The Sox struck first against Reynaldo Lopez in the top of the first inning. Andrew Benintendi lined out to left and Mr. Mookie Betts looked at strike three, but JD Martinez doubled to start. Xander Bogaerts singled Martinez to third and Rafael Devers cracked his first home run of the season to put the Sox on top. Michael Chavis singled but Mitch Moreland whiffed to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
Sale dominated in the bottom of the first as Leury Garcia looked at strike three to start. Tim Anderson grounded out to short but Jose Abreu walked. James McCann whiffed to end the inning.
Tzu-Wei Lin hurt himself in the top of the second inning although he walked to start. He got thrown out at second trying to steal because his knee gave out. Lin had to be carried out on a stretcher as Sandy Leon whiffed. Benintendi singled but Mr. Mookie grounded out to short to end the inning. Benintendi moved to center with Steve Pearce coming in for Lin to play left in the bottom of the second inning. Yoan Moncada grounded out to second, Jose Rondon lined out to second and Welington Castillo whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the third inning as Martinez flied out to center to start. Bogaerts lined out to center and Devers grounded out to short to start. Ryan Cordell whiffed to begin the bottom of the third before Adam Engel was hit with a pitch. Engel was out at second on a force by Garcia but Chavis threw the relay throw away allowing Garcia to reach second. Anderson popped up to first to end the inning.
Chavis walked to start the top of the fourth but Moreland whiffed. Pearce lined out to left before Leon popped up to third to end the inning. Abreu grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the fourth before McCann looked at strike three. Moncada got the first hit against Sale with a base hit to center before he was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Benintendi and Betts whiffed to start the top of the fifth before Martinez singled. Bogaerts grounded out to second to end the inning. Sale got in trouble when Rondon smacked a leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth followed by Castillo being hit with a pitch. Sale responded by freezing Cordell and blowing away both Engel and Garcia to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the sixth inning as Devers singled and Chavis crushed his 4th home run of the season 459 feet away. Moreland walked to chase Lopez and Jose Ruiz came in to allow a wild pitch to move Moreland to second. Pearce walked and Leon lined out to right but Benintendi singled to load the bases. Mr. Mookie drew a bases loaded walk to increase the lead but Martinez banged into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-0.
Sale returned for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Anderson swinging to start. Abreu grounded out to short but McCann struck a ground rule double. Moncada looked at strike three to end the inning. The old Chris Sale was back as he tossed 6 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 10 batters.
Bogaerts flied out to center to start the top of the seventh and that was it for Ruiz. Josh Osich came in and Devers grounded out to second. Chavis flied out to center to end the inning. Heath Hembree came in for Sale in the bottom of the seventh and blew away Rondon to start. Castillo flied out to center and last night's villain Nicky Delmonico pinch hit for Cordell only to strike out swinging to end the inning.
Garcia moved to right with Delmonico in left as well as Alex Colome on the mound for the top of the eighth. Moreland lined out to third but Pearce walked. Leon whiffed and Benintendi grounded out to short to end the inning. The ChiSox broke up the shutout in the bottom of the eighth when Colten Brewer took the mound. Engel walked but Garcia looked at strike three. Anderson walked but Abreu flied out to right. McCann singled home Engel to put Chicago on the board but Moncada grounded out to second to end the inning with Boston ahead 6-1.
Yolmer Sanchez took McCann's spot in the lineup but played second with Jose Rondon now on the mound for the top of the ninth. Mr. Mookie flied out to center but Martinez and Bogaerts stroked back to back singles. Devers popped up to second and Chavis lined out to third to end the inning. Josh Smith made his season debut in the bottom of the ninth and got Rondon to ground out to second to begin. Castillo grounded out to short but Delmonico singled. Engel whiffed to end the game. The BoSox defeated the ChiSox 6-1.
Hero of the Night is Chris Sale. He finally broke out of his slump with 6 shutout innings. He allowed just 3 hits and a walk while striking out 10.
The Good:
Andrew Benintendi was 2 for 5.
JD Martinez was 3 for 5 with a run scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 5 with 2 total runs scored and a 3 run home run.
Michael Chavis was 2 for 4 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Tzu-Wei Lin walked before leaving with injury.
Steve Pearce walked twice and scored a run.
Heath Hembree pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Josh Smith pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Colten Brewer allowed a run in the 8th inning.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was 0 for 4 but walked and drove in a run.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Final Thoughts:
Nice to see Chris Sale show some flashes of his old self tonight. He didn't have his usual velocity but at least his command is back. Not pitching at all in Spring Training left him rusty and reports of his demise are greatly exaggerated. Chavis continues to hit the ball well and its going to be tough to take him out of the lineup when Brock Holt and Dustin Pedroia come back. Hopefully Lin isn't hurt too much but Eduardo Nunez is ready to come back if he's gone for a while. Who knows if the Sox will ever go on a winning streak again but a win is a win. The win improved the Sox to 15-18, 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow Eduardo Rodriguez looks to bounce back from his last start against Manny Banuelos at 6:10 PM at Commiskey Park.
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