After last night's disaster the Sox brass made a move to option one of the two pitchers that stunk out the mound. If you guessed Alfredo Aceves.,...WELL YOU'RE WRONG! BAAAHAHAHA! Steven Wright made his major league debut to take a horrific beating only to be sent back to Pawtucket in favor of the returning Daniel Bard, who hasn't been the same since he was knocked out of the rotation last year. Hopefully he's rediscovered himself and can join Tazawa to be one of the top set-up men in baseball like he was in 2010 and 2011.
Out
In
As for the game, Stephen Drew and David Ortiz backed a struggling Jon Lester (4-0, 2.27 ERA) with enough offense to defeat the Oakland A's 6-5 at Fenway Park. Ironically, it was Lester's 89th win which tied him with none other than Babe Ruth for 5th place in wins by a left-handed starter.
Nearly 100 years later, Babe Ruth approves of the win
Lester got the ball in the top of the first inning and promptly walked Coco Crisp. Fear not! Derek Norris grounded into a double play shortly after. Seth Smith walked and Jed Lowrie singled but Josh Donaldson grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. Brett Anderson got the ball in the bottom of the first and struck out Jacoby Ellsbury. Shane Victorino grounded out but Dustin Pedroia doubled into the gap. David Ortiz struck out to end the inning.
Lester began the top of the second by striking out Brandon Moss but Chris Young began his monster day by walking. Freiman flied out but Young stole second. Andy Parrino struck out to end the inning. The Sox got a leadoff walk to begin the bottom of the second courtesy of Mike Napoli. Unfortunately Jonny Gomes flied out, Will Middlebrooks popped up and Stephen Drew struck out to end the inning.
Lester cruised in the top of the third inning. Crisp flied out, Norris popped up and Smith struck out to end the inning. The Sox couldn't generate any offense against Anderson in the bottom of the third. David Ross flied out, Ellsbury grounded out and Victorino struck out in short order.
The A's struck first in the top of the fourth inning. Lowrie singled but was erased when Donaldson beat out the double play ball. Moss singled and Young launched a towering 3 run home run over the Monster Seats to give the A's a 3-0 lead. Freiman walked but Parrino grounded into a double play to end the inning. Not the best stuff from Lester so far.
Lester says "Young you varmint!"
The Sox refused to go quietly and rallied in the bottom of the third inning. Pedroia grounded out but Ortiz doubled. Napoli doubled as well to score Ortiz to cut the lead. Gomes walked and both runners advanced by the force by Middlebrooks. Drew then cleared the bases with a triple to tie the game, way to go Drew. Ross struck out but it was now 3-3.
Drew's triple ties up the game
Lester returned for the top of the fifth and got Crisp to grounded out but uncharacteristically walked another man, this time Norris. Smith lined out and Lowrie grounded out to end the inning. The Sox took the lead off the injured and tiring Anderson in the bottom of the fifth. Ellsbury beat out an infield hit then swiped second base. Victorino doubled him home then moved to third on the infield hit by Pedroia. Ortiz lashed a single to score Victorino and chase Anderson from the game. Chris Resop came in and plunked Napoli. Sox manager John Farrell pinch hit Daniel Nava for Gomes and he singled home Ortiz. Middlebrooks flied out and that was it for Resop. Jerry Blevins came in and struck Drew out. Ross flied out to end the inning but the Sox had a 6-3 lead.
Napoli believes he can fly, Ortiz believes he can touch the sky
Lester ran into more trouble in the top of the sixth. Donaldson doubled but Jon struck out both Moss and Young. Freiman walked and Parrino beat out an infield single to load the bases. That was all for Lester as John Farrell pulled him in favor of Junichi Tazawa. Taz got Crisp to fly out to end the inning. Lester didn't have his best stuff but he still left with the lead.
Lester battled and still got his fourth win
The Sox offense was done for the night as Blevens returned for the bottom of the sixth. Ellsbury popped up as both Victorino and Pedroia grounded out in short order.
Victorino left the game with back stiffness as Nava took his place in right and Mike Carp took his spot in the batting order, playing left field. Norris and Smith both popped up but Lowrie doubled and Donaldson singled him home to chase Tazawa. Big lefty Andrew Miller came in and allowed a stolen base to Donaldson but struck out Moss to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 6-4. Ortiz popped up to begin the bottom of the seventh and Pat Neshek came in for Blevins. Napoli struck out but Nava singled. Middlebrooks flied out to end the inning.
Koji Uehara came in to pitch the top of the 8th and Young greeted him with another home run to cut the lead to just one run. Josh Reddick pinch hit for Freiman but Uehara struck him out. Eric Sogar pinch hit for Parrino and looked at strike three. Crisp flied out to end the inning but the Sox lead was down to 6-5.
Everybody panic!!!!
Grant Balfour came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth but the Sox couldn't add to the lead. Drew and Ross struck out but Ellsbury and Carp walked. Pedroia grounded out to end the inning.
That left it up to Andrew Bailey to close out the game and that's exactly what he did. John Jaso pinch hit for Norris and whiffed. Bailey then blew away Smith and Lowrie to end the game. The Sox had held on to win 6-5.
Hero of the night is Andrew Bailey. He struck out all three men he faced with the game on the line and beginning to slip away with the A's continuing to claw back.
Hero of the Night: Andrew Bailey
The Good:
Mike Carp walked in his only plate appearance.
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with a run batted in and a run scored.
Mike Napoli was 1 for 2 with a walk, hit by pitch, run scored and an rbi.
Jonny Gomes walked in one of his two plate appearances before being lifted for Nava.
Daniel Nava was 2 for 2 with an rbi after coming in for Gomes.
Andrew Miller retired the only two men he faced.
The Bad:
David Ross was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Koji Uehara gave up a solo home run to Young in his one inning of work.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 but walked, scored a run and stole a base.
Shane Victorino was 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored one of his own.
Will Middlebrooks was 0 for 4 but scored a run.
Stephen Drew was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count with a game tying, 2 run triple.
Jon Lester got the win but failed to make it out of the 6th inning. He gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and an unusual 6 walks.
Junichi Tazawa escaped a bases loaded jam in the 6th inning but got knocked out in the 7th, allowing a run.
Final Thoughts:
That was a good win coming off the heels of last night's massacre. Lester didn't have his best stuff and the bullpen was shaky, but they did just enough to win. Every win counts by hook or crooks. Middlebrooks, Drew and Ross are about as close to automatic outs as it gets at this point. Shocking considering Middlebrooks was on pace for 25 homers before he got hurt last year and Drew was supposedly a damn good shortstop for Arizona. Ross is a backup so can't really get too mad when he only plays once or twice a week. Still, if the Sox want to actually contend this year, they need more production from the bottom of the lineup. Then again the Sox aren't built to contend so who cares? Uehara has stunk two games in a row, if he keeps it up fans will be begging for Joel Hanrahan to come back. Andrew Bailey is finally proving his worth. After being injured for most of last year, he's stepped up big after Joel Hanrahan went down. THIS is what Ben Cherrington must have seen when he traded Reddick for him. Daniel Bard is back for another go-around, he could be a huge lift to the bullpen if he rediscovered himself. Tomorrow night the Houston Astros come to town for a 4 game set. Clay Buchholz (4-0) takes the mound opposite Phil Humber at 6:30 PM. Get your tickets now!
