Dustin Pedroia led off the top of the first and flied out to right center. Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz were both rung up for strike 3 on borderline check swings to end the inning. Eduardo Rodriguez got the ball to start the bottom of the first. Marcus Semien popped up to first and Jake Smolinski popped up to Brock Holt in left, but Danny Valencia walked. Khris Davis was rung up for strike 3 to end the inning.
Mr. Mookie Betts led off the top of the second with a fly out to left. Hanley Ramirez looked at strike 3 but "King" Sandy Leon singled to right. Brock Holt lined out to center to end the inning. Billy Butler grounded out to third and Steven Vogt popped up but Yoan Moncada made his first big league boo-boo, allowing Ryon Healy to reach first. Rodriguez recovered to strike out Brett Eibner to end the inning.
Moncada tried to make up for his boo-boo by lining a base hit up the middle to begin the top of the third....only to get picked off of first. A mental and physical error within 3 minutes. Jackie Bradley Jr looked at strike three but Pedroia smacked a base hit down the left field line. Bogaerts nearly beat out a ground ball but the replay showed he was out to end the inning. Rodriguez continued to pitch well in the bottom of the third. Chad Pinder popped up to right, Semien whiffed and Smolinski grounded out to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally in the top of the fourth. Ortiz walked and Mr. Mookie singled, but Ramirez skied one to the wall and Ortiz forgot to tag up. Leon beat out a double play ball to put runners on the corners....but wait! Alert Sox manager John Farrell came out to argue that second base was never touched. The umps went to the replay and confirmed it, everyone was safe! With the bases loaded and just one out...Holt lined out to short and nearly got Betts doubled off of second. Sure enough, Moncada grounded out to first to end the inning. Yet another failed inning with the bases loaded and less than two out.Valencia grounded out to begin the bottom of the fourth and Mr. Mookie made a running catch on a Davis line drive. Butler flied out to deep right to end the inning.
The pitcher's duel continued in the top of the fifth. JBJ grounded out to first but Pedroia blooped a single to center. Dustin advanced to second on the ground out by Bogaerts. Ortiz thought he had ball four on a 3-1 count but the umpire called it a strike. Ortiz whiffed on the next pitch to end the inning. 2 innings in a row they've left the go ahead run in scoring position. Rodriguez tried to match Graveman in the bottom of the fifth by getting Vogt to ground out and Healy to pop up. Then Eibner walked but Pinder popped up to center to end the inning. 5 hitless innings for Rodriguez but it was still 0-0.
Unfortunately for Rodriguez, the Sox could do nothing against Graveman in the top of the sixth. Mr. Mookie and Ramirez both whiffed and Leon got robbed of a hit at first base to end the inning. Rodriguez continued to be tough in the bottom of the sixth as Semien looked at strike 3 to open it. Smolinski was hit but Valencia swung at a 3-0 pitch and popped up to first. Davis whiffed to end the inning. Rodriguez was pitching better than Porcello the night before.
The Sox tried to rally again in the top of the 7th. Holt popped up but Moncada lashed a single to right field. JBJ walked to chase Graveman who was outstanding to this point. Ryan Dull relieved him and got Pedroia to fly out, moving Moncada to third. The Sox had the go-ahead run in scoring position for the third inning in a row but as usual Bogaets popped up to end it. Rodriguez continued his dominance in the bottom of the seventh with a big assist to his defense. Butler lined one but Moncada made a great play to snare it for out number one. Vogt grounded one to Ramirez who bobbled it and JUST got it to Rodriguez covering first in time. Healy grounded one back to Eduardo who flipped it to first for the out. Rodriguez had thrown 7 no hit innings yet was locked in a scoreless tie.
Dull returned for the top of the eighth and the Sox failed to score again. Ortiz walked but Mr. Mookie flied out to left. Ramirez whiffed and Leon looked at strike 3 to end it. I guess this was karma coming around for the Sox. All those runs scored in games they didn't need them but the one time they need one, they get shut-out. The A's then made a dick move in the bottom of the eighth to rob Rodriguez of a no hitter. Eibner and Pinder grounded out then Semien hit a grounder that Rodriguez kicked, then threw to first for the out....BUT WAIT? Oakland manager Bob Melvin decided that being 20 games under .500 was better than 22 so he challenged the play, and rightfully Semien was safe. Such a bush league thing to do to rob a kid of a no hitter when you're hopelessly out of contention. Still, Rodriguez recovered to retire Smolinski to end the inning.
After all that, it was still a tie game. A's closer Ryan Madson was brought in to pitch the top of the ninth and cruised. Holt grounded out to short, Moncada grounded out to second and JBJ flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox failed to score for Rodriguez and mercifully the A's ended it in the bottom of the ninth against closer Craig Kimbrel when Valencia walked and Davis doubled off the top of the wall to score Valencia to end the game. Payback's a bitch.
Jackass of the night is easy. Craig Kimbrel blew the game in almost record time with a walk and a double in the bottom of the ninth.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia and Yoan Moncada were both 2 for 4. Eduardo Rodriguez pitched arguably his best game as a pro and had nothing to show for it. He was robbed of a no hitter on a bang bang replay but still pitched 8 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Hard to believe he was hitting .360 at one point. Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4 with a hat trick. Brock Holt was 0 for 4 and his error aided the winning run to score in the 9th inning.
The Ugly:
David Ortiz was 0 for 2 but walked twice. Mookie Betts and Sandy Leon were both just 1 for 4 with a strikeout. Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but walked
Final Thoughts:
Fuck Bob Melvin. Congratulations Bob, your victory moved you to a whopping 20 games under .500. I hope you're proud of yourself for ruining the no-hitter. This loss also stung because the Toronto Blue Jays won to push the Red Sox 1 game out of first place. The positive signs were Moncada getting hits at the plate and looking comfortable at third base despite getting picked off and committing an error, plus Rodriguez tossed his best game of his career. The Sox drop to 76-60, 1 game out of first and they head to San Diego for a 3 game set beginning at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. Drew Pomeranz (10-10, 3.00 ERA) goes up against Edwin Jackson (3-5, 6.26 ERA).
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