Michael Pineda began his dominance in the top of the first inning as Mr. Mookie Betts whiffed to start the game. Andrew Benintendi singled to right but JD Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning. Price began the bottom of the first by allowing a single to Jorge Polanco to start. Mitch Garver and Nelson Cruz both flied out to right before Eddie Rosario flied out to center to end the inning.
Pineda dominated the top of the second inning as Rafael Devers grounded out to second to start. Xander Bogaerts flied out to center before Brock "The Hitman" Holt also flied out to center to end the inning. Price cruised in the bottom of the second as CJ Cron grounded back to the mound to start. Marwin Gonzalez grounded out to short before Miguel Sano whiffed to end the inning.
Pineda cruised in the top of the third inning as Michael Chavis whiffed to start. Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to right and Christian Vazquez flied out to left to end the inning. Price got Jake Cave to hit a 390 foot fly out to center on the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning. Jonathan Schoop whiffed and Polanco flied out to right to end the inning.
Somehow Mr. Mookie walked to open the top of the fourth inning before swiping second. Benintendi and Martinez both whiffed but Devers singled home Betts to give the Sox the lead. Devers was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Twins fought back in the bottom of the fourth as Garver lined out to left to start. Cruz grounded out to third but Rosario doubled and Cron singled him home to tie the game. Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Bogaerts singled to open the top of the fifth but Holt erased him on a force. Chavis struck out swinging and JBJ flied out to center to end the inning. Price got Sano to pop up to third to start the bottom of the fifth before Cave grounded out to first. Schoop singled to left but Polanco popped up to second to end the inning. That was it for Price who lasted just 5 innings and threw 73 pitches, but only allowed a run.
Vazquez singled to open the top of the sixth but Mr. Mookie banged into a double play. The DP was big because Benintendi caught Sano asleep with a bunt single but Martinez flied out to right to end the inning. Mike Shawaryn came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Garver doubled to left to begin. Cruz singled Garver to third but Mitch was picked off by the alert Vazquez. Rosario hit one up the elevator shaft but Cron was plunked. Max Kepler pinch hit for Gonzalez and walked but somehow Shawaryn punched out Sano to end the inning.
The Sox took the lead in the top of the seventh with Ryne Harper now on the mound. Devers bashed his 12th homer of the year to start the inning before Bogaerts grounded out to short. Holt grounded out to second but Chavis took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Ryan Brasier took over for the bottom of the seventh and blew away Cave to start. Schoop was called out on batter interference and Polanco flied out to center to end the inning.
Trevor May came in for the top of the eighth and JBJ greeted him with a base hit to right. Vazquez flied out to right but Mr. Mookie lined out to Kepler. Benintendi whiffed to end the inning. Going for the six out save, the Sox brought in Brandon Workman to close it out and the move backfired. Garver walked but Cruz whiffed and Rosario popped up to short to put the Sox 4 outs from victory. It didn't happen as Cron walked and Kepler singled home Garver to tie the game. Sano whiffed to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Taylor Rogers came in for the top of the ninth and Martinez whiffed to start. Devers took strike three before Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in for the bottom of the ninth and hit Cave to start. Schoop took strike three before Barnes blew away Polanco. Garver popped up to second to end the inning.
Tyler Duffey had the top of the tenth and the Sox looked to take command when The Hitman doubled to right before moving to third on the Chavis grounder. JBJ was plunked but the rally ended when Vazquez popped up to right and Mr. Mookie did the same to end the inning. Josh Taylor had the bottom of the tenth and Cruz whiffed to start. Rosario lined out to center but Cron singled to center. Kepler whiffed to end the inning.
Duffey cruised in the top of the eleventh as Benintendi whiffed and Martinez earned the hat trick with his third strikeout. Devers was called out for batter interference to end the inning. Taylor punched out Sano to start the bottom of the eleventh before Cave also went down hacking. Schoop lined out to center to end the inning.
Blake Parker had the top of the 12th and the Sox tried to end it although Bogaerts flied out to center to start. Holt singled to right but was erased on the Chavis force. JBJ singled but Vazquez whiffed to end the inning. Colten Brewer almost gave the game away in the bottom of the 12th although Polanco flied out to center to start. Garver lined out to left but Cruz walked. Rosario singled to right and Luis Arraez ran for Cruz, but Cron flied out to right to end the inning.
