Sale got the ball in the top of the first inning and George Springer drew a full count walk.but Jose Altuve beat out a double play ball. Alex Bregman hit a routine pop up to right but Mookie Betts DROPPED IT!!! Bregman took off for second and Betts threw wide to second...SAFE! But wait! Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call at second saying Xander Bogaerts kept his foot on the bag. New York Yankees manag....err Head of MLB Operations Joe Torre was in the can and his assistant reversed the call, Altuve was out on the awkward fielder's choice. Yuli Gurriel whiffed on a slider in the dirt to end the inning. Verlander took the ball in the bottom of the first and Mr. Mookie slapped a single to right to start. Andrew Benintendi popped up to left but a wild pitch moved Betts to second. JD Martinez drew a walk but Bogaerts ended the rally by banging into a double play to end the inning.
Sale got tagged in the top of the second as Tyler White took strike three to start. Marwin Gonzalez lined the first pitch he saw to second for an out before Carlos Correa drew a walk. Sale had no velocity or command either as Martin Maldonado was plunked. Old pal Josh Reddick also walked to load the bases and Springer took advantage of the broken Sale to line a single under the glove of Eduardo Nunez to score two runs to put the Astros up for good. Somehow Altuve grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 2-0 Astros.
Verlander cruised in the bottom of the second as Steve Pearce took strike three to start. Brock "The Hitman" Holt whiffed and Nunez grounded out to short to end the inning.
The broken Sale returned for the top of the third and naturally walked Bregman to start. Somehow Sale got Gurriel to pop up to second and the alert Sandy Leon gunned down Bregman trying to steal. White looked at strike three to end the inning but Sale had thrown 69 pitches. Verlander cruised in the bottom of the third as Jackie Bradley Jr flied out to center to start. Sandy Leon looked at strike three before Mr. Mookie grounded out to third to end the inning.
Sale had balls in the top of the fourth to get Gonzalez to line out to center to begin. Correa whiffed and Maldonado looked at strike three to end the inning. Sox manager Alex Cora had seen enough and told Sale to pack it in. Sale was off his game but still managed to keep the Sox in it by allowing just 2 runs in 4 innings.
Sale's effort didn't matter as Verlander wasn't going to be touched in the bottom of the fourth as Benintendi whiffed to start. Martinez flied out to right and Bogaerts popped up to first to end the inning.
Joe Kelly came in to pitch the top of the fifth inning and got Reddick to fly out to right to start. Springer grounded out to third and Altuve popped up to second to end the inning. Somehow the Sox rallied against Verlander in the bottom of the 5th inning as Pearce singled to start. Holt looked at strike three but Nunez and JBJ walked to load the bases. Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Leon and walked in a run. Christian Vazquez ran for Moreland and the play of the game occured when the slumping Betts got Nunez thrown out at home on a weak grounder to third. The irony was a wild pitch scored JBJ to tie the game. Home plate umpire James Hoye had been giving Verlander calls all night and he bailed him out with a bad call for strike three on Benintendi to end the inning. Sox manager Alex Cora bolted out of the dugout with a bat and chased Hoye around until he was restrained by pitching coach Dana Levange. Naturally Cora was given the heave ho but the game was tied 2-2.
The Sox fell apart in the 6th inning as Kelly plunked Bregman to start and Nunez botched a routine grounder by Gurriel to put two on with nobody out. White popped up to second and Gonzalez whiffed. All Kelly needed was one more out but Correa singled in Bregman to give the Astros the lead. Thanks a lot Nunez. Matt Barnes was brought in and Maldonado grounded back to the mound to end the inning but the Astros led 3-2.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the sixth as Martinez, Bogaerts and Pearce all grounded out to third to end the inning. Verlander was done after 6 innings and it was up to the offense now.
Barnes ran into trouble in the top of the seventh although Reddick grounded out to third to start. Springer walked but Altuve whiffed. Bregman walked but Gurriel grounded into a force to end the inning. Ryan Pressly replaced Verlander but the Sox did nothing in the bottom of the seventh. Holt whiffed but Nunez reached on an error by Correa. JBJ whiffed and Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning.
Ryan Brasier plunked White to open the top of the eighth but Gonzalez whiffed. Jake Marisnick pinch ran for White and stole second before Correa walked. Maldonado grounded into a double play to end the inning. Lance McCullers Jr came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and the Sox did nothing as Mr. Mookie grounded out to third, Benintendi whiffed and Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
After playing with fire all night, the bullpen was finally torched in the top of the ninth and Brandon Workman was the victim. Reddick smashed a 40,000 foot home run for the insurance run before Springer took strike three. Altuve and Bregman worked back to back walks and Gurriel iced the game with a 300,000 foot blast to clear out Fenway Park. Tony Kemp pinch hit for Marisnick and doubled to chase the incompetent Workman. Heath Hembree came in and walked Gonzalez but the alert Vazquez prevented a double steal by gunning down Gonzalez even though Kemp took third. Correa lined out to short to end the inning with the Astros up for good 7-2.
Colin McHugh took the mound in the bottom of the ninth and Bogaerts greeted him with just the third hit of the game. Pearce looked at strike three, Holt lined out to right and Nunez grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox bullpen and lousy offense let them down and the Astos nabbed home field advantage with a 7-2 win.
Jackass of the Night is Brandon Workman. He gave up 4 big runs in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach.
The Good:
Mitch Moreland walked and drove in a run as a pinch hitter.
Matt Barnes tossed 1 1/3 of scoreless innings.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Heath Hembree got the last two outs of the 9th inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Brock Holt was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Sandy Leon struck out in his only plate appearance.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4.
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 but walked.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4.
Steve Pearce was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Eduardo Nunez was 0 for 3 with an error but walked.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 2 but walked and scored a run.
Chris Sale was off his game and lasted just 4 innings but allowed just 2 runs on 1 hit and 4 walks.
Joe Kelly took the loss but it was an unearned run allowed in 1 2/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
That was a totally frustrating game but the ending was expected. Dombrowski had two months to fix the bullpen and he couldn't do it. It finally killed them tonight because they gave up the 5 go-ahead runs combined even if Kelly got burned by Nunez. The play of the game was Betts failing again with the bases loaded down by a run with one out. If he hits one to Landsdowne Street the Sox most likely win this game. Even a lousy single puts the Sox on top. His constant failure 3 years in a row is a huge reason the Sox are down in this series already. The defense of Nunez was sub-par and Alex Cora has some explaining to do after Rafael Devers was one of the few guys last year that did anything against the Astros. Still, its a best of 7 so there's no use panicking after Game 1....but now they need David Price more than ever. Cora needs to call him up tonight or come to him before Game 2 and say "Get it together because we need you and we're sick of your nonsense." If Chris Sale can pitch broken like that, Price has no excuse not to compete and shut down the Astros while healthy. If he can give them 6 or 7 innings of 2 run ball they can live with that. Its up to the offense to get more than 3 hits in a game because that's not going to cut it. As if facing Verlander is bad enough, tomorrow night the Sox will send Price out in Game 2 against Gerrit Cole at 7:00 PM at Fenway Park.
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