G106: Mariners 3, Red Sox 1

Red Sox  - 000 000 001 - 1  7  0
Mariners - 010 001 10x - 3  4  0

Andrew Benintendi collected his first two major league hits, but Hisashi Iwakuma (7.1-5-0-0-7, 97) and two relievers put the Boston bats into a deep sleep on Wednesday night. Boston fell 3 GB the Orioles in the AL East.

Rick Porcello (8-4-3-1-8, 112) allowed three solo home runs: Nelson Cruz obliterated a pitch to left in the second, Mike Zunino went deep to center in the sixth, and Adam Lind cranked one to right in the seventh. Seattle's other three base runners were Kyle Seager's second inning walk, Norichika Aoki's HBP in the sixth, and Zunino's single in the eighth.

In the late innings, the Red Sox had the chance to get back in the game. Benintendi's one-out single in the eighth ended Iwakuma's night and Drew Storen took over. Mookie Betts singled, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. But Brock Holt popped to shortstop and Xander Bogaerts flied to deep left.

Facing Edwin Diaz in the ninth, Jackie Bradley singled with one out. Aaron Hill was plunked and, with Travis Shaw batting, both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Shaw was ahead in the count 3-0, but then looked at a strike and grounded out to second, with Bradley scoring and Hill taking third. Sandy Leon also got ahead 3-0, but just like Shaw, he took a strike and grounded to second, ending the game.

Benintendi's first hit came with one out in the third, when he sliced an off-speed pitch to the opposite (left) field. He struck out in the fifth.

Rick Porcello / Hisashi Iwakuma

Betts, RF
Holt, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Leon, C
Benintendi, LF

Mookie Betts was named AL Player of the Month for July. In 23 games, Betts batted .368 with 15 runs scored, 10 doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, and five stolen bases. Among American League in July, Betts was first in doubles and extra-base hits (16), second in hits and batting average, third in stolen bases and slugging percentage (.653), and fifth in on-base percentage (.415). ESPNs Mark Simon writes that in addition to Betts's superlative hitting, Mookie was also the majors' defensive player of the month as well, with 11 defensive runs saved.

G105: Mariners 5, Red Sox 4

Red Sox  - 100 200 010 - 4  6  0
Mariners - 000 000 05x - 5  8  0

David Price / Wade LeBlanc

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Leon, C
Brentz, LF

To make room on the roster for outfielder Andrew Benintendi and pitcher Fernando Abad, the Red Sox today designated for assignment Tommy Layne and Michael Martinez.

Andrew Benintendi Called Up From AA, In Seattle Tonight

Jason Mastrodonato, Evan Drellich, Herald:

Top prospect Andrew Benintendi is to meet the team in Seattle today, the Red Sox announced last night, setting up the addition of one of the best players in the minor leagues to an already top-shelf offense. Benintendi is to skip Triple-A Pawtucket. President of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski said earlier this season he has no fear jumping a prospect from Double-A, if the prospect is ready. ...

Benintendi, 22, is a left-handed hitter and was the team’s first-round draft pick at No. 7 overall just a year ago. After being named the Golden Spikes winner as the best player in college baseball at the University of Arkansas, he made a giant splash his first year as a professional, hitting .313 with a .972 OPS and 11 homers with 10 stolen bases in 54 games between Lowell and Greenville.

He hit .341 with with a .976 OPS over 34 games with Salem before he was promoted to Portland earlier this year. He was hitting .295 with an .872 OPS in Portland.

Scott Lauber, ESPN:

After refusing to include Benintendi in any deals before the trade deadline, the Red Sox plan to call up their 2015 first-round draft pick and top outfield prospect from Double-A Portland on Tuesday to join their road trip in Seattle, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed to ESPN late Monday night. ...

Benintendi was ranked No. 3 by ESPN in Keith Law's midseason Top 50 prospects.

Benintendi is expected to make his major league debut Wednesday night.

G104: Red Sox 2, Mariners 1

Red Sox  - 000 000 011 - 2  5  0
Mariners - 000 000 100 - 1  4  0

Aaron Hill's first home run as a member of the Red Sox tied the game in the eighth and Mookie Betts's blast in the ninth - his 22nd of the year - gave Boston its second consecutive late-inning come-from-behind win.

