Buchholz got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jean Segura grounded out to second to start. Michael Bourn flied out to center and Paul Godschmidt struck out swinging to end the inning. Bradley got the ball in the bottom of the first and Dustin Pedroia popped up to short. Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third and Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to short to end the inning.
Jake Lamb walked to start the top of the second but Rickie Weeks grounded into a double play. Yasmany Tomas grounded out to short to end the inning. David Ortiz struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the second and Hanley Ramirez lined back to Bradley. Travis Shaw popped up to short to end the inning.
Chris Owings walked to start the top of the third but Oscar Hernandez flied out to center. Socrates Brito grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the third as Sandy Leon got a base hit to right to start. Brock Holt forced Sandy at second but Andrew Benintendi singled to left. Pedroia dumped a base hit to right to score Holt and move Benintendi to third. Bogaerts struck out swinging and Mr. Mookie took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Diamondbacks struck back in the top of the fourth as Segura lined out to third to start. Bourn got a base hit to center, Goldschmidt walked and both runners pulled off a double steal. Lamb grounded out to second to score Bourn and Weeks got a base hit to right to score Goldschmit. Tomas grounded out to second to end the inning with Arizona up 2-1.
Ortiz grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fourth and Ramirez grounded out to second. Shaw popped up to short to end the inning.
The Diamondbacks struck again in the top of the fifth as Owings singled to center to start. Hernandez flied out to left and that was it for Buchholz. He'd be charged with 3 runs in 4 1/3 innings off 3 hits and 3 walks in his first start in over a month. Robbie Ross Jr got Brito to fly out to left but Segura walked. Bourn got a base hit to right to score Owings but Goldschmidt forced him at second to end the inning with the Diamondbacks up 3-1.
The Sox rallied in the bottom of the fifth as Leon belted his fifth home run of the season to start. Segura and Brito nearly collided on a routine pop up by Holt for an error to allow Brock to reach second. Benintendi doubled to center to score Holt and moved to third on a grounder to second by Pedroia. Bogaerts struck out swinging but Mr. Mookie chopped a base hit over Lamb's head to score Benintendi. Ortiz walked but Ramirez popped up to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-3.
Leon starts the rally
Ross froze Lamb for strike three to start the top of the sixth and that was it for Robbie. Junichi Tazawa came in and Weeks flied out to center, but Shaw couldn't come up with a grounder by Tomas for an error. Owings grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the sixth as Shaw popped up to short to start. Leon walked and Holt smashed his 6th home run of the season to increase the lead. That was it for Bradley as Steve Hathaway was brought in to face Benintendi. Andrew took strike three and Randall Delgado came in to face Pedroia. Dustin got a base hit to left but Bogaerts popped up to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-3.
Matt Barnes came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Hernandez drilled as base hit to left to start. Brito struck out swinging and Segura grounded into a double play to end the inning. Daniel Hudson came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Mr. Mookie popped up to second to start. Ortiz lined out to right and Ramirez also flied out to right to end the inning.
Things looked bad when Bourn, Goldschmidt and Lamb walked consecutively to load the bases with nobody out to start the top of the eighth. Brad Zeigler came in and struck Weeks out swinging on 3 pitches. Tomas went down hacking and Fenway erupted when Owings swung at air to end the inning. Ziegler had pulled the Houdini to get out of the jam.
Adam Loewen came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Aaron Hill pinch hit for Shaw. Hill popped up to first, Leon grounded out to third and Holt flied out to center to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to close out the top of the ninth and Phil Gosselin pinch hit for Hernandez. Gosselin struck out swinging and Brandon Drury pinch hit for Brito. Drury flied out to right and Segura grounded out to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.
Sox win
Hero Ziegler
Hero of The Night is Brad Zeigler. He pulled the Houdini in the top of the eighth to keep the Sox on top.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 3 with a walk, a home run and 2 total runs scored.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Junichi Tazawa got the final 2 outs of the 6th inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 19th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Travis Shaw was 0 for 3.
Aaron Hill was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Matt Barnes walked the bases loaded in the top of the eighth.
Clay Buchholz allowed 3 runs in just 4 1/3 innings off 3 hits and 3 walks.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
David Ortiz was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a 2 run home run and he scored 3 runs.
Robbie Ross Jr allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in an inning of work.
Final Thoughts:
What an effort by Ziegler and the Red Sox there. Having to start Buchholz with Steven Wright down, surviving that, then surviving the eighth inning. Sandy Leon would probably be in contention for AL MVP if he was brought up just a month earlier. Bogaerts and Betts are cooling off big time due to bumps & bruises with limited days off since the all-star break but the bottom of the order got it done tonight. Benintendi, Holt and Leon stepped up big time and the Sox would be in a playoff spot if the season ended now. Still, there's 47 games left in the season and the Sox need a nice winning streak to the catch the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. The Sox have a death march against the AL East next month that might decide the division but they can get ahead of the curve with a streak now. If only Wright didn't get hurt, Buchholz isn't giving them much. The win improved the Sox to 63-52, 2 games behind the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon when "Slick" Rick Porcello (15-3) takes on Zack Greinke of Arizona. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.
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