The Red Sox already lost the first game of the series to the basement dwelling Jays, so they really needed a win last night. The Sox had Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound vs. Marco Estrada for the Jays. The Jays went out to a 2-0 lead and it looked like the Sox might lose this one too, but then in the bottom of the 9th the Sox rallied to tie the game. The game stayed scoreless for a long, long time. The Sox bullpen kept the Jays off the board and then finally in the bottom of the 19th inning the Sox got a walk off single from Hanley Ramirez for the win.
The Jays got on the scoreboard first when ERod gave up an RBI sac fly to Hernandez to give the Jays a 1-0 lead. I can’t remember the last time that they Sox were the first time to take the lead in a game. While Rodriguez pitched pretty well, he got basically no run support from the Sox bats. The Jays did score a 2nd run off of ERod in the 6th inning when Morales hit a solo home run. Sox 0-2. Rodriguez was done after 6 innings and looked to be in line for the loss. The rest of the game would be on the Sox offense and bullpen.
The Sox bullpen would be perfect down the stretch. Joe Kelly pitched a scoreless 7th and then Addison Reed pitched a scoreless 8th. The Sox decided to go with their closer Kimbrel in the 9th, even though they were down by two runs. Kimbrel gave up a double and a walk, but he was still able to get the three outs he needed. The Sox bats came out in the bottom of the 9th and were able to muster two runs to tie the game up and send it to extras. Ramirez and Moreland both hit RBI groundouts to tie the game up. Sox 2-2. Brandon Workman pitched two scoreless innings and then handed the ball over to Austin Maddox. Maddox also pitched two scoreless frames, as the game kept on trucking along. Heath Hembree came out for the 14th and pitched a scoreless inning. Robby Scott got two outs in the 15th before Blaine Boyer came in for the 3rd out. Boyer went back out and pitched a scoreless 16th frame. At this point, it seemed like the game might never end. Boyer got two outs in the 17th and then Fernando Abad came out to finish off the inning. Abad gave up two singles to make it interesting, but got the 3rd out the team needed. Carson Smith came out of the pen for the 18th inning. Smith was just activated from the DL and this was his first outing in the bigs since he had Tommy John surgery. Smith’s return was a success, as he pitched a scoreless inning. Josh Donaldson was also ejected during the middle of his at bat when he complained about balls and strikes, with some colorful language. Hector Velazquez came out of the pen for the 19th inning and also pitched a scoreless frame. The Sox bullpen pitched 13 innings of scoreless relief. The game finally came to a glorious end in the bottom of the 19th. Mookie Betts hit a double to lead off the inning and then Hanley Ramirez hit a walk off single to bring him home. It took more than two games worth of innings, but the Sox got a much needed win in the books. The Yankees lost last night when the Orioles walked off on them in the 9th, so the Sox are now 3.5 games up in the race for the AL East crown.
Red Sox 3 Blue Jays 2 F/19 BOXSCORE
WP: Velazquez (3-1) LP: Rowley (1-2)
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