Skaggs got the ball in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts walked to start. Dustin Pedroia swung at strike three in the dirt and Xander Bogaerts took strike three and David Ortiz grounded out to third to end the inning. Wright got the ball in the bottom of the first and Yunel Escobar doubled to left to start. Kole Calhoun walked and Mike Trout got a base hit to left. Escobar tried for home and Ryan Hanigan missed the tag....but Escobar never touched home. The alert Wright picked up the ball and tagged Escobar out. Albert Pujols singled to right to load the bases and Andrelton Simmons struck out swinging but the ball got away. Hanigan made a mad dash to retrieve the ball and throw out Calhoun at home to end the inning. The Angels got 3 hits and a walk and ended up with nothing.
Hanley Ramirez beat out a roller to second to start the top of the second before taking second on a passed ball. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to short, Aaron Hill took strike three and Ryan Hanigan grounded out to second to end the inning. Jefry Marte singled to left to start the bottom of the second then Ji-Man Choi singled in the hole at short. Carlos Perez took strike three before Johnny Giavotella flied out to right. Escobar took strike three to end the inning.
Bryce Brentz walked to start the top of the third but Mr. Mookie struck out swinging. Pedroia struck out swinging and Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning. Calhoun struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third and Trout grounded back to the mound. Pujols popped up to first to end the inning.
Ortiz grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fourth and Ramirez grounded out to second. JBJ dumped a base hit to right but Hill flied out to left to end the inning. Simmons singled to center to start the bottom of the fourth but Marte hit one up the elevator shaft. Choi took strike three and Perez flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Hanigan grounded out to short to start. Brentz and Betts both got singles but Pedroia took strike three that was a little high. Sox manager John Farrell sprinted out of the dugout with a sickle and took a swing at home plate umpire Gabe Morales. Farrell was escorted out of the park by armed security. Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning.
Wright fell apart in the bottom of the fifth as Giavotella flied out to left to start. Escobar got a base hit to center and Calhoun blooped a base hit to center to move Yunel to third. Trout singled off the glove of a jumping Bogaerts to score Escobar and move Calhoun to third. Pujols grounded out to second to score Calhoun and Simmons walked. Marte drilled a base hit to center to score Trout to seemingly ice the game. Choi was hit with a pitch but home plate umpire Gabe Morales refused to send him to first because he made no attempt to get out of the way. Choi popped up to Bogaerts to end the inning with the Rangels up 3-0. That was it for Wright who allowed 3 runs in just 5 innings off 10 hits and 2 walks.
Ortiz struck out swinging to start the top of the sixth and that was the day for Skaggs. Deolis Guerra came in to face Ramirez and Hanley popped up to first. JBJ reached on an error by Marte but Hill flied out to right to end the inning. Clay Buchholz came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Perez hit one up the elevator shaft to start. Giavotella lined out to second and Escobar flied out to right to end the inning.
Hanigan took strike three to start the top of the seventh and Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for Brentz. Holt doubled into the left field corner but Betts struck out swinging. Angels manager Mike Scoscia brought in JC Ramirez to face Pedroia and Dustin grounded out to second to end the inning. Calhoun struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh but Trout drew a walk. Pujols flied out to center but Buchholz threw a pickoff throw away to allow Mike to reach third. Simmons flied out to right to end the inning.
Nice throw Claydro
Bogaerts grounded out to third to start the top of the eighth with Shane Robinson in for Marte. Ortiz struck out swinging and Ramirez lined out to center to end the inning. Robinson grounded out to third to start the bottom of the eighth and Choi lined out to center. Perez popped up to Pedroia to end the inning.
Suddenly the Sox sprang to life in the top of the ninth with Gregorio Petit in for Giavotella and Huston Street now on the mound. JBJ walked and Hill got a base hit to center, but Hanigan struck out swinging. Holt struck out swinging and Mr. Mookie was down to his last strike....when Betts singled to right to score JBJ. Out of nowhere Pedroia jacked a 3 run home run to dead center to put the Sox on top. Not to be outdone, Bogaerts clobbered his 14th home run of the season to increase the lead. Jose Alvarez came in to pitch to Ortiz and David flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.
Brad Ziegler came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Petit grounded out to second to start. Escobar ate up Ziegler on a comebacker but Brad recovered to get Calhoun to bang into a double play to end the game. The Sox had stole the game 5-3.
Hero of The Night is Dustin Pedroia. His 3 run home run in the top of the ninth won the game for the Sox.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 4 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Bryce Brentz was 1 for 1 with a walk.
Brock Holt was 1 for 2.
Clay Buchholz got the win with 3 scoreless innings.
Brad Ziegler earned his 20th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
David Ortiz was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Ryan Hanigan was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but the one hit was a home run.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4.
Aaron Hill was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Steven Wright was tagged for 3 runs in just 5 innings on TEN hits and 2 walks.
Final Thoughts:
That was the biggest win of the season so far. The Baltimore Orioles snapped their losing streak and the Sox was one strike away from losing 3-0 with their manager ejected. All of a sudden Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts turned the game from 3-0 down to up 5-3. The Sox had one of the best offenses in baseball and they proved it today. On the other side of the ball, Wright faltered but Buchholz was there to pick up the pieces. On top of that, Ziegler locked it down after getting drilled on a comebacker. The Sox can't afford to lose Brad with Craig Kimbrell still out. That was definitely a gutty win and the Sox needed it badly on this road trip. The Sox may make a move at the trade deadline tomorrow, they might now. If they do, it'll be interesting to see who they get and who they give up. Until then, hopefully this win can give them some momentum. The win improved the Sox to 57-46, 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox now continue their west coast trip by flying to Seattle for a four game set with the Mariners beginning tomorrow night. Eduardo Rodriguez goes for the Sox against James Paxton of Seattle. The game begins at 10:10 PM Eastern time at Safeco Field.
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