Sale began his mastery in the top of the first inning by freezing Charlie Blackmon on a 2-2 count for strike three. Sale then whiffed Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado on full counts to end the inning. Rockies starter Kyle Freeland froze Andrew Benintendi for strike three to start the bottom of the first. Mr. Mookie Betts took strike three but JD Martinez singled. Xander Bogaerts drew a walk but Rafael Devers lined out to first to end the inning.
Sale blew away Mark Reynolds to start the top of the second before Raimel Tapia whiffed as well. Ian Desmond looked at strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Michael "The Ice Horse" Chavis his a moonshot down the left field line for his 7th home run of the season. Steve Pearce whiffed but Eduardo Nunez doubled. Leon lined out to center and Benintendi whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
David Dahl had the unmitigated audacity to ground out to second to start the top of the third before Chris Iannetta looked at strike three. Pat Valaika whiffed to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third although Mr. Mookie looked at strike three to start. Martinez plastered his 8th home run of the year to increase the lead. Bogaerts grounded out to third before Devers crushed his 3rd home run of the season as well. Chavis whiffed to end the inning but it was 3-0 Sox.
Blackmon shocked the world by putting the ball in play by grounding out to third to begin the top of the fourth. Story looked at strike three before Arenado popped up to third to end the inning. The Sox looked to add on when Pearce reached on an error in the bottom of the fourth but Nunez lined out to right. Leon popped up to first and Benintendi whiffed to end the inning.
Reynolds broke up the perfect game in the top of the fifth with a ground rule double to right to start. Tapia lined out to left before Desmond and Dahl both whiffed to end the inning. Mr. Mookie flied out to right to start the bottom of the fifth before Martinez lined out to right. Bogaerts took a walk but Devers flied out to right to end the inning.
Sale dominated the top of the sixth by freezing Iannetta, Valaika and Blackmon to begin and end the inning. That was 14 strikeouts for Sale in 6 innings, amazing.
Chavis flied out to center to open the bottom of the sixth before Pearce also flied out to center. Nunez walked and stole second but Leon lined out to center to end the inning.
The Rockies finally tagged Sale in the top of the seventh as Story singled to start. Arenado then blasted a 500,000 foot home run to end the party. Sale got mad and froze Reynolds for strike three before blowing away Tapia. Desmond whiffed to end the inning and the Sox fans gave Sale a standing ovation. 7 innings, 17 strikeouts, 2 runs for Sale. He could have gone for 20 but Sox manager Alex Cora said not to waste bullets in May.
Bryan Shaw cane on for the bottom of the seventh and Benintendi, Betts and Martinez all flied out to center in short order.
Brandon Workman came in for the top of the eighth and Dahl grounded out to second to begin. Iannetta scared the fans by doubling off the top of the Monster before Ryan McMahon pinch hit for Valaika. Workman punched out McMahon but Blackmon made Jared Carrabis scream expletives by smashing an 90,000 foot bomb to give the Rockies the lead. Story whiffed to end the inning but the Rockies ruined Sale's big night and had the lead 4-3.
The Sox did manage to fight for Sale's honor in the bottom of the eighth against Scott Oberg. Arenado booted a ground ball which allowed Bogaerts to reach on an error although he was erased on a Devers force. Chavis singled and Mitch Moreland pinch hit for Pearce. Moreland singled home Devers and sent Devers to third but Nunez killed the rally by lining out to second, getting Moreland doubled off first for the double play to end the inning. Still, the Sox showed some balls to tie the game 4-4.
Matt Barnes came in for the top of the ninth and Arenado grounded out to third to begin. Reynolds and Tapia both whiffed to end the inning. Carlos Estevez came in for the bottom of the ninth and Jackie Bradley Jr pinch hit for Leon. JBJ drew a walk to put the winning run at first but Benintendi whiffed to earn a golden sombrero and Mr. Mooie flied out to right. Martinez popped up to second to end the inning and on to extras we went.
Christian Vazquez took over behind the plate for the top of the 10th as Daniel Murphy pinch hit for Desmond. Murphy and Dahl both whiffed before Iannetta took strike three to end the inning. Barnes punched out 5 of the 6 guys he faced. Bogaerts singled to put the winning run on in the bottom of the 10th but Mike Dunn was brought in to face Devers. Devers whiffed and Chavis banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Rockies finally took command in the top of the 11th inning off Ryan Brasier. McMahon drew a leadoff walk but Blackmon flied out to center. McMahon was erased on the Story force but Arenado walked. Reynolds lined a base hit up the middle to score Story with the go-ahead run. Tapia grounded out to short to end the inning but the Rockies took the lead 5-4.
Wade Davis came in to close out the bottom of the 11th and Moreland grounded out to second to begin. Nunez whiffed but Vazquez singled to put the tying run on. That was it as Benintendi flied out to left to end the game. The Rockies struck out 24 total times but still won the game 5-4.
Jackass of the Night is Brandon Workman. Yes Brasier gave up the winning run but it never would have come to that if Workman hadn't allowed those 2 runs in the eighth inning.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 2 for 5 with a home run.
Michael Chavis was 2 for 5 with a home run.
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 2 with an rbi.
Jackie Bradley Jr walked as a pinch hitter.
Christian Vazquez was 1 for 1 at the plate.
Chris Sale put on a performance by striking out 17 batters in just 7 innings while allowing 2 runs.
Matt Barnes struck out 5 of the 6 men he faced.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 6 with a golden sombrero of 4 strikeouts.
Mookie Betts was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Steve Pearce was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 3.
Ryan Brasier took the loss by allowing the go-ahead run to score in the 11th inning.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 5 but the one hit was a home run and he scored 2 total runs.
Eduardo Nunez was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox simply can't get out of their own way this season. Unlike last year where they found ways to win, this year they find ways to lose. Sale throws an absolute gem and the Rockies swing at air 24 times AND STILL WIN. The Sox couldn't get a clutch hit in extra innings and the bullpen allowed 3 runs in 4 innings. This is why the Sox are in the position they're in because they can't go on a win streak to save their lives. The bullpen isn't good enough to lock down wins anymore and its unfair to expect the offense to bail them out again and again. The loss dropped the Sox to 22-20, 4 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look for revenge against the Rockies when Eduardo Rodriguez takes on German Marquez at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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