Porcello, Sox Shut Dow Rays (7/9/16)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a bevy of roster moves. The Sox sent 19 year old infielder Luis Alejandro Basabe and 20 year old right handed pitcher Jose Almonte to the Arizona Diamondbacks for veteran relief pitcher Brad Ziegler. Luis and his twin brother Alexander have been a tag team since signing with the Dominican Sox and he was hitting .310 with 4 home runs at the time of the trade with the Greenville Drive. Almonte was 2-2 with a 3.91 ERA in 10 starts for the Drive and could be a prospect for Arizona to develop. Ziegler was a dominating set-up man for the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks and is exactly the kind of pitcher the Sox need with Craig Kimbrel on the Disabled List and the duo of Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara worn out after four straight years of over-ruse. Kimbrel is scheduled to have knee surgery during the all-star break so it'll be a while before we see him again. Marco Hernandez was sent down to Pawtucket as well and replacing them will be Noe Ramirez and Michael Martinez.

                                                                              OUT

                                                                      IN

As for the game, who would have thought a year after being mostly batting practice that "Slick" Rick Porcello (11-2, 3.66 ERA) would be in contention for the AL Cy Young Award? Porcello took a big step by holding the Tampa Bay Rays to just 1 run in 7 strong innings of work. There wasn't much offense in this one compared to the last few days but Xander Bogaerts turned a 1-0 game into 2-1 when he launched a home run off Matt Moore in the fourth inning. Dustin Pedroia added the insurance runs and Koji Uehara turned back the clock three years to close out the ninth inning. The Sox won their third game in a row and second straight against the Rays 4-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                     Roger Maltby approves of the win

Porcello got the ball in the top of the first inning and the Rays wasted no time tagging him. Logan Forsythe popped up to first but Brad Miller hit a home run all the way to Hiroshima to put the Rays on top. Evan Longoria flied out to the left field wall but Logan Morrison hit a seeing eye single into right. Steven Souza Jr took strike three to end the inning with the Rays up 1-0.

                                                              Miller goes yard

Moore got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts led off with a base hit to right. Dustin Pedroia flied out to right and Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Corey Dickerson led off the top of the second with a double off the Monster to start. Nick Franklin struck out swinging and Oswaldo Arcia flied out to center to move Dickerson to third. Curt Casali struck out swinging to end the inning. David Ortiz lined out to a running Souza to start the bottom of the second but Jackie Bradley Jr singled through the shift up the middle. Aaron Hill popped up to short and Travis Shaw flied out to center to end the inning.

Forsythe popped up to first in foul territory to start the top of the third before Miller popped up to third. Longoria flied out to center to end the inning. Bryce Brentz grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third before Sandy Leon popped up to short. Mr. Mookie popped up to right to end the inning.

Morrison popped up to JBJ to start the top of the fourth before Bogaerts threw a grounder by Souza away for an error. Dickerson lined out to left and Souza was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Pedroia walked to start. Bogaerts belted his 10th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Ortiz walked but JBJ popped up to third. Hill got a base hit to left but Shaw struck out swinging. Brentz struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.

                                                       X Gon Give It To Ya

Franklin doubled to center to start the top of the fifth before Arcia struck out swinging. Casali was rung up for strike three and Bogaerts made a great play to rob Forsythe of a hit to end the inning. The Sox iced the game in the bottom of the fifth as Leon beat out a grounder to third to start. Mr. Mookie hit a routine pop up to Souza....who dropped it for an error. Pedroia did the honors with a base hit to left to score both runners. Pedroia took second on the throw and Bogaerts drew a walk. Ortiz and JBJ both struck out swinging and Hill flied out to center to end the inning.

                                                    "I don't got it" - Souza Jr

Miller lined out to right to start the top of the sixth but Longoria ripped a base hit to left. Morrison got a base hit to center but Souza grounded into a double play to end the inning. Shaw grounded out to first to begin the bottom of the sixth before Brentz grounded out to third. Leon lined a base hit to center but Mr. Mookie forced Leon at second to end the inning.

Porcello returned for one final inning in the top of the seventh and Dickerson grounded back to the mound to start. Franklin lined out to right and Arcia grounded out to Hill to end the inning. That was it for Porcello who dominated the Rays for 7 innings. He allowed one run off 6 hits while striking out 5.

                                                        "Good work ya sonovagun" - Farrell

Dylan Floro came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Pedroia grounded out to second to start. Bogaerts grounded back to the mound and Ortiz grounded out to third to end the inning. 

Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Casali flied out to left to start. Forsythe grounded out to short and Miller popped up to third to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the eighth as JBJ doubled to center to start. Hill struck out inning and Shaw was intentionally walked. Brentz grounded out to second to move the runners over....but wait! Sox manager John Farrell challenged that Brentz was safe, but the call remained. Leon struck out swinging to end the inning.

Koji Uehara came in to close out the top of the ninth and Longoria singled to left to start. Morrison grounded out to short to move Evan to second and Souza took strike three. Dickerson struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-1.

                                                            Sox win

Hero of The Night is Rick Porcello. He earned his 11th win with 7 innings of 1 run ball. He allowed six hits and struck out 5.

                                                                 Hero Porcello

The Good:

Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.

Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk and a 2 run home run.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4.

Sandy Leon was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Koji Uehara earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Bryce Brentz was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

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

David Ortiz was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drew a walk.

Aaron Hill was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

Travis Shaw was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.

Final Thoughts:

Good win against a struggling team and it shows Porcello is not the same pitcher from last year. The offense didn't do much in this one but they did just enough. Bogaerts getting that home run was clutch but so was the Pedroia base hit after Souza dropped the ball. The Sox capitalized on the error and it helped them win. Matt Barnes and Koji Uehara slammed the door and the Sox are gonna need both of them. Junichi Tazawa is dealing with arm trouble and Craig Kimbrel is out with a torn meniscus. Hopefully Koji can turn back the clock three years for the time being until Kimbrel comes back. Not much else to complain about as the Sox survived a down offensive night to win the game. The win improved the Sox to 48-38, 2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The final game before the all-star break is tomorrow afternoon against the Rays. David Price (8-6, 4.64 ERA) goes for the Sox against Jake Odorizzi. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.