Red Sox Recap: White Sox Roll Over Rick Porcello, 9-2

Nearing the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox battled the Chicago White Sox in their third of a four-game series in Fenway Park last night. Big players with no-trade clauses are deciding whether or not to waive that technicality based on the performances of their possible destination teams. With the Red Sox in double-digit deficits in the American League East division and the A.L. Wild Card races, the team couldn’t afford another bad loss against another struggling team like the White Sox. Instead, over 37 000 people in the stands and the millions watching at home, including those trade targets, saw the Red Sox get pounded around the field while their bats stayed quiet.

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Rick Porcello, the Red Sox starting pitcher, came into the game with a 5-10 record for the season, hoping that his losing ways would cease. The White Sox countered with lefty Jose Quintana who also wanted to find the winning path away from his 5-9 record. Something had to give, last night.

The White Sox bats were that something, as they thrashed Porcello immediately to start the game. On a full count, White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton belted a solo home run over the right field fence to take the early lead. Three batters later, their designated hitter Adam LaRoche smacked a line drive to left field that cashed in Melky Cabrera.

It was more of the same in the top of the second inning when the top of Chicago’s lineup came back to hit. Eaton singled to center, scoring Carlos Sanchez. Cabrera returned the favor and got into the RBI-action by drilling a pitch to center to score Eaton. Both runs were scored with two outs, as Porcello could not find a way to close the door. Neither could an answer be discussed in the coach’s visit to the mound after that. Porcello proceeded to walk Jose Abreu to load the bases and then he hit LaRoche with a 92-mph fastball to give Tyler Saladino a free pass across home plate. The White Sox were leading 5-0 and it was only 1.5 innings into the game.

If you thought the top of the third inning would be any different, you thought wrong. The lead-off hitter Alexei Ramirez hit his fifth home run of the season on an 0-2 count over the Green Monster. Sanchez then hit a double which brought about another coach’s visit to the mound, but that had the same effect as last time. After another single, the third time was the charm as Red Sox manager John Farrell met Porcello on the mound, but this time it was to take the ball from him and give it to reliever Craig Breslow, who got out of the inning without more damage.

There was one bright spot for the Red Sox: first baseman Mike Napoli. No, that’s not a mistake; Napoli actually had a decent game, last night. Well, at least he drew the first run of the game for the Red Sox. His double in the bottom of the fourth inning drove in Xander Bogaerts to ease some of the pain that Red Sox Nation was feeling.

That pain came back in the top of the seventh inning, as Red Sox relief pitcher Tommy Layne, with one out, gave up a single and a double before allowing Avisail Garcia to score on a ground out by Sanchez. The next batter Tyler Flowers then drove in Ramirez on a grounder to left field.

A solo shot by Napoli in the bottom of the seventh was matched by Abreu’s single against Alexi Ogando to score Cabrera in the top of the eighth inning.

With the score 9-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Red Sox had something going with David Ortiz and Napoli drawing walks with none out. Those hopes were quickly dashed as Rusney Castillo, newly recalled from Triple-A, and Josh Rutledge, acquired in the Shane Victorino trade, struck out and Ryan Hanigan popped out to end the threat.

Game Notes:

Jackie Bradley Jr. replaced Red Sox center fielder Mookie Betts defensively before the game. Betts was placed on the seven-day concussion list. Brock Holt replaced him at the top of Boston’s lineup, going 2-for-4 at the dish.
Boston’s third baseman Pablo Sandoval was replaced by Rutledge after five innings. According to MLB.com‘s Alec Shirkey, Farrell said that the cause was dehydration. “ during the game.” Sandoval was thrown out diving head-first into home after running from first base on a Hanigan double in the third inning. It was 91 degrees Fahrenheit with only a slight breeze in Boston, last night. Take that for what you will.
The Red Sox were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The White Sox were 6-for-16.
Castillo went 1-for-4 at the plate, bringing his time with Boston to a .244 batting average, just under leading RBI hitter Hanley Ramirez‘s .263. Ramirez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Porcello allowed six runs, five of them earned, on 10 hits, a walk, and two strikeouts in just 2.0 innings of work.

Grades:

Porcello looks like a shell of his former self from his days with the Detroit Tigers. He threw 68 pitches, 41 being strikes, for two ground outs and no fly outs. You can’t expect to win ballgames when your starter can’t even last three innings, let alone five or six.

The two homers he served up placed Porcello in ninth place for all MLB starters in most home runs allowed, with a total of 20. The Colorado Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick leads with 25 homers given up, in case you’re wondering.

That performance is unacceptable for the Red Sox right now. Yes, the team has been losing; however, to lose like that completely demoralizes a squad to ever come back or a top player wanting to waive his no-trade clause to come to Boston. Let me hold back my coughs that sound like the name Hamels while I finish this article.

Breslow stopped the bleeding for three innings, allowing only one walk and struck out three White Sox batters. That performance was what the Red Sox needed from their starter. Layne’s two runs on three hits and Ogando’s run on two hits sullied the shine of Breslow’s outing, but it did not deep-six the Red Sox into the abyss of defeat. Porcello had already done that.

Koji Uehara

‘s nice inning of work, striking out two batters while giving up two hits, had no chance of being a save situation on this night.

Napoli went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs, no strikeouts, and a run scored. For the man butchered almost daily in the media for hitting .210 or less, Napoli had a decent night. Besides, it wasn’t like the rest of the team was doing much. The team earned seven hits, but only two runs to show for it. Much of that was due to Quintana getting them to ground out eight times and striking out seven times in key scoring situations. Working harder and working smarter are two different things. The Red Sox need to be more efficient, as well as successful, at the plate if they wish to improve their situation.

Red Sox Recap: White Sox Roll Over Rick Porcello, 9-2

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