Eovaldi came out firing in the top of the first as Cedric Mullins grounded out to first to begin. Trey Mancini singled but Jonathan Villar whiffed. Adam Jones grounded into a force to end the inning. Dylan Bundy got the start for Baltimore and he whiffed Mr. Mookie to start. Andrew Benintendi walked, stole second and took third when catcher Caleb Joseph's throw sailed away. JD Martinez whiffed but Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning.
Eovaldi sent a message by punching out DJ Stewart to open the top of the second inning. Tim Beckham looked at strike three but Renato Nunez singled. Steve Wilkerson grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the second as Rafael Devers whiffed to start. Steve Pearce and Brock "The Hitman" Holt stroked back to back doubles to give the Sox the lead. Christian Vazquez singled home Holt but Jackie Bradley Jr whiffed. Mr. Mookie then smashed his 32nd homer of the year to ice the game early. Benintendi singled but Martinez looked at strike three to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Eovaldi got Joseph to ground out to short to begin the top of the third before Mullins looked at strike three. Mancini whiffed to end the inning. Bogaerts grounded back to the mound to open the bottom of the third before Devers popped up to short. Pearce and Holt drew back to back walks before Vazquez popped up to first to end the inning.
Eovaldi blew away Villar to begin the top of the fourth before Jones lined out to right. Stewart looked at strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth against new pitcher Donnie Hart as JBJ singled and Mr. Mookie singled him to third. Betts swiped his 29th base of the year and Benintendi singled home JBJ, advancing Mookie to third. Martinez walked to load the bases before Bogaerts singled in Betts. The rally ended as Devers grounded into a 1-2-5 double play and Pearce flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
The Orioles struck back in the top of the fifth as Beckham singled and Nunez singled him to third. A wild pitch scored Beckham and send Nunez to second but Eovaldi recovered to freeze Wilkerson. Joseph whiffed but another wild pitch moved Nunez to third but Eovaldi froze Joseph to end the inning. Eovaldi had gone 5 innings, allowed just 1 run and struck out TEN.
Sean Gilmartin came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and the Sox beat the ball in the dirt. Holt grounded out to first, Vazquez grounded out to third and JBJ grounded out to second to end the inning.
Eduardo Rodriguez of all people was brought in to pitch the top of the sixth inning and he did well. Mancini flied out to right, Villar flied out to center and Jones also flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox offense went into hibernation as Mr. Mookie popped up to second to start. Benintendi whiffed but Martinez walked and Bogaerts singled. Devers grounded out to short to end the inning.
Rodriguez returned for the top of the seventh inning and Joey Rickard pinch hit for Stewart only to pop up to first. Beckham looked at strike three but Nunez singled. Wilkerson whiffed to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the seventh inning as Pearce grounded out to second to start. Holt grounded out to second and Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Joe Kelly came in to pitch the top of the eighth and crapped his pants. Joseph singled and Mullins walked but somehow Mancini whiffed. Villar walked to load the bases and Sox manager Alex Cora had enough. Ryan Brasier was brought in and Jones scored Joseph with a sac fly to cut into the lead. Corban Joseph pinch hit for Rickard but Villar was picked off to end the inning with the O's down 6-2.
Mancini moved to left with Jones moving to right, Corban Joseph taking over at first to start the bottom of the eighth. JBJ lined out to left, Mr. Mookie whiffed and Benintendi lined out to center to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to close out the top of the ninth and Corban Joseph singled to start only to be erased on the Beckham double play. Nunez grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had set a franchise record with 106 wins, clinched homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and defeated the O's 6-2.
Hero of the Night is Nathan Eovaldi. In a tuneup for the playoffs he struck out 10 O's in 5 innings while allowing just one run.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with 2 total runs scored, a stolen base and a 2 run home run.
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a walk, a stolen base and an rbi.
JD Martinez walked twice in four plate appearances.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Steve Pearce was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Brock Holt was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Eduardo Rodriguez pitched 2 scoreless innings.
Ryan Brasier got the final two outs of the eighth inning.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Joe Kelly allowed a run in just 1/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Back in 2011 before the season the Red Sox were heralded as the "best team evahhh", well this year's team really is the best team ever with their franchise record 106th win tonight. Other teams around the league who have won more games in the past can laugh all they want but they can all go stick it in their hat. It was been a wonderful season but unfortunately they have to do more come October after back to back failures. They could win all 5 games they have left but nobody will care if they don't get out of the first round in a few weeks. Its nice to see a win even if its over the pathetic Orioles so at least there's a positive. Good to see Eovaldi go out and look good which could mean a possible playoff start like Doug Fister last year. Tomorrow night the Sox turn to David Price (15-7) opposite Ryan Meisinger at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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