The Red Sox moved into a tie with the Blue Jays for second place, 1 GB the Orioles.

Eduardo Rodriguez (6.1-3-1-2-6, 101) was superb, allowing only two Seattle baserunners through six innings. The Red Sox had caught a break in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Shawn O'Malley dropped down a bunt and catcher Sandy Leon pounced on it. Leon's throw hit O'Malley in the ass. and the ball rolled towards right field. O'Malley raced to third, but was ruled out for interference.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Robinson Cano, who had Seattle's only hit to that point (a fourth-inning single), doubled to the wall in right-center. After Rodriguez walked Nelson Cruz, Dae-Ho Lee doubled to right-center, scoring Cano. Robbie Ross came in from the bullpen and his first pitch must have grazed a thread on Kyle Seager's uniform because the home plate umpire sent him to first base. With the sacks loaded, Ross struck out both Franklin Gutierrez and Chris Iannetta to put out the fire.

Facing James Paxton (8-4-1-0-6, 107), who was equally brilliant on the mound, with one out in the eighth, Hill lined a high fastball to left for a game-tying home run.

Junichi Tazawa pitched the bottom of the eighth and got into, and out of, a jam. With one out, pinch-hitter Norichika Aoki grounded a single to center. He took second on a wild pitch and went to third on a groundout (a very nice back-handed pick at first by Hanley Ramirez that saved a run). With two outs, Tazawa intentionally walked Cano to face Cruz (2-for-11 against Taz). Tazawa fell behind 2-0 but came back to strike Cruz out swinging.

Steve Cishek took over for Paxton in the top of the ninth and threw a high, inside fastball on 1-0 to Betts, and Mookie turned on it in the blink of an eye. Like Hill's shot, this one was a line drive that disappeared beyond the fence in left. (In addition to his home run, Betts also doubled.)

In the ninth, Seattle went to its bench against Craig Kimbrel. The just-activated Boston closer made an excellent play on pinch-hitter Seth Smith's dribbler, throwing a seed to Ramirez at first just in time. Kimbrel then struck out Seager, but a wild pitch put Seager on first. Pinch-hitter Adam Lind struck out on three pitches, but then Kimbrel walked pinch-hitter Mike Zunino. He recovered, though, to strike out O'Malley to end the game.

Eduardo Rodriguez / James Paxton

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Leon, C
Brentz, LF

The Red Sox activated Craig Kimbrel and sent Joe Kelly to Pawtucket.

Xander Bogaerts, on yesterday's come-from-behind win:

We've been through a lot these past few days, the past week or so, week-plus. Been through a lot of tough losses. This was a special one. It can definitely change the whole season around for us.

Three-way race in the AL East:

BAL ---
TOR 0.5
BOS 1.5

Boston still has nine games against the Orioles, and six against the Blue Jays (including the final three games of the season).

G103: Red Sox 5, Angels 3

Red Sox - 000 000 005 - 5  9  1
Angels  - 000 030 000 - 3 11  1

Top of the 9th:

Huston Street pitching for the Angels.
Jackie Bradley walked.
Aaron Hill singled to center, Bradley to second.
Ryan Hanigan struck out swinging.
Brock Holt struck out swinging.
Mookie Betts singled to right center, Bradley scored, Hill to third.
Dustin Pedroia homered to center, Hill, Betts and Pedroia scored.
Xander Bogaerts homered to left center, Bogaerts scored.
Jose Alvarez relieved Street.
David Ortiz flied out to left.

Betts took the first two pitches for strikes in his ninth-inning at-bat, so Boston was one strike away from a three-run defeat when they rallied!

Brad Ziegler allowed a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, but got a game-ending double play on the next batter.

The Red Sox have won only three of their last 10 games, but they are a mere 1.5 games behind the Orioles. (They would play in the Wild Card game if the season ended today.)

Maybe today's victory can kick off a long hot streak. On to Seattle!

Steven Wright / Tyler Skaggs

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Hanigan, C
Brentz, LF

G102: Angels 5, Red Sox 2

Red Sox - 200 000 000 - 2  6  0
Angels  - 102 101 00x - 5  8  0

The Red Sox wasted several good scoring opportunities, leaving 11 men on base and going only 1-for-10 with RATS.

