Alexi Ogando got the start for Texas and Jacoby Ellsbury popped up to begin the game. Shane Victorino grounded out and Dustin Pedroia flied out to end the inning. Things went bad for Lackey right from the start as Ian Kinsler struck the very first pitch of the bottom of the first out of the yard for a solo home run. Elvis Andrus grounded out and Lance Berkman struck out. Middlebrooks fielded s ground ball hit by Adrian Beltre but instead of throwing it to first, he spiked it like a football and posed for the irate crowd for a throwing error. Lackey thought it was the dumbest stunt he's ever seen so he got AJ Pierzynski to ground out to end the inning.
Somehow the Sox responded in the top of the second inning. David Ortiz doubled to run his hit streak to 12 games but Mike Napoli struck out. Daniel Nava drove home Ortiz with a single to tie the game. Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out although Nava took second on a wild pitch. Will Middlebrooks flied out to end the inning but it was now 1-1.
Lackey cruised in the bottom of the second inning. Nelson Cruz struck out, Mitch Moreland popped up and Craig Gentry looked at strike three to end the inning.
The Sox failed to score in the top of the third inning. Stephen "PU" Drew grounded out but Ellsbury singled and stole second. Victorino walked but Pedroia struck out and Ortiz flied out to end the inning. A huge chance was wasted there. Lackey continued to cruise in the bottom of the third inning. Leonys Martin singled but Kinsler popped up. Martin was gunned down at second trying to steal by Saltalamacchia and Andrus grounded out to end the inning.
The Sox wasted another chance in the top of the fourth inning. Napoli lined out and Nava flied out but Saltalamacchia doubled. With the go-ahead run at second....Middlebrooks flied out to end the inning. The Rangers took command in the bottom of the fourth inning. Berkman grounded out but Beltre walked. Pierzynski singled and Beltre took third on the fly out by Cruz. Moreland walked to load the bases and Lackey somehow got Gentry to ground to Middlebrooks. Instead of throwing home, Will shot the ball like a basketball into the puzzled Rangers dugout allowing both Beltre and Pierzynski to score. Martin walked but Kinsler grounded out to end the inning with the Rangers up 3-1.
Could the Sox respond in the top of the fifth inning? NO! Drew walked but Ellsbury lined into a double play. Victorino flied out to center to end the inning. The Rangers threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning as well. Andrus struck out but Berkman singled. Beltre singled but Pierzynski flied out. Cruz flied out to end the inning. That was it for Lackey after just 5 innings. Better defense would have kept him out of the loss column.
Ogando returned for the top of the sixth and the Sox failed to score. Pedroia and Ortiz grounded out but Napoli singled. Nava was hit with a pitch to bring the go-ahead run to the plate....but Saltlamacchia killed some gnats by swinging at strike three. Whoopie. Andrew Miller took over for Lackey in the bottom of the sixth inning. Moreland greeted him with a single but was erased on the force by Gentry. Martin flied out and Kinsler grounded out to end the inning.
Ogando returned briefly in the top of the seventh and Middlebrooks tried to atone for his error with a single to chase Alexi. Lefty Robbie Ross Jr chugged in from the bullpen and got Middlebrooks at second on a force by Drew. Ellsbury singled and both runners advanced on the ground-out by Victorino. Tanner Scheppers came in to face Pedroia with the game on the line....and Dustin grounded out to end the inning.
Junichi Tazawa came on to pitch the bottom of the seventh. Andrus singled but Berkman struck out. Beltre struck out but Andrus stole second. Pierzynski struck out to end the inning. Impressive work by Taz.
Scheppers returned for the top of the eighth and got Ortiz to fly out. Napoli was hit with a pitch but Nava flied out. Saltalamacchia lined out to end the inning. Koji Uehara came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth but instead pooped his pants. Cruz struck out but Moreland singled. Gentry then blasted a 2 run home run to put the game out of reach. Martin struck out and Kinsler flied out to end the inning but the damage was done.
Rangers closer Joe Nathan took the mound in the top of the ninth to finish the game. Middlebrooks struck out, Drew flied out and Ellsbury struck out to end the game. The Rangers had won 5-1.
Jackass of the Night is Will Middlebrooks. His error led the floodgates to open and he also struck out in the ninth.
The Good:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5.
Daniel Nava was 1 for 3 with an rbi and was hit with a pitch
Mike Napoli was 1 for 3 with a hit by pitch.
Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 6th inning.
Junichi Tazawa struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
John Lackey only lasted 5 innings and was let down by his defense, but gave up 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.
Koji Uehara gave up a 2 run blast in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Shane Victorino was 0 for 3 but walked.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 but scored the only run.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was just 1 for 4.
Stephen Drew was 0 for 3 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
This game was agoobwa....so bad you have to make up a word. Another error led to a Lackey melt-down and the Sox couldn't generate any offense against a pitcher they should have beaten. The Rangers offense is pretty potent so you cant survive getting only 1 or 2 runs against them. Lackey threw way too many pitches and continues to struggle. Hopefully the Sox can trade him or he somehow gets back on track. The final game of the series is tomorrow at 3:05 PM. Rangers phenom Yu Darvish takes on Jon Lester in the finale.
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