Faria took the mound in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to right to start. Andrew Benintendi watched strike three go by and Hanley Ramirez popped up to first to end the inning. Sale had some trouble in the bottom of the first although Daniel Robertson popped up to first to begin. CJ Cron whiffed but Matt Duffy walked. Wilson Ramos singled to center but Willy Adames whiffed to end the inning.
JD Martinez began the top of the second inning with a base hit but Xander Bogaerts banged into a double play. Rafael Devers flied out to right to end the inning. Johnny Field singled to start the bottom of the second but Christian Arroyo whiffed. Rob Refsnyder flied out to right and Mallex Smith lined out back to Sale to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third inning. Eduardo Nunez popped up to first but Sandy Leon walked. Somehow Jackie Bradley Jr beat out an infield hit and Mr. Mookie made Faria pay by blasting a three run bomb to left to put the Sox on top. Benintendi struck out but Faria suddenly collapsed in a heap and was carried off the field in a wheelbarrow. Austin Pruitt came in ice cold and walked Ramirez and Martinez back to back. Wilson Ramos suddenly keeled over and also had to be carried out in a wheelbarrow causing Jesus Sucre to take his place. Bogaerts was plunked to load the bases but Devers flied out to end the inning. The Sox sent 9 men to the plate, the Rays lost 2 guys and the Sox were up 3-0. Crazy inning.
Sale held the lead in the bottom of the third although Robertson was plunked to begin. JBJ's defense is hardly the equal of his offense and he made a great catch to rob Cron of a hit AND double off Robertson in the process. Duffy grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Nunez flied out to left to begin. Leon watched strike three go by but somehow JBJ singled. Mr. Mookie lined out to center to end the inning. The Rays struck back in the bottom of the fourth although Sucre whiffed to begin. Adames stunned the crowd with a solo home run to left to put the Rays on the board. Field lined out to first and Arroyo whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were up 3-1.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the fifth as Benintendi flied out to left, Ramirez grounded out to second and Martinez flied out to right. The Rays struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Refsnyder led off with a double. Smith tried to bunt him over to third but popped up to third. It didn't matter anyway as a passed ball by Leon and a sac fly by Robertson scored Refsnyder. Cron whiffed to end the inning but it was now 3-2 Sox, thanks a lot Leon.
The Sox wasted no time getting that run right back in the top of the sixth although Bogaerts flied out to right to begin. Devers crushed his 9th home run of the year right inside the right field foul pole to extend the lead. Nunez grounded out to short and Leon looked at strike three to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the seventh as JBJ grounded out to secon to start. Mr. Mookie singled but Benintendi banged into a double play to end the inning. Sale came back for the bottom of the seventh and got Field to ground back to the mound to start. Arroyo looked at strike three but Refsnyder walked. Smith whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox failed to score in the top of the eighth as Ramirez grounded out to second, Martinez grounded out to third and Bogaerts popped up to second to end the inning. Sale trudged to the mound for one more inning in the top of the eighth and got Robertson to ground out to short to start. Cron popped up to third and Sox manager Alex Cora decided that 112 pitches was enough for Sale. He lifted the ace after 7 2/3 brilliant innings where he struck out 9 while allowing just two runs. Joe "Machine Gun" Kelly came in and slammed the door by freezing Duffy to end the inning.
Ryan Stanek replaced Pruitt in the top of the ninth inning and Devers drew a walk although Nunez banged into a double play. Leon singled but JBJ looked at strike three to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth and Sucre greeted him with a single. Kimbrel blew away Adames and Dernard Span pinch hit for Field only to hit one up the elevator shaft. Brad Miller pinch hit for Arroyo and doubled before Refsnyder walked to load the bases. Smith grounded out to short to end the game with the Sox winning 4-2.
Hero of the Night is Mookie Betts. His 3 run bomb was the difference in the game.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 1 for 3 with a walk
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk including a solo home run.
Sandy Leon was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Chris Sale got the win with 7 2/3 innings of 2 run ball while striking out 9.
Joe Kelly retired the only guy he faced.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 14th save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Hanley Ramirez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That was a good win against a struggling team and every win counts in the era of the second wild card. Sale continues to be amazing and its good on Cora to lift him when he does to save his arm for better days. Kimbrel looked shaky but he got the job done and Mr. Mookie did it again. Between him and JD Martinez they haven't had a 1-2 punch like this since David Ortiz retired. If the Sox can keep this offense going they're going to do some damage going forward. Ramirez, Moreland, Martinez, Bogaerts, Betts and Benintendi when all healthy could be devastating. The win improved the Sox to 33-15, 1.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night David Price (4-4, 4.38 ERA) goes for the Sox opposite Rays ace Chris Archer in the second game of this series at 7:10 PM at Tropicana Field.
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