Sox Bash Twins Into Submission (5/6/17)

Its about time! The Boston Red Sox offense which had been dormant pretty much all season came to life for one day at least. The Sox pounded the Minnesota Twins for 16 hits and 11 runs as they demolished the Twinkies 11-1 at Target Field

                                                               Happy fan

The Red Sox offense failed to score in the top of the first against Tepesch who hadn't pitched in 19 days. Mr. Mookie Betts whiffed badly on a 3-2 pitch. Dustin Pedroia worked a walk and stole second on the 3-2 strikeout by Xander Bogaerts. Andrew Benintendi flied out meekly to left to end the inning, pathetic. "Slick" Porcello (2-4, 3.95 ERA) got the ball in the bottom of the first and got Robbie Grossman to fly out to left. Joe Mauer struck out but Miguel Sano lined one over the head of Bogaerts for a base hit. Kennys Vargas grounded out to end the inning.

In an absolute shock, the Sox exploded in the top of the second inning. Hanley Ramirez grounded out, Mitch Moreland flied out but Chris Young blasted a solo home run into the upper deck in left to give the Sox the lead. Sandy Leon singled up the middle and Josh Rutledge hit one to Jorge Polanco who bobbled it for an error. Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases and Pedroia cleared them with a 3 run double. Bogaerts singled to right and Benny The Kid tripled down the left field line to score the two runners and chase Tepesch after just 1 1/3 innings. Twins manager Paul Molitor pulled him for Drew Rucinski and Ramirez greeted him with a single to score Benintendi. Moreland doubled home Ramirez to make it 8-0. Chris Young struck out to end the inning but the Sox had a commanding lead.

                                                 8 run explosion

Could Porcello pitch with a lead for the first time in weeks? YES! Max Kepler looked at strike three and Eduardo Escobar whiffed, but Jason Castro singled. Polanco singled but Eddie Rosario struck out to end the inning.

The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the third. Leon grounded out, Rutledge grounded out and Mr. Mookie flied out to end the inning. The Twins tagged Porcello in the bottom of the third as Grossman homered to right. Mauer grounded out and Sano flied out before Vargas grounded out to end the inning. The Twins were now down 8-1.

The Sox threatened in the top of the fourth. Pedroia lined out but Bogaerts and Benny The Kid stroked back to back singles. Ramirez whiffed an so did Moreland to end the inning. Porcello cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Kepler popped up and Escobar grounded out. Castro struck out to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the fifth when Young blasted his second home run into the upper deck as Hanley Ramirez danced in the dug-out. Leon struck out but Rutledge walked. Mr. Mookie banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox up 9-1.

                                                   Hanley celebrates the home run

Porcello got some schizophrenic defense in the bottom of the fifth inning. Benintendi made two great running catches to rob Polanco and Rosario of hits but dropped a routine ball hit by Grossman. Benintendi than ran down a line drive by Mauer to end the inning.

Old buddy Craig Breslow took the mound in the top of the sixth inning. Pedroia hit a 400 foot out but Bogaerts stretched out a double. Bogaerts got caught in a run-down after Benny The Kid hit one back to Breslow but he survived long enough for Benintendi to reach second before getting tagged out. Ramirez lined out to center to end the inning. Porcello returned for the bottom of the 6th inning. Sano struck out but Vargas hit a ground rule double. Kepler flied out but Vargas went to third.

Ryan Pressly got the ball in the top of the seventh inning. Moreland greeted him with a single before being lifted by pinch runner Deven Marrero. Young grounded out but Marrero moved to second. Leon and Rutledge hit back to back singles to score Marrero to increase the lead. Mr. Mookie popped up and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning but the Sox were now up 10-1.

Rutledge moved from third to first with Marrero moving to third as Porcello returned for the bottom of the seventh. Castro greeted Rick with a double but Polanco and Rosario flied out. Grossman also flied out to end the inning. Porcello as great again, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball to earn his second win.

                                                    Outstanding effort by Porcello

Michael Tonkin came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning. Bogaerts lined out but Benny The Kid singled to right for his third hit of the game. Ramirez whiffed but Marrero walked. Young grounded into a force to end the inning. Rookie Ben Taylor took the mound in the bottom of the eighth and Mauer greeted him with a single. Ehire Adrianza pinch hit for Sano and flied out. Vargas grounded into a double play to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the ninth when Leon homered to dead center to increase the lead. Rutledge worked a walk but Mr. Mookie popped up. Pedroia walked and Twins manager Paul Molitor brought in backup catcher Chris Gimenez to get the final two outs. Somehow he got Bogaerts and Benintendi to fly out to end the inning with the Sox up 11-1.

                                                       Kiss it goodbye, home run Leon

Fernando Abad got the ball in the bottom of the ninth. Kepler flied out, Escobar popped up and Castro flied out to end the game. The Red Sox had won 11-1.

Hero of the Night is Chris Young. His two home runs were the difference in the game even if the 9 other runs weren't scored. The Sox have been lacking home runs all year so this was a big lift.

                                                      Chris Young: Hero


The Good:

Dustin Pedroia knocked in a 3 run double, walked twice, stole a base and scored a run.

Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 6 with a run scored.

Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 6 with 2 rbi's and a run scored.

Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Deven Marrero walked and scored a run.

Sandy Leon was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and a home run

Josh Rutledge was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.

Rick Porcello was outstanding, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 6 to earn the win.

Ben Taylor pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Fernando Abad pitched a scoreless ninth inning.



The Bad:

None



The Ugly:

Mookie Betts was 0 for 5 but walked and scored.

Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 5 but made the hit count as he drove in a run and scored.



Final Thoughts:

Now THAT'S more like it. That's the Red Sox offense everyone expected this year. It was great to finally see the offense explode since they did it so frequently last year. Not only that, Porcello pitched well again so it looks like he's back to where he was last year as well. Hopefully this can continue because it looks like the New York Yankees are for real this year. The win improves the Sox to 16-14 on the season, 4 games behind the Yankees. Tomorrow is the monster match between Chris Sale and Ervin Santana as the Sox and Twins wrap up their three game set at 2:05 PM.

