Carmona got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to second to start. Carl Crawford also grounded out to second and Dustin Pedroia struck out swinging to end the inning. Lester matched Carmona in the bottom of the first as Orlando Cabrera grounded out to short to start. Asdrubal Cabrera struck out swinging and Shin-Soo Choo was frozen for strike three to end the inning.
Adrian Gonzalez opened the top of the second with a walk but Kevin Youkilis lined out to second. David Ortiz flied out to left and JD Drew flied out to center to end the inning.
Lester matched that by getting Carlos Santana to ground out to third to start. Shelly Duncan struck out looking and Austin Kearns grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the third as Jarrod Saltalamacchia flied out to left to start. Marco Scutaro walked and Ellsbury singled to left. Crawford beat out a double play ball but Pedroia flied out to center to end the inning. The Indians threatened in the bottom of the third when Matt Laporta singled to left to begin. Travis Buck forced Laporta at second but old Sox prospect Adam Everett singled to center. Orlando Cabrera beat out a double play ball but Asdrubal Cabrera struck out swinging to end the inning.
Carmona cruised in the top of the fourth as Gonzalez grounded out to second to start. Youkilis went down hacking and Ortiz watched strike three go by to end the inning. Choo began the bottom of the fourth with a grounder to first but Santana walked. Santana was thrown out at second trying to steal but Duncan walked. Kearns struck out swinging to end the inning.
Drew opened the top of the fifth with a ground out to second and Saltalamacchia struck out looking. Scutaro singled in the hole at short but Ellsbury grounded out to first to end the inning. Laporta drew a leadoff walk to start the bottom of the fifth but Buck struck out swinging. Everett popped up to second and Orlando Cabrera struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox offense continued to be anemic in the top of the sixth. Crawford flied out to center, Pedroia grounded out to second and Gonzalez flied out to center to end the inning. Lester matched Carmona in the bottom of the sixth striking out Asdrubal Cabrera looking to start. Choo flied out to center and Santana whiffed to end the inning.
Carmona cruised in the top of the fourth as Gonzalez grounded out to second to start. Youkilis went down hacking and Ortiz watched strike three go by to end the inning. Choo began the bottom of the fourth with a grounder to first but Santana walked. Santana was thrown out at second trying to steal but Duncan walked. Kearns struck out swinging to end the inning.
Drew opened the top of the fifth with a ground out to second and Saltalamacchia struck out looking. Scutaro singled in the hole at short but Ellsbury grounded out to first to end the inning. Laporta drew a leadoff walk to start the bottom of the fifth but Buck struck out swinging. Everett popped up to second and Orlando Cabrera struck out swinging to end the inning.
The Sox offense continued to be anemic in the top of the sixth. Crawford flied out to center, Pedroia grounded out to second and Gonzalez flied out to center to end the inning. Lester matched Carmona in the bottom of the sixth striking out Asdrubal Cabrera looking to start. Choo flied out to center and Santana whiffed to end the inning.
Carmona came back for one last inning in the top of the seventh as Youkilis grounded out to short to start. Ortiz grounded out to short and Drew flied out to left to end the inning. Carmona shut the Sox out for 7 innings, hats off to him.
Lester came back for one more inning in the bottom of the seventh and Duncan doubled to center to start. Kearns popped up a bunt to Saltalamacchia and Duncan moved to third on the grounder by Laporta. Buck grounded out to second to end the inning. Lester was outstanding, tossing 7 shutout innings while allowing 3 hits and striking out nine.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the eighth against Chad Durbin. Saltalamacchia lined out to center but Scutaro singled to right and Ellsbury walked to chase Durbin. Rafael Perez came in and all Crawford could do was move the runners over with a grounder. Pedroia grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The Indians beat Daniel Bard with small ball in the bottom of the eighth as Everett walked to start. Everett stole second and went to third on the sacrifice bunt by Orlando Cabrera. Asdrubal Cabrera then caught the Sox asleep with a suicide squeeze bunt that scored Everett with the game's only run. Choo grounded out to second to end the inning with the Indians ahead 1-0.
Chris Perez came in to close out the top of the ninth with Michael Brantley in to play center. Gonzalez grounded out to second and Youkilis grounded out to short, but Ortiz walked. Darnell McDonald pinch ran for Ortiz and Drew hit a shot off of Perez that caromed over to Everett. McDonald fell down rounding second and was tagged out to end the game....dammit! The Indians had won it 1-0.
Jackass of the Night is Darnell McDonald. He was thrown out in a rundown to end the game.
The Good:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Marco Scutaro was 2 for 2 with a walk.
Jon Lester tossed 7 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and striking out 9.
The Bad:
Carl Crawford was 0 for 4.
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Kevin Youkilis was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Daniel Bard took the loss by allowing a run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Adrian Gonzalez was 0 for 3 but walked.
David Ortiz was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
JD Drew was just 1 for 4.
Final Thoughts:
6 games, 6 straight losses. The pitching staff gave up 15 home runs but more agonizing is the lack of offense. Ellsbury is hitting .167, Crawford .174, Pedroia .227, Youkilis .111, Ortiz .227, Drew .167, Saltalamacchia .071 and Scutaro .176. Only Adrian Gonzalez at .304 was showing any sign of life. Lester pitched his ass off in this one and its a shame Bard blew it. The offense will come this season but its taking its sweet time to get here. Carmona was tough today but the Sox blew too many chances to win this one. Frustrations are mounting and its a wonder if the Sox will ever win a game. As if starting out the season 0-6 wasn't bad enough, the Sox come home for their home opener tomorrow afternoon against the New York Yankees. John Lackey (0-1) looks to get the Sox first win of the year against Phil Hughes of the Yankees. The game begins at 2:05 PM at Fenway Park.
6 games, 6 straight losses. The pitching staff gave up 15 home runs but more agonizing is the lack of offense. Ellsbury is hitting .167, Crawford .174, Pedroia .227, Youkilis .111, Ortiz .227, Drew .167, Saltalamacchia .071 and Scutaro .176. Only Adrian Gonzalez at .304 was showing any sign of life. Lester pitched his ass off in this one and its a shame Bard blew it. The offense will come this season but its taking its sweet time to get here. Carmona was tough today but the Sox blew too many chances to win this one. Frustrations are mounting and its a wonder if the Sox will ever win a game. As if starting out the season 0-6 wasn't bad enough, the Sox come home for their home opener tomorrow afternoon against the New York Yankees. John Lackey (0-1) looks to get the Sox first win of the year against Phil Hughes of the Yankees. The game begins at 2:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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