Rodriguez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Whit Merrifield flied out to center to begin. Humberto Arteaga singled to center but Hunter Dozier whiffed. Jorge Soler singled and Cheslor Cuthbert walked to load the bases but Nicky Lopez grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom off the first against Royals starter Glenn Sparkman although Mr. Mookie Betts walked to start. Rafael Devers whiffed but Xander Bogaerts popped up to second. JD Martinez lined out to center to end the inning.
Meibrys Viloria caught Devers asleep with a bunt single to open the top of the second but was erased on the Ryan O'Hearn force. Billy Hamilton beat out a double play ball after review but Merrifield popped up to first to end the inning. Andrew Benintendi singled to left to start the bottom of the second but was doubled off first on the Christian Vazquez line drive to the mound. Mitch Moreland took strike three to end the inning.
The Royals struck first in the top of the third as Arteaga flied out to center to start. Dozier grounded out ti first but Soler and Cuthbert drew back to back walks. Lopez singled to left to load the bases and Viloria singled home Soler and Cuthbert to give the Royals the lead. O'Hearn grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 2-0 Royals.
The Sox failed to answer in the bottom of the third although Holt walked to start. Brock was erased on the force by Jackie Bradley Jr before Mr. Mookie flied out to left Devers whiffed to end the inning.
The Royals got another call changed when Hamilton was thrown out at first on a ground ball to Bogaerts but they ruled it a single. Hamilton swiped second then was thrown out at third by JBJ after Jackie made a great catch to rob Merrifield of extra bases. Arteaga flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox finally struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Bogaerts lined a single to center and Martinez bashed his 25th home run of the season to tie the game. Benintendi whiffed and Vazquez flied out to center, but Moreland singled to center. Holt lined out to right to end the inning but the game was tied 2-2.
Rodriguez got Dozier to fly out to right to start the top of the fifth before Soler popped up to second. Cuthbert singled to left but Lopez grounded out to second to end the inning. That was it for Rodriguez who allowed 2 runs in just 5 innings of work.
The Sox took the lead in the bottom of the fifth although JBJ whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie singled and Devers walked before Bogaerts doubled them both home. Martinez singled Bogaerts to third and chase Sparkman from the game. Tim Hill came in and the Sox failed to deliver the kill shot as Benintendi hit one up the elevator shaft and Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox only up 4-2.
Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pitch the top of the sixth and got tagged. He struck out both Viloria and O'Hearn but Hamilton doubled. Merrifield singled him home to cut the lead but Alteaga flied out to right to end the inning with the game now 4-3 Sox.
Moreland grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the sixth but Holt singled to left. JBJ took strike three and that was it for Hill. Kevin McCarthy came in and struck out Mr. Mookie to end the inning.
The Royals tied it in the top of the seventh against Nathan Eovaldi. Dozier singled to left but Soler took strike three. A wild pitch moved Dozier to second and he took third on the grounder by Cuthbert. Dozier scored on the double off the glove of Holt by Lopez to tie the game. Even though it was the 7th inning that was the 20th blown save of the season. Viloria looked at strike three to end the inning but it was 4-4.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the seventh as Devers grounded out to first to begin. Bogaerts singled to left but Martinez and Benintendi both whiffed to end the inning.
Eovaldi got stronger in the eighth inning as O'Hearn whiffed to start. Hamilton took strike three but Merrifield singled to right. Eovaldi blew away Arteaga to end the inning. Scott Barlow came in for the bottom of the eighth and Vazquez grounded out to short to begin. Moreland also grounded out to short but Holt walked. JBJ whiffed to end the inning.
Brandon Workman took over for the top of the ninth and Dozier greeted him with a single to center. Soler took strike three but Dozier swiped second. Cuthbert flied out to center and Lopez grounded out to short to end the inning. Jake Newberry came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Mr. Mookie singled to left to begin. Devers whiffed but Bogaerts flied out to right. Martinez grounded into a force to end the inning.
Workman came back for the top of the tenth and had Vilorio in a 2-1 count before the umpires decided enough was enough. The rains came and the game was suspended after 2 hours. It was to resume on the August 22nd off-day. What a waste of four hours
*RESUMED ON AUGUST 22ND*
When play resumed at 1:05 PM on August 22nd in the top of the tenth, Josh Taylor was on the mound and Nick Dini pinch hit for Viloria. Dini lined out to first on the first pitch before O'Hearn took strike three. Billy Hamilton was actually released by the Royals in the 15 days between this games restart so Bubba Starling pinch hit for him. Starling grounded out to end the inning. Richard Lovelady took the mound for the bottom of the tenth and Benintendi took strike three to earn a retroactive hat trick to start. Vazquez doubled into the gap in second to put the winning run on second. Sox manager Alex Cora had Chris Owings (who wasn't even on the Red Sox when this game started) pinch run for Vazquez and Travis was intentionally walked to set up a double play. In what was ironic considering what happened last night (see August 21st), Holt lined a single to left to score Owings to win the game. The Sox had won it in just 12 minutes 5-4.
Hero of the Night is Brock Holt. He got the game winning hit in the bottom of the 10th.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with a 2 run home run.
Chris Owings scored the winning run as a pinch runner.
Sam Travis walked as a pinch hitter.
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed 2 runs in 5 innings of work.
Brandon Workman pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Josh Taylor got the win with a scoreless 10th inning.
The Bad:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Darwinzon Hernandez allowed a run in the 6th inning.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked and scored.
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 5 but the one hit started the winning rally.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4.
Nathan Eovaldi allowed a run in 2 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
This is going to be somewhat of a time paradox because this is being written on August 22nd, 15 days after this game began. It was a good win overall considering they needed it to stay alive in the wild card race. Still, losing 2 straight to the Philadelphia Phillies put a damper on everything. Going all the way back to start of this game, it was a microcosm of the season of not getting clutch hits, the starter not lasting long and the bullpen blowing it. The fact they won doesn't take away from the fact this team has way too many flaws to make the playoffs. Now back to August 7th, tomorrow night the Sox start a series with the Los Angeles Angels. Chris Sale (6-10) goes for the Sox up against Dillon Peters. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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