Mookie Betts began the game with a home run. ... The Red Sox actually had more walks (7) than hits (6).

Drew Pomeranz / Hector Santiago

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Bradley, CF
Ramirez, DH
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Brentz, LF
Leon, C

Last night's win was great, but you know what? ... It's not enough. The Red Sox shall kick ass in the second game of what will be later hailed simply as The Streak.

Also: The Blue Jays beat the Orioles 9-1 this afternoon and moved into first place. Baltimore is 0.5 GB. Boston remains 1.5 GB.

Schadenfreude 195 (A Continuing Series)

Kevin Kernan, Post:

Reality is tough to swallow, but once again, on Friday night at Tropicana Field, the Yankees showed this is not their year. Ivan Nova needed to come up with a big pitching performance and fell flat on his face in an ugly 5-1 loss to the lowly Rays, a team that came into the evening 22 games under .500.

The loss dropped the Yankees to 52-50. Yes, there is mediocrity in baseball, but this most mediocre of teams is not a true contender. ...

If Hal Steinbrenner still needs to be convinced his Yankees need to make the most of the trade deadline in this crazy seller’s market, he is living in a fantasy world. ...

Believe what your eyes are telling you.

The Yankees love their numbers, so believe in this number, too. Once again this season, the Yankees are losing the run differential war. They have surrendered 441 runs and have scored only 413.

That's a losing number. With that kind of differential, they are lucky to be two games over .500.

G101: Red Sox 6, Angels 2

Red Sox - 002 101 200 - 6  7  0
Angels  - 020 000 000 - 2  5  0

Palindromic linescore for the win!

Rick Porcello (9-5-2-0-3, 107) pitched a complete game. Xander Bogaerts doubled and homered, scored twice, and drove in three runs. Dustin Pedroia also scored twice.

Rick Porcello / Tim Lincecum

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Hanigan, C
Holt, LF

You know what? ... Yeah, that's right. The winning streak starts now!

#KillTheWin. Seriously.

White Sox reliever David Robertson entered last Sunday's game against the Tigers in the top of the ninth inning. Chicago led 4-1 - and had a 97% chance of winning.

Robertson's not-as-planned inning went: HR, K, 4-3, HR, HR, 6-3. (The second and third home runs were by pinch-hitters.) And the game was tied 4-4. However, the White Sox scored a run in the bottom of the ninth, so Robertson was credited with the win.

Robertson became the first pitcher in the last 100 years to give up three home runs in an inning (or a partial inning) and still wind up with the victory.

G100: Angels 2, Red Sox 1

Red Sox - 001 000 000 - 1  8  1
Angels  - 000 000 002 - 2 10  0

This one - with two Angels runs scoring on Hanley Ramirez's throwing error on a possible game-ending (and Boston-game-winning) double play grounder - sounded like a real punch in the gut.

David Price (8-7-0-1-6, 109) threw eight shutout innings before Brad Ziegler took over in the ninth. The Angels loaded the bases with one out. Daniel Nava grounded a ball to Ramirez at first. His throw home sailed over the catcher's head and the tying and winning runs scored easily.

Eight of the nine Red Sox batters had a single (Jackie Bradley was hitless). David Ortiz also walked twice.

David Price / Jered Weaver

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF

First game of a four-game series against the Angels, who are last in the AL West.

Boston remains 2.5 GB the Orioles, in third place.

John Farrell indicated that David Ortiz may not play tonight.

G99: Tigers 4, Red Sox 3

Tigers  - 002 001 001 - 4 11  1
Red Sox - 100 000 110 - 3  7  0

Miguel Cabrera's ninth-inning home run off Brad Ziegler hit off the top of the short fence in front of the Red Sox bullpen. Mookie Betts was right there at the wall, but he must have completely lost the ball in the bright afternoon sun, because he did not attempt to catch it. The Tigers held on for the win and a three-game sweep of the Red Sox. Boston finished the homestand with a 4-5 record. The loss was especially frustrating because the Red Sox had rallied from two runs down to tie the game with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

Dustin Pedroia gave Boston a quick 1-0 lead by hitting his 11th home run. Eduardo Rodriguez (5.1-9-3-3-6, 101) gave up two runs in the fourth, both of them coming on Victor Martinez's bases loaded single. (V-Mart finished the day 4-for-4, with four singles and a walk.) The outcome of that inning could have been much worse for the Red Sox as Rodriguez received five or six gift calls (i.e., blown calls on balls out of the zone that were called strikes) from home plate umpire CB Bucknor. Despite the gifts for Boston, I still demand robots!

