Indians starter Mike Clevinger took the mound in the top of the first inning and Andrew Benintendi walked to start. Ian Kinsler and Rafael Devers whiffed but JD Martinez walked. Xander Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning. Porcello started the bottom of the first by getting Fransisco Lindor to fly out to center. Michael Brantley singled but Jose Ramirez flied out to center. Edwin Encarnacion grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the second as Mitch Moreland walked and Brock "The Hitman" Holt was plunked to put two runners on, but Blake Swihart popped up to short. Jackie Bradley Jr looked at strike three before Benintendi grounded out to short to end the inning. The Indians struck first in the bottom of the second as Josh Donaldson singled to start. Yonder Alonso flied out to right but Melky Cabrera singled Donaldson to third. Gomes doubled home Donaldson to give the Indians the lead but Jason Kipnis lined out to first. Lindor lashed a single to right that scored Cabrera but Gomes was thrown out at home to end the inning with the Indians up 2-0.
The Sox struck back in the top of the third although Kinsler grounded out to short to begin. Devers then crushed his 19th homer of the year to cut the lead in half. Martinez lined out to right but Bogaerts and Moreland drew back to back walks to once again put two runners on. As usual the Sox squandered as Holt whiffed to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
The Indians answered in the bottom of the third as Brantley singled to start before Ramirez walked. It looked like Porcello would get out of it when Encarnacion banged into a double play....but Donaldson singled home Ramirez to get the two run lead back. Alonso grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 3-1 Indians.
The Sox wasted no time answering in the top of the fourth as Swihart belted his second home run of the year to cut the lead again. JBJ whiffed, Benintendi flied out to left and Kinsler grounded out to first to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.
Porcello got no help from his defense in the bottom of the fourth although Cabrera grounded out to second to begin. Gomes hit a routine grounder to short but Bogaerts picked the ball up and did the antler dance with it for an error. Kipnis walked and Lindor singled home Gomes to increase the lead. Brantley then lined a bullet to Benintendi who caught Kipnis asleep at second to end the inning but it was 4-2 Cleveland.
The Sox did nothing the top of the fifth as Devers grounded out to third to start. Martinez flied out to right but Bogaerts singled. Moreland flied out to left to end the inning. Porcello came back for one more inning and got Ramirez to fly out to center to start the bottom of the fifth. Encarnacion whiffed and Donaldson grounded out to third to end the inning. Another average start by Porcello, allowing 4 runs in just 5 innings.
Oliver Perez came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Holt greeted him with a single only to get picked off. Swihart looked at strike three and JBJ whiffed to end the inning. Robby Scott took over for the bottom of the fifth and got Alonso to fly out to center to start. Cabrera grounded out to short before Gomes whiffed to end the inning.
Brandon Barnes took over for Cabrera in the top of the seventh with old friend Andrew Miller on the mound. Benintendi walked but Kinsler flied out to left. Devers hit a double play ball to second but Ramirez threw the ball away. It didn't matter as Martinez flied out to right and Bogaerts lined out to second to end the inning. Kipnis singled to chase Scott as Greg Allen pinch ran for him. Brian Johnson came in to pitch and Allen swiped second only for Lindor to ground out to short. Brantley flied out to left but both Ramirez and Encarnacion walked to load the bases. Johnson got Donaldson to fly out to right to end the inning.
It was time for the comeback and Moreland got it started with a base hit to left before Steve Pearce pinch hit for Holt only to fly out to center. Swihart looked at strike three before Tzu-Wei Lin randomly pinch ran for Moreland. Brad Hand replaced Miller and JBJ doubled Lin to third. Benintendi tied the game up with a base hit but was foolishly thrown out at second trying to stretch to end the inning. Still the game was tied 4-4.
Johnson returned for the bottom of the eighth and Alonso popped up to first to start. Barnes flied out to right and Gomes whiffed to end the inning.
Jon Edwards replaced Hand for the top of the ninth and Kinsler grounded out to third to start. Devers grounded out to short but Martinez singled. Bogaerts grounded into a force to end the inning. Johnson came back for the bottom of the ninth and Allen grounded out to third to begin before Lindor flied out to right. Brantley grounded out to second to end the inning.
On to extras we went with Tyler Olson on the mound in the top of the tenth as Sam Travis pinch hit for Lin....only to fly out to center. Pearce grounded out to third and Swihart grounded out to short to end the inning. Johnson ran out of gas in the bottom of the tenth as he walked both Ramirez and Encarnacion. Joe Kelly came in and somehow slammed the door. He blew away Donaldson and Alonso before Yandy Diaz pinch hit for Barnes only to ground out to short to end the inning. Good work Kelly.
Erik Gonzalez came in for Donaldson with Brandon Guyer in for Diaz to start the top of the eleventh. JBJ and Benintendi whiffed before Kinsler grounded out to short to end the inning. Sox manager Alex Cora looked at his watch and said the hell with this game and brought in Drew Pomeranz. Drew did not disappoint as Gomes singled before Rajai Davis ran for him only for Allen to single. They both pulled off a double steal and Lindor was intentionally walked. Brantley ended the torture with a base hit to score Davis with the winning run and end the game 5-4. Pomeranz faced four batters and they all reached. Guess who's NOT gonna be on the post-season roster?
Jackass of the Night is easy. Drew Pomeranz faced four batters and gave up a walk and 3 singles along with two stolen bases to end the game.
The Good:
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
Tzu-Wei Lin scored a run as a pinch runner.
Brock Holt was 1 for 2 with a hit by pitch.
Robby Scott pitched a scoreless 6th inning.
Brian Johnson tossed 3 scoreless innings.
Joe Kelly put out the fire in the 10th inning.
The Bad:
Ian Kinsler was 0 for 6 with a strikeout.
Sam Travis was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Steve Pearce was 0 for 2 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but walked twice and drove in 2 runs.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 but the hit was a solo home run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a walk.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with an error but walked.
Blake Swihart was just 1 for 5 but the hit was a solo home run.
Jackie Bradley jr was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Rick Porcello lasted just 5 innings while giving up 4 runs (3 earned) while only striking out 1 guy.
Final Thoughts:
Well this was a forgettable game. With the regular season coming to a close these games mean diddly apart from keeping people fresh and see who will be on the post-season roster. Judging by Drew Pomeranz' performance he won't be on it. Joe Kelly showed some life and kudos to Brian Johnson for keeping the Indians off the board for 3 innings. Porcello was average again so he most likely will be the third or fourth starter behind David Price and Chris Sale. As for the game itself, meh, who cares? Nobody got hurt so no big loss. The loss dropped the Sox to 105-50 with just 7 games remaining. Tomorrow night Adam Plutko goes for the Indians opposite Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez at 7:05 PM at Progressive Field.
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