As for the game, the Red Sox have to play 11 straight games on the road and they needed to make a statement in today's makeup game against the Cleveland Indians. Drew Pomeranz (9-9, 2.99 ERA) tossed 7 2/3 innings allowing just 2 runs to the AL Central frontrunners. Meanwhile the Indians took a 1-0 lead on a Rajai Davis home run in the fourth but the retiring David Ortiz had one last surprise. Ortiz pounded a 2 run home run in the top of the sixth and Jackie Bradley Jr followed with one of his own 2 batters later. More than enough cushion as Fernando Abad and Craig Kimbrel locked up the safe. The Sox started their insane road trip with a 3-2 victory over the Indians at Progressive Field.
Tomlin got the ball in the top of the first and Dustin Pedroia grounded out to old pal Michael Martinez to start. Xander Bogaerts flied out to right and David Ortiz popped up to third to end the inning. Drew Pomeranz got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mookie Betts fell down making a catch on a Rajai Davis fly ball to start. Jose Ramirez grounded out to first and Francisco Lindor struck out swinging to end the inning.
Mr. Mookie Betts lined out to center to start the top of the second and Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to first. Aaron Hill grounded out to second to end the inning. Old pal Mike Napoli flied out to left to start the bottom of the second and Carlos Santana flied out to center. Brandon Guyer flied out to right to end the inning.
It looked like Travis Shaw struck out swinging to start the top of the third but the pitch got away allowing Travis to reach first. Bryan Holaday struck out swinging but Shaw took second on a wild pitch. Andrew Benintendi lined out to right but Pedroia got a base hit to right. Shaw tried to come around but was thrown out at home to end the inning.
Abraham Almonte took strike three to start the bottom of the third and Chris Gimenez did the same. Martinez flied out to right to end the inning.
Bogaerts got a base hit to left to start the top of the fourth but Ortiz grounded into a double play. Mr. Mookie got a base hit to left and JBJ got a base hit to center, but Hill lined back to Tomlin to end the inning. The Indians struck first in the bottom of the fourth as Davis hit a home run all the way to Cincinnati to start. Ramirez walked and promptly stole second, but Lindor was retired on a tapper in front of the plate. Ramirez was thrown out at third trying to steal...but wait! Indians manager Terry Francona challenged that Ramirez was safe, but the call upheld. Napoli doubled to left and Santana hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Indians ahead 1-0.
Shaw flied out to center to start the top of the fifth and Holaday grounded out to third. Benintendi lined out to left to end the inning. Guyer singled off the glove of Bogaerts to start the bottom of the fifth and took second on a wild pitch. Almonte struck out swinging, Gimenez struck out swinging and Martinez flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox took command in the top of the sixth as Pedroia got a base hit to left to start. Bogaerts struck out swinging but Ortiz smashed his 27th home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Mr. Mookie flied out to center but JBJ crushed his 19th home run of the season for the insurance run. Hill grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Davis grounded out to short to start the bottom of the sixth and Ramirez popped up to second. Lindor grounded out to short to end the inning.
Shaw grounded out to first to start the top of the seventh and Holaday grounded out to short. Benintendi grounded out to first to end the inning. Napoli walked to start the bottom of the seventh but Santana grounded into a double play. Guyer grounded out to second to end the inning,
Pedroia grounded out to second to start the top of the eighth and Bogaerts flied out to right. Kyle Crockett came in to pitch to Ortiz and David singled to right. Jeff Manship came in to face Betts but Mr. Mookie walked. JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning. Pomeranz ran out of gas in the bottom of the eighth as Almonte struck out swinging to start. JBJ failed to come up with a double by Gimenez but Martinez flied out to center. Davis doubled into the right field corner to chase Pomeranz. He fell one batter short but tossed 7 2/3 innings allowing 2 runs off 5 hits and 2 walks. Fernando Abad came in and Davis stole third, but Ramirez popped up to Benintendi to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.
Good effort from Drew
Zach McAllister came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Hill singled off the glove of Martinez to start. Shaw doubled to the left field fence but Holaday struck out swinging. Benintendi popped up to left and Pedroia lined out to left to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Lindor doubled to left to start. Napoli walked and Tyler Naquin ran for him. Santana struck out swinging and Jason Kipnis pinch hit for Guyer. Kipnis struck out swinging on a 96 mph fastball and Almonte
Sox win
Big Papi is the Hero
Hero of The Night is David Ortiz. His 2 run home run put the Sox up for good.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Drew Pomeranz got the win by allowing 2 runs in 7 2/3 innings off 5 hits and 2 walks.
Fernando Abad got the final out of the eighth inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 20th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Bryan Holaday was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4.
Aaron Hill was just 1 for 4.
Travis Shaw was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
That game was too close for comfort but a win is a win. The Sox need Pomeranz more than ever to pitch like he did today because Steven Wright is out. With David Price still shaky and Eduardo Rodriguez not having a good year, its up to Pomeranz to carry them to victory. The Sox offense didn't do much against Tomlin but Josh leads the league in home runs allowed. The two home runs hit by the Sox turned out to be the difference makers. The Sox are on an unforgiving roadtrip with the majority of their remaining games on the road so if the Sox want to make the playoffs, they're going to have to earn it. Still, if this is the AL Central's best....the Sox took it right to them this time. Maybe they'll see each other again come October when the stakes are higher, who knows? All in all it was a good win and the Sox needed it to keep pace. The win improved the Sox to 65-52, 1 game behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Sox now have a chance to take over first place because they now travel to Baltimore for a brief two game set against them. Tomorrow night it'll be Eduardo Rodriguez going for the Sox against Yovani Gallardo of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Camden Yards.
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