ROBBIE ROSS MOWED THEM ALL DOWN

After a meltdown from their bullpen, the Red Sox needed a strong outing from Kelly and the story ends there. Joe Kelly of course worked so hard that he hurt his shoulder in only .2 of an inning. He left the game with shoulder impingement (whatever the hell that is) and is now on the 15 day DL. It'll probably be 6 weeks until he'll pitch again. It's sad for someone who had a great spring training and end of the year last year. The bullpen took over after he left and the bullpen was the story of the night until extras. Heath Hembree, who was just called up today, was just what we needed right after Kelly went down. He went 3.1 innings pitched with 2 hits, no runs, no walks, and 4 strikeouts. The other high light was the lawn mower, Robbie Ross Jr. He mowed hitters down for 3 innings only allowing a hit with 4 strikeouts. Most fans cringe when they see him coming him to the game based off of his previous track record, but today was a pleasant surprise. He was great and hopefully we see him mow more hitters down in the future. 

Tazawa and Kimbrel posted fine outings allowing no runs but then the bullpen got shakey. In the 10th inning, Matt Barnes gave up three runs with only 1 earned. He gave up a solo shot to Kiermaier to break the tie and then a double and intentional walk followed. A big error by Shaw gave the Rays the bases loaded with two outs. It was Shaw's fault, but in his defense it was a really hard hit ball that almost went off his glove. It was a tough play. It could've ended the inning, but then it got ugly. Layne gave up a ground rule double to Jennings and it was history. The Red Sox couldn't come back in the tenth and lost.   

The offense was invisible for the whole game. Drew Smyly went 8 innings with only 1 hit, 2 walks, and 11 strikeouts. The Rays offense was missing too, until the tenth inning when it exploded. WHY DID JOHN FARRELL NOT PUT BROCK HOLT INTO THE GAME. He was on the bench and we were tied up in the ninth with JBJ coming up to bat. JBJ hasn't done good offensively this season so far and Brock HAS. The brockstar provides easy pop and hits well against lefties and rightites. PLAY TO WIN THE GAME JOHN FARRELL. HOLT NEEDS TO PLAY MORE and this was a perfect opportunity for him. COME ON. It looks like we'll be saying goodbye to you in the near future if nothing changes. So, adios John. 

Final: Rays 3 - Red Sox 0