Hernandez took the mound in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to left to begin. Andrew Benintendi grounded out to second but JD Martinez singled. Mitch Moreland flied out to center to end the inning. Price took the hill in the bottom of the first and got Dee Gordon to line out to left to start. Jean Segura whiffed but Mitch Haniger singled. Nelson Cruz flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning although Xander Bogaerts whiffed to start. Rafael Devers singled and stole second but Eduardo Nunez whiffed. Jackie Bradley Jr put the Sox on top with a double into the gap to score Devers. Christian Vazquez grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Price was unhittable in the bottom of the second as Kyle Seager flied out to right, Ryon Healy grounded out to short and Guillermo Heredia flied out to right to end the inning.
Hernandez settled down in the top of the third inning as Mr. Mookie flied out to center, Benintendi looked at strike three and Martinez whiffed to end the inning. Price whiffed Denard Span to begin the bottom of the third before Mike Zunino flied out to right. Dee Gordon singled but was picked of by the alert Price to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Moreland flied out to right to begin. Bogaerts whiffed but Devers doubled. Nunez grounded out to third to end the inning. Price whiffed Segura to start the bottom of the fourth before Haniger flied out to right. Cruz grounded out to third to end the inning.
More nothing from the offense in the top of the fifth as JBJ grounded out to short to start. Vazquez singled but Mr. Mookie whiffed and Benintendi grounded out to second to end the inning. The Mariners struck back in the bottom of the fifth as Seager singled and Hely singled Seager to third. Heredia tied the game with a sac fly to score Seager. Span whiffed and Zunino struck out looking to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox answered in the top of the 6th as Martinez singled to start, Moreland banged into a double play but Bogaerts crushed his 10th homer of the year to give the Sox the lead back. Devers grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 2-1 Sox.
Gordon was hit by a pitch to begin the bottom of the sixth but Segura bounced into a double play. Haniger grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the seventh although Nunez ground out to short to start. JBJ walked and Vazquez singled but Mr. Mookie banged into a double play to end the inning. Price returned for one final inning in the bottom of the seventh. Cruz hit one up the elevator shaft and Seager whiffed, but Healy singled. Heredia took strike three to end the inning. Price stepped up big tonight with 7 innings of 1 run ball.
James Pazos came in for King Felix in the top of the eighth inning and got Benintendi to line out to left. Martinez walked but Moreland lined out to center. Bogaerts singled but Devers popped up to third to end the inning. Joe Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Span flied out to left to begin. Zunino whiffed but Gordon singled. Segura grounded into a force to end the inning.
Nick Rumbelow came in for the top of the ninth and cruised. Nunez grounded out to short, JBJ flied out to right and Vazquez whiffed to end the inning. Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in for the save in the bottom of the ninth. Haninger and Cruz walked as Andrew Romine ran for Cruz only for Seager to look at strike three. Healy grounded into a double play to end the game. The Sox had held on to win 2-1.
Hero of the Night is David Price. He outdueled King Felix to toss 7 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 7
The Good:
JD Martinez was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 including a solo home run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 22nd save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but stole a base and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
If grumpy Red Sox fans were complaining that the Sox and especially David Price couldn't win the close games, tell them to stick it in their hat. That was a hell of a performance by Price against an actually good team and it came at a big time with Mookie Betts still not at 100%. The pitching is going to have to carry them with the bottom of the order in a huge slump right now, especially on this road trip. The Sox have jumped ahead of the New York Yankees and they need to win the close ones...or any games really if they hope to remain ahead of them. The win improved the Sox to 48-22, 1.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to crack James Paxton and they plan on doing it with "Slick" Rick Porcello at 10:05 PM at Safeco Field.
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