The Mariners whacked Porcello good in the top of the first inning although Mitch Haniger whiffed to start. JP Crawford singled to center before Edwin Encarnacion flied out to right. Daniel Vogelbach and Domingo Santana stroked back to back doubles and Jay Bruce put the exclamation point on with a 2 run home run to make the fans groan. Omar Narvaez singled but Ryon Healy grounded into a force to end the inning with the Mariners ahead 4-0 right out of the gate.
Felix Hernandez cruised in the bottom of the first as Andrew Benintendi grounded out to first to begin. Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to short before JD Martinez whiffed to end the inning.
Porcello then locked in the rest of the game and it began in the top of the second. Shed Long made his major league debut grounding out to second, Haniger flied out to center and Crawford lined out to a running JBJ to end the inning. The Sox got one back in the bottom of the second when Mitch Moreland belted his 12th home run of the season to put Boston on the board. Xander Bogaerts walked and Rafael Devers singled, but Michael Chavis looked at strike three after hitting a ball 500 feet foul. Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed and Sandy Leon popped up to third to end the inning but the Sox were down 4-1.
Encarnacion hit a routine pop-up to Porcello but Leon kamikazed himself into Porcello for no apparent reason for an error on Rick to start the top of the third. Porcello fought back to punch out Vogelbach and Santana as Jerry Remy told a funny story. One time in Kansas City, Wade Boggs and Jerry were convinced the mound was closer to the plate than in other ballparks so they went to go measure it. The legendary groundskeeper George Toma caught them and threw them out before they could succeed. Bruce grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the bottom of the third although Benintendi lined out to right to begin. Mr. Mookie walked and Martinez grounded a single through the hole in short before Moreland hit a line drive to center that Haniger pulled up on. Betts had to stay at third because he had to see if the ball was caught and that loaded the bases for Bogaerts. Xander hit a seeing eye single through the hole in short to score Betts and reload the bases. Devers lashed a single to center to score Martinez and Moreland to tie the game. Devers swiped second before Chavis walked to reload the bases and chase Hernandez. The fallen ace was knocked out in the 3rd inning as old pal Roenis Elias was brought in to face Bradley. The struggling JBJ hit a seeing eye single up the middle to score Bogaerts and Devers to take the lead. Chavis went to third on the play and Leon lit up the crowd, finishing the rally with a 3 run bomb into the Monster Seats. Benintendi whiffed and Mr. Mookie grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox now ahead 9-4.
Porcello cruised in the top of the fourth inning as Narvaez popped up to center to begin. Porcello whiffed Healy on a 91 mph fastball up before Long popped up to center to end the inning. Elias returned for the bottom of the fourth and walked Martinez to start. JD was erased on the Moreland force before Bogaerts whiffed. Devers walked but Chavis flied out to right to end the inning.
Porcello cruised in the top of the fifth as Haniger popped up to right to start. Crawford popped up to third and Encarnacion grounded out to third to end the inning. Connor Sadzeck came in for the bottom of the fifth and JBJ walked to start. Leon walked but Benintendi whiffed. Mr. Mookie looked at strike three but Martinez walked to load the bases. Moreland foolishly grounded out to first on the first pitch to end the inning.
Porcello was a man possessed in the top of the sixth as Vogelbach grounded out to first to start. Santana whiffed and Bruce popped up to third to end the inning. Cory Gearrin came in for the bottom of the sixth and popped up to left to start. Devers lined a hard grounder right back to the mound for the second out before Chavis drew a walk. Chavis moved to second on a wild pitch before JBJ also grounded out hard back to the mound to end the inning.
Porcello came back for the top of the seventh and Narvaez flied out to right to begin. Healy flied out to center but Long walked to chase Porcello. Give Rick credit, he got smacked around in the first inning but didn't allow a hit after the first inning. He lasted 6 2/3 innings giving up 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Brandon Workman came in and walked Haniger but got Crawford to ground out to first to end the inning.
Zac Rosscup came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Leon flied out to center to start. Benintendi walked and Mr. Mookie lined a single to center before Martinez beat out a double play ball to put runners at the corners. Moreland walked to load the bases but Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning.
Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Encarnacion popped up to right to start. Vogelbach grounded into a shift and Devers threw him out before Santana whiffed to end the inning. Brandon Brennan came on for the bottom of the eighth and Devers singled to start, but Chavis banged into a double play. JBJ looked at strike three to end the inning.
Colten Brewer had mop up duty in the top of the ninth and Bruce looked at strike three to begin. Narvaez had the only Seattle hit after the first inning with a solo home run into the Sox bullpen. Healy grounded out to short and Long whiffed to end the game. The Sox had won their fourth in a row with a 9-5 victory.
Hero of the Night is Sandy Leon. His 3 run homer was the first of the season for him and it iced the game.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 total rbis and 2 total runs scored including a solo homer.
Rafael Devers was 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Brandon Workman got the final out of the 7th inning.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Colten Brewer allowed a run in the top of the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in a run and scored.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 3 but walked twice and scored run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but walked, drove in two runs and scored.
Rick Porcello overcame a lousy first inning to earn the win. He gave up 4 runs in 6 2/3 innings on 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5.
Final Thoughts:
That was a pretty strange game. Porcello had his lunch handed to him and the Sox trailed 4-0 just like that. Then the Sox put 9 runs on the board in the next two innings while the Mariners didn't have another hit until there was 1 out in the ninth. It all counts as a win and the Sox picked a good time to get hot with the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees facing each other this weekend. Porcello took a while to get going but he was unhittable after the first and the offense rolled again. If the bottom of the order isn't a black hole then the Sox will be fine moving forward. They got away with it last year with Bogaerts, Martinez, Benintendi and Betts hitting the lights out but you can't expect that year by year. All in all the Sox are coming back from the dead and look out AL East. The win improved the Sox to 21-19, 4 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow the Sox look to sweep the Mariners but will need the bullpen to do it. Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez (0-2, 4.03 ERA) starts for the Sox opposite Marco Gonzales at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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