Morning Confusion

I'm not ashamed to admit it. I didn't make it through the entire game last night. Round about the tenth inning I decided that my comfort today was more important than seeing one more inning. I'm glad I made that decision. But, it did lead to some momentary confusion.

The first thing I did when I woke up, as usual, was to open my At Bat app, wondering if the Sox pulled it out. Looking at the line score, I was confused for a bit. 13 runs? I must have the wrong game. It was 5-5 when I left. So, what are these totals from? No, it looks like an extra inning game. But, nobody scored until...the 14th? Then how did...holy crap...the Sox scored seven runs? In the fifteenth?!?

Of course, the thought come pretty quick after that. Wow, 15 innings again! Wow, the Sox won another extra innings game. Wow, I wonder if there was a point in the fifteenth when the Rays would have gladly quit just to get the game over with.

Of course, whenever there's a crazy game like this one, there are more wonders to be found by digging a little deeper. Dustin Pedroia was 0-9 and left 13 runners on base. Yikes. Clutch as ever. 

Second base was one of those fun revolving door positions. Holt started the game, and had Sam Travis hit for him who then had Tzu-Wei Lin immediately hit for him instead. He was eventually removed when Christian Vazquez hit for him, until he was lifted for pinch runner Rajai Davis. He was then lifted defensively in favor of Deven Marrero. So, six players occupied that spot in the batting order at one point or another during the game. Gotta love September baseball.

It's also easy to forget the three key innings Joe Kelly threw. Those kept the Sox in the game when they really needed it. That's a great piece to have out in the bullpen.

So, once the confusion passed, this was a great result to discover. The Sox kept pace with the Yankees, and probably really annoyed them in the process...especially if they were watching the game. They get closer to that division title we've all been waiting for. The team showed they can win a tough game when they need it. The limited the damage when they could, and exploded when given the opportunity. They can win a game when Chris Sale isn't at his best. I don't want to take too much from a single game against the Rays. But, the was a pretty good team win.

Now they just need a bunch more.