As for the game, that was close. The Tampa Bay Rays damn near came back to beat the Red Sox in tonight's game. The Sox rallied for two quick runs off Rays starter Chris Archer but the Rays tied it against Boston starter Sean O'Sullivan. David Ortiz hit his 21st homer of the year and new addition Aaron Hill drove in a run but the Rays tied it in the top of the fifth. Bryce Brentz put the Sox back on top with an rbi single and Hill added the insurance run. That run was needed as Evan Longoria took Koji Uehara deep in the top of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate. Koji got Logan Morrison to fly out to give the Sox the 6-5 victory over the Rays at Fenway Park.
O'Sullivan got the ball in the top of the first and Logan Forsythe struck out swinging to start. Brad Miller grounded out to second but Evan Longoria got a base hit to center. Logan Morrison struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time jumping on Chris Archer in the bottom of the first inning as Mr. Mookie Betts walked to start. Betts stole second and Dustin Pedroia singled to center to move Mookie to third. Xander Bogaerts ripped a base hit to left to score Mr. Mookie but David Ortiz popped up to second. Hanley Ramirez walked to load the bases and Jackie Bradley Jr hit a fly ball to right that Steven Souza Jr clipped Brandon Guyer trying to catch. Pedroia scored on the sac fly and Bogaerts was picked off to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
The Rays fought back in the top of the second as Guyer lined out to left to start. Souza flied out to center but Corey Dickerson doubled down the right field line. Nick Franklin dumped a base hit just in front of JBJ to score Dickerson to cut the lead. Franklin swiped second but Hank Conger struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rays down 2-1.
Brock "The Hitman" Holt lined out to left to start the bottom of the second before Aaron Hill made his Sox debut with a grounder to short. Sandy Leon grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Rays tied it instantly in the top of the third as Forsythe hit a home run all the way to Taiwan to tie the game. Miller grounded out to short, Longoria struck out swinging and Morrison grounded out to second to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Rays tie it up
Mr. Mookie struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Pedroia flied out to right. Bogaerts flied out to left to end the inning.
Guyer flied out to a tumbling JBJ to start the top of the fourth before Souza grounded out to short. Dickerson flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Ortiz clobbered his 21st home run of the season to put the Sox back on top. Ramirez struck out swinging and JBJ grounded out to second, but Holt ripped a base hit to center. Holt tried to swipe second but caught his left leg on the bag. Holt had to be carried out on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and rushed to Brigham & Women's ICU. Bryce Brentz ran for Holt and Hill ripped a base hit off the Monster to score Bryce with another run. Leon struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
The Rays rallied in the top of the fifth as Franklin ripped a base hit to right to start. Franklin stole second and moved to third on the Conger grounder to third. Forsythe walked and Miller hit a sac fly to left to score Franklin to cut the lead. Forsythe stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Longoria ripped a base hit off the Monster to score Logan to tie the game. Morrison singled to right and Guyer was hit with a pitch to load the bases, but Souza Jr forced Guyer at second to end the inning with the game tied 4-4. Sox analyst Dave O'Brien "O'Sullivan gets out of it and I'm not exactly sure how." That was it for O'Sullivan who allowed 4 runs in 5 innings off 7 hits and a walk.
Struggled but survived
Mr. Mookie grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fifth before Pedroia grounded out to third. Bogaerts also grounded out to third to end the inning.
Good debut for Hill
Robbie Ross Jr came in to pitch the top of the sixth as Dickerson singled to left to start. Franklin forced Dickerson at second and Conger took strike three before Forsythe forced Franklin at second to end the inning. The Sox pushed ahead in the bottom of the sixth as Ortiz lined out to center to start. Ramirez got a base hit up the middle and immediately stole second base. JBJ flied out to center but Brentz got a base hit to left to score Ramirez with the go-ahead run.
Brentz with a big rbi
Miller struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh and Heath Hembree came in to pitch to Longoria. Evan got a base hit to left but Morrison popped up to second. Guyer flied out to right to end the inning. Erasmo Ramirez came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Leon popped up to short to start. Mr. Mookie singled to center and stole second, but Pedroia grounded out to third. Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Souza Jr struck out swinging to start. Dickerson walked but Franklin struck out swinging. Conger went down hacking to end the inning. The Sox got some insurance in the bottom of the eighth with Xavier Cedeno now on the mound. Ortiz grounded back to the mound but Ramirez struck out swinging after fouling a ball off his foot. JBJ singled to right and Brentz singled to center to move Bradley to third. Hill got a base hit to right to score JBJ and chase Cedeno. Ryan Garton got Leon to fly out to left to end the inning with the Sox up 6-4.
Travis Shaw came in to play first for Hanley with Koji Uehara on the mound to close out the top of the ninth. Forsyth lined out to left before Miller took strike three. Longoria hit a home run all the way to Mongolia but Morrison flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-5.
Sox win
Hero Hill
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Hero of The Night is Aaron Hill. He made his Sox debut by driving in two big runs with two clutch hits.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 stolen bases and a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk, stolen base and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Brock Holt was 1 for 2 with a stolen base.
Bryce Brentz was 2 for 2 with an rbi and a run scored.
Robbie Ross Jr tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Heath Hembree got the final two outs of the seventh inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Sean O'Sullivan battled his way through five innings allowing 4 runs off 7 hits and a walk while striking out four.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.
Koji Uehara allowed a run in the ninth but picked up his third save of the year.
Honorable Mention:
Travis Shaw played first base in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Bad news was Brock Holt suffered a sprained ankle on that play at second so he may be headed to the Disabled List. Ramirez also didn't feel good after fouling a ball off his foot so keep both of them in mind. Otherwise that was another good offensive display to get the job done when needed. The Rays matched them run for run until O'Sullivan left and the unlikely duo of Bryce Brentz and Aaron Hill saved the day. Ortiz hit another home run inching closer in the all time record books and Mr. Mookie stole a couple of bags in this one. If Ramirez and Holt are okay, the Sox are gonna be fun to watch after the all-star break. O'Sullivan had balls of steel to have the bases loaded in the fifth and still work his way out of it, kudos for that. Too bad this isn't 2013 Koji with Craig Kimbrel out for this one, but the game still ended in a W. With the AL East picture very close, every win counts. The win improved the Sox to 48-37, 2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it 3 straight wins and 2 in a row over the Rays tomorrow afternoon when "Slick" Rick Porcello (10-2) takes on Matt Moore of Tampa. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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