his 15th home run of the year to tie the game immediately. Nunez whiffed, Leon grounded out to third and JBJ whiffed to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Tyler Thornburg made a mad dash to the mound for the top of the tenth and got Garver to ground out to third to begin. Morrison looked at strike three and Mauer flied out to center to end the inning as Thornburg sprinted into the dugout. Matt Belisle had the bottom of the tenth but two pitches into it, Mr. Mookie crushed a solo bomb to dead center to end the game with his first career walkoff home run. The Sox managed to win it 4-3 in ten innings.
We have Co-Heroes of the night. Hero number 1 is Rafael Devers. His home run in the bottom of the ninth saved the game and set the stage for the extra inning heroics.
Hero number 2 is Mookie Betts. His home run in the bottom of the tenth won the game for the Sox.
The Good:
Steve Pearce was 1 for 3 and was hit with a pitch.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 including a 2 run homer.
Chris Sale was outstanding, tossing 6 innings of shutout ball while striking out 10.
Matt Barnes pitched 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Tyler Thornburg got the win with a scoreless 10th inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in the 7th inning.
Craig Kimbrel allowed 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Now that was one of the better wins of the season. They had the Twins dead to rights but they took the lead. The Sox showed some balls to tie the game and win it which is making this year more special by the day. The New York Yankees stumbled after the big series at the beginning of this month and the Sox could finish them off a week from tonight. The Sox have 2 games left with the Twins and 2 with the Philadelphia Phillies before that series, taking 3 of 4 would be nice. The Sox are rolling and they have somewhat of a cream puff schedule in September, this could mean at least a 100 win season if not more. As for now, good for Betts to hit his first walkoff. The win propelled the Sox to 72-33, 5 games in front of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The 1966 Red Sox that finished strong in the second half had 72 total wins. This year's Sox team has won 72 games....on July 27th. Tomorrow night "Slick" Rick Porcello (12-4) takes the mound opposite Jake Odorizzi at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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