The Sox picked up where they left off last night in the top of the first with a lack of clutch hits. Andrew Benintendi greeted Aaron Sanchez with a base hit before Mr. Mookie Betts walked. Mitch Moreland banged into a double play and Xander Bogaerts grounded out to second to end the inning. Porcello cruised in the bottom of the first as he struck out Eric Sogard to start. Vladimir Guerrero Jr lined out to center before Justin Smoak grounded out to first to end the inning.
Sanchez cruised in the top of the second inning as Rafael Devers grounded back to the mound to begin. Michael Chavis and Christian Vazquez both took strike three to end the inning. Rowdy "Roddy" Tellez singled to center to begin the bottom of the second before Randal Grichuk lined out to center. Freddy Galvis flied out to center and Brandon Drury grounded into a force to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third inning when Jackie Bradley Jr was plunked to start. Sandy Leon grounded out to first to move JBJ to second before Benintendi whiffed. Sanchez uncorked a wild pitch to send JBJ to third before Mr. Mookie walked to put runners at the corners. Moreland put the Sox on top with a base hit to right that scored JBJ and Mr. Mookie swiped third. Bogaerts singled to right to score Betts to increase the lead. Devers flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.
Porcello kept the lead in the bottom of the third as Jonathan Davis grounded out to short to begin. Luke Maile whiffed on a curve high out of the zone before Sogart flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fourth as Chavis grounded out to short to start. Vazquez grounded out to short and JBJ grounded out to second to end the inning. The Jays struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Guerrero Jr pounded a 300,000 foot bomb to cut the lead. Porcello recovered to get Smoak to ground out to first and Tellez to ground out to short. Grichuk whiffed to end the inning but it was 2-1 Sox.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fifth as Leon popped up to second to start. Benintendi looked at strike three and Mr. Mookie flied out to left to end the inning. Porcello cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Galvis popped up to short to begin. Drury flied out to right and Davis whiffed to end the inning.
Moreland whiffed to open the top of the sixth but Bogaerts singled to left. Devers flied out to center but Chavis was plunked. Vazquez grounded out to short to end the inning. Porcello got Maile to ground out to third to open the bottom of the sixth before Sogard grounded out to first. Guerrero Jr singled to center but Smoak popped up to third to end the inning. Porcello pitched well, allowing just 1 run in 6 innings of work.
The Sox tagged Daniel Hudson in the top of the seventh as JBJ doubled to left to start. The incompetent Leon popped up a bunt to third but Benintendi walked. Mr. Mookie walked to load the bases and JBJ scored on the Moreland ground out. Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
The awful bullpen reared its ugly head when Brandon Workman came in for the bottom of the seventh. Tellez whiffed and Grichuk lined out to second, but Galvis singled. Drury doubled and Billy McKinney pinch hit for Davis, drawing a walk to load the bases. Maile walked home a run but Sogart grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 3-2.
The Sox got the run back in the top of the eighth inning with Derek Law on the mound. Devers smashed his 6th home run of the season to increase the lead. Chavis grounded out to third, Vazquez grounded out to short and JBJ whiffed to end the inning but it was 4-2 Sox.
It was Matt Barnes turn to puke on himself in the bottom of the eighth although Guerrero Jr grounded out to first to start. Smoak crushed a 80,000 foot bomb to cut the lead. Tellez whiffed and Grichuk grounded out to short to end the inning but it was 4-3 Sox.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the ninth as Leon grounded out to short to start. Benintendi grounded back to the mound before Mr. Mookie whiffed to end the inning. Marcus Walden came on for the save in the bottom of the ninth and blew it. Galvis whiffed but Drury doubled to left. McKinney grounded out to second but Drury moved to third. One out away from victory Danny Jansen pinch hit for Maile and singled home Drury to tie the game. The Sox bullpen had allowed runs in 3 consecutive innings to tie the game, pathetic. Sogard grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 4-4.
On to extras we went and Jays closer Ken Giles came in for the top of the tenth inning. Moreland lined out to first but Bogaerts singled to left. Devers whiffed and Bogaerts was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning. The Jays almost ended it in the bottom of the tenth although Guerrero Jr whiffed to start. Smoak doubled and Tellez was intentionally walked. Grichuk singled to right but Smoak stayed at third to load the bases. Richard Urena pinch ran for Smoak but Walden got a huge out when he punched out Galvis. Drury flied out to left to end the inning.
Joe Biagini came in to pitch the top of the eleventh and Chavis grounded out to third to begin. Vazquez lined out to right and JBJ grounded out to second to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the eleventh and McKinney popped up to first to start. Jansen took strike three and Sogart flied out to left to end the inning.
The Sox took the lead in the top of the 12th although Leon grounded out to second to start. Benintendi lined out to short but Mr. Mookie swatted his 8th homer of the year to give the Sox the lead. Moreland walked to chase Biagini as Jimmy Cordero was brought in. Bogaerts lined out to third to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-4.
Heath Hembree was brought in to close out the game but he failed as well. Gurerro Jr flied out to center and Urena struck out swinging. Who else but Tellez cracked a 120,000 foot home run to tie the game. Grichuk grounded out to third to end the inning but the game was tied 5-5.
The Sox once again took the lead in the top of the 13th inning although Devers lined out to left to begin. Chavis crushed his 10th home run of the season to put Boston back on top. Vazquez singled but JBJ grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-5.
Hembree had a shot at redemption in the bottom of the 13th inning. Heath punched out both Galvis and Drury before McKinney flied out to left to end the game. The Sox had survived to win 6-5.
Hero of the Night is Michael Chavis. His 13th inning home run proved to be the difference maker in the win.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 1 for 3 with 3 walks, 2 runs scored and a home run.
Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 6 with an rbi.
Rick Porcello tossed 6 innings of 1 run ball allowing just 3 hits.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless inning.
The Bad:
Sandy Leon was 0 for 5.
Brandon Workman allowed a run in the bottom of the 7th.
Matt Barnes allowed a run in the bottom of the 8th.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 5 but walked.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 5 but walked and drove in 2 runs.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 6 but the one hit was a solo home run.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 6.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but was hit with a pitch and scored twice.
Marcus Walden allowed a run and blew the save in 2 innings.
Heath Hembree vultured the win by blowing the save in the 12th but getting the win in the 13th.
Final Thoughts:
Nothing much can be said about how lousy the Red Sox bullpen is because everyone knew it going into the season. Joe Kelly walking to the LA Dodgers and Craig Kimbrel wanting Mariano Rivera money and being told to shove it hurt the team bad. There's always time to find an arm or resign Kimbrel but the Sox are gonna have to survive games like this one. The sad part was there was more drama off the field than there was on it. After last night's win by the Jays, Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters he didn't take too kindly to Stroman quick pitching Chavis. Stroman replied with a series of tweets mocking Cora and anyone who doesn't like it. You can bet the next time Stroman faces the Sox, they'll have that one circled. As for this game, its nice to see the bats come alive especially the young guns like Devers and Chavis. Combined with Betts, Benintendi and Bogaerts, none of those 5 are over 26 years old. That's a core 5 that could be devastating for years to come if they can keep it together. Chavis is pulling a Sam Horn the last month but the Sox will take it with Dustin Pedroia gone and JD Martinez sidelined temporarily with the flu. As for Porcello, that was a good start and good to see him turn it around. As for the bullpen, yeah. The win improved the Sox to 26-23, 5.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow afternoon is the finale of this four game set featuring a curious matchup of 35 year old journeyman Clayton Richard for Toronto and 28 year old journeyman Ryan Weber for the Red Sox. The game begins at 12:35 PM at the Skydome.
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