Pomeranz got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kevin Kiermaier flied out to left field to start. Mookie Betts made a sprinting catch to rob Lucas Duda of extra bases but Evan Longoria walked. Logan Morrison looked at strike three to end the inning. Dustin Pedroia greeted Archer with a base hit up the middle. Andrew Benintendi blooped a double down the left field line and Mookie Betts hit a piece of crap 290 foot home run off the base of the Pesky Pole to give the Sox the lead. Hanley Ramirez whiffed but Mitch Moreland singled. Xander Bogaerts popped up meekly to center but Rafael Devers singled in the hole at second. With a chance to hit the kill-shot....Christian Vazquez struck out to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-0.
Pomeranz began the top of the second by getting Steven Souza Jr swinging on a curve in the dirt. Corey Dickerson lined out to a charging Benintendi in left for the second out. Adeiny Hechavarria hit the first pitch he saw to second for a ground-out to end the inning. Archer matched Pomeranz in the bottom of the second as Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed to start. Pedroia popped up to right and Benintendi grounded out to second to end the inning.
Things looked shaky when Pomeranz hit Brad Miller with a pitch to open the top of the third but he recovered to get Jesus Sucre to fly out to right. Kiermaier hit a comebacker to the mound for the second out and Duda grounded out to second to end the inning. Archer recovered to strike out Betts to open the bottom of the third. Ramirez walked but Moreland took a fastball down the middle for strike 3. Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Once again the leadoff man reached when Longoria walked to open the top of the fourth inning. Pomeranz bounced back to get Morrison to fly out to right. Pomeranz froze Souza Jr and Dickerson to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the fourth inning. Devers doubled down the line and Vazquez hit a ball into the right field corner that Souza Jr played on a hop, but crashed knee first into the wall. He had to be helped off the field and Peter Bourjos took his place, hope he's ok. When play resumed JBJ singled up the middle to score Devers and Morrison muffed a ground ball by Pedroia, allowing Vazquez to score. Benintendi slammed a single to score JBJ and that was it for Archer. His personal house of horrors struck again. Chaz Roe took over and walked Betts to load the bases. Ramirez singled to score Pedroia although Moreland grounded into a double play to score Benintendi. Bogaerts whiffed badly to end the inning but the Sox were up 8-0.
Just as soon as the Sox got Pomeranz a big lead, he tried to piss it away in the top of the fifth inning. Hechavarria flied out to center but Miller singled. Sucre then blasted a 2 run home run to break up the shutout. Kiermaier struck out but Duda was plunked, then took second on a wild pitch. Longoria flied out to end the inning but it was 8-2 now.
Jose Alvarado shut the Sox down in the bottom of the fifth although Devers singled to start. Vazquez lined out to right, JBJ lined out to center and Pedroia watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Pomeranz returned for the top of the sixth and whiffed Morrison to start. Bourjos looked at strike three and Dickerson grounded out to end the inning. Pomeranz wasn'tat his sharpest but he did enough to give the Sox a chance to win.
Andrew Kittredge replaced Alvarado for the bottom of the sixth inning. Benintendi whiffed, Betts lined out to right and Ramirez grounded to short to end the inning.
Joe Kelly was first out of the bullpen and he promptly crapped his pamts. He gave up a single to Hevhavarria to start the top of the seventh inning but froze Miller for strike three. Sucre singled and Kiermaier walked to load the bases. Sox manager John Farrell charged out of the dugout and chased Kelly away, Addison Reed strutting in from the bullpen Ric Flair style to take his place. Reed got Duda to pop up..but Pedroia let it go, scoring Sucre but getting Kiermaier at second. Pedroia then made a great diving catch to rob Longoria of an rbi to end the inning with the Sox still up 8-3.
Ryan Stanek took over for Tampa in the bottom of the seventh inning and the Sox tagged him. Moreland struck out and Bogaerts flied out to right, but Devers walked. Vazquez doubled home Devers but JBJ struck out to end the inning. The Sox now led 9-3.
Brock Holt took over at second for Pedroia with Reed briefly returning for the top of the eighth inning. Morrison grounded out to first and Sox manager John Farrell woke up from a deep sleep and saw Reed on the mound in a 7 run game. He bolted out of the dugout and had Austin Maddox come in to pitch. Devers made a great play to rob Bourjos of a hit and Dickerson struck out to end the inning. Chase Whitley had mop up duty in the bottom of the eighth for the Rays. Holt flied out to left, Benintendi grounded out to short and Betts flied out to end the inning.
Maddox returned to close the game out in the top of the ninth. Hechavarria flied out to right but Miller singled. Miller moved to second on defensive indifference but Sucre was rung up for strike three. Kiermaier flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-3.
Hero of The Night is Drew Pomeranz. His 6 innings of 2 run ball were what the doctor ordered and won his 15th game in the process.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 but scored twice.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 5 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Rafael Devers was 3 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Addison Reed tossed a full scoreless inning.
Austin Maddox tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Brock Holt was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4.
Joe Kelly gave up a run on 2 hits and a walk in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a walk but the one hit was a 3 run home run.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing like a good easy win to feel good about rather than pull your hair out during an extra inning marathon. Tonight the Red Sox made it look easy by beating on their personal punching bag Chris Archer. Who would have thought Drew Pomeranz may actually win 17 games this year? It was nice to see Betts contribute even if it was the cheapest home run possible. All in all it was a good win and they need to keep this momentum going if they want to win the division. The win improved the Sox to 80-61, 4.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night Chris Sale (15-7, 2.88 ERA) looks to bounce back from his stinker against the Yankees. In his way is Matt Andriese in Game 2 of this series at Fenway Park at 7:10 PM.
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