Sox Shut Down By Yankees (4/26/17)

The good news was the Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of their first round NBA playoff series but the bad news was the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox in tonight's game. Its bad enough the Boston Red Sox got shut down by Fransisco Liriano and the Dirty Birds, but the New York Yankees doing it feels a lot worse. Luis Severino of all people shut down the punchless offense and took advantage of shoddy defense to defeat the Red Sox 3-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                           This sucks

Rick Porcello got the ball in the top of the first and Brett Gardner poked a single to center. Chase Headley lined out to a jumping Mookie Betts and Porcello struck out Matt Holiday. Old pal Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to Bogaerts, tagging second base to end the inning. Luis Severino got the ball in the bottom of the first and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to short. Andrew Benintendi grounded out and Mr. Mookie struck out to end the inning.

The Sox committed their first blunder when Starlin Castro grounded to Bogaerts who chucked it under the glove of Mitch Moreland for an error to begin the top of the second. One pitch later Aaron Judge launched a 2 run bomb to right to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. A pissed off Porcello recovered to strike out Greg Bird, Austin Romine and Ronald Torreyes to end the inning but the Yankees had the lead. The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second inning as Moreland grounded into the shift. Somehow Hanley Ramirez got a hit to right but was erased on the Jackie Bradley Jr force. Josh "Razor" Rutledge made his season debut by grounding into a force to end the inning.

                                                              Damn Yankees

Gardner flied out to center to open the top of the third inning. Headley walked but Holiday struck out. Headley swiped second but Ellsbury popped up to end the inning. This was not the Sox' day as they went did nothing in the bottom of the third inning. Marco Hernandez somehow singled up the middle and took second on the ground out by Sandy Leon. Xander Bogaerts lofted a ball toward the stands and the 6 foot 7 Judge dove in to get the ball for the second out, although Hernandez moved to third. Things went back to normal as Benny The Kid popped up to end the inning.

The top of the fourth started well when Castro grounded out to third. Judge grounded out and Bird whiffed to end the inning. The bottom of the fourth, not so much. Mr. Mookie did manage to leg out an infield single and Moreland shockingly walked. The rally ended as Ramirez banged into a double play and JBJ flied out to end the inning.

The Yankees threatened in the top of the fifth due to more bad defense. Romine grounded out but Torreyes singled. Leon tried to pick off Torreyes but instead threw the ball completely out of Fenway Park, allowing Torreyes to reach second base. Gardner walked but Porcello recovered to strike out both Headley and Holliday to end the inning. The Sox did absolutely nothing in the bottom of the 5th against Severino. Rutledge and Hernandez struck out before Leon flied out to end the inning.

The Yankees iced the game in the top of the sixth. Ellsbury flied out and Castro struck out but Judge walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Naturally Bird singled home Judge to make it 3-0. Romine lined out but the damage was done. The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the sixth as Bogaerts grounded out, Benny The Kid flied out and Mr. Mookie struck out to end the inning.

Porcello returned for the top of the seventh and got Torreyes to fly out and Gardner to fly out, but Headley doubled. Holliday walked to chase Porcello as Robbie Ross Jr came in to pitch to Ellsbury, only to walk him to load the bases. Joe Kelly relieved him and got Castro to ground out to end the inning. Once again the Sox were silent in the bottom of the seventh inning as Moreland and Ramirez struck out before JBJ walked. Rutledge grounded into a force to end the inning.

                                              Porcello deserved better

 Kelly turned up the heat to strike out Judge to open the top of the eighth. Bird walked but Romine struck out and Torreyes flied out to end the inning. Dellin Betances replaced Severino in the bottom of the eighth and cruised. Hernandez struck out, Leon struck out and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.

Robby Scott had mop up duty in the top of the ninth inning. Gardner looked at strike three and Headley grounded out, but Holliday walked. Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was brought in to end the miserable night in the bottom of the ninth. Somehow the Sox rallied. Benny The Kid drew a leadoff walk and Mr. Mookie doubled him to third. Chris Young pinch hit for Moreland only to ground out, although Benintendi scored to cut the lead 3-1. A wild pitch by Chapman moved Betts to third and Ramirez worked a walk. Suddenly the Sox had the tying run on base but JBJ whiffed. Down to Rutledge, he damn near ended it with a walkoff blast but it went INCHES foul. Razor struck out on the next pitch and that was that. The Yankees had won 3-1.

Jackass of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. Not only did he go 0 for 4 at the plate but his first inning error paved the way for the decisive home run by Judge.

                                                Xander Bogaerts, Jackass.



The Good:

Joe Kelly tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Robby Scott pitched a scoreless ninth.

Mookie Betts was 2 for 4.

Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Marco Hernandez was 1 for 3.


The Bad:

Robbie Ross Jr walked the only man he faced.

Josh Rutledge was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 with a strikeout to drop his average to .191


The Ugly:

Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.

Mitch Moreland was 0 for 2 with a walk.

Chris Young failed to get a hit in his only pinch hit appearance although he did drive in a run.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with a walk.

Rick Porcello gave up 2 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings and took the loss. He deserved better



Final Thoughts:

That sucked.....and so far this season the Red Sox offense sucks. They get shut down more often than not and not having David Ortiz to swat home runs is beginning to take its toll. Then again they're playing mostely utility guys in the infield with Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval hurt. Marco Hernandez finds a way to get on base so maybe he can replace Sandoval if and when Pedroia gets back. It was great to see the Sox show some life in the 9th inning. Say what you will, this year's team has balls. Tomorrow night is the monster match between Chris Sale and Masahiro Tanaka at 7:05 PM.

Tillman Outduels Price, O's Beat Sox (6/14/16)

If this is the best David Price (7-4. 4.52 ERA) can do against the elite pitchers in baseball, the Boston Red Sox are in trouble. In a three series against the AL frontrunning Baltimore Orioles, the O's opened the salvo with their ace Chris Tillman shutting down the potent Boston attack. Price lasted 8 innings but allowed 3 runs compared to Tillman's 1. The Sox got a run off the Baltimore bullpen but it wasn't enough as the O's took game 1 of this crucial series 3-2 at Fenway Park.

