Price took the ball to start the game and Adam Jones promptly grounded to third. Steven Pearce struck out and Manny Machado struck out to end the inning. Good start for Price....not so much for Wade Miley. Dustin Pedroia greeted last year's teammate with a single. Machado then fell down in foul territory, allowing Xander Bogaerts to reach first on a single. Pearce then botched a dropped ball in center allowing David to reach first and load the bases. Mr. Mookie then added to his growing MVP chances with a two run double to put the Sox up 2-0 four batters into the game. Hanley Ramirez added to his big September with a single, that caught Pearce completely asleep when he casually tossed the ball to short, allowing Mookie to scamper home to make it 4-0. Hanley was erased on the fielder's choice by Aaron Hill but Chris Young singled Aaron to third. Sandy Leon hit a sac fly to score Hill but Young was picked off trying to steal to end the inning. The Sox were up 5-0 already.
The O's didn't go quietly in the top of the second inning. Mark Trumbo struck out and Jonathan Schoop grounded out, but Chris Davis got bailed out on a blown strike three call. Davis responded by blasting a solo home run out of Fenway to cut the lead 5-1. Matt Wieters grounded out to end the inning. The Sox continued to smack around Miley in the bottom of the second. Jackie Bradley Jr flied out but Pedroia singled again. Bogaerts singled and Ortiz walked to load the bases and chase Miley after only getting four outs. Vance Worley came on in relief and got Mr. Mookie to ground into a fielder's choice, Pedroia out at home. Ramirez worked a bases loaded walk to increase the lead 6-1. Hill flied out to end the inning and the rout was on.
Price made quick work of the Dirty Birds in the top of the third. JJ Hardy flied out, Drew Stubbs grounded out and Jones popped up to end the inning. Young led off the bottom of the third with a double and Leon singled Chris to third. JBJ drove home Young with a sac fly to make it 7-1. Pedroia then lashed one, booted by Machado allowing Dustin to reach first. Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning but the Sox now had a 7-1 lead.
The O's struck back in the top of the fourth. Pearce continued his hard night by striking out, but Machado launched one over the Monster seats to make it 7-2. Trumbo whiffed and Schoop grounded out to end the inning. Ortiz popped up to begin the bottom of the fourth. Mr. Mookie also popped up but Ramirez absolutely crushed a home run out of Fenway to left to get the run right back, number 24 of the season. Hill popped up to end the inning.
Davis grounded out to second to begin the top of the fifth. Wieters flied out and Hardy struck out to end the inning. Price was cruising and the game was all but over. Young wanted more offense anyway and blasted a solo shot to chase Worley in the bottom of the fifth. Oliver Drake was brought in and he struck out both Leon and JBJ. Pedroia flied out to end the inning.
Price almost had a clean inning in the top of the sixth. Stubbs grounded out and Jones whiffed, but Hill booted one and Pearce reached first. Machado grounded out to end the inning. Bogaerts grounded out to begin the bottom of the inning but Ortiz stuck his middle finger to New York Yankee fans by blasting a solo home run, tying Mickey Mantle with 536 career home runs. Mr. Mookie struck out and Ramirez grounded out to end the inning.
Price cruised in the top of the seventh as Deven Marrero replaced Pedroia at second base. Trumbo grounded out, Schoop struck out and Davis flied out to end the inning. The Sox poured it on in the bottom of the seventh against Brian Duensing. Hill singled, Young doubled and Leon singled to score Hill in the blink of an eye. JBJ struck out but Marrero walked to load the bases. Bogaerts grounded out to short but Young scored to make it 12-2. The much maligned Yoan Moncada pinch hit for David Ortiz and naturally he struck out to end the inning. His 9th straight strikeout, one short of the major league record. The Arizona Fall League can't come fast enough for Moncada.
Price returned for the top of the eighth and the bench was emptied. Marrero moved to short as Marco Hernandez replaced Bogaerts, playing second base. Travis Shaw moved to third base. Fransisco Pena pinch hit for Wieters and struck out. Nolan Riemold pinch hit for Hardy and flied out. Stubbs struck out to end the inning. David Price faced one of the top offense in baseball and tossed 8 innings of 2 run ball, outstanding. The O's emptied their bench in the bottom of the eighth as well. Jayson Aquino was brought in to pitch and got Mr. Mookie to pop up. Shaw and Hill both struck out to end the inning.
Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate as Junichi Tazawa took over on the mound to close out the game. Ryan Flaherty lined out but Hyun Soo Kim walked. Machado banged into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won 12-2.
Hero of the night is Chris Young. Though he only drove in one run, he went 4 for 4 and scored 3 times. He was all over the bases and set the tone for the night.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Deven Marrero pinch hit for Pedroia and walked. Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored. David Ortiz was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 runs scored and his 536th career home run. Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 3 with a walk, run scored, solo home run and 3 rbi's. Sandy Leon was 2 for 3 with 2 rbi's. David Price earned his 16th win by tossing 8 innings of 2 run ball, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 9. Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Yoan Moncada pinch hit for David Ortiz and struck out, his 9th in a row. Travis Shaw struck out as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 but made the one hit count, driving in two runs and scoring himself. Aaron Hill was just 1 for 5 but scored 2 runs. Jackie Bradley was 0 for 3 but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Marco Hernandez played second base. Christian Vazquez caught the 9th inning.
Final Thoughts:
Another big win for the Sox and another statement by David Price. He continues to roll along and wins his seventh game in a row. He won 18 games all of last year and he has 16 so far this year with 19 games to go. The offense stepped up big by pounding Miley. Its too bad they can't hit like that when behind more often as they do ahead. The win moved the Sox to 81-62, 2 games in front of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. Tomorrow night Drew Pomeranz takes the ball with extra rest opposite Dylan Bundy in Game 2 of the series.
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