Price took the ball in the top of the first inning and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out. Shane Victorino popped up but Dustin Pedroia doubled. David Ortiz lined out to end the inning. Lester matched Price in the bottom of the first inning although Desmond Jennings hit a leadoff single. Kelly Johnson flied out but Jennings swiped second. Ben Zobrist struck out and Evan Longoria was robbed of a hit by the alert Lester to end the inning.
Mike Napoli led off the top of the second by grounding out and Jonny Gomes popped up. Will Middlebrooks doubled but Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out to end the inning. That's 2 failures in the clutch. The Sox got some defensive help in the bottom of the second. Yunel Escobar grounded out but James Loney singled. A wild pitch moved Loney to second but Stephen "Almost PU" Drew made the defensive play of the game when he tagged out James trying to advance on a fielder's choice by Sean Rodriguez. Jose Molina grounded out to end the inning.
David Price was not sharp in this game but later it was found out why when the Sox exploded in the top of the third.. Drew walked to lead it off and Ellsbury singled him to second. Victorino then flied out without advancing either runners for their third failure of the game, but, the trend had come to an end. Dustin Pedroia singled home Drew and Ortiz singled home Ellsbury. That would be it for David Price as he left the game with an injured tricep 2 1/3 innings into it.
Jamey Wright replaced Price and Mike Napoli greeted him with a double that scored Pedroia and advance Ortiz to third. Even though he was in the game to face the lefty Price, Gomes singled off Wright (a righthander) to give the Sox a 4-0 lead. Middlebrooks flied out but Saltalamacchia worked a walk to load the bases. Up came No-longer-PU Drew who blasted a grand slam to right that effectively ended the game right then and there. Ellsbury struck out to end the rally but 8 runs in one inning is a job well done.
Inexplicably, Lester started pitching with his head up his ass in the bottom of the third. He immediately gave up a single to Ryan Roberts and a triple to Jennings to score Roberts. He did get Johnson to strike out but a Zobrist ground out made it 8-2. Lester got Longoria to fly out but giving up 2 runs when staked to an 8 run lead is not the way to go.
Wright returned briefly in the top of the fourth. Victorino and Pedroia grounded out as Cesar Ramos came in to replace Wright. Ortiz grounded out to end the inning. Lester ran into more trouble in the bottom of the 4th. Escobar flied out and Loney grounded out but Rodriguez and Molina hit back to back singles. Molina is hitting .200 this year and it seems like all his hits are against the Red Sox. This time, Lester bore down and struck out Roberts to end the threat.
Ramos cruised in the top of the fifth inning. Napoli struck out, Gomes grounded out and Middlebrooks struck out to end the inning. Lester matched Ramos in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jennings grounded out, Johnson flied out and Zobrist whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox threatened again in the top of the 6th. