Braves rookie Touki Toussaint got the ball in the top of the first inning and Mr. Mookie Betts whiffed to begin the game. Andrew Benintendi walked but JD Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning. Nathan Eovaldi got the start for the Sox after his 3 inning cameo in Chicago and he froze Ronald Acuna Jr to begin the frame. Ender Inciarte and Freddie Freeman walked but Nick Markakis whiffed. Johan Camargo walked to load the bases but Kurt Suzuki grounded into a force to end the inning. Eovaldi was playing with fire early.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Xander Bogaerts grounded back to the mound to start. Mitch Moreland walked but was erased on the Eduardo Nunez force. Ian Kinsler whiffed to end the inning. Eovaldi recovered to get Ozzie Albies to line out to first to begin the bottom of the second. Dansby Swanson grounded out to short then Toussaint whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox still failed to get a hit in the top of the third as Christian Vazquez lined out to center before Eovaldi looked at strike three. Mr. Mookie grounded out to second to end the inning. Acuna Jr whiffed to begin the bottom of the third before Inciarte grounded out to second. Freeman singled but Markakis grounded out to second to end the inning.
Still nothing going on in the top of the fourth as Benintendi grounded out to second to begin. Martinez and Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning. Eovaldi ran into trouble as he walked Camargo and Suzuki singled to begin the bottom of the fourth, Martinez made a running catch on an Albies line drive but Camargo moved to third. Sox manager Alex Cora had seen enough and pulled Eovaldi right then and there. It didn't last long but at least he didn't allow any runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Brandon Workman came in and walked Swanson to load the bases but it brought up Toussaint. Toussaint hit a ground ball to first and Moreland fired home for the force. Acuna Jr popped up to second to end the inning, good work Workman.
Moreland whiffed to begin the top of the fifth and Toussaint was working on a no-hitter through 4 1/3 innings.....and the floodgates opened. Nunez doubled to left and Kinsler doubled to center to score him to give the Sox the lead. Vazquez doubled home Kinsler to increase the lead and Blake Swihart pinch hit for Workman. Swihart grounded out to second but Vazquez moved to third before he scored on the Mr. Mookie base hit. That was it for Toussaint who went from no-hitter to loser in 30 seconds flat. Sam Freeman came in and Benintendi singled Mookie to third but Martinez flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Steven Wright took over for the bottom of the fifth and hit Inciarte to begin the inning. He was erased on the Freddie Freeman force and Freeman was erased on the Markakis force. Camargo singled but Suzuki grounded out to second to end the inning.
Bogaerts flied out to begin the top of the sixth but Moreland singled to chase Sam Freeman. Luke Jackson came in and whiffed Nunez before Kinsler grounded out to third to end the inning. Joe Kelly was brought in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and promptly allowed a 8,000 foot home run to Albies. Swanson grounded into a force as Preston Tucker pinch hit for Jackson only to ground out to first. Acuna Jr grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Shane Carle took over for Jackson to pitch the top of the seventh and Vazquez grounded out to second to begin. Sam Travis pinch hit for Kelly and grounded out to third before Mr. Mookie grounded out to short to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came on for the bottom of the seventh and crapped his pants. Inciarte singled but Freeman lined out to left. Markakis singled to left and Camargo singled to load the bases. Suzuki flied out to right but Inciarte scored to cut the lead. That was it for Brasier as Heath Hembree came in to strike out Albies to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 3-2.
As if they were completely offended by the concept of the Braves coming close, the Sox tacked on insurance runs off Jesse Biddle in the top of the eighth. Benintendi grounded out to short before Martinez singled. Bogaerts whiffed but Moreland walked. Freeman threw a ball hit by Nunez away to load the bases and Kinsler drove home both Martinez and Moreland with a base hit. Vazquez flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Matt Barnes came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Swanson singled to start. Lucas Duda pinch hit for Biddle and Swanson stole second. Swanson moved to third on a squibber in front of a plate but Barnes got a key out when Acuna Jr whiffed. Inciarte flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox poured it on in the top of the ninth with Bryce Wilson on the mound. Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for Barnes and walked before Mr. Mookie lined out to right. Benintendi doubled and Martinez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Bogaerts made the Braves pay with a double to score Holt and Benintendi. Moreland was intentionally walked and Nunez hit a sac fly to score Martinez. Kinsler lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox ahead 8-2.
Jackie Bradley Jr came in to play center to replace Holt with Betts moving to right and Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel on the mound to finish off the ninth inning. Freeman grounded out to second but Markakis walked. Camargo was frozen for strike three and Suzuki flied out to right to end the game. The Sox had won it 8-2.
Hero of the Night is Ian Kinsler. He drove in the first run and tacked on the insurance runs to guide the Sox to victory.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 4 with a walk and an rbi.
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 2 with 3 walks and a run scored.
Brock Holt walked and scored as a pinch hitter.
Nathan Eovaldi was used for just 3 1/3 innings and allowed no runs.
Brandon Workman got the win by pitching 2/3 of a scoreless inning.
Steven Wright pitched a scoreless 5th inning.
Heath Hembree retired the only man he faced.
Matt Barnes pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Blake Swihart was 0 for 1 at the plate.
Sam Travis was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Joe Kelly allowed a run in the 6th inning.
Ryan Brasier allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 5 but drove in a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored 2 runs.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 5 but drove in 2 runs.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Honorable Mention:
Jackie Bradley Jr played center in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Now that was a good win. The Sox bullpen is holding together with scotch tape at this point but today they delivered, allowing just two runs in nearly 6 innings. The offense came alive against the NL East leading Braves and Kinsler was the difference maker. The Sox needed a long term replacement for Dustin Pedroia and Kinsler has come alive recently. If Kinsler can produce at second that puts Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez in 6th and 7th man roles that would give the Sox a deep bench. The rotation is a mess right now but that could be improved with the returns of David Price and Chris Sale. This was also a key win because the New York Yankees start an important road trip in Oakland and Seattle so the time for the Sox to strike is now. Speaking of the Yankees, this win improved the Sox to 95-44, 8.5 games ahead of the Yankees who lost to Oakland for first place in the AL East. The 2003 Cowboy Up Red Sox that had arguably the best offense in ML history won 95 regular season games. This year's Sox team has 95 wins with 23 to go. Tomorrow night "Slick" Rick Porcello (15-7) takes on Mass native Sean Newcomb at 7:30 PM at Turner Field.
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