The Sox and the Rays decided to get the game in early on Saturday due to the weather report and lots and lots of rain. The Sox had their ace Chris Sale on the mound vs. Blake Snell for the Rays. Sale gave up a couple of homers, but he also struck out 12 batters in his 7 innings of work. The offense also had his back as he left the mound in line for the win.
The Rays got on the scoreboard first when Logan Morrison hit a solo home run off of Sale. Sox 0-1. That lead didn’t last long though as in the 3rd inning Mookie Betts hit a 2 run homer to put the Sox out in front. Sox 2-1. Unfortunately the home run bug continued and this time a 2 run homer for Kiermaier against Sale in the 5th. Sox 2-3. This game was going back and forth and now the Rays were leading the way.
The Sox offense didn’t let that lead last long when they got all over Snell in the bottom of the 5th and took the lead right back. Marrero hit a 2 run RBI double followed by an RBI double for Betts. Marrero was in the game mainly for his glove, so him giving the Sox the lead at the plate must have felt pretty great. The Sox scored their final run of the inning when Bogaerts hit an RBI groundout to score Betts. Sox 6-3.
While Sale gave up 2 homers in his start, he also continued to pound the strike zone and fan batters left and right. Sale was done after 7 innings and it was another dominant performance. Sale’s pitching line was 111 pitches, 7 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 BB and 12 Ks. It’s not often that a pitcher gives up more runs than he gives up in hits, but I’ll take it. Joe Kelly came out and pitched a scoreless 8th before handing the ball over to closer Craig Kimbrel for the 9th. Kimbrel continued to dominate in his 9th inning role with a 1-2-3 inning including 2 strikeouts.
Red Sox Player of the Game: Chris Sale. He is just a force on the mound. It’s hard to not get excited when you know it is his turn on the mound. Sale has struck out at least 10 batters in his last 7 games.
Red Sox 6 Rays 3 BOXSCORE
WP: Sale (4-2) LP: Snell (0-4) SV: Kimbrel (11)
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