Angels - 000 004 000 - 4 12 0 Red Sox - 100 130 00x - 5 16 0After a 95-minute rain delay, the Angels had plenty of chances to tie the game (or take the lead) over the final three innings, but came up empty, leaving two men on base in each inning. The game ended in Boston's favour with opposing runners at second and third.
The Red Sox scored their first first-inning run since June 11 on Mookie Betts's double and two groundouts. (Betts finished the night 3-for-5.)
Brock Holt, who threw out C.J. Cron at second base in the fourth when he tried to stretch a one-out single, began the bottom half with a double of his own, off the Wall. Travis Shaw ripped a double past first base, and Holt scored. Boston then had some bad baserunning adventures. First, Shaw was picked off second base by Jhoulys Chacin (4.2-12-5-2-4, 97). Then Betts was tagged out in a brief rundown after he singled to right with two outs; Marco Hernandez went first to third on Betts's hit and perhaps Betts thought the throw from the outfield would go through, but Andrelton Simmons cut it off and ran over and tagged Betts.
The Red Sox scored three times in the fifth after making two outs. David Ortiz (3-for-4) lined a home run down the right field line. (It was Ortiz's 522nd career regular-season rally-killer, 19th all-time. It was also his 2,000th hit in a Boston uniform.) Jackie Bradley singled and Holt's second double of the night brought him home. After Shaw was walked intentionally, Christian Vazquez singled in Holt, giving Boston a 5-0 lead.
Steven Wright (5-8-4-3-3, 93) had trouble throwing his pitches in the rain in the top of the sixth. Albert Pujols doubled and when Jefry Marte was hit by a pitch and Daniel Nava walked, the bases were loaded. Cron then crushed a 3-2 fastball into the Monster Seats for a grand slam, cutting Boston's lead to one run. Matt Barnes came in and retired the next three batters. At that point, the tarp came out for a 1:35 rain delay.
Manager John Farrell went to Junich Tazawa for the top of the seventh. Taz allowed a single and a walk, but fanned Daniel Nava to end the frame. Koji Uehara allowed a one-out triple to Johnny Giavotella in the eighth (the ball hit off Holt's glove in left-center), but then fielded a squeeze bunt from the next batter and nailed the runner at the plate. With two on, Uehara struck out Kole Calhoun.
Craig Kimbrel faced the Angels' 2-3-4 hitters in the ninth. He got ahead of Mike Trout 0-2, but then threw four straight balls and walked him. Albert Pujols flied out to Bradley on the warning track in center field. Marte popped out to Pedroia. Nava drilled a ground-rule double to right, the ball bouncing off the top of the short wall and into the stands - and keeping Trout at third. The Angels challenged the call, claiming fan interference, but the call stood. Cron, swinging at the first pitch, grounded out to third.
Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Bradley, CF
Holt, LF
Shaw, 1B
Vazquez, C
Hernandez, 3B
The Giants played in Oakland last night, but they did not use the DH! Bumgarner hit for himself, and doubled. The Giants won 12-6. Elias: In more than 2,500 regular-season interleague games played under AL rules, the Giants were the first team to have their pitcher bat.
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