                                             Price can't beat elite starters?

The O's wasted no time getting to Price in the top of the first. Adam Jones struck out swinging to start but Joey Rickard dumped a single right in front of Jackie Bradley Jr in center. Manny Machado then struck a 2 run home run just inside the Pesky Pole to put the O's up for good 3 batters into the game. Chris Davis took a fastball right down the middle for strike three and Mark Trumbo dribbled one to Price for the out to end the inning with the O's up 2-0.

                                                    That didn't take long

Tillman got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts popped up to first to start. Dustin Pedroia lined a base hit to right-center and Bogaerts should have taken ball four but the pitch was called a strike way inside. Naturally Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning.

Price settled down in the top of the second as Matt Wierters grounded out to short to start. Jonathan Schoop also grounded out to short and Nolan Reimold was rung up on a check swing strike three to end the inning. David Ortiz led off the bottom of the second by having a blown ball four call, which led to him doubling down the right field line through the shift. Hanley Ramirez took ball four but Jackie Bradley Jr took strike three. Chris Young was blown away on a 93 mph fastball and Travis Shaw (5 for 38 in June) walked to load the bases. Christian Vazquez had a 3-0 count but grounded into a force to end the inning. That was a crucial misfire as the game went along.

Ryan Flaherty struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Jones also fanned. Rickard took strike three to end the inning. Mr. Mookie led off the bottom of the third by flying out to right to start. Pedroia doubled off the base of the Monster and moved to third on the Bogaerts grounder. Ortiz whiffed for strike three, leaving another runner at third.

Machado led off the top of the fourth by grounding out to third before Davis swung and missed for strike three. Trumbo waived at strike three in the dirt to end the inning, that's 8 K's for Price through four innings.

                                                            Price mowing them down

Hanley grounded out to third to start the bottom of the fourth before JBJ whiffed again. Young swung and missed at strike three to end the inning.

Wieters led off the top of the fifth by grounding back to Price to start. Schoop popped up to JBJ and Reimold flied out to right to end the inning. Price had retired 14 in a row after the Machado home run.

                                                           Betts hauls in the Reimold fly out

The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the fifth as Shaw popped up to Tillman to start. Vazquez popped up to right and Mr. Mookie was retired on a trickler to the mound to end the inning.

Flaherty nearly cleaned out Price with a broken bat grounder to second to start the top of the sixth. Jones flied out to the centerfield wall and Rickard grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as Pedroia was frozen for strike three to start. Bogaerts grounded out to short and Ortiz whiffed badly to end the inning.

Price made it 18 in a row when he struck Machado out swinging to start the top of the seventh. Davis whiffed for the third time but Trumbo broke up the streak with a base hit just past third base. Wieters grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh although Ramirez lined out to a running Rickard to start. JBJ then pounded his 11th home run to dead center to cut the lead. Young flied out to right and Shaw beat out a little roller up the middle to put the tying run on. Vazquez grounded out to first to end the inning but the Sox were back in it 2-1.

                                              JBJ takes Tillman yard

Just as soon as the Sox got back in it, Schoop iced it with a 7,000 foot bomb to increase the lead. Reimold was frozen for strike three and Flaherty grounded out to second, but Jones singled to left. Rickard grounded into a force to end the inning with the O's ahead 3-1. Price had tossed 8 innings and gave up just the two long balls, but when you're against Chris Tillman, 2 are too many.

                                                 Big home run for the O's

The Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the eighth against Mychal Givens. Mr. Mookie chopped a double over the head of Flaherty at third into left to start. Pedroia flied out to right which moved Betts to third and Bogaerts walked to chase Givens. Zack Britton was brought in for the 5 out save with Ortiz at the plate. Britton blew away Ortiz with a 98 mph sinker but Ramirez got a base hit up the middle to score Betts and put the tying run at second. JBJ grounded back to Britton to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.

                                                     Betts with the rally starting double

Sox closer Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Machado was blown away on a high 98 mph fastball. Davis popped up to Bogaerts at short and Trumbo whiffed on a nasty curveball to end the inning. Britton closed out the bottom of the ninth as Young whiffed on a 97 mph fastball to start. Josh Rutledge pinch hit for Shaw and he struck out on a 98 mph fastball. Rusney Castillo pinch hit for Vazquez and whiffed to end the game. Britton struck out 4 of the 5 guys he faced and the O's had regained first place with a 3-2 win.

                                                     Dammit


Jackass of the Night is a tough one but I'll go with Chris Young. He was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts including the ninth inning with the game on the line.

                                                       Nice hat trick Jackass




The Good:

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4.

Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Travis Shaw was 1 for 2 with a walk.

Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth inning.



The Bad:

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3.

Josh Rutledge struck out as a pinch hitter.

Rusney Castillo struck out as a pinch hitter.



The Ugly:

Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 but walked.

David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.

David Price took the loss but tossed 8 innings of 3 run ball. The last home run to Schoop was the backbreaker although at one point Price retired 19 in a row and struck out 11 total batters.




Final Thoughts:

That loss stung because Price pitched well and the bats went silent again. It was almost the mirror image of the loss to Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants a week ago. The grumpy radio shows are already damning Price for failing to beat other team's ace pitchers. Can't even blame Sox manager John Farrell for bringing him back for the eighth inning because he had retired 20 out of 21 batters before the Schoop homer. It was a hard fought game but the Sox came up a little short. The loss dropped the Sox to 36-27, 1 game behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to rebound against the Orioles when they send Steven Wright (7-4, 2.09 ERA) to the mound against Tyler Wilson at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Twins Walkoff Sox in 10 Innings (6/12/16)

What a kick in the pants this game was. For 7 innings it looked like the lowly Minnesota Twins finally had the Boston Red Sox beaten with a 4-1 lead. A furious rally and some really bad mistakes by the Twins defense led to the Sox tying the game in the top of the eighth. Unfortunately the Sox couldn't hit the killshot against the last place Twins and Max Kepler settled matters in the bottom of the tenth with a 3 run bomb off Matt Barnes to avert a sweep by the Sox. The Twins had survived to win the game 7-4 in 10 innings.

