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| (AP Photo) |
Well, a win is a win is a win. But, this one had a lot of 'cardiac' moments that bring into question the managerial competence of
John Farrell. After
Hanley Ramirez's first-pitch grand slam gave Boston the 5-4 lead in the 6th, and a
Jackie Bradley, Jr. solo shot made it 6-4 later—it was obvious that the 7th, 8th and 9th would be a minefield for the manager. So, after
Fernando Abad loaded the bases with two outs in the 8th, the situation
screamed for a five-out save for
Craig Kimbrel. But, Farrell brought in the highly-hittable
Junichi Tazawa and—
BINGO—6-6. Luckily, the 8th inning also saw Boston respond with two big runs driven in by
Aaron Hill along with another RBI by JBJ. Early in the game,
Xander Bogaerts homered to make it 1-1. Kimbrel eventually came in for a 1-2-3 ninth and his 24th save in
the 8-6 win. Now, the team heads on the road for a nine-game trip.
