Price took the ball in the top of the first and Brian Dozier grounded out to third to begin. Justin Turner looked at strike three but David Freese walked. Manny Machado popped up to first to end the inning. Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu dominated the bottom of the first as Mr. Mookie Betts grounded out to short to start. Andrew Benintendi whiffed and Steve Pearce popped up to first to end the inning.
Price cruised in the top of the second as Chris Taylor whiffed on 3 pitches to start. Matt Kemp looked at strike three and Enrique Hernandez flied out to center to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second although JD Martinez lined out to center to begin. Xander Bogaerts doubled high off the centerfield wall but Rafael Devers whiffed. Ian Kinsler singled to left to score Bogaerts to give the Sox the lead. Jackie Bradley Jr singled to left but Kinsler was foolishly thrown out at third to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
Price kept the lead in the top of the third as Yasiel Puig lined out to second to start. Austin Barnes flied out to right but Brian Dozier drew a full count walk. Justin Turner grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the third as Christian Vazquez whiffed to start. Mr. Mookie singled to center but Benintendi lined out to center. Pearce popped up to short to end the inning.
The Dodgers struck back in the top of the fourth as Freese and Machado stroked back to back singles to start. Taylor walked to load the bases and Kemp scored Freese with a sac fly to deep center to tie the game. Price whiffed Hernandez on a full count fastball but Puig singled over the head of Kinsler to score Machado to give the Dodgers the lead. Barnes whiffed to end the inning but the Dodgers were up 2-1.
The Sox went quietly against Ryu in the bottom of the fourth as Martinez grounded out to short to start. Bogaerts watched strike three go by and Devers whiffed to end the inning.
The momentum shifted for the game in the top of the fifth when Benintendi made a great leaping catch against the Monster to rob Dozier of a double to start. Turner grounded out to third and Freese flied out to center to end the inning.
Cody Bellinger took over for Dozier in the batting order but went to center with Hernandez moving to second for the big rally in the bottom of the fifth. Kinsler grounded out to first and JBJ popped up to short, but Vazquez singled to right. Mr. Mookie pounded a ground ball up the middle for a base hit and Benintendi drew a full count walk to load the bases. That was it for Ryu as Ryan Madson came in only to walk Pearce on 5 pitches to tie the game. Martinez singled to right to score Betts and Benintendi to give the Sox the lead. Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning but it was 4-2 Sox.
Price came back for one more inning in the top of the sixth as Machado flied out to left to begin. Taylor tried to fool Devers with a bunt but Rafael snuffed it out. Kemp grounded out to third to end the inning. That was it for Price who once again shattered his post-season choke artist image with 6 innings of 2 run ball for a World Series win on his resume.
Julio Urias came in and cruised through the bottom of the sixth as Devers lined out to center to begin. Kinsler flied out to center and JBJ popped up to third to end the inning.
Joe Kelly was first out of the pen in the top of the seventh and he blew away pinch hitter Max Muncy (for Hernandez) to start. Puig grounded out and Yasmani Grandal pinch hit for Barnes only to freeze for strike three to end the inning. Great work Kelly. Kenta Maeda got the ball in the bottom of the seventh and Vazquez grounded out to second to begin. Mr. Mookie doubled to left but Benintendi whiffed. Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Pearce but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts countered by bringing in Scott Alexander to pitch to him. A wild pitch moved Betts to third but Moreland whiffed to end the inning.
Nathan Eovaldi was summoned for the top of the eighth and he blew away Bellinger to start. Turner grounded out to short and Joc Pederson pinch hit for Freese only to fly out to left to end the inning. Pederson took over in left with Taylor moving to second, Muncy moving to first with Pedro Baez on the mound to start the bottom of the eighth. Martinez and Bogaerts flied out to center before Devers grounded out to second to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to lock up the save in the top of the ninth and Machado flied out to center to begin. Taylor grounded out to second and Kemp grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox pitchers had retired 16 in a row and had won Game 2 by a score of 4-2.
Hero of the Night is David Price. He tossed 6 innings of 2 run ball while allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
Ian Kinsler was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Nathan Eovaldi pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Craig Kimbrel got the save with a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Mitch Moreland struck out in his only plate appearance.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Steve Pearce was 0 for 2 but walked in the tying run.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox are halfway home to the championship of the world and it doesn't seem like the Dodgers can keep pace. Their lineup isn't as imposing as the New York Yankees or Houston Astros, they don't have the bullpen like the Yankees or the rotation like the Astros. Unless the Dodgers wake up out in LA this bears a striking resemblance to the 2007 World Series where the Colorado Rockies looked completely overmatched by the Sox. Its only 2 games but the Dodgers are running out of room for error. Once again the Sox got timely hitting and shut down pitching in order to win and two more games like that mean its celebration time. Price continued to erase his choke artist image and it was reported that the reason Kimbrel struggled so much in the first two rounds was because he was tipping his pitches. Guess who was the gumshoe who figured out Kimbrel was tipping and informed him on how to fix it? None other than our old buddy Eric Gagne of the 07 Sox. He's done more to help the 2018 Red Sox than he did for the 07. All kidding aside the Sox are in great position to take it all and need to make a statement in Game 3 on Friday Night. "Slick" Rick Porcello is the odds on favorite to get the start for the Sox going up against Walker Buehler, one of the favorites to win NL Rookie of The Year. The game begins out in LA at 8:05 PM Eastern time at Dodger Stadium.
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