                                                 "Damn Max Kepler!"

Former Boston College Eagles pitcher Pat Dean got the start for the Twins and Mr. Mookie Betts went down hacking to start. Dustin Pedroia walked but Xander Bogaerts popped up to first in front of the plate. David Ortiz began his final game at Target Field by striking out swinging to end the inning. "Slick" Rick Porcello got the start in the bottom of the first and the Twins immediately pounced on him. Eduardo Nunez slammed a single to left and immediately swiped second. Robbie Grossman advanced Nunez to third on a grounder and Eduardo scored on the Joe Mauer groundout. Trevor Plouffe got a base hit to right but Brian Dozier grounded into a force to end the inning with the Twins ahead 1-0.

                                             Nunez runs over the Red Sox

Hanley Ramirez broke out of his slump by doubling to the right field wall to open the top of the second inning. He was stranded as Jackie Bradley Jr popped up to Nunez around the mound and Chris Young popped up to shallow center. Josh Rutledge got the start over Travis Shaw who was in a 3 for 31 slump and he flied out to center to end the inning. The Twins struck again in the bottom of the second although Max Kepler grounded out to second to start. Eduardo Escobar singled to center and Juan Centeno hit a perfect double play ball to Bogaerts....right through his glove for an error to put runners at the corners. Naturally Byron Buxton scored Escobar by beating out a double play ball before swiping second.....but wait! Sox manager John Farrell challenged the tag at second but the call was upheld. Porcello got Nunez to ground out to third to end the inning but the Twins were ahead 2-0.

                                               Bogaerts...ughhhh

Christian Vazquez whiffed to open the top of the third inning before Mr. Mookie was robbed of a hit by Eduardo Nunez. Pedroia grounded out to short to end the inning. Porcello cruised in the bottom of the third as Grossman popped up to center to start. Mauer flied out to left and Plouffe went down hacking to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Bogaerts singled to left to begin, but Ortiz banged into a double play. Ramirez grounded out to second to end the inning. Porcello kept up the pace in the bottom of the fourth as Dozier popped up to center to start. Kepler took strike three before Escobar grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

The Sox got one back in the top of the fifth although JBJ popped up to shallow left to start. Young crushed his 6th home run of the season to left to cut the lead but Rutledge flied out to center. Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.

                                                    Young goes yard

Porcello continued his groove in the bottom of the fifth as Centeno grounded out to first to start. Buxton was frozen for strike three and Nunez whiffed to end the inning.

Mr. Mookie tried to start a rally with a leadoff walk to open the top of the sixth but Pedroia banged into a double play. Bogaerts popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning. The Twins looked to have iced the game in the bottom of the sixth as Grossman drew a walk to start. Mauer singled to right but Plouffe popped up to left. Dozier hit a rocket to deep left but Young caught it at the warning track, allowing Grossman to take third. Kepler hit a routine grounder to Bogaerts who inexplicably spiked the ball like a football and did the chicken dance for an error that scored Grossman with another run. Escobar made Bogaerts pay by dumping a base hit into no man's land to score Mauer to seemingly put the game out of reach. Centeno grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 4-1.

                                                  Twins pour it on

The Sox tried to rally when Ortiz drew a leadoff walk to open the top of the seventh but Ramirez flied out to left. JBJ also walked to chase Dean. Kevin Jepsen took over for Dean and Young popped up to first in foul territory before Travis Shaw pinch hit for Rutledge. Shaw whiffed to end the inning and to extend his slump to 3 for 32. Porcello returned for one final inning in the bottom of the seventh as Buxton popped up to second to start. Nunez drew a walk and Carl Willis sprinted to the mound to let Rick know Law & Order SVU was on in the dugout. Rick was so excited he froze Grossman for strike three and got Mauer to fly out to center to end the inning. Porcello went 7 gutty innings and allowed 4 runs, but only 1 was earned due to shoddy defense.

                                           Porcello goes 7 strong

The Sox took advantage of terrible defense by Minnesota to tie the game in the top of the eighth inning with Brandon Kintzler on the mound. Marco Hernandez pinch hit for Vazquez and walked to start the rally. Betts and Pedroia stroked back to back singles to load the bases with nobody out. Bogaerts hit a routine grounder to Nunez who threw the ball away, allowing Hernandez and Betts to score and Pedroia to reach third. With first and third and nobody out, Fernando Abad was brought in to pitch to Ortiz. Unfortunately Ortiz banged into a double play although Pedroia scored to tie the game. Ramirez drew a walk and took off for second, Centeno airmailing the throw which allowed Ramirez to take third with his helmet in his hand like an NFL running back. With the go-ahead run at third

                                               To the forty...to the thirty...to the twenty

With the game back in reach, Sox manager John Farrell sent in Koji Uehara of The Orient Express to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Sandy Leon now behind the plate. Plouffe grounded out to second but Dozier drew a walk. Kepler whiffed but Dozier swiped second on the throw down. Escobar flied out to left to end the inning.

Abad returned for the top of the ninth and Young tried to start a rally with a base hit to center. The slumping Shaw fell to 3 for 33 by bunting into a double play before Leon flied out to left to end the inning. The other half of The Orient Express, Junichi Tazawa, was tasked to send the game to extras in the bottom of the ninth. Centeno flied out to center before Tazawa blew away Buxton on a 94 mph fastball. Nunez walked and stole second but Grossman popped up to Shaw in foul territory to end the inning.

