 |
| (Getty Images) |
This one was
very hard to watch—even for a win. After building a seemingly insurmountable 4-1 lead going to the eighth-inning, the Red Sox bullpen (
Matt Barnes in particular) coughed up five runs to give Tampa a 6-4 lead. Barnes went just one-third of an inning and gave up four of those runs—including two HRs. The Red Sox rallied in the bottom of the inning, as
Jackie Bradley, Jr. laced a two-out, two-run single to knot the game at six. Then, a wild pitch/walk (that almost beaned
Mookie Betts) brought home the lead run. Alas, once again,
Craig Kimbrel was not sharp—and coughed up the tying run after walking two. Then, as only this weird game could end, Boston walked-off on a botched double-play resulting in an game-winning error. They had it all the way. Besides JBJ, key offensive contributors in
the eventual 8-7 win were:
J.D. Martinez (2-4, 2Rs);
Xander Bogaerts (2-4, R, RBI);
Eduardo Nunez (2-5, 2Rs, RBI) and
Ian Kinsler (2-4, R, RBI).
Brian Johnson delivered another one of his signature sub-five-inning starts—
somehow giving up just one earned run, despite being consistently hammered by Tampa hitters. The win keeps Boston's lead in the AL East at 6.5 games.
