The injured Steven Wright got the ball in the top of the first and it was obvious he wasn't right, no pun intended. Wright struck out Logan Forsythe to begin the top of the first but Kevin Kiermaier singled. Evan Longoria struck out but a wild pitch moved Kiermaier to second....scoring on the ground rule double by Miller. Nick Franklin walked but Logan Morrison grounded out to end the inning with the Rays up 1-0. The Sox wasted no time scoring against Rays starter Drew Smyly. Dustin Pedroia flied out but Xander Bogaerts blasted his 17th home run of the year to tie the game. David Ortiz hit one up the elevator shaft but Mr. Mookie Betts doubled. Hanley Ramirez whiffed to end the inning.
The Rays struck back in the top of the second. Tim Beckham lined out and Chris Dickerson flied out, but Bobby Wilson doubled. Forsythe then cracked a two run home run, his 17th of the year to give the Rays a 3-1 lead. Kiermaier lined out but the damage was done. This time the Sox couldn't answer in the bottom of the second. Sandy Leon and Chris Young flied out then Aaron Hill struck out to end the inning.
Wright returned for the top of the third and got Longoria to fly out to left. Miller walked but the alert Leon picked him off. Franklin flied out to end the inning. The Sox threatened Smyly in the bottom of the third. Jackie Bradley Jr popped up but Pedroia singled and Bogaerts walked. Ortiz flied out and Mr. Mookie popped up to end the inning....damn.
The Rays got to Wright again in the top of the fourth. Morrison led off with his 11th homer of the year to give the Rays a 4-1 lead. Beckham singled but Dickerson struck out. Wilson popped up but Forsythe walked. Kiermaier singled but the Sox caught a break when Beckham stopped halfway to home plate. Kiermaier expected Beckham to cross the plate so he chugged to second...only to see Forsythe standing there because Beckham foolishly went back to third. Kiermaier was tagged out and the inning was over. That could have been the difference in the game as the lead was 4-1, but it could have been 5-1.
Could the Sox rally in the bottom of the fourth? NO! Ramirez grounded out but Leon singled. Young struck out and Hill popped up to end the inning.
Wright was done and Robbie Ross Jr came in to pitch the top of the fifth. Longoria flied out but Miller caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single. Franklin grounded out and Morrison looked at strike three to end the inning. The Sox came out swinging in the bottom of the fifth. JBJ and Pedroia hit back to back singles to open the frame. Bogaerts struck out and Ortiz flied out, but Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases for Ramirez. The crowd erupted as Ramirez blasted a grand slam to dead center to give the Sox a shocking 5-4 lead. How big was that missed run for Tampa now? Leon grounded out to end the inning but the Sox had the lead.
Ross returned for the top of the sixth. Beckham singled but Dickerson bounced into a double play. Wilson grounded out to end the inning. Good work Ross. Kevin Jepsen took the mound in the bottom of the sixth and the Sox struck again. Young struck out and Hill lined out, but JBJ smashed his 22nd homer of the year into the Monster seats to give the Sox a 6-4 lead. Pedroia singled but was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning.
Matt Barnes got the call in the top of the seventh. Forsythe struck out but Kiermaier singled. Longoria whiffed and Sox manager John Farrell wanted the lefty-lefty matchup with Fernando Abad going against Miller. Abad did his job by striking out Miller to end the inning. Danny Farquhar relieved Jepsen in the bottom of the seventh and fared better against the Sox than Jepsen did. Bogaerts and Ortiz lined out then Mr. Mookie popped up to end the inning.
The Rays came roaring back in the top of the eighth. Franklin reached on an infield single as Steven Souza Jr pinch hit for Morrison, only to fly out. Beckham walked but Dickerson flied out, moving Franklin to third. Matt Duffy pinch hit for Wilson and walked to load the bases. That was it for Abad as Farrell once again kept him out there to face right handed hitters. With Brad Ziegler still out with the flu, Farrell turned to Junichi Tazawa to get the final out of the eighth. Forsythe nearly cleared the bases with a single into the gap, tying the game as the boo-birds rained down. Kiermaier grounded out to end the inning but the game was tied 6-6.
The Sox weren't going to take this lying down in the bottom of the eighth, especially against Erasmo Ramirez. Hanley drew a leadoff walk and Leon laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Hanley to second. Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for the lefty Young and singled Ramirez to third. Aaron Hill finally got a clutch hit with a single that scored Hanley with the go-ahead run. JBJ added insurance with a double that scored Holt to make it 8-6. Hill was thrown out at home on a grounder hit by Pedroia and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning. Still, the Sox had come back to take the lead with 3 outs to go.
Could Craig Kimbrel get the last 3 outs? Longoria popped up, Miller looked at strike three and Franklin flied out to end the game. The Sox had taken it 8-6.
Hero of the night is Hanley Ramirez. His grand slam turned the game around and he scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with a run scored, he loves the leadoff spot. Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Sandy Leon was 1 for 3 with a pickoff in the field. Brock Holt pinch hit for Young and singled, then scored a run. Jackie Bradley Jr was 3 for 4 wth 2 runs scored and 2 runs batted in, one of which off his 22nd home run of the year. Robbie Ross Jr kept the Sox in the game with 2 innings of scoreless relief. Matt Barnes struck out 2 of the three batters he faced. Craig Kimbrel earned his 24th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
David Ortiz was 0 for 4. Chris Young was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts. Steven Wright didn't have it. He lasted just 4 innings giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3. Junichi Tazawa gave up the game tying, 2 run single to Forsythe.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a walk but made the one hit count as it was his 17th home run of the year. Aaron Hill was just 1 for 4 but made his hit count, driving in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. Fernando Abad got the final out of the seventh but was charged with allowing the tying runs to score.
Final Thoughts:
With the Toronto Blue Jays winners over Baltimore, the Sox NEEDED this game to keep pace with them. It was a shame to see Steven Wright not ready to go but the offense picked him up big time. Hanley, Bogaerts, Bradley...they'll need them all if they have any hope in the final month of the season. They have to do something in the bullpen. Sign Jon Papelbon, move somebody out of the rotation, bring someone up from Pawtucket....SOMETHING! They can't continue to let leads evaporate in September or there will be no October. The win improved the Sox to 74-59, two games behind Toronto for the AL East lead. After an off-day, the Sox fly out west to Oakland to play the A's in a 3 game set. David Price gets the ball opposite Andrew Triggs in Game 1.
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