Michael Tonkin took over for the top of the tenth and Mr. Mookie led off with a ground out to short. Pedroia went down hacking but Bogaerts beat out an infield single by sliding into first. Bogaerts swiped second but Ortiz' last at bat in Minnesota ended by striking out swinging to end the inning. Sox manager John Farrell wanted to save closer Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel for a save situation so he brought in Matt Barnes to pitch the bottom of the tenth. Mauer drew a leadoff walk and Plouffe dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Joe to second. Dozier hit a rocket off the glove of Bogaerts to put runners at the corners as John Farrell himself came out to talk strategy with Barnes. Whatever he said didn't work as Kepler smashed a walkoff 3 run bomb to dead center to win the game for the Twins 7-4.

                                                     Dammit


Jackass of the Night is Matt Barnes. He served up the 3 run gopher ball to Kepler to end the game.

                        Barnes "I'm Jackass, right?"  Leon "Si senor"



The Good:

Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Chris Young was 2 for 4 with a home run.

Marco Hernandez walked and scored as a pinch hitter.

Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 9th inning.



The Bad:

Josh Rutledge was 0 for 2.

Travis Shaw was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Sandy Leon was 0 for 1 at the plate.



The Ugly:

Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a stolen base and an rbi but made 2 costly errors.

David Ortiz was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but walked.

Rick Porcello tossed 7 innings of 4 run ball to get the no-decision. Only one of the runs were earned as he allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5.




Final Thoughts:

That sucked! The Baltimore Orioles lost to the Toronto Blue Jays so a win would have put the Sox all alone in first place with the big series against Baltimore coming up next. Even though the Sox won 2 out of 3, it felt like the Sox failed by losing this game. Bad defense all around sent the game to the tenth and it was just a matter of time before the Twins won it. A sweep would have been nice but it just wasn't meant to be. It was good to see the Sox rally after being down 4-1, regardless of the final outcome. The loss dropped the Sox to 36-26, still tied for first place in the AL East with the Orioles. After an off-day tomorrow, the Sox start a big series with the Orioles at home beginning Tuesday night. David Price (7-3, 4.63 ERA) goes up against Orioles ace Chris Tillman at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Wright Tosses Gem, Sox Pound Twins (6/10/16)

Hard to believe when the Boston Red Sox traded Lars Anderson for Steven Wright (7-4, 2.09 ERA) that it would work out this good. In what's becoming a 1995 Tim Wakefield season, Wright lowered his ERA to 2.09 as he dazzled the lowly Minnesota Twins for 7 innings. Giving up just an un-earned run, Wright earned his 7th win of the season. Xander Bogaerts led the charge on offense with a 3 run bomb and 4 total rbis as the Sox got back to their winning ways with an 8-1 over the Twins at Target Field.

                                                 Ray Stantz approves of the win

Mr. Mookie Betts greeted Minnesota starter Tyler Duffey by waiving at strike three to start. Dustin Pedroia doubled off the right field wall to extend his hit streak to 16 straight games and Xander Bogaerts beat out an infield single to third, but all David Ortiz could do is advance the runners over with a grounder to first. The slumping Hanley Ramirez grounded out to third to end the inning. Wright got the ball in the bottom of the first and Eduardo Nunez was retired on a swinging bunt back to the mound to start. Robbie Grossman drew a walk but Joe Mauer banged into a double play to end the inning.

The Sox did nothing in the top of the second inning as Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second to start. Travis Shaw flied out to right and Chris Young grounded out to third to end the inning. Wright kept pace in the bottom of the second as Trevor Plouffe popped up to Hanley Ramirez in shallow right to start. Brian Dozier grounded out to third on the first pitch and Byung Ho Park whiffed to end the inning.

Christian Vazquez led off the top of the third by lining out softly to second. Mr. Mookie flied out to right and Pedroia grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Max Kepler led off the bottom of the third with a leadoff double and moved tp third on the Kurt Suzuki grounder. Wright got a big out when he whiffed Byron Buxton before Nunez popped up to JBJ to end the inning.

Bogaerts dumped a base hit to to left to open the top of the fourth and moved to second on the Ortiz grounder. Ramirez hit a routine grounder to third but Park dropped the throw and there were runners at the corners with one down on the error. The Sox blew a chance to take the lead when JBJ whiffed as guest analyst Torii Hunter said JBJ, Betts and Bogaerts were future studs on commentary. Shaw grounded out to first to end the inning. Wright got in trouble in the bottom of the fourth as Grossman dumped a base hit to center to start. Grossman was gunned down trying to steal by the alert Vazquez before Mauer lined out to center. Plouffe singled to left and Dozier hit a seeing eye single past Pedroia to put the pressure on. Wright got out of the jam by striking out Park to end the inning.

                                                                     Yerrrrr out!

The Sox struck first in the top of the fifth inning though Young whiffed to start. Vazquez beat out a squibber up the middle but he was erased on the fielder's choice by Betts. Pedroia lashed a base hit to right and Bogaerts pounded his 7th home run of the season to put Boston up big. Ortiz doubled past the diving Buxton but Ramirez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.

                                                             X gon give it to ya!

Wright almost gave it back in the bottom of the fifth although Kepler grounded out to second on the first pitch. Suzuki socked a single to left field but Buxton popped up to JBJ. Nunez singled in the hole at second and Bogaerts had to make a diving catch to prevent a throwing error by Wright. Grossman walked to load the bases and Sox pitching coach Carl Willis sprinted to the mound to tell Wright that Rick & Morty was on in the dugout. Wright was so excited he got Mauer to ground softly back to the mound to end the inning.

The Sox iced the game in the top of the sixth as JBJ doubled off the right field wall to begin. Shaw poked a single to center to put runners at the corners but Young hit a bullet right to Plouffe for the out. Vazquez chased Duffey with a seeing eye single past Plouffe and Nunez to score JBJ with another run. Kevin Jepsen came in and got Mr. Mookie to pop up to first. Pedroia doubled off the right field wall to score Shaw and advanced Vazquez to third. Bogaerts added another run with a seeing eye single that scored Vazquez. Ortiz flied out to deep right to end the inning but the Sox were on cruise control with a 6-0 lead.