Xander Bogaerts led off the seventh with a home run. In the eighth, Travis Shaw singled, was bunted to second by Sandy Leon, and advanced to third on Brock Holt's groundout to second. Mookie Betts then lined a triple into the triangle. Center fielder Tyler Collins dove for the ball and did not get it. He was quickly to his feet, though, and while it looked like Betts might try for an inside-the-park home run, he held at third. Pedroia struck out to end the inning.

In the ninth, Bogaerts was called out on a pitch that was well out of the strike zone. (Robots!) So instead of Bogaerts batting with a 2-2 count, he was sent back to the dugout by Bucknor, one of the absolute worst umps in the business and someone who blew well over a dozen calls today. David Ortiz flied to left and Jackie Bradley flied to right. And that was that.

Michael Fulmer / Eduardo Rodriguez

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Leon, C
Holt, LF

The third-place Red Sox (2.5 GB) play an afternoon game before heading out west for an 11-game road trip (Angels, Mariners, Dodgers).

G98: Tigers 9, Red Sox 8

Tigers  - 220 040 100 - 9 13  1
Red Sox - 003 203 000 - 8  9  0

After overcoming deficits of 0-4 and 5-8, the Red Sox dropped yet another frustrating game when reliever Robbie Ross walked Detroit's #9 hitter (who had a pathetic .195 on-base percentage) with the bases loaded in the seventh inning. David Ortiz came to the plate as the potential winning run in the bottom of the ninth, but he grounded into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Steven Wright (4.2-9-8-3-2, 84) allowed a two-run homer to Miguel Cabrera in the first inning and surrendered two more runs in the second. Boston closed the gap in the third. Mookie Betts doubled and Xander Bogaerts was grazed with a pitch. Ortiz then lined a two-out, full-count pitch over the fence in right-center for a three-run homer.

The Red Sox took a 5-4 lead in the fourth. Jackie Bradley walked and Travis Shaw singled. Bradley took third on Sandy Leon's fly to center and scored on Brock Holt grounder. Betts then smoked his second double, this one sailing over the head of Justin Upton in left to bring home Shaw. Betts now has 43 multi-hit games, the most of any player in either league.

After other poor starts from Wright in hot/humid weather, manager John Farrell had assured fans that he would keep a closer eye on Wright and his sweat/perspiration issues and concurrent control problems. So much for that promise. Farrell allowed Wright to face seven batters in the fifth inning (he walked the first two, then allowed two singles) and allow four runs. By the time the eagle-eyed Farrell emerged from the dugout, the Tigers led 8-5.

But the Boston bats got Wright and Farrell (somewhat) off the hook when they tied the game in the sixth. Bradley opened the inning with his 16th home run of the season. With one out, Leon was hit by a pitch and Brock Holt was safe when Ian Kinsler committed an error, trying to flip the ball to second for a force out. After a pitching change, Betts walked to load the bases. Dustin Pedroia singled in one run and Bogaerts beat out a fielder's choice to make it 8-8.

Ross relieved Wright and completed the fifth and allowed a single in the sixth. He recorded the first two outs in the seventh before hitting Upton. Mike Aviles singled and Saltalamacchia walked, loading the bases. Then Ross walked the weak-hitting Tyler Collins to bring in Detroit's ninth run.

The Red Sox went in order in the seventh and eighth innings. Bogaerts singled off Francisco Rodriguez with one out in the ninth, setting the stage for some possible heroics for Big Papi. And while the game did end with Ortiz's at-bat, it was a routine double play.

Mike Pelfrey / Steven Wright

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Hanigan, C
Holt, LF

Wright's 2.67 ERA is the best in the American League, though his ERA+ is just behind Cleveland's Danny Salazar. Wright's 1.148 WHIP is eighth in the AL and he has allowed the fifth-fewest hits per nine innings.

On the batting side, David Ortiz is third in average, third in on-base, first in slugging, first in OPS, first in doubles, first in extra-base hits, third in total bases, second in RBI, and fifth in home runs. (I wonder what is the best a player has done in MVP voting in his final season.)

G97: Tigers 4, Red Sox 2

Tigers  - 000 002 110 - 4  8  0
Red Sox - 010 000 010 - 2 10  0

Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox loaded the bases off Tigers reliever Justin Wilson with no one out, as David Ortiz singled off the Wall, Hanley Ramirez singled to left, and Jackie Bradley singled to center. Things looked promising. But then Bryce Brentz pinch-hit for Travis Shaw and struck out swinging. Sandy Leon's single to center brought in one run, but Brock Holt struck out looking and - after Francisco Rodriguez took over on the hill - Mookie Betts hit into a fielder's choice.

Boston left 11 men on base in this frustrating loss, including a total of seven men in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. The Red Sox went quietly in the ninth, as Dustin Pedroia fanned, lunging at an outside pitch, Xander Bogaerts popped to short to end a nine-pitch at-bat, and Ortiz grounded back to the mound.

The Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead with two outs in the second as Bradley singled and scored on Travis Shaw's double into the right field corner. Drew Pomeranz (6-4-2-2-7, 99) pitched very well, allowing only two baserunners through the first five innings. Nick Castellanos doubled to begin the second inning, but Pomeranz left him there as he recorded two strikeouts and a foul pop to Leon. Miguel Cabrera led off the fourth with a single, but was erased in a double play.

Andrew Romine singled to center to open the Tigers sixth. With one out, Jose Iglesias lined a two-run homer down the left field line - and Boston's lead was history.

Joe Kelly pitched the seventh. He gave up a leadoff triple to Justin Upton, who later scored on James McCann's one-out single. Most of the eight pitches Kelly threw to McCann were 100+, which velocity I'm sure made Dave O'Brien, NESN's radar gun worshipper, giddy. However, what O'Brien seemingly doesn't understand (after watching decades of baseball) is that major league hitters can hit pitches that are 100+ - and McCann's single over the drawn-in Red Sox infield gave Detroit a 3-1 lead. The Tigers tacked on another run against Clay Buchholz in the eighth.

The Orioles beat the Rockies, so Boston dropped 2.5 GB.

Justin Verlander / Drew Pomeranz

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF

Hanley Ramirez was named AL Player of the Week after batting .333 (7-for-21) with six runs scored, five home runs and 12 RBIs over six games.

G96: Red Sox 8, Twins 7

Twins   - 020 100 220 - 7  9  1
Red Sox - 003 050 00x - 8 10  1

Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw each belted three-run homers as the Red Sox managed a split of the four-game series with Minnesota.

After Matt Barnes (who loaded the bases with none out in the eighth) and Junich Tazawa (who allowed two if those runners to score) helped Minnesota cut the Red Sox's lead down to one run, Brad Ziegler pitched a clean ninth, with two strikeouts, to close out the win.

Ramirez went deep in the third (his fifth home run in the last five games) and Shaw hit his shot in the fifth. ... Xander Bogaerts had three hits and scored twice. ... Dustin Pedroia singled, hit a solo homer, and scored twice.

Tommy Milone / Rick Porcello

Holt, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ramirez, DH
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Shaw, 1B
Brentz, LF
Hanigan, C

G95: Twins 11, Red Sox 9

Twins   - 130 001 510 - 11 19  1
Red Sox - 150 101 100 -  9 15  1

Ricky Nolasco / David Price

Holt, LF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Hill, 3B
Leon, C
Martinez, RF

Balk!

G94: Twins 2, Red Sox 1

Twins   - 010 001 000 - 2 10  1
Red Sox - 100 000 000 - 1  4  1

The Red Sox had the bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. They trailed by only one run and had David Ortiz at the plate, facing Brandon Kintzler.

However, there were no walkoff heroics from Big Papi tonight. He grounded into a 4-2-3 double play, which cut down the runner coming in from third. With men at second and third, Hanley Ramirez lined out to right to end the game.

For the second game in a row, Mookie Betts led off the first inning with a home run (though he waited until the second pitch to hit this one). It was his 20th dong of the season. ... Betts left the game in the fifth inning with a sore right knee.

Eduardo Rodriguez: 5.1-6-2-1-8, 95.

