Mike Clevinger got the start in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts hit a scintillating triple to begin the game. Rafael Devers scored Betts with a double to put the Sox on top. That was it as Xander Bogaerts whiffed, JD Martinez popped up to first and Andrew Benintendi grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Sale got the ball in the bottom of the first and whiffed Fransisco Lindor to start. Oscar Mercado struck out swinging and Sale blew away Carlos Santana on a 97 mph fastball to end the inning.
The Sox ran themselves out of the top of the second inning as Mitch Moreland whiffed on 3 pitches to start. Marco Hernandez beat out an infield single to short before Sandy Leon walked. Jackie Bradley Jr popped up to third but Mr. Mookie singled to left. Hernandez came home but Leon was gunned down at third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Sale cruised in the bottom of the second inning as Franmil Reyes lined out to short to begin. Jose Ramirez grounded out to first before Roberto Perez looked at strike three to end the inning.
Devers singled to right to open the top of the third but was thrown out trying to steal on a strike em out, throw em out double play. Martinez singled and Benintendi walked to compound the Bogaerts blunder but Moreland flied out to left to end the inning. Sale navigated the bottom of the third as Jason Kipnis flied out to center to start. Greg Allen grounded back to the mound but Tyler Naquin singled to left. Lindor ate up Bogaerts with a base hit but Mercado whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Hernandez whiffed to begin. Leon flied out to right but JBJ singled to right. Mr. Mookie whiffed to end the inning. The Indians finally got to the incompetent Sale in the bottom of the fourth as Santana effortlessly crushed a 40,000 foot home run to cut the lead in half. Somehow Sale froze Reyes for strike three before Ramirez watched strike three go by. Perez whiffed to end the inning but it was 2-1 Sox.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fifth inning as Devers doubled to center to begin. Bogaerts flied out to left but Martinez singled Devers to third. Benintendi whiffed but Moreland singled home Devers for another run. Hernandez singled in Martinez to chase Clevinger from the game. Former Pawsox Josh D Smith got Leon to ground back to the mound to end the inning but it was 4-1 Sox.
Sale cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Kipnis whiffed to start. Allen grounded out to third and Naquin also whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth as JBJ was plunked to start. Mr. Mookie walked and Devers struck yet another double to clear the bases. Bogaerts whiffed and Martinez was intentionally walked but Benintendi flied out to left. Moreland lined out to left to end the inning but it was 6-1 Red Sox.
The Indians struck back in the bottom of the sixth although Lindor popped up to short to start. Mercado whiffed but Santana walked. Reyes effortlessly crushed a 190,000 foot home run to cut the lead. Ramirez grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 6-3 Sox.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the seventh inning as Hernandez whiffed to start. Leon popped up to first before JBJ flied out to right to end the inning. The Indians finished off Sale in the bottom of the seventh as Perez walked to start. Kipnis whiffed but Devers made a blunder when he fielded a double play ball by Allen but did a dance instead of get anyone out for an error. Naquin popped up to first but naturally Lindor cleared the bases with a double to chase the incompetent Sale. He got pounded once again for 5 runs in just 6 2/3 innings. Matt Barnes came in and gave up a single to Mercado to put runners at the corners but Santana whiffed to end the inning with the Indians down 6-5.
Adam Cimber came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning and Mr. Mookie lined out to left to begin. Devers and Bogaerts hit back to back singles but Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning. Barnes returned for the bottom of the eighth but naturally walked Reyes to start. Josh Taylor was brought in with Mike Freeman running for Reyes and Mike advanced to second on the grounder by Ramirez. Nathan Eovaldi of all people was brought in and blew away Perez before snaring a liner by Kipnis to end the inning.
Tyler Clippard came in for the top of the ninth and Benintendi flied out to right to begin. Moreland whiffed and Hernandez grounded out to second to end the inning. Brandon Workman (9-1) was brought in to close the game and he puked on himself again. Allen singled to right before swiping second. Naquin whiffed but Lindor naturally doubled home Allen to tie the game. Lindor made a boo-boo by trying to steal third and the alert Leon gunned him down before Mercado flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 6-6.
The Sox showed some balls by taking the lead in the top of the tenth inning against Nick Wittgren. Christian Vazquez pinch hit for Leon and naturally whiffed but somehow JBJ belted his 14th home run of the year to give the Sox the lead. Mr. Mookie flied out to right but Devers hit his 4th double of the game and his 6th hit overall. Bogaerts beat out an infield single to second but Devers foolishly tried for home and got caught in a rundown to end the inning. Still, the Sox led 7-6.
Andrew Cashner came in for the first save chance of his career and naturally Santana singled. Freeman screwed up the bunt and Santana was thrown out at second before Ramirez whiffed. Somehow Cashner struck out Perez swinging to end the game. The Sox had held on to win the game 7-6.
Hero of the Night is Jackie Bradley Jr with his go-ahead home run in the top of the tenth inning.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with a walk, rbi and 2 runs scored.
Rafael Devers was 6 for 6 with 3 rbis and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 6.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Josh Taylor got the only guy he faced.
Nathan Eovaldi got the final 2 outs of the eighth inning.
Andrew Cashner earned the first save of his career with a scoreless 10th inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez whiffed as a pinch hitter.
Chris Sale sucked again by allowing 5 runs in 6 2/3 innings. He did manage to strike out 12.
Brandon Workman vultured the win by allowing the tying run to score in the 9th.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 but walked.
Matt Barnes retired just 1 of the 3 men that he faced.
Final Thoughts:
As horrible as this season is and as awful as the bullpen has become, wins like this are still fun to watch. The offense never gave up and kept clawing at one of the American League's best teams. Sale was good for a while but the Indians just seemed to get the clutch hit when it mattered, especially by Lindor. Still, Eovaldi and Cashner did their jobs (and Taylor) and maybe its better if Cashner was the closer and Eovaldi the starter. Speaking of which, Eovaldi was scheduled to pitch tomorrow but that is out the window now. All in all it was a good win in a season filled with misery. The win improved the Sox to 63-59, 8.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the second wild card spot. The series ends tomorrow afternoon with Brian Johnson (1-1, 7.32 ERA) getting the start for the Sox opposite Shane Bieber for the Indians. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Progressive Field.
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