Rick Porcello went into the Boston Red Sox’s series finale against the Chicago White Sox with the odds stacked against him. He was coming off the disabled list after giving up six runs (five earned) over two innings in his last outing, which happened to be against the White Sox on July 29. He had to face Chicago ace Chris Sale.
And, man, did Porcello deliver.
The right-hander pitched a gem, blanking the White Sox through seven innings and giving up just five hits. He looked as though he had total control over his pitches. And his teammates delivered on offense to give Porcello the 3-0 win.
GAME IN A WORD
Duel.
If you had told Red Sox fans that Rick Porcello would be able to go toe-to-toe with Chris Sale before this game started, they probably wouldn’t have believed you. But that’s exactly what the right-hander did. Both Porcello and Sale pitched well and got themselves out of jams when they needed to through seven scoreless innings.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
Travis Shaw swung for the fences.
The Red Sox first baseman homered to right field to make the ballgame 2-0 in the eighth inning, and the White Sox couldn’t muster any offense from there.
ON THE BUMP
— Porcello returned from the disabled list to pitch his best game of the season. The right-hander was dealing through seven scoreless innings, giving up just five hits to go with five strikeouts. And he did it all while throwing just 94 pitches.
Porcello was the guy the Red Sox wanted him to be when they inked him to a four-year, $82.5 million extension before the season started, and they’ll certainly be hoping he stays that way.
— Robbie Ross Jr. helped Porcello with a 1-2-3 inning. The left-hander struck out White Sox third baseman Tyler Saladino before forcing two groundouts.
— Junichi Tazawa lacked control, getting behind in the count with three of the four batters he faced, but he ultimately got the job done and got the save.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— It was a well-pitched game, so Boston unsurprisingly didn’t produce much on the offensive side. But when Travis Shaw got his first hit of the night in the eighth inning, he made it count.
The first baseman launched a two-run home run to put the Red Sox on top. It was Shaw’s first homer on the road this season.
— Xander Bogaerts and Josh Rutledge did some work, too. Bogaerts went 2-for-3 with a walk, and Rutledge went 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly.
— It was another rough night for Hanley Ramirez, as the designated hitter went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Brock Holt, Blake Swihart and Jackie Bradley Jr. also were hitless, though Swihart scored Boston’s third run after a walk.
TWEET OF THE GAME
So, it’s not a Red Sox tweet, but the Salem Red Sox deserve some recognition after paying tribute to the WDBJ7 journalists who were shot and killed during a live broadcast Wednesday.
[tweet https://twitter.com/allenwlawrence/status/636594851740565504 align=’center’]
UP NEXT
The Red Sox have an off day Thursday before they head to Queens to take on the New York Mets on Friday. Henry Owens will start for Boston and will face off against Mets ace Matt Harvey at 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Caylor Arnold/USA TODAY Sports Images
