Porcello got the ball in the top of the first and Trey Maninci nearly took his head off with a line drive up the middle. Adam Jones popped up to first and Manny Machado lined out to short before Jonathan Schoop grounded back to the mound to end the inning. Dylan Bundy got the ball in the bottom of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts struck out to start. Andrew Benintendi drew a walk and swiped second but Hanley Ramirez popped up to short. JD Martinez walked but Xander Bogaerts swung at a 2-2 fastball up in his eyes to end the inning although Bundy had thrown 30 pitches already.
Porcello began the top of the second by blowing away Chris Davis and freezing Mark Trumbo for strike three, but walked Pedro Alvarez. Jace Peterson was rung up for strike three to end the inning. The bottom of the Sox order reared its ugly head as Rafael Devers flied out to center to begin the bottom of the second. Eduardo Nunez doubled to left field wall and moved to third on the Sandy Leon fly out to right....but Jackie Bradley Jr swung and missed at a fastball right down the middle to end the inning.
Naturally the O's struck in the top of the third inning. Chance Sisco smacked a ground rule double into right but Porcello managed to whiff Mancini. Jones hit another ground ball into left to put runners at the corners and Machado walked to load the bases. Schoop hit a sac fly to left to score Sisco before Davis whiffed to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the third as Mr. Mookie lined out to left to begin. Benintendi and Ramirez both grounded out to second to end the inning.
Porcello managed to get Trumbo to ground out to third to open the top of the fourth before Alvarez grounded out to second. Peterson walked but Sisco whiffed to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning although Martinez grounded out to short to begin. Bogaerts whiffed but Devers crushed his 8th homer of the year to dead center to tie the game. Nunez whiffed to end the inning but it was 1-1.
Porcello mowed down the O's in the top of the fifth inning as Mancini flied out to center to start. Jones flied out to right but Machado singled. Schoop whiffed to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the fifth as Leon doubled to start. JBJ whiffed but Mr. Mookie smashed a 2 run home run to left to give the Sox the lead. Benintendi followed Betts' lead and crushed a home run of his own to go back to back. Ramirez popped up to short and Martinez looked at strike three to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Needing a shut-down inning, Porcello nearly gave the game away in the top of the sixth inning. David whiffed but Trumbo singled and Alvarez crushed a 900 foot bomb to inch the O's closer. Peterson lined out to center and Sisco whiffed to end the inning but the O's trailed 4-3. That was it for Porcello who tossed 6 solid innings, gave up 3 runs and struck out 9.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the sixth as Bogaerts whiffed to start. Devers flied out to left and Nunez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Joe Kelly got the call to pitch the top of the seventh and Mancini grounded back to the mound to start. Kelly blew away Jones and Machado to end the inning. The Sox picked up huge insurance in the bottom of the seventh against Tanner Scott in the bottom of the seventh. Leon and JBJ drew back to back walks and both advanced into scoring position on the Mr. Mookie sac fly. Benintendi singled home both runners to increase the lead. That was it for Scott as Miguel Castro came in and Ramirez reached when Machado booted a grounder. Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning but it was 6-3 Sox.
Matt Barnes got the ball in the top of the eighth and got Schoop to fly out to right to start. Davis and Trumbo whiffed to end the inning. Bogaerts walked to open the bottom of the eighth but Devers popped up to third. Nunez grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was summoned for the save in the top of the ninth. Alvarez flied out to right before Peterson popped up to short. Sisco flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-3.
Hero of the Night is Andrew Benintendi. He drove in 3 runs, stole a base and swatted a solo home run to help defeat the O's.
The Good:
Rick Porcello got the win with 6 solid innings while giving up 3 runs and striking out 9.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless seventh.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless eighth.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 13th save with a scoreless ninth.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored.
The Bad:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count as it was a 2 run home run.
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count as it was a solo home run.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 4.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 2 but walked and scored.
Final Thoughts:
Everything is going well for the Red Sox these days and tonight was no different. Betts and Benintendi got the job done while Porcello continues his resurgence after a horrible 2017. The bullpen locked down the win after Porcello left and it was a good bounce back game after Drew Pomeranz' meltdown last night. Ramirez is in a bit of a slump but I'm sure he can work his way out of it. Betts will cool off eventually but for now its time to enjoy the ride. The win improved the Sox to 31-15, 0.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Eduardo Rodriguez goes for the Sox tomorrow against David Hess tomorrow at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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