Porcello got the ball in the top of the first and froze Fransisco Lindor for strike three to begin. Michael Brantley grounded out to second and Jose Ramirez took strike three to end the inning. After yesterday's disgrace, the Sox jumped on Indians ace Corey Kluber in the bottom of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts whiffed and Andrew Benintendi took strike three but Mitch Moreland singled. JD Martinez doubled Mitch to third and Xander Bogaerts scored both of them with a base hit. Ian Kinsler lined out to center to end the inning but the Sox had the 2-0 lead.
Porcello got rocked in the second inning although Yandy Diaz grounded out to short to start. Yonder Alonso and Melky Cabrera hit back to back singles although Porcello whiffed Jason Kipnis on a 3-2 fastball. A wild pitch moved both runners along but Rick whiffed Yan Gomes to end the inning. The Sox got to Kluber in the bottom of the second although Brock "The Hitman" Holt lined out to center to start. Sandy Leon flied out to left but Jackie Bradley Jr doubled to center. Mr. Mookie singled him to third and Benintendi singled home JBJ. The Sox had Kluber on the ropes but Moreland grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Porcello cruised in the top of the third as Greg Allen lined out to right, Lindor popped up to third and Brantley grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third as Martinez grounded out to second, Bogaerts grounded out to short and Kinsler grounded out to third to end the inning.
Porcello mowed down the Indians in the top of the fourth as Ramirez popped up to first, Diaz whiffed and Alonso went down swinging to end the inning. The Sox had another chance in the bottom of the fourth when Holt singled to start but he was thrown out trying to steal. Leon whiffed but JBJ singled only for Mr. Mookie to whiff badly to end the inning.
The Indians got one back in the top of the fifth as Cabrera smashed a 20,000 foot home run to put the Indians on the board. Porcello recovered to get Kipnis to ground out to first, Gomes to fly out to right and Allen to line out to left but the score was 3-1 Sox.
Kluber continued to pitch well as Benintendi froze for strike three to start the bottom of the fifth. Moreland walked but Martinez whiffed and Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning.
The Indians tied it up in the top of the sixth as Porcello failed to cover first on a hard hit ball to first by Lindor and Brantley smoked a 349,000 foot home run to tie the game. Ramirez popped up to third, Diaz grounded back to the mound and Alonso flied out to right but the damage was done, the game was tied 3-3. Porcello keeps giving up the long ball.
Kinsler tried to start a rally with a single to open the bottom of the sixth but Holt lined out to left. Leon flied out to right and JBJ hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Porcello returned for the top of the seventh and Sox manager Alex Cora quickly regretted it although Cabrera grounded out to first to start. Kipnis walked but was erased on the force by Gomes. Right on cue Greg Allen crushed only his second homer of the year to give the Indians the lead. Lindor flied out to center to end the inning but Porcello had given up 5 runs off 3 home runs in 7 innings, nice job.
Kluber returned for the bottom of the seventh and got Mr. Mookie to ground out to first but that was it. Francona didn't want to make a mistake and leave him in too long so he was lifted for Oliver Perez. Benintendi grounded out ti first but Moreland walked to chase Perez. Adam Cimber came in and Martinez singled Moreland to third to put the tying run on first. That was it as Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Tyler Thornburg sprinted from the bullpen to pitch the top of the eighth and naturally allowed a single to Brantley. Ramirez popped up to third before Diaz whiffed. Alonso lined out to right to end the inning as Thornburg made a mad dash into the dugout. Brandon Guyer took over in right for the bottom of the eighth and Kinsler whiffed to start. Brad Hand replaced Cimber and the Sox countered by pinch hitting Eduardo Nunez for Holt. Nunez flied out to right but pinch hitter Steve Pearce (for Leon) doubled to bring the tying run to the plate. Naturally JBJ whiffed to end the inning.
Nunez stayed at third with Blake Swihart taking over behind the plate with the incompetent Drew Pomeranz on the mound for the top of the ninth. Strangely Drew got out of the inning as Guyer lined out to center to start. Kipnis whiffed and Gomes grounded out to third to end the inning. Indians closer Cody Allen got the call to close out the bottom of the ninth but the Sox refused to go quietly. Mr. Mookie led off with a double and Benintendi walked to put the tying run at first. Moreland beat out a double play ball to keep the tying run at first but Martinez popped up to first. Bogaerts somehow beat out an infield single to score Mr. Mookie and put the tying run at second. Unfortunately Kinsler flied out to left on a full count to end the game. The Indians held on to win it 5-4.
Jackass of the Night is Rick Porcello. The long balls were just too much to overcome and he gave up 3 of them in his 7 innings of work for 5 total runs.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with 3 rbi's.
Brock Holt was 1 for 3.
Steve Pearce doubled as a pinch hitter.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
The Bad:
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but walked and drove in a run.
Ian Kinsler was just 1 for 5.
Honorable Mention:
Blake Swihart caught the top of the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
If this was a playoff preview the Sox are in big trouble. This felt like the 2016 Division Series where the Indians just knew they could beat the Sox and shut them down. Francona's team never panicked when down 3-0 and came back to win. This was a really telling loss because if the Sox can't win the games with playoff implications, how the hell are they going to actually do it in the playoffs? The offense left 11 guys on base and that just can't happen. That's 2017 Red Sox garbage, not this year's team that can actually hit. This loss leaves a really bad taste in anyone's mouth but it can be corrected with 3 straight wins for sure. The loss dropped the Sox to 88-38, 9 games in front of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Nathan Eovaldi (5-4) goes up against Shane Bieber at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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