The Red Sox and the Orioles faced off again on Tuesday night. Of course the story before the game wasn’t about baseball, but the ignorant and racist comments that were hurled at Adam Jones the night prior. The Sox and MLB both made apologies to Jones and said they are working on addressing the issue on a systemic level. Jones came to the plate in the 1st inning and got a nice standing ovation from the Fenway crowd. It was a nice statement from the crowd and also from Chris Sale, who took his time on the mound to allow the crowd to continue their applause. Of course all that good will was gone in the next batter when Sale threw behind Manny Machado and continue the bad blood between the two teams. Who knows when this will be over between the two teams, but given Machado’s response after the game, I doubt it is anytime soon.
The game started out with all that drama and also Chris Sale striking out the side. The Sox were facing Alex Asher and they got a run against him in the bottom of the 2nd to give Sale a run of support. Pedroia hit an RBI single to score Moreland. Sox 1-0. The Sox went up 2-0 in the 4th when Hanley Ramirez hit his first of the two home runs he’d hit last night. In the bottom of the 5th Sale gave up his first run of the evening. Sale gave up an RBI double to Mancini. Sox 2-1. Hanley Ramirez got that run right back in the bottom of the 6th when he hit another towering solo home run. Sox 3-1.
In the top of the 7th Sale gave up his second and final run of the game. Sale gave up a solo home run to the guy he threw behind in the 1st inning, Manny Machado. Machado took a slow jog around the bases much to the chagrin to most in Red Sox Nation. I would hope that the home run would be all the revenge he would need, but I find that doubtful between these two teams. Sox 3-2. In the bottom of the 7th and with both teams already being warned, O’s pitcher Hart threw a pitch up by Andrew Benintendi’s head. The pitcher wasn’t ejected and there also didn’t seem to be much reaction from the Sox. The Sox did make the O’s pay that inning though when Mookie Betts hit a deep double to score Bogaerts and Benintendi. Sox 5-2.
The Sox gave Chris Sale 5 runs of support last night which is more than they gave him in his previous 5 games combined. Sale finished off the 8th inning and was done for the night. His pitching line was 115 pitches, 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB and 11 Ks. The Sox went to their closer Kimbrel in the 9th. Kimbrel had a simple 1-2-3 inning, including striking out Chris Davis to end the game.
Red Sox Player of the Game: Sure, most would say Chris Sale, but I’m gonna go with Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez hit 2 homers on the night and it looks like his bat is really warming up. The Sox gave him a PowerAde shower after last night’s game and I think it is much deserved.
Red Sox 5 Orioles 2 BOXSCORE
WP: Sale (2-2) LP: Asher (1-1) SV: Kimbrel (9)
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