Porcello got in trouble right off the bat. Ezequiel Carrera struck out but Josh Donaldson singled. Edwin Encarnarcion struck out but Jose Bautista walked. Russell Martin popped up to end the inning but Porcello had thrown 24 pitches. The Sox got to Estrada early. Dustin Pedroia looked at strike three to begin the bottom of the first. Brock "Hitman" Holt walked on a full count but Mr. Mookie Betts popped up on a full count. David Ortiz shot a single into left that scored Holt from second. Hanley Ramirez whiffed but Estrada had already thrown 34 pitches and the Sox had a 1-0 lead.
The Jays struck back in the top of the second. Troy Tulowitzky looked at a 2-2 fastball down the middle, Justin Smoak flied out to Mr. Mookie and Kevin Pillar lined out to Pedroia to end the inning. Josh Donaldson made a hell of a play to rob Xander Bogaerts to start the bottom of the second. Jackie Bradley Jr grounded out to second and Josh Donaldson went OLE! on a ground ball by Sandy Leon. A great play and an error in the same half inning. Andrew Benintendi worked the count to 3-2 and popped it up to end the inning, but Estrada had thrown 50 pitches.
Brock Holt made a great diving play to rob Devon Travis of a hit to begin the top of the third, but Carrera singled up the middle. Donaldson then singled into the hole at short....but wait! Sox manager John Farrell challenged the safe call at second. The replay showed he was out but they called him out anyway. Bogaerts was pissed. Encarnarcion popped up to Ramirez and Batista popped up to Betts to end the inning. The Sox didn't go quietly in the bottom of the third. Pedroia singled, but Holt whiffed badly. Bogaerts grounded out but moved Pedroia to second. Ortiz grounded back to Estrada to end the inning.
Porcello was wild in the bottom of the fourth. He got Martin to ground out, but Tulowitzky blooped a single down the right field line. Smoak whiffed but a wild pitch moved Tulowitzky to second. Pillar struck out to end the inning. Ramirez led off the bottom of the fifth with an 11 pitch walk but Bogaerts whiffed on a 2-2 changeup. JBJ popped up but Leon poked a hit over the head of Travis into right. Benny The Kid grounded out to end the inning.
The Jays iced the game in the top of the fifth. Travis led off with a double off the Monster and Carrera caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single. With runners on the corners Donaldson hit a sac fly to tie the game. Encarnarcion flied out but Bautista crushed a 2 run bomb into the Monster seats for a 2 run home run to give the Jays a 3-1 lead. Martin hit one up the elevator shaft but the game was pretty much over. The Sox tried to come back in the bottom of the fifth when Pedroia doubled off the top of the scoreboard, but he was stranded as Holt popped up. Mr. Mookie meekly popped up and Ortiz crushed a line drive but Bautista ran it down to end the inning.
Porcello struggled again in the top of the sixth. Tulowitzky flied out and Smoak whiffed but Pillar walked. Travis singled him to third but Carrera popped up to end the inning. Estrada was done after 5 and Jeff Biagini came on to pitch the bottom of the inning. Jeff got Ramirez to meekly ground out but Bogaerts somehow tripled into the right field corner. Things returned to normal when JBJ and Leon both whiffed badly to end the inning. The Sox had just cost Porcello the Cy Young award.
Brad Ziegler (2-3) got the call in the top of the seventh and got Donaldson to ground out to begin the inning. Holt and Ramirez robbed Encarnarcion of a hit but Bautista reached on a 65 foot dribbler. Martin walked but Ramirez dove into the stands to snare a pop up by Tulowitzky to end the inning. The Sox came out swinging in the seventh. Benintendi doubled and Pedroia hit a little dribbler in front of the plate. Martin then threw the ground ball 380 feet into the Red Sox bullpen to allow Benny The Kid to score and advance Pedroia to second. Holt grounded out to short but Mr. Mookie singled in Pedroia to tie the game. Jays manager John Gibbons wanted the lefty/lefty matchup with Brett Cecil facing Ortiz. Like he's done so many times in the past, Ortiz smashed a 2 run line drive home run that gave the Sox a 5-3 lead. Ramirez and Bogaerts struck out but the game was now in the Sox' control.
Koji Uehara got the call in the top of the eighth. Smoak grounded out but Pillar walked. Travis doubled to put the tying runs in scoring position, but Carrera popped up. With the game on the line, Uehara got Donaldson to ground out to end the inning. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the eighth against Aaron "Fruit" Loup. JBJ and Leon grounded out but Benny The Kid reached on an infield single. Ryan Tepera came in and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning.
Sox closer Craig Kimbrel came in to close it out in the top of the ninth. Encarnarcion grounded out to third but Bautista walked. Martin popped up but a wild pitch moved Bautista to second. Tulowitzky walked on a borderline pitch and Kimbrel has now walked 5 of the last 8 guys he's faced. Dalton Pompey pinch ran for Tulowitzky as Dioneer Navarro pinch hit for Smoak. Kimbrel blew away Navarro to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3.
Hero of the night is once again David Ortiz. The two run home run put the Sox on track to win.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with a run scored. He got his 200th hit of the year tonight. Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Rick Porcello pitched a good game, just didn't get run support this time. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings allowing 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6. Brad Ziegler pitched a scoreless 7th inning to earn the win. Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Craig Kimbrel earned his 31st save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Brock Holt was 0 for 3 but walked and scored. Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count as it tied the game by driving in Pedroia. He scored on the Ortiz home run as well. Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 3 but walked and made a few great defensive plays. Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4. Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox are going to miss Ortiz for sure. So what if Edwin Encarnarcion can hit 40 homers? How many of them come with his teams behind by a run or at the end of a game? His homer tonight not only gave the Sox the win, it put them closer to the second seed. The Texas Rangers had won to clinch the first seed so it IS going to be Red Sox vs Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. The only thing left to decide is if the injured Corey Kluber comes to Fenway or if the Sox have to go to Cleveland. The Indians have a terrible road record and the Sox have the second best in baseball. The win puts the Sox at 93-67, a half game in front of Cleveland for the second seed with 2 to play. If Porcello has any shot at the Cy Young, the Sox will have to knock around JA Happ tomorrow. The Sox will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez. The last time they met it up it was in Toronto with the Jays winning 3-2. Hopefully the Sox can flip the score tomorrow with the second seed on the line.
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