Dylan Covey got the ball in the top of the first inning and Andrew Benintendi flied out to left to begin. Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third and JD Martinez whiffed to end the inning. Porcello allowed a lead off single to Leury Garcia in the bottom of the first before Yoan Moncada whiffed. Jose Abreu flied out to right but Garcia swiped second. Yonder Alonso flied out to right to end the inning.
The BoSox struck first in the top of the second as Rafael Devers doubled to start. Michael Chavis missed a home run to left by inches but Devers took third. Mitch Moreland singled home Devers to give Boston the lead. Steve Pearce banged into a double play to end the inning but it was 1-0 BoSox.
Porcello kept the lead in the bottom of the second although Tim Anderson singled to begin. Nicky Delmonico and Wellington Castillo both whiffed but Anderson swiped second. Yolmer Sanchez flied out to right to end the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr lined out to short to open the top of the third before Sandy Leon whiffed. Benintendi singled to right but Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning. Ryan Cordell grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the third before Garcia whiffed. Moncada grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Bosox blew a chance to break it open in the top of the fourth although Martinez lined out to left to start. Devers flied out to right but Chavis and Moreland drew back to back walls. As usual Pearce grounded out to short to end the inning. Abreu singled to start the bottom of the fourth but Alonso lined out to left. Anderson also lined out to left but Abreu moved to second on a balk. Delmonico whiffed to end the inning.
The BoSox blew struck back in the top of the fifth as JBJ singled to start. Leon dropped down a bunt and Covey intentionally walked Benintendi. Bogaerts flied out to right but Martinez chased Covey with a base hit to score JBJ. Aaron Bummer came in and Devers flied out to left to end the inning but it was 2-0 Bosox.
The White Sox struck back in the bottom of the fifth although Castillo looked at strike three to begin. Sanchez grounded back to the mound but Cordell bashed a 400,000 foot home run to cut the lead. Garcia looked at strike three to end the inning but it was now 2-1.
Bummer turned up the heat in the top of the sixth by freezing Chavis to start. Moreland and Pearce both whiffed to end the inning. As usual Porcello coughed up the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Moncada grounded out to short but Abreu effortlessly crushed a 950 foot home run to tie the game. Alonso and Anderson both flied out to right to end the inning but Porcello was done. He didn't pitch that bad by tossing 6 innings of two run ball, but the long ball doomed him again.
Jace Fry came in for Chicago in the top of the seventh and JBJ looked at strike three to start. Leon and Benintendi drew back to back walks but Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning. Brandon Workman walked Delmonico to begin the bottom of the seventh but Castillo looked at strike three. Sanchez flied out to left and Cordell grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the top of the eighth although Kelvin Herrera got Martinez to fly out to right to start. Devers singled off the left field fence but the ball bounced right to Delmonico and Devers strayed too far off first. Anderson threw the relay throw away and Devers made a dash to second where Abreu then threw the ball away for two errors on the same play, allowing Devers to reach third. Chavis walked to put runners at the corners and Moreland singled home Devers. Naturally Pearce whiffed but Moreland swiped second. JBJ walked to load the bases and Eduardo Nunez pinch hit for Leon and hit a little roller up the third base line that stayed fair, scoring Chavis. Caleb Frare came in and walked Benintendi on four pitches not even close to score Moreland. Juan Minaya came in and Bogaerts put the exclamation point on with a grand slam just inside the left field foul pole to clear out the crowd. Martinez whiffed to end the inning but the BoSox scored 7 runs to take a 9-2 lead.
Marcus Walden came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Christian Vazquez in to catch as Dennis Eckersley on commentary said the 24 runs the Sox scored the last two days was "beyond improvement". Walden lollygagged to first to cover the bag on a ground ball to first by Garcia, allowing Leury to reach on the single. Chavis kamikazed himself to snare a pop up by Moncada before Abreu flied out to the warning track in center. Alonso was frozen for strike three to end the inning.
Devers popped up to center to open the top of the ninth before Chavis looked at strike three. Moreland walked but Pearce whiffed to end the inning. Colten Brewer had mop up duty in the bottom of the ninth. Anderson grounded back to the mound to start before Delmonico whiffed. Vazquez muffed the golden sombrero strikeout by Castillo before Brewer hit Sanchez. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position but Cordell flied out to the left field warning track to end the game. The BoSox had won it 9-2 and took 3 of 4 in the series.
Hero of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. His grand slam put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 2 with 3 walks, an rbi and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Sandy Leon walked in two plate appearances.
Eduardo Nunez drove in a run with a base hit and scored as a pinch hitter.
Rick Porcello got back on track with 6 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed just 5 hits and didnt walk anyone.
Brandon Workman got the win with a scoreless 7th inning.
Marcus Walden pitched a scoreless 8th.
Colten Brewer pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Steve Pearce was 0 for 5.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked twice and scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Christian Vazquez caught the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Don't look now but the Red Sox are back in business. If it wasnt for the Nicky Delmonico homer Thursday night this would have been the Sox' 7th win in a row. Still taking 6 of 7 is nothing to sneeze at considering the rotation finally stepped up. Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, David Price and Porcello have all pitched well the past week and it should continue. Porcello not walking anyone is a sign his command is back. Chavis has been a welcome addition as well and could be the next Sam Horn if things continue. The win improved the Sox to 17-18, 5 games behind the Tampa Bay Ray's for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox fly into Baltimore for a 3 game set with the Orioles. Nobody has a clue who is pitching for Boston as John Means goes for the O's at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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