Price got the ball in the top of the first and Paulo Orlando hit a bullet right to Jackie Bradley Jr to start. Cheslor Cuthbert singled past the diving Aaron Hill into left before Lorenzo Cain beat out a double play ball. Eric Hosmer was frozen on a 95 mph fastball on the back to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time getting to Royals starter Danny Duffy in the bottom of the first inning as the scorching hot Dustin Pedroia led off with a base hit to center. Xander Bogaerts blasted his 16th home run of the season completely out of Fenway to give the Sox the lead 2 batters into the game. The Royals then played a game of "I got it...I don't got it" as David Ortiz' routine pop up fell in for a "single". Ortiz then tried to take second on a wild pitch but Salvador Perez fired a bullet to second to nail Big Papi. Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to center but Hanley Ramirez dumped a base hit to right. Sandy Leon popped up to first to end the inning but it was 2-0 Sox.
The Royals immediately answered in the top of the second although Kendrys Morales popped up to first to start. Perez then swatted a line drive home run into the Monster Seats to put the Royals on the board. Alex Gordon followed with a double high off the Monster and he scored on the double to left by Alcides Escobar. Christian Colon popped up to Hanley on the infield before Orlando waived at a pitch in the dirt to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
The Sox countered in the bottom of the second as Chris Young walked to start. Hill flied out to deep right as a passed ball moved Young to second. Jackie Bradley Jr drove home Young with a ground rule double into the right field corner to give the Sox the lead. Pedroia doubled off the Monster to score JBJ but Escobar threw the ball away to allow Pedroia to advance to third. He was stranded as Bogaerts grounded out to second as did Ortiz to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
Price got Cuthbert to pop up to third to start the top of the third before Cain grounded out to second. Hosmer walked but Morales struck out swinging to end the inning. Duffy cruised in the bottom of the third as Mr. Mookie flied out to the centerfield warning track to start. Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley told a story of how back in 1998, 41 year old Paul Molitor dropped a bunt on Eck to walkoff the Twins over the Red Sox. What Eck forgot is none other than a young David Ortiz scored the tying run in the 6th inning of that game for the Twins. Back to this game, Ramirez grounded out to second and Leon was caught looking for strike three to end the inning.
Price whiffed Perez on an 88 mph cutter to start the top of the fourth before Gordon lined out to a running Betts. Escobar whiffed on a 90 mph cutter to end the inning. The Sox added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Sox broadcaster Dave O'Brien finally pointed out David Ortiz played in the game Eck was talking about. Young drew a four pitch walk before Hill was out on a bang bang play at first after a great play by Hosmer. JBJ took a horrible strike three call but the red hot Pedroia singled home Young to increase the lead. Bogaerts grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Price continued to pitch well in the top of the fifth as Colon was retired on a swinging bunt to Leon to start. Orlando grounded out to third but Cuthbert doubled down the left field line. Cain flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox displayed some power in the bottom of the fifth although Ortiz flied out to the right field warning track to start. Mr. Mookie and Hanley then belted back to back home runs to light up the crowd. Leon grounded out to third and Young flied out to right to end the inning but it was 7-2 Sox.
Price was nearly perfect in the top of the sixth as Hosmer whiffed to start. Morales grounded out to short but Perez walked. Price finished his outing by catching Gordon looking to end the inning. Price went 6 solid innings while allowing just 2 runs while striking out 7.
Old nemesis Chien-Ming Wang came in for the bottom of the sixth and the Sox tagged him too. Hill walked but JBJ whiffed. Pedroia continued his hot streak with a base hit up the middle to go 11 for 11 and Bogaerts pounded a ground rule double into the right field corner to score Hill. Ortiz grounded out to second and Mr. Mookie grounded out to third to end the inning but it was 8-2 Sox.
Brad Ziegler was first out of the bullpen in the top of the seventh and Escobar popped up to first to start. Bogaerts made a great play to rob Colon of a hit and also retired Orlando on a grounder to end the inning. Billy Burns took over for Cain to start the bottom of the seventh and Ramirez grounded out to first to start. Leon grounded out to second and Young flied out to the centerfield wall to end the inning.
Clay Buchholz was summoned for the top of the eighth and Cuthbert grounded out to short to start. Burns beat out an infield single to second....but wait! Sox manager John Farrell challenged the call and replays showed he was OUT! Hosmer drew a walk but Hanley fell on his ass making a catch to rob Morales of a hit to end the inning. Sox fans stood in the bottom of the eighth to see if Pedroia could tie the major league record of 12 straight hits. First Hill grounded out to short before JBJ poked a base hit to center. The record remained intact as Pedroia banged into a double play to end the inning. Oh well!
Robbie Ross Jr came in for the top of the ninth with Travis Shaw now at third base. Perez jacked a home run off the hands of a fan in the centerfield bleachers to cut the lead. Ross got mad and caught Gordon looking for strike three before Escobar was rung up for strike three on a check swing. Colon got plunked but Betts made a running catch on Orlando to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-3.
Hero of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. He drove in as many runs by himself as the entire Royals did and hit the big two run home run.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 4 for 5 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Chris Young walked twice and scored 2 runs in 4 at bats.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
David Price got the win with 6 innings of 2 run ball. He struck out 7 batters as well.
Brad Ziegler pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Clay Buchholz pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Robbie Ross Jr gave up a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4.
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a home run.
Aaron Hill was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Travis Shaw played third base in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
That was an impressive win against the red hot Duffy who was 11-1 coming into this game. Not only that but Price pitched his ass off in this one. Buchholz pitched well out of the bullpen and the offense continues to click. Would have been nice to see Pedroia tie the ML record for consecutive hits but at least the game was well in hand when he hit into the double play. Mookie Betts needs a strong September to challenge Mike Trout in the AL MVP race but then again, the entire teams need a strong September to win the AL East race. All in all it was a good win against the current champs and hope they can continue the trend. The win improved the Sox to 72-57, 1 game behind the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it two in a row over the champs tomorrow night. Eduardo Rodriguez (2-5) goes up against Yordano Ventura at 8:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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