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ON THIS DATE (June
23, 2016) ... The Boston
Red Sox called
on Craig
Kimbrel to
shut things down. Pitching two full innings for the first time in
more than five years, the Red Sox closer got out of a bases-loaded
jam with nobody out in the 10th, and Xander
Bogaerts delivered
the winning single in the bottom half to give Boston an 8-7 victory
over Chicago.
Chicago led
3-0, 4-1 and 7-5 before Boston sent it into extra innings with a run in the
seventh and another in the eighth. Red Sox
closer Craig Kimbrel walked White Sox second baseman Brett Lawrie to lead off
the top of the 10th inning before giving up a single to Alex Avila and another
walk to Avisail Garcia, things were looking grim at Fenway Park.
But Kimbrel
didn’t need a double play, as the right-hander took matters into his own hands
and struck out the next two batters to preserve the 7-7 tie and set up
Bogaerts' walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th.
In all, he allowed one hit and
walked two while striking out three in two innings for his first American League
win.
Kimbrel wasn’t
the only Red Sox reliever faced with a bases-loaded, no-out situation Thursday.
Right-hander Heath Hembree got himself into an identical jam in the eighth
inning but like Kimbrel, kept Chicago off the scoreboard.
In the bottom half, Matt
Purke walked
two before Bogaerts lined one up the middle and Mookie
Betts scored
easily from second.
Mookie Betts, Bogaerts, Dustin
Pedroia and Hanley
Ramirez had
two hits apiece for the Red Sox, who improved to 11-15 in their last 26 games.
The Sox leadoff hitter reached safely seven times in 10 innings.
David Ortiz walked
three times and led off the ninth with a double that one-hopped the short wall
behind the Pesky Pole. Travis
Shaw was
walked on four pitches, but Jackie
Bradley Jr. struck out, Ramirez lined out and Sandy
Leon struck out to end the inning.
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CRAIG KIMBREL |
Kimbrel, who came on to start the ninth, walked Brett
Lawrie and
gave up a single to Alex Avila. He walked
another one before he retired the next three batters to protect the tie.
The White Sox led 4-1 before Boston scored four in the
sixth to take a 5-4 lead. Then Junichi
Tazawa relieved Tommy
Layne with
two men on in the seventh and gave up a three-run homer to Jose Abreu over the
Green Monster, that made it 7-5.
The Red Sox tied it to send it into extra innings, loading
the bases in the seventh before pinch-hitter Shaw launched a long sacrifice fly.
Bradley popped up a bunt, and Ramirez struck out to end the inning. In the
eighth, Marco
Hernandez hit
his first career double and scored on Pedroia's single to tie it 7-7. |
