A's starter Daniel Mengden (1-6, 6.66 ERA) got rocked and rolled early and often. Dustin Pedroia singled to open the game but Xander Bogaerts popped up. David Ortiz hit his 43rd double of the season and Mr. Mookie Betts doubled both runners home to make it 2-0 right off the bat. Hanley Ramirez flied out and "King" Sandy Leon struck out to end the inning. "Slick" Rick had no problem with the A's in the bottom of the first. Marcus Semien lined out on a 2-2 count. Danny Valencia struck out and Stephen Vogt lined out to end the inning.
Chris Young led off the top of the third by flying out to right. Yoan Moncada made his first start with the Red Sox at third, but grounded out here. Jackie Bradley Jr dumped a single into right field and the smoking hot Pedroia walked. Bogaerts struck out to end the inning. Porcello once again had zero trouble in the bottom of the second. Khris Davis flied out, Yonder Alonso grounded out and Ryon Healy grounded out to end the inning..
The Sox struck again in the top of the third. Ortiz and Betts grounded out but Ramirez blasted his 20th homer of the year to increase the lead 3-0. The Sox were missing Ramirez big time last September when they made their improbable run to respectability, but he's here now and contributing. King Leon doubled, Young walked and Moncada got his first ML hit with a double that Davis booted, allowing both Leon and Young to score to make it 5-0. JBJ continued the rally with an rbi single to score Moncada and that was it for Mengden, John Axford replaced him. Axford fared little better as Pedroia singled and Bogaerts singled home JBJ to make it 7-0. Ortiz joined the fun with an rbi double to make it 9-0. The Sox don't just beat the A's, they annihilate them. Mr. Mookie struck out to end the beating. The Sox had 9 men score and meanwhile the A's only sent 9 men to bat. Joey Wemdle flied out to center and Mr. Mookie robbed hard luck Jake Smolinski by climbing the wall for the second out. Bruce Maxwell struck out to end the inning.
The Sox brought back a bad habit in the top of the fourth, failing with runners in scoring position. Ramirez walked and King Leon singled, both runners advancing on a wild pitch. Unfortunately Young grounded out to the pitcher, Moncada whiffed and JBJ grounded out to end the inning. Porcello got a little help from his defense in the bottom of the fourth. Semien grounded out, Valencia popped up and JBJ made a great catch at the wall to rob Vogt of extra bases. 12 up, 12 down for Oakland.
Old friend Chris Smith came on to pitch the top of the fifth and he quieted his ex-mates. Pedroia grounded out and Bogaerts whiffed, but Ortiz singled. Mr. Mookie struck out to end the inning. Porcello continued to cruise in the top of the 5th. Davis and Alonso both flied out and Mookie snared a line drive by Healy to end the frame. 15 up, 15 down for Porcello.
Smith kept the Sox off the board in the top of the sixth by getting Ramirez to ground out, King Leon to strike out and Young to fly out in short order. The A's finally broke through in the bottom of the 6th. Wendle flied out but Smolinski finally found a hole over the head of Young for a double. Maxwell singled home Jake to give the A's their first run of the game. Semien flied out and Valencia grounded out but Porcello had gotten through 6 innings.
Smith continued to pitch well in the top of the seventh. Moncada looked at strike 3, JBJ grounded out and Pedroia flied out to end the inning. Porcello began to tire in the bottom of the seventh. Vogt singled and moved to second on the ground out by Davis. Alonso singled home Vogt but was thrown out at second by Mr. Mookie trying to stretch into a double. Healy flied out to end the inning. Porcello had done his job with 7 innings of 2 run ball. Another outstanding start.
Inspired by Porcello's effort, the Sox finally broke through on Smith in the top of the 8th. Bogaerts singled and Aaron Hill pinch hit for Ortiz. Semien went OLE! on a ground ball, allowing Bogaerts to take third and Hill first. Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases but the bad habit returned. Ramirez whiffed and Leon grounded out, but he did manage to plate Bogaerts to make it 10-2. Young flied out to end the inning. Its a good thing they were up 7 runs and not down 2 when Leon grounded out. The bench was emptied in the bottom of the 8th. Ryan Hanigan took over for Pedroia but was behind the dish. Travis Shaw took Bogaerts' spot but moved to first base. Hill remained as DH as Brock Holt took over for Betts in right. Deven Marrero tookRamirez' spot but was at short. Marco Hernandez took Leon's spot but was at second base. The only starters remaining were Young, JBJ and Moncada. Fernando Abad took over on the mound for Porcello. Wendle popped up, Smolinski grounded out and Maxwell lined out to end the inning.
The A's moved a bunch of people around in the top of the ninth. Chad Pinder took Semien's spot but played short, Max Muncy took over for Valencia in right, Brett Eibner took Davis' spot in left and Daniel Coulumbe took over on the mound. Moncada got another hit but JBJ struck out. Hanigan singled but Shaw whiffed. Hill singled home Moncada to wrap up the scoring at 11-2. Holt looked at strike 3 to end the inning. Abad returned to finish it off in the bottom of the 9th. Pinder led off with a double and he moved to third on the lineout by Muncy. Abad hung tough against pinch hitter Matt McBride to get him to fly out to short right. He punched out Eibner to end the game. The Sox had taken game 2 of the series 11-2
Hero of the Night is a tough one with everybody on offense contributing but I'd have to go with Porcello. He was perfect through 5 1/3 and held on to toss 7 innings of 2 run ball, walking nobody and striking out 2. He earned his 19th win and would have put the Sox in position to win if it were a close game.
The Good:
Lots of good tonight on offense. Dustin Pedroia raised his batting average to .325 by going 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored. Ryan Hanigan was 1 for 1 as a pinch hitter in Pedroia's spot. Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored. David Ortiz was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 rbi's and a run scored. Aaron Hill pinch hit for Ortiz and knocked in a run in the 9th inning. Mookie Betts was 1 for 4 with a walk including the 2 run double to open the scoring in the first. He also robbed Smolinski of a hit and threw out Alonso trying to stretch a single into a double. Sandy Leon was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored. Yoan Moncada was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored. Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored. Fernando Abad pitched 2 scoreless innings of relief.
The Bad:
Travis Shaw and Brock Holt struck out in their only plate appearances
The Ugly:
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4 with a walk but made the one hit count, launching his 20th home run of the year in the third inning to start the rally. He surpassed his home run total of last year with that bomb. Chris Young was 0 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Honorable Mention:
Deven Marrero played short in the final two innings. Marco Hernandez played second base in the final two innings.
Final Thoughts:
All good things must come to and end and the Sox only play the A's one more time this season and that's tomorrow. There were a lot of good things that happened tonight, but against the A's doesn't really mean much. Its good to see Porcello get win 19 and for Abad to toss two scoreless frames. Tomorrow Eduardo Rodriguez takes the mount looking for the sweep.
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