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A TEAM THAT COULDN'T
GET THE JOB DONE ... May 24, 2017 ... Chris Sale was careful never to use lack of run support as an excuse when he pitched well enough to win several times in April and came away with either no decision or a loss. The lefthander instead predicted his teammates would have his back plenty of times as the season wore on. The Sox, he said, were too talented for that to last. Sale had it right. Down by two runs, he watched the Sox score seven times in the seventh inning and go on to beat the Texas Rangers, 9-4, before a crowd of 36,089 at Fenway Park. The Sox sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning and blew the game open for their ace. The Sox scored 10 runs in Sale’s five starts in April. They have scored 39 runs in his five starts in May. The Sox have won three straight, scoring 32 runs on 39 hits and 19 walks. In his major league debut, Sam Travis was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Mitch Moreland, out of the lineup with Travis playing first base, came off the bench and went 2 for 2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Sale (5-2) went 7 1/3 innings for the win but saw his streak of consecutive games with 10 or more strikeouts end at eight. He settled for six, which gives him 101 on the season. Sale came back out for the eighth inning and allowed another run. He was responsible for four runs, three earned, on six hits. Rangers starter Martin Perez held the Sox to one run on three hits over the first six innings. That run came in the third inning. Deven Marrero saw nine pitches before driving a single to center field with two outs. He then stole second and scored on Mookie Betts’s single to center. Perez did not allow another runner beyond first base until the outburst in the seventh inning. Andrew Benintendi singled and went to third when Travis singled. Moreland hit for Sandy Leon against righthander Sam Dyson and singled in Benintendi. Lefthanded hitters were 12 of 22 against Dyson this season and Farrell was eager to exploit that advantage with Moreland available. Moreland is 21 of 66 (.318) as a pinch hitter with 12 RBIs. With Travis on the roster, the Sox now have a much more useful bench. Josh Rutledge hit for Marrero and singled to drive in Travis. A wild throw from Shin-Soo Choo allowed Rutledge to take second. With first base open, Rangers manager Jeff Banister intentionally walked Betts to load the bases. Bad idea. A wild pitch scored Moreland. Pedroia then singled to drive in Rutledge. Xander Bogaerts followed with a line drive to the gap in right that would have scored Pedroia had it not hopped into the bullpen for a ground-rule double. Banister again called for an intentional walk to put Hanley Ramirez on. That, too, was a bad idea as Chris Young walked to force in a run. Benintendi followed with a sacrifice fly off Austin Bibens-Dirkx. Sale is so good that sometimes a 1-0 lead is enough. That was not the case this time. He walked Delino DeShields on five pitches to start the fourth inning. A passed ball moved DeShields up to second base, then a ground out put him on third. The Sox pulled their infield in but Elvis Andrus was able to get a sacrifice fly out to center field. Sale had a rough fifth inning. Old friend Mike Napoli clubbed a high fastball into the Monster Seats for his 11th home run. He has two in his career against Sale. Ryan Rua followed with a double to left field and Joey Gallo with an RBI single. He had been 0 for 7 with six strikeouts against Sale. Since 1900, Sale is one of only five pitchers with at least 100 strikeouts through the first 10 starts of a season. The others are Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Curt Schilling. |
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