The Sox tagged Royals starter Jakob Junis immediately in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts drew a walk before Andrew Benintendi singled him to third. JD Martinez flied out to left but Rafael Devers beat out a double play ball to score Betts. Xander Bogaerts was ruled out at first on a bang bang play but alert Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call. The umpires reversed the call and Cheslor Cuthbert was charged with an error and runners were back on the corners. Brock "The Hitman" Holt singled in Devers to increase the lead. Michael Chavis whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Sale began his dominance in the bottom of the first as Whit Merrifield whiffed to begin. Adalberto Mondesi grounded out to short before Alex Gordon grounded out to first to end the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed to begin the top of the second inning before Sandy Leon doubled. Mr. Mookie flied out to right before Benintendi singled Leon to third. Martinez grounded out to first to end the inning. Sale froze Jorge Soler for strike three to start the bottom of the second before Cuthbert grounded out to third. Kelvin Gutierrez singled to right but Nicky Lopez grounded out to second to end the inning.
Junis cruised in the top of the third inning as Devers flied out to left to begin. Bogaerts grounded out to third before Holt took strike three to end the inning. Sale whiffed Martin Maldonado to start the bottom of the third before Billy Hamilton watched strike three go by. Merrifield singled but was picked off by the alert Leon to end the inning.
Nothing happened in the top of the fourth as Chavis grounded back to the mound to start. JBJ walked but Leon took strike three. Mr. Mookie grounded into a force to end the inning. Sale cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Mondesi grounded out to third to start. Gordon whiffed and Soler lined out to center to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the fifth as Benintendi doubled to start. Martinez flied out to right but Devers doubled home Benintendi. Bogaerts walked and Holt squibbed one to the mound. Cuthbert and Junis broke for the ball but no one covered first and everyone was safe to load the bases. Chavis whiffed but JBJ stepped up with a double to clear the bases and ice the game. That was it for Junis as Brad Boxberger got Leon to line out to third to end the inning but the Sox had iced it 6-0.
Cuthbert singled to start the bottom of the fifth before Gutierrez erased Cheslor on a force. Gutierrez was forced out by Lopez and Maldonado whiffed to end the inning.
Jorge Lopez came in for the top of the sixth and Mr. Mookie grounded out to short to start. Benintendi grounded out to first before Martinez lined out to right to end the inning. Sale got Hamilton to ground out to third to begin the bottom of the sixth before Merrifield whiffed. Mondesi whiffed to end the inning.
Devers cracked his 9th home run of the year to begin the top of the seventh before Bogaerts flied out to center. Holt and Chavis stroked back to back singles before JBJ walked to load the bases. Leon scored Holt with a sac fly to wrap up the scoring before Mr. Mookie whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-0.
Gordon grounded out to second to start the bottom of the seventh before Soler flied out to right. Cuthbert grounded out to third to end the inning.
Terrance Gore took over for Merrifield in right, Ryan O'Hearn took over for Gordon in left and Wily Peralta came in to pitch the top of the eighth. Benintendi walked but Martinez banged into a double play. Devers popped up to first to end the inning. Sale produced the highlight of the night with an immaculate inning in the bottom of the eighth. Gutierrez and Lopez took strike three before Maldonado whiffed on 9 pitches in short order.
Ian Kennedy came in for the top of the ninth and Bogaerts whiffed to start. Holt grounded out to short before Chavis took strike three to end the inning. Sox manager Alex Cora admitted he thought Sale would strangle him if Alex took him out so he let Chris finish the job in the bottom of the ninth. Hamilton popped up to first, Gore whiffed and Mondesi lined out to left to end the game. Sale had tossed a complete game, 3 hit shutout without walking anyone, letting anyone reach second and struck out 12. The Sox had won going away 8-0.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. He tossed a complete game 3 hit shutout while striking out 12 to earn the win.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with 3 total rbis, 3 runs scored and a home run.
Brock Holt was 3 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and 3 rbis.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
The Bad:
JD Martinez was 0 for 5.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4 but walked and scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 but walked and scored.
Michael Chavis was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Final Thoughts:
Welcome back Sale. After looking like dog doo for most of the season, this was one of his best performances in a Red Sox uniform. I know it was against the pathetic Royals but that was an amazing performance. The offense pitched in from top to bottom and the Sox finally won an easy one. The only problem is they'll score 1 run and lose tomorrow without a doubt. Its a shame the Sox just don't seem to have the fire this year to go on a consistent winning streak. Their terrible bullpen doesn't help either. The win improved the Sox to 32-29, 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to sweep the Royals tomorrow afternoon with Ryan Weber (1-1, 4.50 ERA) taking on Danny Duffy at 1:15 PM at Kauffman Stadium.
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