Danny Haren got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jacoby Ellsbury struck out swinging to start. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to short and Adrian Gonzalez flied out to deep center. Lester came out firing in the bottom of the first as Peter Boujors struck out swinging to start. Howie Kendrick struck out swinging and Bobby Abreu took strike three to end the inning.
David Ortiz grounded out to second to start the top of the second before Jed Lowrie struck out swinging. JD Drew took strike three to end the inning. Torii Hunter took strike three to start the bottom of the second but Vernon Wells got a base hit to center. Wells took second on a wild pitch and Alberto Callaspo walked, but Mark Trumbo banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third although Carl Crawford grounded out to second to start. Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled to right then made a mad dash to third on a fly ball to right by Marco Scutaro, Ellsbury doubled into the right field corner to score Saltalamacchia and put the Sox in the driver's seat. Pedroia took strike three to end the inning but it was 1-0 Sox.
Erick Aybar grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Jeff Mathis grounded out to third. Bourjos doubled to right and promptly stole third. Kendrick walked and stole second but Abreu flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox took advantage of shoddy defense in the top of the fourth as Gonzalez flied out to center to start. Ortiz grounded out to first but Lowrie walked. Drew doubled to right and Crawford hit a routine fly ball to center...DROPPED BY BOUJORS! Both runners scored to increase the lead and Crawford stole second to boot. Saltalamacchia flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Hunter beat out a little roller to third to start the bottom of the fourth but Wells flied out to right. Callaspo popped up to second and Trumbo struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally as Scutaro and Ellsbury drew back to back walks to start the top of the fifth. Pedroia went down hacking and Gonzalez beat out a double play ball, but Ortiz flied out to left to end the inning. Aybar singled to center to start the bottom of the fifth but Mathis and Boujors both went down swinging. Kendrick grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox got another run in the top of the sixth as Lowrie doubled over the head of Wells only to take third on an error when Wells bobbled the ball. Drew got a base hit up the middle to score Lowrie to increase the lead. Crawford took strike three, Saltalamacchia flied out to left and Scutaro also flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-0.
Lester returned for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth and got Abreu to fly out to left to begin. Hunter grounded out to second and Wells struck out swinging to end the inning. Lester was great, tossing 6 innings of shutout ball while allowing 4 hits and striking out 8 batters.
Francisco Rodriguez cam ein for the top of the seventh and Ellsbury grounded out to short to start. Pedroia walked and took second on a passed ball but Gonzalez struck out swinging. Ortiz flied out to left to end the inning. Matt Albers came in for the bottom of the seventh and Callapso grounded out to second to start. Trumbo grounded out to second but Aybar singled up the middle. Aybar stole second and Mathis hit a blooper to center. Ellsbury dove and missed the ball allowing Aybar to score to put the Angels on the board. Bourjos popped up to first to end the inning but it was 4-1 Sox.
Trevor Bell came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Lowrie grounded out to first to start. Drew walked and a wild pitch moved him to second, but Crawford could only advance JD to third on a grounder. Saltalamacchia was intentionally walked and Scutaro grounded into a force to end the inning. Bobby Jenks came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the eighth as Kendrick doubled to center to start. Abreu knocked in Kendrick with a base hit to center but Hunter flied out to right. A wild pitch moved Abreu to second but Wells flied out to left. Jenks threw a pitch under the glove of Saltalamacchia and he had no idea where the ball was, scoring Abreu all the way from second. Callaspo walked and Reggie Willits pinch ran for him. Maicer Izturis pinch hit for Trumbo and grounded out to second to end the inning with the Angels down 4-3.
Bobby Wilson took over at first for the top of the ninth and Ellsbury took strike three to start. Pedroia flied out to center and Gonzalez popped up to short to end the inning, Jonathan Papelbon came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Aybar flied out to center to start. Hank Conger pinch hit for Mathis and singled to center but Bourjos flied out to right. Papelbon blew away Kendrick to end the game. The Sox had held on to win it 4-3.
Sox win
Lester the Hero
Hero of the Night is Jon Lester. He tossed 6 shutout innings to keep the Sox in the driver's seat all game.
The Good:
Jed Lowrie was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.
JD Drew was 2 for 3 with a walk, rbi and a run scored.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jonathan Papelbon earned his 5th save with a scoreless ninth.
The Bad:
Adrian Gonzalez was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
David Ortiz was 0 for 4.
Matt Albers allowed a run in the seventh inning.
Bobby Jenks allowed a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and drove in a run.
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Carl Crawford was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but stole a base.
Marco Scutaro was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That was an ugly win but they all count. It doesn't matter if the Sox win decisively or takes advantage of a team throwing up on themselves, the final score is all that matters. The Sox offense was nothing special and needed a big error by Wells to score enough runs to win. The bullpen allowed 3 runs after Lester left and apart from him and Papelbon, nobody really looked good in this game. Still, to steal a road win like this is going to be huge come September if its a close playoff race. After the horrid start the Sox got off to, they essentially have to spend the rest of the month playing catch-up but at least they're on the right track. Winning three straight games is nothing to sneeze at, especially against a pitcher like Danny Haren and a team that's 2 years removed from being in the ALCS. The Sox look to make it four wins in a row tomorrow when they send Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-2, 6.43 ERA) takes on Ervin Santana of the Angels. The game begins at 9:05 Eastern time at Angels Stadium.
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