Clay Buchholz got the start for the Red Sox and immediately Carlos Santana greeted him with an infield single. Jason Kipnis struck out but Fransisco Lindor singled as well. Mike Napoli lined out and Jose Ramirez grounded out to second to end the inning. Josh Tomlin got the start for Cleveland and the Sox offered little resistance in the bottom of the first inning. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to third, Brock "Hitman" Holt grounded out to second and Mr. Mookie Betts lined out to right to end the inning.
Lonnie Chisenhall poked one into center for a leadoff single in the top of the second. Coco Crisp flied out and Tyler Naquin struck out. Roberto Perez grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. The Sox blew their chance to take the lead in the bottom of the second. David Ortiz worked a walk but Hanley Ramirez flied out. Xander Bogaerts singled but Andrew Benintendi banged into a double play to end the inning.
Buchholz battled in the top of the third inning as Santana grounded out to start. Kipnis struck out but Lindor doubled into the gap. Napoli grounded out to end the inning. Once again the Sox mustered no offense in the bottom of the third. Sandy Leon and Jackie Bradley Jr both looked at strike three as Pedroia grounded out to end the frame.
The Indians struck first in the top of the fourth. Ramirez singled and Chisenhall walked. Crisp bunted both runners over and they both scored on the Naquin single. Perez grounded out and Santana whiffed but the damage was done, the Indians had a 2-0 lead. Could the Sox answer in the bottom of the fourth? Hell no! Hitman Holt struck out, Mr. Mookie flied out and David Ortiz grounded out to end the inning.
That was it for Buchholz as Drew Pomeranz came in to pitch the top of the fifth. Not a single Sox starter went past 5 innings in this series, nice going Buchholz.
Kipnis struck out, Lindor popped out and Napoli whiffed in short order. The Sox finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Ramirez flied out but Bogaerts singled. Benny The Kid doubled home Bogaerts but Leon whiffed. JBJ grounded out but the Sox were back in it 2-1.
Just when the crowd was back in it, the Indians in the top of the sixth quieted it. Ramirez walked and Chisenhall bunted him over to second. Coco Crisp was benched for the 2007 World Series in favor of Jacoby Ellsbury and he finally got his revenge by launching a 2 run home run into the Monster seats to give the Indians a 4-1 lead.
Rajai Davis pinch hit for Tyler Naquin and Sox manager John Farrell pulled Pomeranz for Joe Kelly. The big trade deadline acquisition had crapped himself one last time. Davis popped up and Perez grounded out to end the inning. Why Farrell decided to bring in Pomeranz and not Kelly the whole time just cost them 2 crucial runs.
Indians manager Terry Francona wasted no time in bringing in Andrew Miller with a 3 run lead. Somehow the Sox tagged him. Pedroia singled and Aaron Hill pinch hit for Holt, only to strike out. Nice going Farrell. Mr. Mookie doubled and Ortiz drove in his final run with a sac fly to cut the lead in half 4-2. Ramirez struck out to end the inning.
Kelly returned for the top of the seventh with Hill now at third base. Santana grounded out, Kipnis popped up and Lindor struck out to end the inning in short order. Miller came back for the bottom of the seventh and Bogaerts grounded out. Chris Young pinch hit for Benny The Kid and worked a walk. Leon lined out and JBJ struck out to end the inning.
Young stayed in left field as Koji Uehara came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning. Napoli struck out, Ramirez flied out and Chisenhall grounded out to end the inning. Bryan Shaw relieved Miller in the bottom of the eighth and got Pedroia to strike out. Travis Shaw pinch hit for Hill and singled but was erased on the Mr. Mookie fielder's choice. Ortiz walked and Ramirez singled home Mookie to pull within one. John Farrell made another stupid move by pinch running Marco Hernandez for David Ortiz. The crowd reigned down boo's as Ortiz was out of his possibly final game. Sure enough the move backfired as Bogaerts lined out to end the inning but the Sox had cut the lead to 4-3.
Shaw stayed at third base as Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came on to pitch the top of the ninth. Michael Martinez pinch hit for Coco Crisp and struck out. Davis struck out and Perez hit one up the elevator shaft to end it. Indians closer Cody Allen took the mound to close out the bottom of the ninth. Young flied out and Leon struck out, but JBJ singled. Pedroia walked to put the tying run in scoring position but Shaw flied out to right to end the game. The Indians had won 4-3 and swept the Red Sox out of the ALDS. A pathetic end to a promising season.
Jackass of the Night is Clay Buchholz. Yes Drew Pomeranz gave up the deciding home run but Buchholz was about as ineffective as it got in 4 innings of work. He gave up 6 hits and a walk to go along with the 2 runs allowed.
The Good:
In his final game, David Ortiz walked twice in 3 plate appearances before being lifted for Marco Hernandez
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Andrew Benintendi was 1 for 3 before being lifted for Chris Young
Joe Kelly tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th inning
The Bad:
Brock Holt was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Aaron Hill pinch hit for Holt and struck out
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with a hat-trick of 3 strikeouts.
Drew Pomeranz gave up the two run bomb to Coco Crisp that ended up being the game decider.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 with a walk but scored a run.
Travis Shaw singled in his first at bat but made the final out of the season with 2 men on.
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Chris Young was 0 for 1 but walked.
Hanley Ramirez was just 1 for 4 with an rbi.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4.
Honorable Mention:
Marco Hernandez pinch ran for David Ortiz in the bottom of the eighth.
Final Thoughts:
All good things must come to and end and unfortunately the Red Sox got it two-fold. Not only is their season over but that's it for David Ortiz. Arguably the most clutch post-season hitter of all time retires with 540 home runs, 3 world series rings and 14 years of memories. It hurts to say goodbye but at least Ortiz went out with one of the best seasons of his career. Its better to go out on top than as a pinch hitter on a crappy team 20 games out of first in August. This Red Sox team is beginning to gell with budding stars such as Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr with Andrew Benintendi almost the odds on favorite to win Rookie of the Year next year. If they can secure another starter, get Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez back healthy and sign Edwin Encarnarcion, the Sox will be right back in the playoffs next year for sure. Christian Vazquez should be back to full strength next year and Sam Travis could be waiitng in the wings to take over first base if Hanley Ramirez has a down season or if Travis Shaw slumps. As for this year, it was a hell of a ride. After two last place finishes to come back and win the division was a step in the right direction. The sky is the limit for the young bats in the lineup, let's see what next year holds.
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