                                                         Bogaerts with another hit

Wright cruised in the bottom of the sixth as Plouffe grounded back to him to start. Dozier grounded out to second as Sox analyst Dave O'Brien said that Park wanted nothing to do with Steven Wright after Wright caught him looking to end the inning.

Hanley led off the top of the seventh with a walk as Dave O'Brien brought up how Twins manager Paul Molitor had a 39 game hitting streak snapped in 1987 by a rookie pitcher from Cleveland named John Farrell. Yes, THAT John Farrell currently managing the Red Sox broke up the streak and had the classy Paul autograph the game ball for him. JBJ was rung up for strike three and Shaw swung at strike three up at his eyes. Young popped up to second to end the inning. Wright kept up his dominance in the bottom of the seventh as Kepler whiffed to start. Suzuki grounded out to third and Buxton watched strike three go by to end the inning.

Michael Tonkin took over for the top of the eighth and Vazquez whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie lined one off the ass of Tonkin for a base hit, thankfully Tonkin was okay. Pedroia went down swinging and Bogaerts grounded out to first to end the inning. Wright's quest for 4 straight complete games on the road was denied in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hanley snared a grounder by Nunez but tried to underhand flip to to Wright, only to airmail him and allow Nunez to take second on the error. Vazquez then completely missed a knuckleball to allow Nunez to reach third and Eduardo scored on the Grossman ground out to break up the shutout. Mauer singled to left to chase Wright after a brilliant performance. Steven tossed 7 1/3 innings of 1 run (un-earned) ball and put the Sox in line for the win. Matt Barnes came in and blew away Plouffe and got Dozier to fly out to the left  field warning track to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.

                                                   Great start by Wright

The Sox tacked it on in the top of the ninth as Ortiz clubbed an opposite field single to start. Rusney Castillo pinch ran for him and Hanley finally got a base hit to left. JBJ then missed a 3 run home run by 5 feet but settled for a 2 run triple. He was stranded as Shaw grounded back to the mound, Young grounded out to short and Vazquez whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-1.

                                             JBJ triples in a pair

Barnes returned for the bottom of the ninth with Marco Hernandez taking over at second with Josh Rutledge in to play third. Park led off by earning a golden sombrero with his fourth strikeout of the game before Kepler singled in the hole at second. Suzuki popped up to right and Nunez grounded into a force at second to end the game. The Sox had won this one easily 8-1.

                                                             Sox win

Hero of the Night is Steven Wright. He tossed 7 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run to win his 7th game of the season.

                                                       Wright the Hero

The Good:

Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

Xander Bogaerts was 4 for 5 with a 3 run homer and 4 total rbis.

David Ortiz was 2 for 5.

Rusney Castillo scored a run as a pinch runner.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.

Christian Vazquez was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.

The Bad:

Chris Young was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.

Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4 with an error but walked and scored a run.

Travis Shaw was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.



Honorable Mention:

Marco Hernandez played second base in the bottom of the ninth.

Josh Rutledge played third base in the bottom of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

Don't look now but Steven Wright is making a run at the All-Star game with the way he's pitching. If David Price has it figured out and Rick Porcello can continue his hot streak, this may be a trio that could carry the Sox to October. Of course, its only June but its fun to think about after 2 years of garbage. Good to see Shaw get a good hit tonight and Bogaerts was on fire. Hanley needs to bust out of his slump soon and hopefully tomorrow he can. The Baltimore Orioles lost tonight so the Sox gained ground on them with 2 more games left against the Twins. If the Sox want to jump in first, this is their chance with the Toronto Blue Jays and Orioles facing each other. The win improved the Sox to 35-25, 1 game behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox are back in action tomorrow against the Twins with Eduardo Rodriguez (1-1, 5.40 ERA) taking on Kyle Gibson at 2:10 PM Eastern time at Target Field.

Giants Edge Price, Sox (6/8/16)

The good news was the Boston Red Sox and the San Fransisco Giants battled to a wonderful pitcher's duel between two ace pitchers. The bad news was the Sox came out on the losing end. David Price (7-3, 4.63 ERA) went the distance by tossing 8 innings of 2 run ball. The only problem was Madison Bumgarner tossed 6 innings of 1 run ball and the normally garbage Giants bullpen slammed the door. Mac Williamson clocked a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to break a 1-1 tie and Sox manager John Farrell inexplicably made some peculiar pinch hitting in the ninth inning. When the dust settled the Giants won the duel 2-1 at AT&T Park.

                                       "That was not good enough, Price" - President Obama

Bumgarner got the ball to start the top of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts greeted him with a bloop single to center to begin. Dustin Pedroia whiffed but Betts swiped second on the throw. He was stranded as Xander Bogaerts popped up to short and Hanley Ramirez was retired on a check swing grounder back to the mound to end the inning. Price hung tough in the bottom of the first as Denard Span popped up to left to start. Kelby Tomlinson hit a bullet but Ramirez snared it and Brandon Belt flied out to a running Betts to end the inning.

Jackie Bradley Jr lined out to left to begin the top of the second before Chris Young flied out to right. Josh "Razor" Rutledge whiffed on a pitch that bounced in the dirt to end the inning. Matt Duffy led off the bottom of the second with a base hit up the middle but Brandon Crawford lined out to JBJ. Trevor Brown flied out to right and Jarrett Parker almost cleaned out Duffy on a broken bat grounder to second to end the inning.

The Sox blew a chance to get to Bumgarner in the top of the third inning as Christian Vazquez lined out to right to start. Price took strike three on the outside corner but Mr. Mookie blooped a single to left. Betts swiped second again although Pedroia walked this time. The rally ended as Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning. Price kept pace in the bottom of the third as Williamson went down swinging to start. Bumgarner lined out to a running Betts before Span grounded out to second to end the inning.

The Sox struck first in the top of the fourth inning although Ramirez lined out to left to start. JBJ was rung up for strike three but Young bashed his 5th home run of the season just over the left field wall to put the Sox on top. Rutledge popped up to first in foul territory to end the inning but the Sox were up 1-0.

                                              Young takes Bumgarner deep

The Giants wasted no time answering in the bottom of the fourth although Tomlinson was frozen for strike three to start. Belt then crushed a solo shot into McCovey Cove to tie the game. Duffy grounded out to second and Crawford grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                            A Giants fan retrieves the home run ball

Bumgarner cruised in the top of the fifth inning as Vazquez popped up to center to begin. Price looked at a 74 mph curve right down the middle for strike three before Mr. Mookie grounded out to second to end the inning. Price matched Bumgarner in the bottom of the fifth as Brown popped up to Bogaerts in foul territory to start. Pedroia made a great play to rob Parker of a hit before Williamson took an 89 mph slider on the corner to end the inning.

Pedroia led off the top of the sixth inning by extending his hitting streak to 15 games with a base hit to left. Pedroia was erased on the Bogaerts grounder as Hanley lined out to a running Span in deep center. JBJ popped up to short to end the inning. Price did what he could in the bottom of the sixth by getting Bumgarner to waive at strike three to start. Pedroia made a great throw to get Span on a hard grounder to second but Tomlinson drew a walk. Belt grounded out to Rutledge in the shift to end the inning.

That was it for Bumgarner as Derek Law took the mound in the top of the seventh inning. Young tried to start a rally with a base hit up the middle to begin. Travis Shaw pinch hit for Rutledge and popped up to center to start. Vazquez popped up to center and Price whiffed to end the inning. Price continued his hot streak in the bottom of the seventh by freezing Duffy on a 95 mph heater to start. Crawford drew a walk and the wind caused Brown's home run ball to die on the left field warning track for the second out. Parker whiffed on a 93 mph fastball to end the inning.

                                                Price pitching well

Cory Gearrin took over for the top of the eighth with Gregor Blanco now in right field. Sox analyst "Psycho" Steve Lyons asked if every Giants pitcher all have the same hair as Mr. Mookie whiffed on a nasty slider to start. Belt dropped a pop up by Pedroia but Dustin ended up popping up to center anyway. Bogaerts whiffed on a slider down the middle to end the inning. The Giants took command in the bottom of the eighth when the slumping Williamson crushed his first major league home run just over the left field wall to put San Francisco up for good. Price battled back to get Blanco to ground out to Hanley and Span to swing at air. Tomlinson lined out to center to end the inning. Price held the Giants to 3 hits in 8 innings but unfortunately trailed 2-1.

                                            1st home run for Williamson is a big one

Joe Panik came in to play second with Giants closer Santiago Casilla coming in to close out the top of the ninth. The Sox caught a break when Williamson dropped Hanley's line drive for an error to start. With the tying run at second, JBJ took a borderline pitch for strike three before uncharacteristically barking at the umpire. David Ortiz got a standing ovation as he pinch hit for Young which prompted Giants manager Bruce Bochy to pull his closer in favor of old buddy Javier Lopez. Ortiz walked to put the go-ahead run at first base. Rusney Castillo pinch ran for Ortiz and with a chance to put the Sox on top....Shaw whiffed. Bochy then brought in Hunter Strickland to face Vazquez but Sox manager John Farrell bizarrely sent in Marco Hernandez to pinch hit with the game on the line. Naturally Hernandez grounded out to second to end the game. The Giants had just 3 hits in the game but won it 2-1 thanks to good pitching.

Jackass of the Night is Travis Shaw. He popped up with a man on base in the seventh and struck out with two men on in the top of the ninth inning.

                                              Nice clutch hitting, Jackass


The Good:

Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with 2 stolen bases.

Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Chris Young was 2 for 3 with a solo home run.

David Ortiz walked as a pinch hitter.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher ends up on the good list but David Price pitched well. He tossed a complete game 3 hitter while striking out 7, the only two mistakes were the two home runs. He did have a hat trick of three strikeouts too.




The Bad:

Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Josh Rutledge was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.

Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3.

Marco Hernandez grounded out to end the game as a pinch hitter.




The Ugly:

None



Honorable Mention:

Rusney Castillo pinch ran for Ortiz in the top of the ninth.




Final Thoughts:

Great game, too bad they couldn't win it. The Boston talking heads on the radio after the game were whining that Price can't beat other teams aces. Guess they didn't see Bumgarner only lasted 6 innings and the Sox offense mustered nothing against the struggling Giants bullpen. On any other day, 8 innings of 2 run ball would be enough to win. Just goes to show how toxic the media can be around here. Still it was only one game and the Sox get to feast on the last place Minnesota Twins in their next series. The loss dropped the Sox to 34-25, 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow, the Sox head to Minnesota for a three game set with the lowly Twins. Steven Wright (6-4, 2.29 ERA) takes on Tyler Duffey on Friday night at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Target Field.

Sox Edge Giants Late (6/7/16)

Talk about a big win for the Boston Red Sox. The Sox went into the backyard of the defending world champion San Francisco Giants, took a dump in it and made the Giants clean it up. The Sox fought the champs to a 3-3 tie going into extra innings when the Sox broke through in the top of the 10th. A clutch double by Sandy Leon, a picture perfect bunt by Mookie Betts and a 2 run single by Xander Bogaerts put the Sox on top. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel slammed the door and the Sox had beaten the Giants 5-3 in 10 innings at AT&T Park.

                                               "Red Barber" approves of the win                           

Albert Suarez got the start for the Giants and Mr. Mookie Betts greeted him by grounding out to third to start. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to second and Xander Bogaerts popped up to center to end the inning. Porcello got the ball in the bottom of the first and Chris Young made a great diving catch on a pop up in foul territory by Denard Span. Joe Panik grounded out to second before Matt Duffy went down swinging to end the inning

                                                       Great catch Young

The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning as Travis Shaw popped up to right to start. Hanley Ramirez flied out to center but Jackie Bradley Jr doubled to the left field wall. Young made the great catch in the bottom of the first and he put the Sox on top with a double down the left field line. Christian Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.

