The Sox struck first in the top of the first. Dustin Pedroia led off with a double over the head of the right fielder against the fence. Brock "The Hitman" Holt then singled in the hole at second to move Dustin to third. Mr. Mookie Betts hadn't struck out in his last 78 at bats but sure enough, he swung and missed at 3 straight fastballs for out number one. David Ortiz popped up on the in field but then Hanley Ramirez doubled into the gap on a high fastball. Pedroia scored easily but Holt was tagged out at home to end the inning. Still, the Sox had the lead. Could "Slick Rick" hold the lead in the bottom of the first? Rick hit Carlo Santana in the foot on the very first pitch. Uh oh....but wait! Porcello struck out Jason Kipnis then Fransisco Lindor whiffed on a nasty curve. Porcello then whiffed old friend Mike Napoli to end the inning.
Bauer recovered in the top of the second. Xander Bogaerts was thrown out on a little nubber in front of the plate. Jackie Bradley Jr looked at strike three and Sandy Leon popped up to end the inning. The Indians wasted no time tagging Porcello in the bottom of the second. Jose Ramirez doubled into the gap and Lonnie Chisenhall singled to JBJ. Bradley's throw was off line allowing Ramirez to score but Chisenhall was out sliding past second base on the throw down. Coco Crisp lined out to second and Tyler Naquin struck out to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the third. Andrew Benintendi ended his first post-season at-bat by launching a solo home run to right to give the Sox a 2-1 lead. Pedroia looked at strike three, Holt flied out to left and Mr. Mookie grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Indians then pounded Porcello in the bottom of the third as .183 hitting Roberto Perez homered to right to lead off the bottom of the third. Santana grounded out into the shift but Kipnis and Lindor went back to back to make it 4-2. Porcello had never allowed 3 homers in an inning...until now. Napoli grounded out and JBJ made a leaping grab to rob Ramirez to end the inning. Porcello hadn't allowed 4 runs in a start since July 24 but he was trailing 4-2 here.
The Sox were deflated at that point and Bauer cruised in the top of the fourth. Ortiz grounded out although Ramirez doubled to right. Bogaerts and JBJ whiffed to end the inning. Porcello recovered in the bottom of the fourth, Chisenhall whiffed, Crisp flied out and Naquin struck out to end the inning.
Leon had slumped most of August and September but he made his contribution by homering off Bauer to lead off the top of the fifth to cut the lead 4-3. Benny the Kid lined out and Pedroia whiffed, suddenly Indians manager Terry Francona made the shocking decision to bring in closer Andrew Miller in the fifth inning to pitch to Holt. Somehow Hitman doubled to center and Mr. Mookie walked, but Ortiz whiffed to end the inning. Still, the Sox had knocked the starter out and made the closer work in the fifth inning, trailing 4-3.
King Leon brings the Sox within a run
Could Porcello hold the fort in the bottom of the fifth? NO! Turns out he wouldn't last long enough anyway. Perez singled and Santana took Benny The Kid to the wall, allowing Perez to reach second. Sox manager John Farrell then brought in Drew Pomeranz to face the lefty hitters. So much for the ace of the Sox, done after 4 1/3 innings. Pomeranz fared no better as Kipnis singled home Perez to up the lead 5-3. Lindor popped up but Napoli lined a ground rule double to put two runners in scoring position. Ramirez walked to load the bases but Chisenhall whiffed to end the inning. Still, the Indians still had a 2 run lead with 4 innings to go.
Could the Sox rally in the top of the sixth? Hell no! Miller shut down the Sox in order as Ramirez looked at a full count strike three, Bogaerts whiffed and JBJ popped up to end the inning. Pomeranz cruised in the bottom of the sixth as Crisp whiffed and Rajai Davis pinch hit for Naquin only to strike out as well. Perez looked at strike three to end the inning.
Francona tried to squeeze one more inning out of Miller in the top of the seventh. It worked as Miller got Leon to ground out and Benny The Kid to strikeout. Francona then brought in Bryan Shaw as Miller left to a standing ovation. Pedroia meekly grounded out to end the inning. Pomeranz returned for the bottom of the seventh and got Santana to ground out, but Kipnis singled. Lindor whiffed and that was it for Pomeranz. He kept the Sox in the game even if he did allow the insurance run to score. Joe Kelly came in and blew away Napoli on a 99 mph fastball to end the inning.
The insurance run allowed by Pomeranz became huge when Hitman Holt hit a solo shot to right to cut the lead 5-4. Mr. Mookie hit a weak pop up and that was it for Shaw. Francona was going to take no chances with Corey Kluber going tomorrow so he brought in closer Cody Allen for the final 5 outs. Ortiz then lined one into the gap and slid into second....safe! Not so fast! Francona challenged the call and the umpires ruled....SAFE! Marco Hernandez pinch ran for Ortiz and moved to third on the ground out by Ramirez. With the tying run 90 feet away.....Bogaerts was rung up on a check swing to end the inning. 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts for Bogaerts, way to go.
Koji Uehara was brought in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Ramirez greeted him with a single...only to be erased on the Chisenhall double play. Crisp grounded out to end the inning.
The Indians were 82-1 when leading after 8 in the regular season. Allen returned for the top of the ninth and blew away JBJ easily. 0 for 4 with three strikeouts for JBJ, way to go. Leon whiffed badly but Benny The Kid singled to right. Pedroia then struck out on a check swing in the dirt to end the game. The Indians had taken Game 1.
Jackass of the night is Rick Porcello. Supposedly the shut-down ace, Porcello got blasted by the Indians, giving up 5 runs in just 4 1/3 innings, taking the Game 1 loss. The Cy Young Award candidate hardly pitched like one.
The Good:
Brock Holt carried the Sox offense in this one. He was 3 for 4 with a home run.
Hanley Ramirez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Andrew Benintendi made a great playoff debut by going 2 for 4 with a solo home run.
Joe Kelly struck out the only man he faced.
Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a hat trick.
Jackie Bradley Jr was also 0 for 4 with a hat trick.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 with a run scored.
Mookie Betts was 0 for 3 but walked.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4.
Sandy Leon was just 1 for 4 but made the one hit count as it was a solo home run to lead off the top of the eighth.
Drew Pomeranz tossed 2 1/3 innings of relief but allowed the 5th and deciding run to score.
Honorable Mention:
Marco Hernandez pinch ran for Ortiz in the 8th.
Final Thoughts:
That sucked. The Sox looked more like the team that took the rest of the year off after clinching in New York rather than the rabid bunch that found seven thousand ways to win during the 11 game winning streak. The Sox tried to claw their way back in the game but just couldn't get the clutch hit to pull off the rally. This is bad news because Corey Kluber goes tomorrow and the Sox could very easily be down 2-0 very quickly. Hopefully David Price can avoid a repeat of his past post-season failures to guide the Sox to victory in Game 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment