Porcello got the ball in the top of the first inning and Curtis Granderson walked. The alert Sandy Leon gunned Granderson down at second trying to steal and Kevin Pillar struck out. Yangervis Solarte flied out to end the inning. The Sox wasted no time scoring off Marco Estrada in the bottom of the first inning although Andrew Benintendi lined out to left to begin. Xander Bogaerts singled to left and Mitch Moreland doubled him home. JD Martinez doubled home Moreland but Rafael Devers flied out to center. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Porcello kept the Jays in check in the top of the second inning as Justin Smoak grounded out to first to begin. Teoscar Hernandez popped up to first but Russell Martin singled. Kendrys Morales singled but Devon Travis grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the second although Brock "Hitman" Holt grounded out to second to begin. Leon doubled but Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to left. The red hot Benintendi doubled home Leon to increase the lead. A wild pitch moved Benintendi to third but Bogaerts popped up to second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Porcello whiffed Luke Maile to start the top of the third and Granderson lined out to second. Pillar popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox finally went quietly in the bottom of the third as Moreland and Martinez flied out to center and Devers whiffed to end the inning.
The Jays struck back in the top of the fourth although Solarte flied out to left to start. Smoak crushed a 55,000 foot home run to Everett to put the Jays on the board. Hernandez and Martin grounded out to short to end the inning with the Jays now down 3-1.
The Sox answered in the bottom of the fourth although Pedroia grounded out to short to start. Holt singled and stole second before moving to third on the Leon groundout. JBJ slammed a single to center to score Holt to increase the lead and chase Estrada from the game after just 3 2/3 innings. Aaron "Fruit" Loup got Benintendi to ground out to first to end the inning but it was now 4-1 Sox.
Porcello kept the Sox in it in the top of the fifth as Morales grounded out to first to begin. Travis grounded out to short and Maile lined out to left to end the inning. Bogaerts drew a walk to begin the bottom of the fifth but Moreland grounded into a double play. Martinez whiffed to end the inning.
There was some serious stink eye going on in the top of the sixth as Granderson grounded out to third to begin. Pillar whiffed but Solarte was plunked. Smoak whiffed to end the inning but Solarte was very unhappy. The Sox rallied in the bottom of the sixth against Joe Biagini as Devers and Pedroia stroked back to back singles to start, but Holt whiffed. Leon scored Devers with a double and JBJ walked. The rally ended when Benintendi hit into a double play but it was now 5-1.
Porcello tried to go seven but failed although Hernandez flied out to center to start. Martin got plunked and Morales walked before Travis singled to load the bases. Porcello got a big out by striking out Maile and got a ground ball hit to Pedroia.....but he decided to dive for the relay throw when he didn't have to allowing Martin and Morales to score on the error. That was it for Porcello who hung in there despite the error to toss 6 2/3 innings of 3 run ball to put the Sox in position to win.
"Machine Gun" Joe Kelly took over for Slick Rick and punched out Pillar on 3 pitches to end the inning with the Jays down 5-3. Bogaerts got one of the runs right back with a moon shot into the Monster Seats. Tyler Clippard took over for Biagini and Moreland grounded out to second. Martinez doubled but Devers flied out to center. Pedroia lined out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 6-3.
Kelly returned for the top of the eighth and got Solarte to pop up to third to begin. Smoak grounded out but Hernandez was plunked which raised the ire of the Jays. Martin popped up to second to end the inning but the Jays were mad. Danny Barnes came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth and the first thing he did was plunk Holt in retaliation for all the beanballs. Holt took first and the Sox nodded as if to say "Ok, we're even." Leon wasn't as ok as Holt was and he launched a 2 run bomb to dead center to ice the game. JBJ and Benintendi flied out to center before Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning with the Sox up for good 8-3.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez took the mound in the top of the ninth and Morales greeted him with a double. Devers got eaten alive by a ground ball by Travis and Dwight Smith pinch hit for Maile only to single to load the bases. Velazquez got Granderson to fly out to left but Sox manager Alex Cora had seen enough. For whatever reason Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was brought in to close out the game. Pillar whiffed and Solarte grounded into a force to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-3.
Hero of the Night is Sandy Leon. He went 3 for 4 and drove in 3 big runs that ended up being the difference in the game, including a 2 run shot when the Jays got the momentum back.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 total runs scored and a solo home run.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Brock Holt was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch, stolen base and 2 rims scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Rick Porcello got the win by going 6 2/3 inning while giving up 3 runs (2 earns) off 5 hits and 2 walks.
Joe Kelly pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Craig Kimbrel pitched 2/3 of an inning to earn his 17th save.
The Bad:
Hector Velazquez left the bases loaded in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 5 with an rbi.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
The ending was a little too close for comfort but a win is a win. Getting production out of Sandy Leon and more importantly the bottom of the order in the wake of Betts being out was huge. Porcello made one mistake but pitched well all things considering. The beanball attack may not have been the best idea the way the Sox have plastered the Jays in the series so far. You don't want to give them extra motivation to win considering how slim the lead is in the AL East. Hopefully Betts can come back soon as well as Tyler Thornburg. After Carson Smith foolishly ended his own season the Sox need Tyler more than ever and he should be close to returning. The win improved the Sox to 38-17, 2 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon is the finale before the big series in Houston with the world champion Astros. Eduardo Rodriguez goes for the Sox opposite Sam Gaviglio at 1:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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