Rodriguez started off strong in the top of the first inning when he struck out Charlie Blackmon on a full count to begin. Trevor Story lined a base hit off the glove of Rodriguez before Nolan Arenado whiffed. Mark Reynolds popped up to second to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time scoring against German Marquez in the bottom of the first. Andrew Benintendi, Mr. Mookie Betts and JD Martinez struck 3 straight singles to put the Sox up 1-0 and put runners at the corners. Mitch Moreland banged into a double play but Betts scored. Xander Bogaerts flied out to left to end the inning but it was 2-0 Sox.
Raimel Tapia singled to start the top of the second inning but Ian Desmond struck out swinging. David Dahl looked at strike three before Ryan mcMahon singled Tapia to third. Tony Wolters grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers and Michael Chavis both whiffed to start. Jackie Bradley Jr singled but was foolishly thrown out at second trying to stretch to end the inning.
Rodriguez blew away Blackmon and Story to start the top of the third before Arenado grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox looked to have iced the game in the bottom of the third although Christian Vazquez whiffed to start. Benintendi tripled and Mr. Mookie singled him home. Martinez then launched his 9th home run of the year to increase the lead. Moreland grounded out to short and Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Right on cue Rodriguez got hammered in the top of the fourth as Reynolds singled to start. Tapia forced Reynolds at second but Desmond doubled. Dahl scored Tapia with a sac fly before McMahon walked. Wolters doubled home Desmond before Blackmon flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Devers grounded out to second to begin. Chavis grounded out to third before JBJ lined out to first to end the inning.
Rodriguez recovered in the top of the fifth as Story whiffed to start. Arenado lined out to right before Reynolds whiffed to end the inning. Vazquez singled to start the bottom of the fifth but Benintendi flied out to left. Mr. Mookie and Martinez whiffed to end the inning.
Tapia whiffed to begin the top of the sixth before Desmond singled. Dahl looked at strike three before Desmond was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. Moreland lined out to right to open the bottom of the sixth before Bogaerts lined out to center. Devers grounded out to second to end the inning.
Rodriguez fell apart in the top of the seventh as McMahon singled to start before Wolters smacked a ground rule double. Blackmon was plunked and that was it for Rodriguez. He never should have started the 7th inning and his final line read 6 innings with 5 runs allowed thanks to what would happen next. Matt Barnes came in and poured gas on the fire as Story singled home McMahon and Wolters. Somehow Arenado whiffed as Daniel Murphy pinch hit for Reynolds. Murphy grounded out to second to score Blackmon with the tying run and that was it for Barnes. Marcus Walden got Tapia to strike out swinging to end the inning with the lead blown for the second straight night, 5-5.
The Sox pissed away a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh as Chavis singled to start. JBJ looked at strike three but Vazquez singled to chase Marquez. Mike Dunn came in and whiffed Benintendi and it was one and done. Carlos Estevez got Mr. Mookie to hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
Walden froze Desmond for strike three to start the top of the eighth before Dahl popped up to third. McMahon grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox pissed another chance away in the bottom of the eighth against Scott Oberg when Martinez lined out to center to begin. Moreland and Bogaerts drew back to back walks and Eduardo Nunez pinch ran for Moreland. Nunez moved to third on the Devers fly out but Chavis was retired on a squibber to end the inning.
Walden returned for the top of the ninth and Wolters whiffed to start. Blackmon whiffed and Story popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox blew ANOTHER chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth against Bryan Shaw. JBJ whiffed and Vazquez flied out to right but Benintendi walked. Bad luck occured when Mr. Mookie hit a double to right that McMahon bobbled into the stands for a ground rule double. Had the ball stayed in play, Benintendi would have scored. Pat Valaika replced Story at short and Martinez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Nunez grounded into a force to end the inning.
Heath Hembree came in for the top of the tenth and fans groaned when Arenado doubled. Hembree recovered to get Murphy to pop up to second and Tapia to fly out to left. Desmond walked to chase Hembree and Brandon Workman whiffed Dahl to end the inning. The Sox finally won the game against Chad Bettis in the bottom of the tenth. Bogaerts doubled and Devers was intentionally walked to get to Chavis. Chavis made the Rockies pay with a base hit to center to score Bogaerts with the winning run. The Sox had paid the Rockies back with a 6-5 win in 10 innings.
Hero of the Night is obvious. Michael Chavis drove in the winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Mookie Betts was 3 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a walk, 3 rbis and a run scored with a solo home run.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4.
Marcus Walden tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Heath Hembree got the first two outs of the 10th inning.
Brandon Workman vultured the win by getting the final out of the tenth inning.
The Bad:
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Matt Barnes allowed all 3 inherited runners to score.
The Ugly:
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 3 but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 but walked.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4.
Eduardo Rodriguez fell apart at the end but pitched well mostly. He was charged with 5 runs in 6 innings while striking out 10 batters.
Final Thoughts:
Now that's more like it. After being unable to get a clutch hit last night, tonight Chavis and the Sox broke through. For the second straight night Colorado tagged the Sox bullpen for the tying run but this time the pitchers held the fort. Early on the offense looked good with Betts, Benintendi and Martinez hitting the lights out. It should be noted Jackie Bradley Jr is hitting .150 with no home runs and Josh Ockimey has 10 home runs in Pawtucket so far. Even if Ockimey hit .220, it would be an improvement over Bradley. All in all it was a good win with the Houston Astros coming to town on Friday. The win improved the Sox to 23-20, 4 games behind Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow is an off-day and Friday night the Houston Astros come to town looking for revenge after the Sox beat them to win the pennant last year. Gerrit Cole goes for the Astros against "Slick" Rick Porcello (3-3, 5.15 ERA) at 7:10 PM Friday night at Fenway Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment