Red Sox 9, White Sox 5: That Red Sox offense is so hot right now

The Red Sox started a big series against a bad White Sox team on Thursday. They really need to put forth a strong effort against a very beatable team before a stretch that includes games against both the Rays and the Yankees. Getting as much ground between themselves and their rivals — while both play division leaders — could prove to be huge.The first game was a strange one, but they reached their ultimate goal. On the plus side, the offense stayed red hot and continues to put that miserable July cold streak behind them. Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nuñez continued to provide a spark, with the former going yard yet again in this one. Andrew Benintendi, fresh off a couple days off to regroup after a brutal stretch of baseball, came back firing on all cylinders and reached base five times in the game. He also made a tremendous baserunning play to score a run, though that was negated by two bad outs on the basepaths. Mookie Betts also continued to get hot with a home run and Christian Vazquez stayed red hot with a couple of hits. Everything came up Milhouse for the lineup.

On the mound, this seemed like a good chance for Porcello to finally get going in the right direction. He had been solid of late, no doubt, but he had yet to reach the second gear at which we saw him last year, particularly in the second half. A game against a bad White Sox lineup seemed like just the place to hit that gear. Instead, he struggled with his command all night, missing both in and out of the zone. It was not a good night for the Red Sox starter, but the offense picked him up.