The Mariners wasted no time getting to Perez in the top of the first as Mitch Haniger led off with a double off the Monster to start. Haniger moved to third on the Ty France grounder to second and scored on the Kyle Seager double to left. Kyle Lewis singled Seager to third but Evan White banged into a double play to end the inning with the Mariners ahead 1-0.
The Sox wasted no time tagging Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi in the bottom of the first as Kike Hernandez grounded out to first to start. Alex Verdugo singled to left but JD Martinez flied out to left. Xander Bogaerts launched his 3rd home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. Rafael Devers lined out to left to end the inning with Boston ahead 2-1.
Perez almost blew it in the top of the second as Tom Murphy took strike three to start. Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty drew back to back walks but JP Crawford beat out a double play ball. Haniger grounded out to third to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the second as Christian Vazquez grounded out to short to start. Christian Arroyo took strike three but Hunter Renfroe and Bobby Dalbec worked back to back walks. Hernandez grounded out to short to end the inning.
Perez cruised in the top of the third as France grounded out to short to start. Seager struck out swinging and Lewis grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the third as Verdugo grounded out to first to start. Martinez pounded his 7th home run of the season just inside the Pesky Pole to increase the lead but Bogaerts grounded out to third. Devers grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-1.
Perez got White to strike out swinging to open the top of the fourth and Murphy lined out to left. Moore walked and swiped second before Haggerty walked. Crawford singled to center to score Moore and chase Perez. Martin didn't have it and left after allowing 2 runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Hiro Sawamura came in to clean up the mess and struck out Haniger to end the inning with the Mariners down 3-2.
The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the fourth inning as Vazquez grounded out to third to start. Arroyo grounded out to first and Renfroe grounded out to second to end the inning.
Sawamura returned for the top of the fifth and France struck out swinging to start. Seager hit a routine grounder to Devers who threw his glove at the ball and did a senton splash on it for an error. Lewis struck out swinging but Lewis got a base hit to left. Seager tried for third but was thrown out by Verdugo to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Dalbec atoned for his error with a base hit to center. Hernandez walked and Verdugo singled to left to load the bases. Martinez hit into a double play but Dalbec scored to increase the lead. Bogaerts lashed a base hit to center to score Hernandez with another run. That was it for Kikuchi and Drew Steckenrider came in to pitch to Devers. Devers whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 5-2.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in for the top of the sixth and Murphy struck out swinging to start. Moore lined out to first but Haggerty singled to left. Crawford was retired on a nubber in front of the plate to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the sixth as Vazquez singled to right to start. Arroyo struck out swinging but Renfroe drilled a base hit to center. Vazquez made it to third and Renfroe took second on the throw, but Dalbec struck out swinging. Hernandez flied out to right to end the inning.
Haniger took strike three to start the top of the seventh and France grounded out to short. Seager struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox got another run in the bottom of the seventh as Verdugo got a base hit to right to begin. Martinez singled to center and Bogaerts hit a grounder off of White for an error that scored Verdugo. Devers struck out swinging, Vazquez lined out to center and Arroyo struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-2.
The Lock ran out of gas in the top of the eighth as Lewis doubled over the head of Renfroe to start. White walked and Jose Marmolejos pinch hit for Murphy. Jose moved both runners over with a grounder and that was it for The Lock. Sox manager Alex Cora rolled the dice by bringing in Adam Ottavino after his stinker last night but Adam struck out Moore swinging. Haggerty was rung up for strike three to end the inning. Good work Adam & Garrett! Luis Torrens came in to catch the bottom of the eighth and Renfroe flied out to left to start. Dalbec struck out swinging but Hernandez singled to right. Verdugo grounded into a force to end the inning.
Matt Barnes came in to close out the top of the ninth but instead crapped his pants. Somehow Barnes walked Crawford but froze Haniger for strike three. France singled to center but Seager hit a home run all the way into the Charles River. Lewis flied out to center and White hit a bullet...right to Bogaerts for the final out of the game. The Sox had survived Barnes meltdown and won it 6-5.
Hero of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. His 2 run homer put the Sox ahead and his official and unofficial rbis were the difference in the game.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 3 for 5 with an outfield assist and 2 runs scored.
JD Martinez was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Hunter Renfroe was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Bobby Dalbec was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Hiro Sawamura got his first major league win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Garrett Whitlock tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Martin Perez allowed 2 runs in just 3 2/3 innings, throwing 83 pitches.
Matt Barnes allowed a 3 run homer in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
This was a nice win but the warts on this team are starting to show. If Bogaerts and Martinez aren't cooking they have a lot of trouble scoring runs. What's worse is the bottom of the rotation is not built for success. Garrett Richards, Nick Pivetta and Martin Perez aren't the type to go 7 innings and allow just 1-3 runs. With Chris Sale rehabbing from Tommy John and Tanner Houck in purgatory, the Sox actually need those three guys to step up but they aren't. When these guys go out and get lifted after 4 or 5 innings, it forces the bullpen to throw the rest of the game and that's going to hurt come June when their arms start falling off. The good news is all these problems are fixable. The Sox have some bats developing in the minors once their seasons start in a few weeks and eventually Houck and or Sale will be back one way or another. Pivetta has yet to lose a game and Richards is being paid $10 million. Perez is the one pitching for his job and if he continues to throw 80 pitches in 4 innings, he's going to be out of that job. Still, a win is a win no matter if its a good one or bitching incessantly about. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to make it two in a row against the Mariners when they send Nathan Eovaldi (3-1, 3.04) to the mound against Chris Flexen of Seattle. The game begins at 1:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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