Brian Johnson got the ball in the top of the first inning and Rafael Ortega flied out to center to begin. Brian Anderson grounded out to second and JT Realmuto grounded out to third to end the inning. Mr. Mookie Betts greeted Miami starter Jose Urena with a base hit to left but Andrew Benintendi flied out to left. Mitch Moreland lined out to right and JD Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
Johnson got Starlin Castro to ground out to short to begin the top of the second before Derek Dietrich was frozen for strike three. Austin Dean flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Xander Bogaerts led off with a double. Xander moved to third on the Eduardo Nunez grounder then scored on the Ian Kinsler single to give the Sox the lead. Blake Swihart banged into a double play to end the inning but it was 1-0 Sox.
The lead lasted approximately 30 seconds as Miguel Rojas grounded out to third but Isaac Galloway smashed a 50,000 foot home run to tie the game. Old pal Bryan Holaday singled but Ortega looked at strike three. Anderson doubled Holaday to third but Johnson got a key out when he got Realmuto to lined out to second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox wasted no time getting the lead back in the bottom of the third as Jackie Bradley Jr singled to start. Mr. Mookie walked and Andrew Benintendi hit a ground ball double to the right center gap to score JBJ. Moreland whiffed but Martinez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Bogaerts scored Betts with a sac fly for some insurance before Nunez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Things looked bleak when Castro tripled to lead off the top of the fourth but Johnson put on his big boy pants to freeze Dietrich for strike three. Dean walked but Rojas popped up to first and Galloway popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Kinsler grounded out to short to start. Swihart flied out to left and JBJ whiffed to end the inning.
Johnson returned briefly for the top of the fifth to get Holaday to fly out to center but an Ortega single chased him after 4 1/3 inning of one run ball.
The much maligned Boston bullpen had to pitch the rest of the game and Brandon Workman was brought in first. The alert Swihart gunned down Ortega trying to steal before Anderson walked. Realmuto singled but Castro grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Mr. Mookie flied out to center to begin before Benintendi grounded back to the mound. Moreland walked but Martinez flied out to right to end the inning.
Workman returned for the top of the sixth and Dietrich popped up to short to begin. Dean lined out to center and Rojas grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning although Bogaerts grounded out to third to start. Nunez pitched in by swatting a solo home run off the top of the Monster over the line to increase the lead. Kinsler grounded out to short and Swihart grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Joe Kelly came in to pitch the top of the seventh and froze Galloway to start. Holaday popped up to first before Ortega lined out to center to end the inning. Kyle Barraclough replaced Urena for the bottom of the seventh and JBJ walked to start. JBJ made a mad dash for second....OUT! BUT WAIT! Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call and sure enough JBJ was ruled safe. Mr. Mookie walked but Benintendi grounded into a third to first double play. Moreland flied out to right to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to blow the game in the top of the eighth. Anderson singled and Realmuto crushed a 25,000 foot home run to cut the lead. Castro then blasted a 90,000 foot bomb to tie the game just like that. Dietrich struck out but Dean singled to chase the incompetent Barnes. Heath Hembree came in to pour gas on the fire and Magneuris Sierra pinch ran for Dean. Rojas singled before Galloway flied out to center only for pinch hitter JT Riddle (for Holaday) walked to load the bases. Ortega blooped a single to left to score two runners to give the Marlins the lead. Anderson grounded out to end the inning but the Marlins took a 4-1 deficit and turned it into a 6-4 lead. Pathetic!
Down to their last 6 outs the Sox refused to go quietly in the bottom of the eighth. Ortega moved to left field, Realmuto took over behind the plate, Sierra was in center, Rojas went to first, Galloway moved to right and Riddle went to short with Tayron Guerrero now on the mound. Martinez started with a single but Bogaerts lined out to right. Nunez and Kinsler stroked back to back singles to load the bases but Swihart whiffed. One out away from a blown rally, JBJ stepped up big with a seeing eye single to right to score Martinez and Nunez to tie the game. On a 3-1 count, Guerrero threw the next pitch away that not only walked Bogaerts but Kinsler made a mad dash home to give the Sox the lead. The stunned Marlins pulled Guerrero for Adam Conley and Benintendi grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox somehow ahead 7-6.
All Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel needed was 3 outs and it was over but he sucked tonight too. Realmuto lined out to short but Castro walked. Yadiel Rivera pinch ran for Castro and Dietrich walked. Naturally Sierra singled to tie the game when Rivera scored earned well deserved boo's from the crowd. Rojas lined out to second but a wild pitch moved both runners up. Kimbrel blew away Galloway to end the inning but it was tied 7-7.
Once again the Sox put on their big boy pants in the bottom of the ninth inning. Drew Steckenrider took over on the mound and Steve Pearce pinch hit for Moreland...only to fly out to right. Martinez and Bogaerts singled to bring up Nunez. Nunez hit a high chopper to short and Riddle stepped on second and fired to first.....NOWHERE CLOSE! The ball went into the stands, Martinez scored and the Red Sox somehow won this crazy game after everything. How about that?
Hero of the Night is Jackie Bradley Jr. Yes, Nunez got the walkoff but that should have been a double play. Bradley and the Sox were down to their last out of the eighth and he stepped in with the clutch single to tie the game.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 2 with 3 walks and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Eduardo Nunez was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Ian Kinsler was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Brian Johnson allowed just 1 run in 4 1/3 innings.
Brandon Workman pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
The Bad:
Steve Pearce was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Blake Swihart was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Holy moly that was almost a complete disaster and in many ways it was. The Sox came within an eyelash of not only dropping this game but falling to 5.5 games in front of the New York Yankees. This bullpen is their achillies heel and something has to be done before the August 31st deadline or they're in deep trouble come October. Not one reliever has looked good lately and it overshadows the tremendous display of balls by the offense to come back and win this game. You can't outslug everyone in the playoffs and the Sox are gonna need a lights out bullpen if they have any chance in October. Until then, this was a hell of a win against a garbage team but every win counts. The win improved the Sox to 91-42, 6.5 games ahead of the Yankees who erased a 4-0 deficit to beat the Sox 5-4. It should be noted that the 1979 Red Sox that featured a murder's row lineup of Fred Lynn, Yaz, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, Bob Watson, Butch Hobson and Carlton Fisk finished with 91 wins. This year's team has 91 wins....on August 28th. Tomorrow night the Sox look to finish the season sweep of the Marlins with David Price (14-6, 3.50 ERA) taking on Trevor Richards at 6:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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