Kyle Gibson / Eduardo Rodriguez

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Leon, C
Holt, LF

Commissioner Rob Manfred "In Favor" Of Limiting Use Of Relief Pitchers

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that he would be "in favor" of restricting the number of relief pitchers a team could use in an inning or in a game.

You know the problem with relief pitchers is that they're so good. I've got nothing against relief pitchers but they do two things to the game: The pitching changes themselves slow the game down, and our relief pitchers have become so dominate at the back end that they actually rob action out of the end of the game, the last few innings of the game. So relief pitchers is a topic that is under active consideration. We're talking about that a lot internally.

This is quite honestly the absolute dumbest idea I have heard in a long time. Is this actually being considered in MLB's offices? Is Manfred trying to drive long-time fans away from the game? (More shockingly, will Manfred actually make people wistful about Bud Selig?)

But if Manfred is serious, I've got a few other ways to not "slow the game down":

1. Limit the number of pitches that a team can throw in a game. Too many pitches = long games. Can't have that. ... Ding! Sorry, Astros, you just threw pitch 150. The game is over!

2. Batters can see no more than five pitches in any plate appearance. Depending on whether there are more balls or strikes after pitch #5, the batter will be awarded a walk or be called out on strikes.

3. Slower pitches obviously slow the game down, so pitchers will be allowed to throw no more than six off-speed pitches per inning. (Steven Wright will be banned from MLB.)

4. Keep commercial breaks the same length (local games 2:25; national games 2:45; postseason: 3:00+).

G93: Red Sox 13, Twins 2

Twins   - 000 020 000 -  2  5  1
Red Sox - 303 010 24x - 13 17  1

Mookie Betts drilled the Twins' first pitch of the game for a home run - and the Red Sox never looked back. The first four batters in the Boston batting order went 14-for-19, with 10 runs scored and nine RBI.

Dustin Pedroia went 5-for-5 - the fifth five-hit game of his career - and three other hitters collected three hits: Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and David Ortiz. Ortiz drove in four runs (two coming on an eighth-inning home run) and Jackie Bradley drove in three. Betts, Pedroia, and Bogaerts each scored three runs.

Steven Wright (8-4-2-1-9, 108) retired the first 13 batters and allowed only one earned run.

Tyler Duffey / Steven Wright

Betts, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, 1B
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Hanigan, C
Holt, LF

The top three teams in the AL East are separated by only one game: Boston is in first, followed by the Orioles (0.5 GB) and Blue Jays (1.0 GB). ... Balrtimore plays the Yankees this afternoon. ... Toronto has the day off.

(Update: The Orioles beat the Yankees 4-1 and moved into a first-place tie with the Red Sox.)

Brian Johnson And Anxiety: "My Goals Became My Expectations"

Alex Speier of the Boston Globe has an in-depth story on Red Sox minor-league pitcher Brian Johnson's struggle with anxiety. As Speier notes in an intro to the story:

There was a time when it would have been unfathomable for a player to inform his organization that he was struggling with a mental health issue, and likewise when it would have been almost unfathomable for the organization and player to make the treatment for a mental health issue public. [The Red Sox's response to Johnson's request for treatment] offered a suggestion of how far the sports community and society at large has come on the subject of mental health.

Brian Johnson:

My goals became my expectations. I felt like I had a microscope put on myself. If I didn't throw perfect, I was [angry]. If I gave up one run, I was [angry]. Nothing was good enough. ...

I never felt like I was living in the moment. I was always looking two to three steps ahead. I was waking up in cold sweats. I just never felt like myself. I had bags under my eyes. I was short-tempered. I love my parents to death, but they would reach out, I'd call them, my dad would ask how pitching was going, and I had a short fuse. Last thing you want to do is fight with your loved ones. It was becoming arguments because I didn't want to talk about baseball and how do you tell anybody what you're going through when you feel like baseball is the only thing you know? ...

I just felt like I was always putting on an act. I always felt tight in my shoulders. I always felt like I was putting on a show. Finally, I remember talking to [Pat Light], and he said, "All baseball aside dude, you're my best friend and you need to get right. You need to make sure you're good." It was tough. I was nervous to tell my agent, I was nervous to tell my mom and dad. ... [But] I just finally hit a breaking point where I said I can't live my life unhappy not just on the field but off the field. I wanted . . . I needed help.