The Sox struck first in the top of the first inning against Sal Romano. Xander Bogaerts greeted him with a single up the middle before Dustin Pedroia worked a walk. Bogaerts moved to third on a passed ball then Andrew Benintendi walked to load the bases. Mookie Betts whiffed badly on a half hearted swing but Mitch Moreland hit a sac fly to score Bogaerts to give the Sox the lead. Christian Vazquez popped up to first to inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Porcello promptly puked on himself in the bottom of the first. Billy Hamilton singled to right and Zack Cosart doubled over the head of Betts. Joey Votto walked and Scooter Gennett cleared the bases with an upper-deck grand slam to take the lead 4 batters into the game. Eugenio Suarez lined out to third and Scott Schebler grounded out to first. Adam Duvall flied out to center to end the inning but the Reds led 4-1......yuck!
Things went from bad to worse when Rafael Devers cracked a leadoff double in the top of the second but slid off the bag and was tagged out. Unbelievable. Jackie Bradley Jr and Porcello himself struck out to end the inning. The Reds looked to capitalize on a leadoff walk by Tucker Barnhart when he was bunted over to second by Romano. Hamilton singled Barnhart to third, then went to swipe second. He was safe....but slid off the bag as well and was called out. Devers made a great stab to retire Cozart on a ground out to end the inning, bullet dodged.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the third inning as Bogaerts flied out to right, Pedroia grounded out short and Benintendi lined out to center to end the inning. Porcello whiffed Votto to begin the bottom of the third but Gennett walked. Suarez whiffed and Schebler grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the top of the fourth inning when Betts doubled to start the inning. Moreland walked and Vazquez doubled home Betts. Devers lit up the dugout with a clutch 3 run bomb deep to right to give the Sox the lead just like that. JBJ grounded out to second and Porcello grounded out to third. Bogaerts walked but Pedroia grounded out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-4.
Porcello returned for the bottom of the fourth but plunked Duvall to start. Barnhart lined out to center then Zach Vince pinch hit for Romano, only to strike out. Hamilton grounded out to end the inning.
Ariel Hernandez took over on the mound in the top of the fifth inning and Benintendi flied out to the centerfield wall. Betts grounded out to short before Moreland also grounded out to short to end the inning. David Price (6-3, 3.57 ERA) replaced Porcello for the bottom of the fifth and Cozart lined out to center to start. Votto singled but Gennett lined out to a running JBJ in center. Suarez lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the sixth inning as Vazquez hit a comebacker to the mound, Devers grounded out to second and JBJ flied out to center to end the inning. Price returned for the bottom of the sixth inning but Schebler greeted him with a single. David recovered to strike out the side starting with Duvall and Barnhart. Patrick Kivlehan pinch hit for Hernandez and whiffed to end the inning.
Asher Wojciechowski took over in the top of the seventh inning and Price himself greeted him with a single. Bogaerts banged into a double play but Price got a big hand in the dugout. Pedroia flied out to right to end the inning.
Price returned for the bottom of the seventh and got Hamilton to pop up to right to start. Cozart singled and Votto walked to put the pressure on but Price recovered to strike out Ginnett. That was it for Price as Sox manager John Farrell pulled him for Addison Reed. Reed got Suarez to line out to center to end the inning. Price had earned his money with nearly 3 flawless innings.
The Sox got the first man on in the top of the eighth inning when Wojciechowski muffed an underhanded toss by Votto at first, allowing Benintendi to reach. He was stranded as Betts flied out to center, Moreland struck out and Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning. Reed returned for the bottom of the eighth and got Scheber to fly out to center to start. Duvall popped up to third but Barnhart singled. Jose Peraza pinch ran for Barnhart and Jesse Winker pinch hit for Wojciechowski, but struck out to end the inning.
The Sox offense did nothing in the top of the ninth against Deck McGuire with Stuart Turner now behind the plate. Devers looked at strike three and JBJ grounded out to second before Hanley Ramirez pinch hit for Reed. Hanley blasted one but it died at the left field wall to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel took the mound in the bottom of the ninth and got Hamilton to fly out to start. Cozart singled but Votto hit a ball right to first. Moreland stepped on the bag but for some reason Cozart stopped on his way to second. He got caught in a rundown and tagged out for the third and final out. The Sox had won it to reduce their magic number to 6 with a come from behind 5-4 victory.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. His 3 run home run was the difference in the game
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
David Price earned the win with 2 2/3 scoreless innings and got a base hit at the plate.
Addison Reed pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 34th save with a scoreless 9th.
The Bad:
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rick Porcello gave up 4 runs in 4 innings and was 0 for 2 at the plate.
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 2 but walked, drove in a run and scored.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
If the Sox are going to win the division, its going to have to be on the back of the pitching. The Sox offense went completely silent after the 3 run homer by Devers. Porcello also stunk the joint out but Price earned his money on both sides of the plate. A win is a win and it doesn't matter who or how. It should have been easier but oh well. The bottom line is the Sox are inching closer to consecutive division titles for the first time EVER. The win improved the Sox to 89-64, 4 games ahead of the New York Yankees who got crushed 8-1 by the Toronto Blue Jays. The injured 2010 Red Sox won 89 total games so the Sox have matched them with 9 to play. Tomorrow afternoon Eduardo Rodriguez (5-6) takes on Robert "Not Louis" Stephenson at 4 PM at Great American Ballpark.
Magic Number: 6
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