As for the game, David Ortiz is back....bad news for the rest of the American League. Tonight he was a man on a mission, teaming with Clay Buchholz (5-0, 1.19 ERA) to defeat the Houston Astros 7-2 at Fenway Park.
Clay Buchholz took the mound for the top of the first inning and got Robbie Grossman to ground out to begin. Jose Altuve looked at strike three but Jason Castro walked. Old friend Carlos Pena tried to bunt his way on but was thrown out to end the inning. The Sox immediately pounced on Astros starter Phil Humber in the bottom of the first. Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out but Daniel Nava walked and took second on a passed ball. Dustin Pedroia singled home Nava and swiped second. David Ortiz singled home Pedroia and took second on the bad throw by Rick Ankiel. Mike Napoli struck out but Mike Carp doubled home Ortiz. Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled home Carp but Middlebrooks grounded out to end the inning. Right off the bat it was 4-0 Red Sox.
Buchholz ran into trouble in the top of the second. Chris Carter doubled to left and Fernando "Cinco-cinco-nuevedos-nuevedos" Martinez singled him to third. Matt Dominguez banged into a double play but Carter scored to cut the lead. Ankiel whiffed to end the inning with the Astros on the board 4-1 The Sox didn't score in the bottom of the second inning. Stephen Drew grounded out but Ellsbury doubled. Nava walked but Pedroia banged into a double play to end the inning.
The Astros struck again in the top of the third. Marwin Gonzalez doubled to deep center but Grossman struck out. Gonzalez swiped third but Altuve struck out. Castro singled home Gonzalez to cut the lead in half. Pena looked at strike three to end the inning but it was now 4-2. The Sox immediately got that run right back in the bottom of the third. Ortiz crushed his first home run of the season to the delight of the crowd. Napoli struck out and Carp grounded out. Saltalamacchia grounded out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-2.
Buchholz got some defensive help in the top of the fourth. Carter struck out but Martinez singled. Dominguez bounced into a double play to end the inning. Shockingly the Sox did not score in the bottom of the fourth inning. Middlebrooks struck out but Drew walked. Ellsbury flied out and Nava whiffed to end the inning.
Ankiel walked to begin the top of the fifth inning but Gonzalez whiffed. Grossman flied out and Altuve grounded out to end the inning. The Sox chased Humber in the bottom of the fifth. Pedroia flied out but Ortiz singled. Napoli looked at strike three but Carp singled. Saltalamacchia singled home Ortiz and Middlebrooks doubled home Saltalamacchia to drive Humber from the game. Travis Blackley replaced Humber and Drew grounded out to end the inning but now led 7-2.
Buccholz turned up the power in the top of the sixth inning. Castro struck out as both Pena and Carter grounded out to end the inning. Blackley returned for the bottom of the sixth and struck out both Ellsbury and Nava. Pedroia walked but Ortiz grounded out to end the inning.
Buchholz continued to dominate in the top of the seventh. Martinez grounded out and Dominguez looked at strike three. Clay froze Ankiel to end the inning. Jose Cisnero came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Napoli greeted him with a double. Carp and Saltalamacchia both popped up then Middlebrooks struck out to end the inning.
Buchholz returned for the top of the 8th inning with Jonny Gomes now in left field. Gonzalez and Grossman flied out but Altuve singled to chase Buchholz. Andrew Miller came in and got Castro to fly out to end the inning. Buchholz was outstanding, going 7 2/3 innings while striking out 10.
Cisnero returned for the bottom of the 8th inning. Drew flied out, Ellsbury grounded out and Nava lined out in short order.
Daniel Bard made his season debut in the top of the ninth to close the game out. Pena flied out and Carter struck out. Martinez singled but Dominguez grounded out to end the game. Welcome back Bard, the Sox had won it 7-2.
Hero of the Night is Clay Buchholz. He dominated the Astros for 7 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk, stolen base, rbi and run scored.
David Ortiz was 3 for 4 with 2 rbi's and 3 runs scored.
Mike Carp was 2 for 4 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with 2 rbi's.
Andrew Miller retired the only man he faced.
Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Stephen Drew was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 5
Daniel Nava was 0 for 3 but walked twice and scored a run.
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 with a hat-trick of 3 strikeouts.
Will Middlebrooks was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run.
Honorable Mention:
Jonny Gomes played left field in the later innings.
Final Thoughts:
How about those Red Sox? Clay Buchholz is finally pitching like the ace he was in 2010. He was outstanding tonight and the return of Ortiz to prominence helped spark the offense to another convincing win. I hate to say it but if Buchholz and Lester pitch like this all season, just maybe they'll win 85 games or so. A huge improvement over last year, that's for sure. It was great to see Daniel Bard get his mojo back after being batting practice last year. If he can reclaim his set-up role, this will be a hard team to beat in the later innings. Tomorrow night is Game 2 of the four game set with Ryan Dempster (0-2) set to face Erik Bedard at 7:05 PM. You won't want to miss it.
No comments:
Post a Comment