Mike Leake got the start for Seattle and he cruised in the top of the first inning. Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to right to begin but Andrew Benintendi blooped a single to left. Xander Bogaerts banged into a double play to end the inning. Rodriguez took the mound in the bottom of the first and Dee Gordon greeted him with a single. Jean Segura popped up to first and Mitch Haniger grounded out to second. Nelson Cruz grounded out to first to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the second inning when JD Martinez singled to start but Mitch Moreland flied out to center. Rafael Devers singled but Brock "The Hitman" Holt lined out to first. Christian Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning. Rodriguez nibbled but struck out Kyle Seager to open the bottom of the second. Ryon Healy popped up to second and Guillermo Heredia flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox exploded in the top of the third inning although Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to center to start. Mr. Mookie grounded out to third but Benintendi and Bogaerts stroked back to back singles. Martinez walked to load the bases and Moreland singled home Benintendi and Bogaerts to give the Sox the lead. Suddenly Devers absolutely crushed a 3 run bomb into the second deck in right to ice the game early. Holt singled but Vazquez grounded out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-0.
Rodriguez got so excited about pitching with the lead that he whiffed Ben Gamel to begin the bottom of the third inning. David Freitas looked at strike three but Gordon singled. Segura walked but Rodriguez took forever to strike out Haniger to end the inning. Once again all Rodriguez did was nibble but it was effective.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as JBJ grounded out to first to begin. Mr. Mookie popped up to second and Benintendi lined out to center to end the inning. The Mariners struck back in the bottom of the fourth when Cruz blasted a 977 foot home run to break up the shutout. Rodriguez nibbled to strike out Seager, Healy and Heredia to end the inning but his pitch count was high and it was 5-1.
Leake stayed strong in the top of the 5th as Bogaerts grounded out to third to begin. Martinez grounded out to short and Moreland looked at strike three to end the inning. Rodriguez got in trouble when Gamel smacked a ground rule double to open the bottom of the fifth. Devers got eaten up on an infield single by Freitas and Gordon caught Rafael asleep with a bunt single to load the bases with nobody out. Segura beat out a double play ball to score Gamel and put runners at the corners but Rodriguez got a huge second out when Haniger flied out to right without advancing anyone. Cruz popped up to first to end the inning with the Mariners down 5-2, huge squander there and big balls by Rodriguez to get out of it.
Leake finished strong in the top of the sixth as Devers lined out to right to start. Holt grounded out to first and Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning. Somehow Rodriguez returned for the bottom of the sixth and got Seager to fly out to center to start. Healy whiffed and Heredia did as well to end the inning. Rodriguez had gone 6 innings, threw 113 pitches but struck out 9 and allowed just 2 runs. Good enough to win.
The Sox tacked it on in the top of the seventh against Chasen Bradford when JBJ crushed his 4th homer of the year to increase the lead. Mr. Mookie lined out to center but Benintendi singled and Bogaerts annihilated his 12th home run of the year to put the game away. Martinez flied out to right and old friend Roenis Elias came in to replace Bradford. Moreland greeted him with a single but Devers flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-2.
Matt Barnes looked to avenge his disaster on friday night by striking out Gamel to begin the bottom of the seventh. Freitas grounded out to short and Gordon grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox tagged Elias in the top of the eighth to wrap up the scoring. Holt grounded out to first but Vazquez doubled and JBJ walked. Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases and Benintendi hit a sac fly to score Vazquez. Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 9-2.
Brandon Workman replaced Barnes for the bottom of the eighth and crapped his pants. Andrew Romine pinch hit for Segura and whiffed but Haniger and Cruz walked. Seager flied out to left but Healy doubled home Haniger to chase Workman. Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez came in and got Heredia to ground out to short to end the inning with the Sox up 9-3.
Martinez whiffed to open the top of the ninth but Blake Swihart pinch hit for Moreland only to pop up to second. Devers whiffed to end the inning. Velazquez stayed to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Gamel grounded out to first to begin. Freitas singled but Gordon flied out to left. Romine grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Sox had won it 9-3.
Hero of the Night is Rafael Devers. His 3 run home run was the difference in the game.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 4 with a stolen base, rbi and 2 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with 2 total runs scored including a 2 run home run.
Mitch Moreland was 2 for 4 with 2 runs batted in and a run scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3 with a walk including a solo home run.
Eduardo Rodriguez earned the win with 6 innings of 2 run ball with 9 strikeouts.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Hector Velazquez pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Blake Swihart was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Brandon Workman allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4 but walked.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Brock Holt was just 1 for 4.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Now that is more like it. The Sox needed a win against these guys to show that they can hang with possible playoff opponents. Granted, they'll have to do better against Felix Hernandez and James Paxton but if this is an ALDS matchup then as a Sox fan you have to feel good. The offense continues to roll and Rodriguez is looking damn good. He still has trouble going long distance but he does keep runs off the board, unlike Drew Pomeranz. The Sox are one win away from 50 in the middle of June yet still can't shake the New York Yankees. They're gonna have to do it themselves in two weeks so they need to win as many games as possible to keep pace with them. The win improves the Sox to 49-24, 0.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow, the Sox return to action Tuesday Night in Minnesota for a three game set with the Twins. Chris Sale goes for the Sox opposite Jose Berrios at 8:05 PM at Target Field.
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