JD Martinez waits in the on deck circle for his turn to bat last Sunday at Fenway Park against Toronto. Martinez homered and drove in three runs in Bostons loss Wednesday to Chicago. Photo by Chris Lessner (click to enlarge)
The Boston Red Sox had rallied to take a late lead Wednesday afternoon, but Matt Barnes was touched up with a two run homer in the ninth inning sending the Chicago White Sox to an 8-7 win at Fenway Park to salvage the final game of a three game series.
Chris Sale had a rough start to his day in the very first inning. Chicagos Leury Garcia led off with a single, and then Yoan Moncada was hit by a pitch. Jose Abreu then doubled to make it 1-0, followed by a James McCann RBI single. After Eloy Jimenez struck out, John Jay made it 3-0 with an RBI single. Moncada left the game with an injury. Boston responded in the bottom of the first when Rafael Devers hit a one out single. After Xander Bogaerts struck out, JD Martinez lifted his 17th homer of the year just sneaking over the monster in left center to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Chicago (37-41) extended it back to a three run lead in the third inning on a McCann solo homer and an infield RBI single from Ryan Cordell. A wild pitch in the bottom of the third by White Sox starter Reynaldo Lopez allowed Devers to score. Abreu made it 6-3 with an RBI single in the seventh, before Martinez doubled in a run in the bottom of the seventh. The Red Sox took their first lead when Mookie Betts reached on a fielders choice when Chicago tried to throw out Jackie Bradley Jr. at the plate on a chopper to third base in the bottom of the eighth but Bradley was safe at home, and then Bogaerts hit a two out two run single to make it 7-6 Boston. Brock Holt also had a big pinch hit double in the three run inning, and pitcher Brian Johnson scored as a pinch runner. Boston had a chance to finish it off and sweep the series, but Abreu wasn’t having any of that. Garcia led off the inning with a single off Barnes, but then was caught stealing by Red Sox catcher Christian Vasquez. Yolmer Sanchez followed though with another single, and Abreu crushed a hanging pitch from Barnes over everything in left for the game winning two run shot. It is the sixth blown save for the reliever and came on the 10th pitch of the at bat. Bradley Jr. led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk, but then Michael Chavis flied out, Vazquez lined out, and Eduardo Nunez grounded out to end it.
Sale settled in after the tough start, finishing with 6.0 innings pitched allowing five earned runs on six hits, with one walk and 10 strikeouts. The left hander hasn’t won a game at home since July 11th of last season. Barnes (3-3) took the loss and suffered the blown save. Five of the Red Sox starters had at least two hits with Devers leading the way with three. Martinez, Bogaerts, Bradley Jr., and Chavis had two a piece. Devers alsovscored three runs and is now 7 for his last 9 at the plate raising his average to .322. Abreu had a big day for the White Sox with three hits and four RBI. Garcia added three hits as well, and Cordell and McCann had two a piece. Alex Colome (3-1) picked up the win in relief despite the eighth inning blown save.
Boston (44-38) now heads to London, England to face the first place New York Yankees on Saturday and Sunday. Rick Porcello will face Masahiro Tanaka on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. United States Eastern Time. The Red Sox have still won 10 of their 14 games, but fell to a disappointing 20-20 at Fenway Park.
