The Sox wasted no time getting to Yarbrough in the top of the first inning. Jackie Bradley Jr led off by striking out swinging but Rafael Devers dumped a single to center. Xander Bogaerts singled to center and JD Martinez drove home Devers with a base hit to give the Sox the lead. Christian Vazquez stepped up with a 3 run blast, his 22nd home run of the year, to put the Sox up big. Sam Travis got a base hit to center but Gorkys Hernandez popped up to first. Chris Owings singled to left and Juan Centeno was plunked to load the bases. JBJ took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 4-0
The Rays fought right back in the bottom of the first as Joey Wendle walked to start. Austin Meadows singled Wendle to third and Wendle scored on the double play hit by Tommy Pham. Ji-Man Choi whiffed to end the inning with the Rays down 4-1.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second inning as Devers grounded out to second to start. Bogaerts popped up to first and Martinez flied out to center to end the inning. The Rays struck back in the bottom of the second as Brandon- Lowe singled to left to start. Nate Lowe took strike three but Willy Adames singled. Kevin Kiermaier singled home Brandon Lowe to cut the lead. Mike Zunino whiffed and Kiermaier was thrown out trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.
Vazquez singled to center to start the top of the third but Travis flied out to center. Hernandez grounded out to first and Owings grounded out to short to end the inning. The Rays inched closer in the bottom of the third as Wendle bashed a 500,000 foot home run to start. Meadows flied out to center but Pham singled to right. Choi took strike three and Brandon Lowe flied out to center to end the inning with the Rays down 4-3.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fourth although Centeno grounded out to second to begin. JBJ hit a double to center and Kiermaier threw the ball away, allowing Jackie to reach third. Devers walked to chase Yarbrough and Andre Kittredge came in. Bogaerts was plunked to load the bases and Martinez drew a walk to score Jackie. Vazquez struck out swinging and a wild pitch scored Devers. Travis grounded out to second to end the inning but the Sox led 6-3.
Nate Lowe singled to center to start the bottom of the fourth but was doubled off first on the line drive to Eovaldi off the bat of Adames. Kiermaier was plunked but Zunino popped up to second to end the inning.
Hernandez grounded out to third to start the top of the fifth before Owings went down hacking. Centeno lined out to center to end the inning. Eovaldi cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Wendle flied out to left to start. Meadows also flied out to left and Pham grounded out to short to end the inning.
Jalen "Twin" Beeks came in for the top of the sixth and JBJ grounded out to short to begin. Devers lined out to left and Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning. Eovaldi had one last inning in him and finished the bottom of the sixth. Choi and Brandon Lowe both whiffed but Nate Lowe walked. Adames grounded into a force to end the inning. Eovaldi pitched his best game of the season with 6 innings of 3 run ball, a far cry from his successes last season.
Boston rallied off Trevor Richards in the top of the seventh as Martinez got a base hit to right and Vazquez singled him to third. Travis and Hernandez both struck out swinging but Wendle threw a routine grounder by Owings away, allowing Travis to score. Centeno walked to load the bases but JBJ flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-3.
Sox manager Alex Cora rubbed his hands maniacally because now it meant he could bring in 117 pitchers the rest of the game and Darwinzon Hernandez was first out of the gate in the bottom of the seventh. Kiermaier lined out to second and Zunino grounded out to short, but Wendle walked. Meadows singled and Cora trudged to the mound to bring in Colten Brewer. A wild pitch moved both runners but Pham grounded out to short to end the inning.
Devers whiffed to begin the top of the eighth and Bogaerts grounded out to third. Martinez got a base hit to center but Vazquez flied out to right to end the inning. Matt Barnes came on for the bottom of the eighth and struck out Choi swinging to start. Brandon Lowe walked but Barnes punched out Nate Lowe. Adames lined out to right to end the inning.
Cole Sulser took over for the top of the ninth and Travis whiffed to start. Hernandez also struck out swinging but Owings walked. Centeno flied out to left field to end the inning. Andrew Benintendi took over in left field with Trevor Kelley on the mound for the bottom of the ninth. Kiermaier flied out to center but Brendan McKay pinch hit for Zunino. McKay annihilated a home run all the way to the Red Sea for his first home run of the year. Wendle flied out to center and Cora came out to bring in Brandon Workman for god knows what reason. Meadows grounded out to end the game, the Sox had somehow beaten Tampa Bay 7-4.
Hero of the Night is Christian Vazquez. He went 3 for 5 including smashing the big 3 run home run in the first inning to give the Sox the lead they wouldn't give up.
The Good:
JD Martinez was 3 for 4 with a walk, 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.
Nathan Eovaldi tosssed 6 innings of 3 run ball to earn the win. He struck out 6 batters.
Darwinzon Hernandez got the first 2 outs of the 7th inning.
Colten Brewer got the final out of the 7th inning.
Brandon Workman got the final out of the game.
The Bad:
Gorkys Hernandez was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Trevor Kelley allowed a run in just 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored two runs.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 but was hit with a pitch and scored a run.
Sam Travis was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Chris Owings was just 1 for 4 but walked.
Juan Centeno was 0 for 3 but walked and was hit with a pitch.
Honorable Mention:
Andrew Benintendi played left field in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
Good to see Nathan Eovaldi end the season on a high note after being a disappointment all season. Hopefully next season he can stay healthy all season and be the pitcher he was last year. It may be too much to ask, but what the hell. One thing is for sure, the Sox are going to need more bench depth in 2020 because their September call-ups have been atrocious this month. The rise of Christian Vazquez also gives hope for next year if they potentially lose JD Martinez to free agency. Speaking of Martinez, this could be it for him so better enjoy him while you can. The win improved the Sox to 81-74 with just 7 games left in the season. The Sox look to annoy the Rays some more tomorrow night when they send Jhoulys Chacin to the mound against Blake Snell at 7:05 PM at Tropicana Field.
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