Nola got the ball in the top of the first inning and Marco Hernandez grounded out to first to start. Xander Bogaerts grounded out to third and Rafael Devers struck out swinging to end the inning. Rodriguez matched Nola in the bottom of the first by getting Jean Segura to swing and miss for strike three. JT Realmuto lined out to center and Bryce Harper took strike three to end the inning.
JD Martinez grounded out to third to start the top of the second before Mitch Moreland whiffed. Christian Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning. Rodriguez got Rhys Hoskins to freeze for strike three to start the bottom of the second before Scott Kingery flied out to right. Cesar Hernandez singled to first but Adam Haseley grounded out to short to end the inning.
Jackie Bradley Jr grounded back to the mound to start the top of the third before Gorkys Hernandez popped up to second. Rodriguez himself took strike three to end the inning. Rodriguez struck out Maikel Franco swinging to open the bottom of the third before Nola flied out to right. Segura grounded out to short to end the inning.
Marco Hernandez whiffed to open the top of the fourth but Bogaerts singled to right to break up the perfect game. Bogaerts was thrown out at second trying to steal and Devers grounded out to first to end the inning.
Realmuto flied out to right to open the bottom of the fourth before Harper went down swinging. Hoskins pounded a ground rule double to right but Kingery struck out swinging to end the inning.
Martinez swung and missed to strike three to start the top of the fifth before Moreland grounded out to second. Vazquez walked before JBJ whiffed to end the inning. Rodriguez froze Hernandez for strike three to start the bottom of the fifth before getting Haseley to swing at air. Franco lined out to left to end the inning.
Gorkys Hernandez got a base hit to right to start the top of the sixth and Rodriguez sacrificed him to second. The rally ended as Marco Hernandez lined out to right and Bogaerts whiffed to end the inning. Rodriguez caught Nola looking to begin the bottom of the sixth before Segura grounded out to short. Realmuto whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the seventh as Devers walked to begin. Martinez got a base hit to center but Moreland whiffed. Vazquez broke the deadlock with a double to center that scored Devers with the go-ahead run. JBJ walked to load the bases but Martinez was forced at home on a grounder by Gorkys Hernandez. Rodriguez whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were on top 1-0.
Rodriguez ran out of gas in the bottom of the seventh as Harper singled to start. Eduardo managed to punch out both Hoskins and Kingery but Cora remained glued to the bench when Hernandez singled and Haseley was plunked to load the bases. On the 105th pitch of his outing, Rodriguez walked Franco to tie the game. With Cora taking pitchers out way too early all season, the fact he left Rodriguez in this long just proves what a lost season this was. Rodriguez tossed a 6 2/3 inning gem, allowing just 1 run while striking out 12. Phil Gosselin pinch hit for Nola as Josh Taylor came in to strike him out to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Ranger Suarez came in for the top of the eighth and Marco Hernandez flied out to center to begin. Bogaerts walked but was erased on the Devers force. Jared Hughes came in to face Martinez and got him to ground out to third to end the inning. Matt Barnes came in and Segura greeted him with a single to begin the bottom of the eighth. Segura swiped second but Realmuto grounded out to short. Harper was intentionally walked and Hoskins flied out to right. Kingery flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox broke the tie again in the top of the ninth against Hector Neris. Moreland singled to start and Chris Owings ran for him. Vazquez singled Owings to third but JBJ lined out to short. Brock "The Hitman" Holt pinch hit for Gorkys Hernandez and walked to load the bases. Andrew Benintendi pinch hit for Barnes and scored Owings with a sac fly to give the Sox the lead. Marco Hernandez whiffed to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
Brandon Workman came in to close out the game in the bottom of the ninth. Hernandez walked but Haseley took strike three. Jay Bruce pinch hit for Franco and flied out to right. Logan Morrison pinch hit for Neris whiffed to end the game. The Sox had won it 2-1.
Hero of the Night is Andrew Benintendi. His herculean pinch hit sac fly drove in the winning run.
The Good:
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Chris Owings scored a run as a pinch runner.
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Gorkys Hernandez was 1 for 3.
Brock Holt walked as a pinch hitter.
Eduardo Rodriguez tossed 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball while striking out 12 batters. He was 0 for 2 at the plate.
Josh Taylor struck out the only man he faced.
Matt Barnes earned the win with a scoreless eighth.
Brandon Workman earned his 13th save with a scoreless 9th.
The Bad:
Marco Hernandez was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4.
Mitch Moreland was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Final Thoughts:
Hooray for mediocrity. The Sox found a way to bungle E-Rod's pursuit of 20 wins but to the credit of the Phillies, Tommy Nola is damn good. Any win is a good win but it would have felt a lot better if Rodriguez picked it up. There's only 14 games left in the season so there's still time for E-Rod to get to 20 wins but today was a disappointment to say the least. Not much left to say about this season or this game so who cares? The win improved the Sox to 78-70, nowhere near anyone for the Wild Card spot. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox play the Phillies again with "Slick" Rick Porcello (12-12) taking on Jason Vargas at 1:10 PM at Citizens Bank Park
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