Pedroia led off the top of the first and Andries blew him away on a 2-2 slider in the dirt to extend his slump to 0-16. Xander Bogaerts continued to slump as well by flying out to center. David Ortiz flied out to the wall on the first pitch he saw to end the inning, so much for working the counts. Porcello got the ball in the bottom of the first and Logan Forsythe looked at strike three to begin the inning. Xander Bogaerts made a mad dash into centerfield to snare down a pop up by Kevin Kiermaier. Porcello whiffed Evan Longoria on a 3-2 fastball to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second. Mr. Mookie Betts extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single over the glove of Alexi Ramirez. Hanley Ramirez then whiffed on a changeup in the dirt but Brock "The Hitman" Holt stroked a double that scored Betts despite an AMAZING throw by Kiermaier. He was at the wall and nearly nailed Mookie at the plate. Brock was stranded at second when Chris Young grounded out and Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to end the inning. The Rays nearly struck back in the bottom of the second. Brad Miller popped up but Corey Dickerson stroked a single to right. Nick Franklin doubled Dickerson to third but Corey was thrown out at home on a grounder by Mahtook to Pedroia. Then Holt made an incredible stab to rob Ramirez of a hit to end the inning.
The Sox continued to have problems hitting Andriese in the top of the third when Sandy Leon swung at strike three in the dirt to begin the inning. Pedroia popped up on the first pitch and Bogaerts flied out to end the inning. The Rays tagged Porcello in the bottom of the third when Curt Casali singled but Forsythe struck out. Kiermaier singled but Longoria flied out to center. Miller doubled home both runners to give Tampa a 2-1 lead. Porcello didn't have it today as Dickerson doubled home Miller to make it 3-1. Franklin popped up to end the inning.
Could the Sox pick up Rick in the top of the fourth? YES! Ortiz popped up but Mr. Mookie walked and swiped second. Ramirez singled in the hole at second to score Betts to cut the lead 3-2. The rally stalled when Holt banged into a double play, but the Sox were back in it. Porcello came back in a vengeance in the bottom of the fourth when Mathtook whiffed then both Ramirez and Casali looked at strike three to end the inning.
Andriese stayed tough in the top of the fifth inning. Young grounded out as both JBJ and Leon struck out to end the inning. Porcello matched Matt in the bottom of the fifth. Forsythe flied out, Kiermaier popped up and Longoria whiffed to end the inning.
Pedroia singled to lead off the top of the sixth but Andriese recovered to retire Bogaerts on a fly out, Ortiz on a line out and Mr. Mookie on a pop up. Porcello was nearly knocked out in the bottom of the sixth. Miller walked but Dickerson flied out. Franklin singled Miller to third but Porcello bore down to strike out Mahtook. Ramirez grounded into a force to end the inning.
In the words of wise baseball coach Mr. Gallagher, it was time for the Sox bats to "pick up their teammate" Rick Porcello. Faced with the prospect of Rick losing not only the game but the Cy Young award, the Sox rallied in the top of the seventh. Ramirez and Hitman Holt stroked back to back singles and advanced into scoring position on the Young ground out to chase new pitcher Ryan Garton. Lefty Dana Eveland was brought in to face JBJ only to walk him. Danny Farquhar was brought in next to the slumping Leon and he forced Ramirez out at home. Pedroia then battled to an 9 pitch at bat when Pedroia golfed the last pitch deep out to left field...back...back...GONE! A GRAND SLAM FOR DUSTIN PEDROIA. The entire Sox bench exploded out of the dugout to congratulate Pedroia on a job well done. Just like that the Sox went from down 3-2 to up 6-3 with nine outs to go. Bogaerts struck out to end the inning but the Sox had the lead.
Grand Slam Dustin Pedroia!
Inexplicably Porcello returned for the bottom of the seventh despite being over 100 pitches. It almost backfired as Casali singled before he struck out Forsythe. Sox manager John Farrell was no Grady Little and pulled Rick for lefty specialist Robby Scott. Rick gutted through 6 1/3 innings and the bullpen had to get just 8 outs.
Unfortunately Robby didn't get the job done as Kiermaier singled. Brad Ziegler took the mound and got Longoria to fly out. One and done for him too as Robbie Ross Jr was brought in to face Miller. Brad flied out to end the inning. Great work by Ziegler and Ross to escape the inning.
Eddie Gamboa replaced Farquhar in the top of the eighth. Ortiz stroked a single but Mr. Mookie banged into a double play. Ramirez grounded out to end the inning. Koji Uehara was brought in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Dickerson led off with a double but was foolishly thrown out at third base when a ball bounced in front of Leon. He may be slumping but it was a great throw by Leon. Franklin flied out and Mahtook looked at strike three to end the inning.
Gamboa returned for the top of the ninth and Holt flied out to begin the ining. Young struck out and JBJ popped up to end the inning. It was on to the bottom of the ninth and Craig Kimbrel time. Ramirez lined out and Casali struck out, but Forsythe blasted a solo home run to right to cut the lead 6-4. Kiermaier ran the count 3-2 but Kimbrel blew him away to end the game. The Sox had come back to win the game, their TENTH in a row, 6-4.
Hero of the night is easy. Dustin Pedroia's grand slam turned the tide of the game and put the Sox in position to win.
Hero of the Night: Dustin Pedroia
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with 2 runs scored. Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with an rbi. Brock Holt was 2 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi. Rick Porcello wasnt his sharpest but gutted through 6 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk while striking out 9. Dolph Ziegler retired the only man he faced. Robbie Ross Jr got the last out of the 7th. Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. If they clinch on Tuesday, they should rest him until October. Chris Young was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Robby Scott gave up a hit to the only man he faced.
The Ugly:
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4. Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 but walked and scored. Sandy Leon was 0 for 3 but scored a run. Craig Kimbrel earned his 30th save but gave up a solo home run to Forsythe.
Final Thoughts:
If the Sox are a team of destiny, it sure feels like it. They are winning in every fashion lately and it comes at the most important time. They picked up Porcello big time like they picked up Price earlier this week. The division race is all but over and its time to start thinking of playoff rosters and rotation. The only negatives are Bogaerts and Leon but Sox manager John Farrell rode them half to death to get this far. Maybe he'll rest them once they clinch. The win by The Road Warriors was their 10th in a row, increasing their record to 91-64 with 7 games left. Tomorrow Eduardo Rodriguez (3-7, 4.84 ERA) takes the mound looking for a series sweep. Standing in his way is Jake Odorizzi with a 1:10 PM start time.
Magic Number: 3 to win division
No comments:
Post a Comment