The fans got a big treat as it was a battle of the aces to begin the day. Jon Lester took the mound for the top of the first and Desmond Jennings lined out. Sean Rodriguez walked and swiped second on the Evan Longoria strikeout. Ben Zobrist flied out to end the inning. Rays ace David Price took the hill in the bottom of the first. Jacoby Ellsbury popped up and Shane Victorino struck out. Dustin Pedroia walked but Mike Napoli struck out to end the inning.
Lester ran into some trouble in the top of the second inning. Shelly Duncan flied out and Yunel Escobar struck out but Ryan Roberts and Jose Molina hit back to back singles. Matt Joyce grounded out to end the inning. Price matched Lester in the bottom of the second. Will Middlebrooks and Daniel Nava grounded out but Jonny Gomes walked. Stephen Drew flied out to end the inning.
The Rays struck first in the top of the third inning. Jennings singled and Rodriguez doubled him home just like that to make it 1-0 Tampa. A wild pitch moved Rodriguez to third but Lester recovered to strike out Longoria. Zobrist lined out to first and Duncan grounded out to end the inning. The Sox annoyed Price in the bottom of the third. David Ross flied out and Ellsbury struck out, but Victorino singled in the hole at short. Shane stole second but Pedroia whiffed to end the inning.
Lester settled down in the top of the fourth. Escobar lined out, Roberts flied out and Molina grounded out to end the inning. Price matched Lester in the bottom of the fourth. Napoli flied out then both Middlebrooks and Nava struck out to end the inning.
The pitcher's duel continued in the top of the fifth as Joyce struck out and Jennings popped up. Rodriguez struck out to end the inning. The Sox finally struck back in the bottom of the fifth. Gomes popped up and Drew struck out, but Ross jacked one into the Monster seats to tie the game. Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Lester channeled the spirit of Derek Lowe (who's not really dead, don't worry) to get 3 ground ball outs in the top of the sixth. Longoria, Zobrist and Duncan all were thrown out on ground balls. Price returned for the bottom of the sixth and got Victorino to ground out. Pedroia struck out but Napoli and Middlebrooks singled. Nava flied out to end the inning.
Lester came back for the top of the seventh and was greeted by an Escobar single...only to get Roberts to bounce into a double play. Molina grounded out to end the inning. Outanding start by Lester.
That was it for David Price as Jake McGee was first out of the pen in the bottom of the seventh. Gomes struck out and Drew flied out, then Ross struck out to end the inning.
Lester was done as well and first out of the gate for Boston was Andrew Bailey in the top of the eighth. Joyce flied out and Jennings struck out before Sam Fuld pinch hit for Rodriguez. Bailey got Fuld to hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Fuld moved to right field, Zobrist moved to second base and Roberts moved to first base with Joel Peralta on the mound. Ellsbury flied out, Victorino struck out and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning.
Sox closer Joel Hanrahan came in for the top of the ninth....and left after walking Longoria and Zobrist. Apparently he's got a bad hamstring.....lovely.
Koji Uehara was brought in to clean up the mess and he did. James Loney pinch hit for Duncan and looked at strike three, I could have done that. Escobar flied out and Roberts popped up to end the inning. Kyle Farnsworth got the call in the bottom of the ninth. Napoli grounded out and Middlebrooks lined out before Rays manager Joe Maddon pulled Farnsworth for Cesar Ramos. Nava singled and Maddon pulled Ramos to have Brandon Gomes pitch to Jonny Gomes...and no those two are not related. A wild pitch moved Nava to second and Jonny won the battle of the Gomes by working a walk. With the winning run at second base....Drew lined out to end the inning.
On to extra innings we went and Junichi Tazawa (2-0) got the ball to start the top of the 10th. Molina doubled to lead off the inning and Kelly Johnson pinch ran for the slow footed Jose. The Sox caught a break when Joyce lined out to center too hard to advance Kelly to third. Jennings popped up and Fuld grounded out to end the inning. Jose Lobaton took over behind the plate and Jarrod Saltalamacchia pinch hit for Ross to begin the bottom of the 10th. Jarrod whiffed but Ellsbury singled. The Sox caught a break when Ellsbury swiped second and the throw by Lobaton got away, advancing Ellsbury to third. Victorino sent the fans home happy with a base hit to score Ellsbury to win the game 2-1.
Hero of the Night is Shane Victorino. His single in the bottom of the 10th won the game.
The Good:
Jonny Gomes walked twice in four plate appearances. David Ross was just 1 for 3 with a run scored and an rbi. Jon Lester was outstanding, tossing 7 inning of 1 run ball allowing 5 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Andrew Bailey pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth after Hanrahan left the game. Junichi Tazawa got the win by pitching a scoreless 10th.
The Bad:
Stephen Drew was 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out as a pinch hitter. Joel Hanrahan walked the only two men he faced before leaving with injury.
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 5 with a run scored. Dustin Pedroia was just 0 for 3 with a walk. Mike Napoli, Will Middlebrooks and Daniel Nava was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
After only winning by walkoff only three times last year, having the first ten games into this year is a lot better pace. After surviving another Joel Hanrahan meltdown, it was great to see the Sox step up and win the game anyway. They didn't hit well but they got it done when it counted. That's what you want to see out of this year's team, balls. Tomorrow Clay Buchholz (2-0) takes on Alex Cobb in the middle game of this series.
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