                                                           RBI for Young

Porcello stayed tough in the top of the second as Brandon Belt led off with a pop up to JBJ to begin. Young made another good catch in foul territory on a Brandon Crawford pop up and Gregor Blanco popped up to JBJ to end the inning.

The Sox struck again in the top of the third although Porcello grounded out to first to start. Mr. Mookie pulled a double down the left field line and moved to third on the grounder to second by Pedroia. Bogaerts slid into first to beat out a grounder to short that scored Betts with another run. Shaw grounded into the shift to end the inning but it was 2-0 Sox.

                                                 Good effort by Bogaerts

Jarrett Parker broke up the shut out with a solo home run just over the wall in right to begin the bottom of the third. Trevor Brown went down swinging and Suarez whiffed as well. Span was rung up for strike three to end the inning with the Giants down 2-1.

                                                     Home run Parker

The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fourth inning as Ramirez grounded back to the mound to start. JBJ grounded out to second and Young grounded out to short to end the inning. The Giants took the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Panik blooped a single to center to start. Duffy roped a single to left and Belt hit a seeing eye single to right to load the bases with nobody out. Crawford drew a walk to tie the game and Duffy scored on the double play by Blanco. Parker grounded out to second to end the inning with the Giants ahead 3-2.

                                                   Crawford walks to drive in a run

Crawford made a great stab on a Vazquez base hit but dropped the transfer throw to start the top of the fifth. Porcello bunted foul for strike three and Mr. Mookie banged into a double play to end the inning. Brown hit a bullet to Pedroia to start the bottom of the fifth before Suarez went down swinging. Span poked a base hit past the diving Pedroia but Panik popped up to left to end the inning.

Pedroia hit a bullet to start the top of the sixth but Parker ran it down for the out. Bogaerts accidentally check swinged a roller to Suarez for an out and Shaw grounded out to short to end the inning. Duffy led off the bottom of the sixth by lining out to a running JBJ to start. Belt popped up to left and Crawford whiffed to end the inning. That was it for Porcello who was serviceable, tossing 6 innings of 3 run ball to keep the Sox in the game.

                                                             Not great but it'll do

The Sox rallied in the top of the seventh inning although Hanley grounded out to second to start. JBJ drew a walk to chase Suarez. George Kontos came in and JBJ took off for second. Brown heaved the ball into center and Jackie took third on the error. Young drew a walk and David Ortiz pinch hit for Vazquez. Giants manager Bruce Bochte countered by bringing in old friend Javier Lopez to face Papi. Ortiz did his job by driving in JBJ with a grounder to tie the game. Josh Rutledge pinch hit for Porcello and Hunter Strickland came in to pitch to him. Rutledge whiffed to end the inning but the game was tied 3-3.

                                                  JBJ scores the tying run

Robbie Ross Jr came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh with Sandy Leon (making his season debut) taking over behind the plate. Blanco whiffed to start, Parker grounded out to short and Brown hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.

Mr. Mookie opened the top of the eighth by hitting a bullet right to Strickland. Pedroia got a base hit up the middle but was forced by Bogaerts. Bogaerts took second in what was ruled as a wild pitch but Shaw grounded out to first to end the inning. The Orient Express was called in as Koji Uehara took over for the bottom of the eighth with Conor Gillaspie pinch hitting for Strickland. Uehara struck him out on a high fastball but Span dumped a base hit into right field. Panik popped up to right and Duffy waived at strike three to end the inning.

Santiago Casilla took over for the top of the ninth and Hanley whiffed on a slider on the outside corner. JBJ was robbed of a hit by a great play by Duffy and Young was rung up for strike three to end the inning. The other half of the Orient Express, Junichi Tazawa came in for the bottom of the ninth. Belt grounded out to short to start before Crawford swung and missed at a splitter for strike three. Blanco hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning and send the game to extras.

The Sox wasted no time scoring in the top of the tenth as Leon ripped a double into the right field corner to start. Marco Hernandez pinch hit for Tazawa and ended up walking after attempting a bunt. Mr. Mookie dropped down a perfect bunt but beat it out to load the bases with nobody out. Pedroia forced Leon at home but Bogaerts blooped a single to center to score both Hernandez and Betts to give the Sox the lead. That was it for Casilla as Josh Osich came in only for Pedroia and Bogaerts to pull off a double steal. Travis whiffed and Hanley was intentionally walked to load the bases. JBJ lined out to a running Parker to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.

                                                          Sox take the lead

Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to close out the bottom of the tenth and Parker sent the first pitch up the middle for a base hit. Brown flied out to left and Mac Williamson pinch hit for Osich. Williamson broke his bat on a pop up to short and Span flied out to JBJ on the warning track to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3 in 10 innings.

                                                   A win in San Francisco



Hero of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. His 2 run single broke the tie in the 10th inning and drove in a run earlier in the game.

                                              X-Man Hero



The Good:

Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored.

Chris Young was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Christian Vazquez was 1 for 2.

David Ortiz drove in a run in his only at bat.

Sandy Leon doubled as a pinch hitter.

Marco Hernandez walked and scored as a pinch hitter

Rick Porcello tossed 6 innings of 3 run ball to keep the Sox in the game.

Robbie Ross Jr pitched a scoreless 7th inning.

Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 9th inning to earn the win.

Craig Kimbrel earned his 14th save with a scoreless 10th.



The Bad:

Travis Shaw was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.

Josh Rutledge struck out as a pinch hitter.



The Ugly:

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 but stole a base.

Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 but walked.

Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but walked, stole a base and scored twice.




Final Thoughts:

The Sox needed to send a statement that they are for real this season and a win over the world champs is what the doctor ordered. Porcello did what he could but the bullpen didn't give an inch the final four innings. The Sox younger players like Betts and Bogaerts stepped up in this one and the Sox will need every win with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles both battling for AL East supremacy. Not much to complain about in this game, just hope they can keep the momentum going in the next one. The win improves the Sox to 34-24, 0.5 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night is the Monster Match between San Francisco ace Madison Bumgarner and David Price (7-2, 4.88 ERA). The game begins at 10:15 Eastern time at AT&T Park.