Diamondbacks - 200 010 001 - 4 12 2 Red Sox - 440 000 10x - 9 11 0Hanley Ramirez drove in six runs by hitting two three-run homers and David Price overcame a worrisome first inning to pitch seven more innings: 8-10-3-1-8, 114.
As far as Boston's Bullpen Adventures for Friday night, there was only the ninth. Even so, Fernando Abad managed to anger and annoy Red Sox fans. Abad got two outs on a liner to shortstop and a strikeout. Then he allowed a double, a run-scoring single, and a four-pitch walk. Abad finally got the third out on a fly to right.
The game did not begin in a way that inspired confidence in Price. His first pitch of the night was clubbed to center field by Jean Segura. Jackie Bradley slipped and fell, and the ball rolled for a triple. Bradley immediately make amends, however, catching Phil Gosselin's fly ball (hit on Price's second pitch of the game) and firing home. Catcher Bryan Holaday then threw to third to nab Segura. But then Price gave up a single to Paul Goldschmidt and a two-run bomb to Rickie Weeks Jr.
Dustin Pedroia reached on an error to start the home half of the first. After Xander Bogaerts struck out and Mookie Betts popped out, David Ortiz singled, and Ramirez homered to left. The big blast was not a rally killer, however, as Bradley reached on an error, went to second on Aaron Hill's single and scored on Holaday's single to center. Boston continued to batter Patrick Corbin (1.2-9-8-0-2, 55) in the second. Pedroia reached on an infield single and Bogaerts singled to left. Betts popped out again, but Ortiz singled home a run. Then Ramirez donged to center for an 8-2 Red Sox lead.
It was Ramirez's second six-RBI game of the season. He drove in six runs with three home runs on July 20 against the Giants.
Working with a six-run lead, Price did not have clean innings; he allowed two baserunners in the fourth, a solo homer in the fifth, and two baserunners in both the sixth and seventh. But he was able to kept the Snakes off the board (except for the homer, of course).
David Ortiz belted the first pitch of the seventh to center for his 26th home run of the season. The home run was Ortiz's 1,000th extra-base hit with the Red Sox. Only Carl Yastrzemski (1,157) and Ted Williams (1,117) have more. Ortiz finished the night 3-for-4, with three runs scored and two RBI.
Pedroia left the game in the third with "flu-like" symptoms.
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Betts, RF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Holaday, C
Benintendi, LF
Speier: "With Ramirez's injury, the Red Sox saw their Nos. 2-5 hitters endure injuries in a two-game span, with Xander Bogaerts getting a pitch off the elbow, Mookie Betts leaving with a calf injury, Ortiz taking his foul off the shin, and Ramirez enduring his collision."
ReplyDeleteElias:
ReplyDeleteFrom Elias: Hanley Ramirez hit a pair of three-run home runs, one in the first inning and the other in the second inning, in Boston's 9-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night. Over the last six seasons, only three other players had at least two homers and six RBIs over the first two innings of a game: Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals (May 2012), the Athletics' Derek Norris (May 2014), and the Cubs' Kris Bryant (July 2015). In the expansion era (since 1961), the only other Red Sox player to drive in at least six runs over the first two innings of a game was David Ortiz on August 12, 2008 against the Rangers. Ortiz hit a pair of three-run home runs, both coming in the first inning!