As for the game, that game was tougher than it needed to be. The Red Sox took a 5-0 lead on the Los Angeles Angels and Sox starter Steven Wright (9-5, 2.42 ERA) was cruising through 5 innings. Suddenly Wright gave up a grand slam to CJ Cron and was chased from the game. Matt Barnes got out of the sixth inning and the game went into a 90 minute rain delay. When action resumed, the Sox needed The Orient Express and Craig Kimbrell to look down the 5-4 victory at Fenway Park.
Wright got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kole Calhoun led off with a base hit up the middle. Mike Trout took strike three and protested to the umpire. Albert Pujols drew a walk but Jefry Marte banged into a double play to end the inning. Chacin got the ball in the bottom of the first and the Sox tagged him. Mr. Mookie Betts led off with a double off the Monster. Betts moved to third on the grounder by Dustin Pedroia and scored on the grounder to second by Xander Bogaerts to put Boston on top. David Ortiz ripped a base hit past the diving Andrelton Simmons but Jackie Bradley Jr struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
Old friend Daniel Nava led off the top of the second with a base hit past Marco Hernandez to start. CJ Cron flied out to left but Johnny Giavotella ripped a base hit to right to move Nava to third. Carlos Perez grounded into a double play to end the inning. Brock "The Hitman" Holt took strike three to begin the bottom of the second before Travis Shaw flied out to right. Christian Vazquez got hit with an inside fastball but Marco Hernandez grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Angels threatened in the top of the third although Simmons flied out to left to start. Calhoun grounded out to first but Trout doubled down the left field line. Pujols drew a walk but Marte was rung up for strike three to end the inning. Mr. Mookie led off the bottom of the third with a base hit to left but Pedroia hit into a double play. Bogaerts walked and Ortiz smacked a single to center but JBJ grounded out to first to end the inning.
Nava began the top of the fourth with a grounder back to the mound before Cron ripped a base hit to left. Holt dug the ball out and fired to second base where Cron was heading....OUT! Cron was out and Giatovella grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Holt doubled to left to start. Shaw smashed a double past the diving Cron to score Brock with another run, but he got picked off shortly after. Vazquez struck out swinging but Hernandez ripped a base hit to right. Mr. Mookie got a base hit to right to move Hernandez to third but got thrown out at second trying to stretch a double. The Sox ran themselves into two outs but still led 2-0.
Perez was frozen for strike three to start the top of the fifth but Simmons beat out a roller just inside the first base bag. Simmons moved to second on the grounder to second by Calhoun and to third on a wild pitch, but Trout grounded out to second to end the inning. Rain started to fall as the Sox exploded in the bottom of the fifth. Pedroia grounded out to short and Bogaerts struck out swinging, but Ortiz got his 2,000th Red Sox hit with his 19th home run of the season just inside the Pesky Pole. JBJ singled to center and Holt doubled him home with a shot off the Monster, increasing the lead. Shaw was intentionally walked and Vazquez singled to right to score Holt. That was it for Chacin as Deolis Guerra came in to pitch to Hernandez. Marco struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Wright inexplicably fell apart in the top of the sixth as Pujols doubled off the Monster to start. Marte was plunked and Nava walked to load the bases. Cron then hit a grand slam all the way to Saturn to cut the lead just like that. That was it for Wright who ended up allowing 4 runs in 5 plus innings, he absolutely cannot pitch in the rain. Matt Barnes came in to pitch and Giatovella grounded back to the mound before Perez went down hacking. Simmons grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 5-4.
With rain pouring the umpires finally called for the tarp and the game was delayed for an hour and a half. When actioned resumed in the bottom of the sixth, Joe Smith came in to pitch. Mr. Mookie grounded out to third but Pedroia singled in the hole at third. Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning.
It was time for the Orient Express as Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch the top of the seventh. JBJ made a running grab on a Calhoun liner but Trout lashed a base hit to left. Pujols lined out to Mr. Mookie but Trout swiped second. Marte walked but Nava struck otu swinging to end the inning. JC Ramirez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Ortiz grounded into the shift to start. JBJ ripped a base hit to right but Holt went down hacking. Shaw grounded out to first to end the inning.
The other half of the Express, Koji Uehara came in to pitch the top of the eighth. Cron flied out to right but Holt and Bradley got crossed up on a routine pop up by Giatovella. Giatovella ended up on third with a triple but was thrown out at home on a suicide squeeze to the mound by Perez. Shane Robinson pinch ran for Perez and Simmons ripped a high fastball to center for a single. Calhoun struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the eighth with Jett Bandy now on the mound as Christian Vazquez singled off the glove of Marte to start. Hernandez ate up Simmons on a grounder for a "single" but was erased at second on a force by Mr. Mookie. Betts swiped second but Pedroia went down swinging. Bogaerts grounded out to short to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to close out the top of the ninth and walked Trout to start. Pujols flied out to the centerfield warning track and Marte popped up to second. The Sox caught a huge break when Nava pounded a ball down the right field line that hopped into the stands for a ground rule double. Angels manager Mike Scoscia challenged that a fan reached over to grab the ball and Sox analyst Jerry Remy said it looked like it was fan interference. The umpires got together and ruled NO fan interference much to Remy's surprise. One pitch later, Cron grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox had held on to win 5-4.
Hero of the Night is a tough one since it was a balanced attack but I'll go with David Ortiz. He went 3 for 4 with a home run which happened to be his 2,000th hit in a Sox uniform.
Ortiz Hero
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 3 for 4 with a stolen base and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Brock Holt was 2 for 4 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Travis Shaw was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch and an rbi.
Marco Hernandez was 2 for 4.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 17th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
None
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and drove in a run.
Steven Wright got the win but gave up a grand slam in the sixth inning.
Final Thoughts:
That was a weird game from start to finish. For the first 5 innings it looked like another routine game where the Sox led 5-0 and seemed to be cruising. Then Wright gave up a grand slam and the rains came. The final portion of the game was very tight with runners getting thrown out on the bases and especially the Nava double in the ninth. If the umpires ruled that fan interference, Trout scores and the game is tied. There's no guarantee the Sox could win it in the ninth and with the best relievers already used, it would have been the bottom of the barrel in extras. As it is, the Sox needed to start the month off strong and they did with a big win. The Angels are horrible and the Sox need to take advantage to get back in the race with the Baltimore Orioles. The win improved the Sox to 43-36, 4 games behind the Orioles for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to make it two in a row against the Angels when Clay Buchholz (3-8) takes on Hector Santiago of Los Angeles. The game begins at 7:15 PM at Fenway Park.
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