The Sox blew a chance to strike early against their nemesis Kyle Gibson in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts singled to left to begin but Benintendi lined out to left. JD Martinez walked but Mitch Moreland looked at strike three. Xander Bogaerts lined out to center to end the inning. Porcello started his dominance in the bottom of the first by getting Joe Mauer to ground out to second. Brian Dozier grounded out to third but Eduardo Escobar was plunked. Logan Morrison singled but Robbie Grossman grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Rafael Devers looked at strike three to start before Brock "The Hitman" Holt grounded out to first. Sandy Leon walked but Jackie Bradley Jr lined out to second to end the inning. Max Kepler flied out to center to start the bottom of the second before Ehire Adrianza whiffed. Ryan LaMarre walked but Bobby Wilson flied out to center to end the inning.
Nothing happened in the top of the third as Mr. Mookie popped up to short to start. Benintendi whiffed and Martinez looked at strike three to end the inning. Porcello matched Gibson in the bottom of the third as Mauer grounded out to short to start. Dozier lined out to left before Escobar whiffed to end the inning.
Taylor Motter took over for Escobar in the top of the fourth after Escobar had to leave the game due to the HBP earlier. The Sox struck first when Moreland walked to start but Bogaerts lined out to center. Devers whiffed but Holt and Leon struck back to back singles to score Mitch to put the Sox on top. JBJ popped up to short to end the inning but the Sox had the lead 1-0.
Porcello kept up the dominance in the bottom of the fourth as Morrison popped up to third to start. Grossman and Kepler both took strike three to end the inning.
The Sox got another run quickly in the top of the fifth when Mr. Mookie swatted the first pitch he saw into the stands for his 19th home run of the year. Benintendi singled but Martinez flied out to right. Moreland and Bogaerts hit back to back singles to load the bases but Devers popped up to second. Holt grounded out to second to end the inning and squander a bases loaded chance but at least led 2-0.
Porcello continued to pitch well in the bottom of the fifth as Adrianza whiffed to start. LaMarre lined out to third before Wilson lined out to left to end the inning.
Leon was hit with a pitch to begin the top of the sixth but JBJ banged into a double play. Mr. Mookie flied out to right to end the inning. Porcello mowed them down in the bottom of the sixth as Mauer lined out to right to begin. Dozier flied out to center and Motter popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the seventh against Ryan Pressly. Benintendi whiffed but Martinez singled.Moreland walked and Bogaerts doubled both men home, taking third on the throw. That was it for Pressly as Taylor Rogers came in only for Devers to ground out to second, scorin Bogaerts with another run. Holt grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Porcello came back for one final inning in the bottom of the seventh and Morrison flied out to right to begin. Grossman flied out to left and Kepler flied out to right to end the inning. Porcello had allowed just 1 hit and a walk in 7 shutout innings, outstanding!
The Sox tacked it on against Matt Belisle in the top of the eighth as Leon single. JBJ whiffed before Mr. Mookie lined out to left. Benintendi then smashed his 13th home run of the year to increase the lead. Martinez doubled and Moreland doubled him home but Bogaerts popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-0.
Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez got the ball in the top of the eighth and Adrianza flied out to center to begin. LaMarre singled but Wilson banged into a double play.
The Sox weren't done scoring yet in the top of the ninth with Mitch Garver now at first and Matt Magill on the mound. Devers lined out to right but Holt doubled. Blake Swihart pinch hit for Leon and whiffed but JBJ singled home Holt to wrap up the offense. Mr. Mookie singled but Benintendi looked at strike three to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-0.
The Twins finally woke up but it was too late as Garver singled to open the bottom of the ninth. Dozier doubled Garver to third and Garver scored on the Motter ground out. Dozier moved to third on that play and he scored on the Morrison sac fly. Grossman grounded out to second to end the game with the Sox victorious 9-2.
Hero of the Night is Rick Porcello. He pitched 7 innings of shutout ball allowing just 1 hit and a walk while striking out 5.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 3 for 6 with a solo home run.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 6 with a 2 run home run.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, rbi and 2 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts ws 2 for 5 with 2 rbi's and a run scored.
Brock Holt was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Sandy Leon was 2 for 2 with a walk, rbi and run scored.
The Bad:
Blake Swihart struck out as a pinch hitter.
Hector Velazquez gave up 2 runs in 2 innings of work.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 5 but drove in a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Always nice to end a series with a win after losing the first two games. Porcello was absolutely outstanding today and the Sox needed a start like that from him. The offense finally woke up to score runs in bunches to put the game out of reach halfway through. The Sox also needed this win big time to keep pace with the New York Yankees who have jumped ahead of them in the AL East race. As long as the Sox continue the pace they are on, they still should be able to come out on top when all this is over. Keeping Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Porcello healthy would help big time. The win propelled the Sox to 50-26, 2 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox come home for an important series with a potential playoff bound Seattle Mariners. Steven Wright gets the start for the Sox opposite Wade Leblanc. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park
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