Mike Morin came in for the top of the 13th and Mr. Mookie had a nasty surprise for him in the form of his 12th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Benintendi grounded out to second, Martinez lined out to left but Devers singled to right. Bogaerts flied out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
With Workman and Brasier already used, Sox manager Alex Cora had no choice but to go with Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez for the bottom of the 13th. Naturally the pain in the ass Kepler homered instantly to tie the game. Sano grounded out to second, Cave grounded out to second and Schoop grounded out to third to end the inning but the Twins had tied it again 3-3.
Matt Magill came in for the top of the fourteenth inning and the Sox looked to take the lead again when Holt singled to center to start. Chavis singled to right and JBJ moved both runners over with a bunt. Vazquez popped up and Mr. Mookie was intentionally walked to load the bases. Benintendi failed to make the Twins pay by grounding out to second to end the inning. Velazquez got Polanco to fly out to left to start the bottom of the frame before Garver went down swinging. Arraez lined out to third to end the inning.
Martinez earned the golden sombrero with a strikeout swinging to start the top of the 15th inning. Devers grounded out to first but Bogaerts doubled to left. Holt whiffed to end the inning and Velazquez returned for the bottom of the frame. Rosario doubled to start but was doubled off second on the bullet to first by Cron. Kepler took strike three to end the inning.
Zack Littell came in for the top of the 16th inning and Chavis earned a golden sombrero of his own by striking out swinging. JBJ grounded out to third but Vazquez singled to left. Eduardo Nunez ran for Vazquez but Mr. Mookie popped up to first to end the inning. Sandy Leon took over behind the plate for the bottom of the 16th and Velazquez froze Sano for strike three to start. Cave grounded out to first but Schoop singled to left. Polanco grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox blew a chance to finish off the Twins in the top of the 17th inning when Benintendi singled to right to start. Benintendi went to steal second and the throw sail which moved Andrew to third. With the go-ahead run 90 feet away...Martinez earned the rare Platinum Doughnut with his 5th strikeout of the night. Devers grounded out to first and Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox deserved to lose after that lack of clutch hitting and they did in the bottom of the 17th with Brian Johnson on the mound. Garver grounded out to short but Arraez singled to center. Rosario doubled to right and Cron was intentionally walked. The pain in the ass Kepler ended it with a base hit to right. The Twins had snapped the 6 game win streak with a 4-3 win in 17 innings.
Jackass of the Night is JD Martinez. He was 0 for 8 with the Platinum Doughnut of 5 strikeouts including stranding Benintendi at third base in the top of the 17th.
The Good:
Mookie Betts walked twice, scored 2 runs and hit a solo home run.
Rafael Devers was 3 for 8 with a solo home run and 2 total rbis.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 5 with a hit by pitch.
Brock Holt was 3 for 7.
David Price pitched 5 innings of 1 run ball to keep the Sox in it.
Mike Shawaryn pitched a scoreless 6th inning.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
Josh Taylor tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Colten Brewer pitched a scoreless 12th inning.
The Bad:
Brandon Workman allowed a run in the 8th inning.
Brian Johnson took the loss with a run allowed in the 17th inning.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 8 but had a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Xander Bogaerts was just 2 for 8.
Michael Chavis was just 1 for 7 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was just 2 for 7.
Honorable Mention:
Eduardo Nunez ran for Vazquez in the 16th inning.
Sandy Leon caught the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! The Sox had a golden chance to win 7 games in a row and pissed it away 3 times. Workman and Velazquez blowing leads and failing to take the lead in the 17th all led to the Sox demise. David Price only lasting 5 innings hurt because the Sox were forced to use Brasier, Workman and Barnes early. If Price went 7 maybe the Sox could have had one of those three for the later innings instead of Velazquez and Johnson. Maybe if Dave Dombrowski didn't put his faith in Colten Brewer, maybe the Sox would have another reliever to depend on. Everything stinks right now. The loss dropped the Sox to 40-35, 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look for revenge tomorrow night when they send Eduardo Rodriguez (7-4) up against the Sox nemesis Kyle Gibson at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Target Field.
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