The Sox wasted no time getting to Fulmer in the top of the first as Dustin Pedroia grounded out to second to start. Xander Bogaerts got a base hit to left and David Ortiz clobbered his 28th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to right but Hanley Ramirez got a base hit to left. Ramirez stole second and Jackie Bradley Jr belted his 21st home run of the season to increase the lead. Sandy Leon lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Porcello got the ball in the bottom of the first and Ian Kinsler lined out to left to start. Both Erick Aybar and Miguel Cabrera grounded out to second to end the inning.
Brock "The Hitman" Holt led off the top of the second by flying out to left and Andrew Benintendi grounded out to second. Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning. The Tigers struck back in the bottom of the second as Pedroia threw wide of Porcello on a grounder by Victor Martinez to start. JD Martinez hit a home run all the way to Sicily to cut the lead in half. Tyler Collins took strike three but Casey McGehee walked. Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out swinging and Andrew Romine forced McGehee at second to end the inning with the Tigers down 4-2.
Bogaerts grounded out to third to start the top of the third and Ortiz grounded out to second. Mr. Mookie grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Kinsler struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third and Aybar went down hacking. Cabrera grounded out to third to end the inning.
Ramirez lined out to second to start the top of the fourth and JBJ flied out to center. A fan interfered with a double into the right field line by Leon but Holt flied out to left to end the inning. Victor Martinez grounded out to short but JD Martinez singled in the hole at short. Collins flied out to center but McGehee got a base hit to right. Saltamacchia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Benintendi lined out to first to start the top of the fifth on a great play by Cabrera. Pedroia grounded out to short but Bogaerts got a base hit inside the bag at third. Ortiz walked but Mr. Mookie forced him at second to end the inning. Romine popped up to short to start the bottom of the fifth and Kinsler struck out swinging. Aybar flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the sixth but Ramirez took strike three to start. JBJ flied out to left but Leon beat out a roller to short. Holt got a base hit to center and Benintendi blooped a base hit to center to score Leon, moving Brock to third. Pedroia got a base hit to right to score Holt and move Benintendi to third. That was it for Fulmer as Bruce Rondon came in to face Bogaerts. Xander grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.
Cabrera took strike three to start the bottom of the sixth and Victor Martinez flied out to right. JD Martinez walked but Collins struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the seventh as Ortiz got a base hit to right to begin. Mr. Mookie singled off the glove of Aybar and Ramirez doubled into the right field gap to score both runners. JBJ flied out to center, Leon went down hacking and Holt also struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 8-2.
Aaron Hill took over for Holt in the bottom of the seventh as Porcello returned for one final inning. McGehee grounded out to second to start but Bogaerts failed to come up with a "single" by Saltalamacchia. Romine grounded into a double play to end the inning. That was it for Porcello who allowed 2 runs, only one earned, in seven innings off 4 hits and 2 walks.
Mark Lowe came in to pitch the top of the eighth as Benintendi doubled to right to begin. Pedroia singled in the hole at short but Bogaerts flied out to right to move Andrew to third. Travis Shaw pinch hit for Ortiz and walked to load the bases. Mr. Mookie struck out swinging but Ramirez hit a rocket to the left field wall to score both runners. JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-2.
Ramirez is on fire
Heath Hembree came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Deven Marrero in for Pedroia. Alex Presly pinch hit for Kinsler and flied out to the right field warning track followed by Aybar grounding out to second. Dixon Machado pinch hit for Cabrera and grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Kyle Ryan came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Leon struck out swinging to start. Hill grounded out to short and Benintendi struck out swinging to end the inning. Fernando Abad came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and James McCann pinch hit for Victor Martinez to start. McCann struck out swinging and JD Martinez flied out to center. Collins took strike three to end the game. The Sox had won it 10-2.
Sox win
Slick Rick Hero
David Ortiz was 2 for 3 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Hero of The Night is Rick Porcello. He allowed 2 runs in 7 innings off 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8 batters.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
David Ortiz was 2 for 3 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 3 for 5 with 4 rbis, a stolen base and a run scored.
Travis Shaw walked as a pinch hitter.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Fernando Abad pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Aaron Hill was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but the one hit was a 2 run home run.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Deven Marrero played second base in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Big win by the Sox considering their bullpen woes. Can't blow a game if the starter is outstanding and the offense produces. Still, the 8th inning woes for the Sox need to be addressed but there won't be any if the offense produces like this. Ramirez drove in 4 big runs and home runs by Bradley and Ortiz put this away early. Porcello might be the odds on favorite to win Cy Young and Mookie Betts is in the running for AL MVP. A few more 3 home run games by Betts might do the trick. The Baltimore Orioles lost again so the Sox leapfrogged them and got closer to the Toronto Blue Jays. This is going to be a wild finish in September with the death march through the AL East, the Sox need to build some momentum in the few weeks before it starts. More games like this would help but that might be asking too much as the level of competition steps up. The win improved the Sox to 68-53, a half game behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to take the third game of this series tomorrow night against the Tigers when Drew Pomeranz (9-9) takes on Daniel Norris of the Detroit. The game begins at 9:30 PM eastern time at Comerica Park.
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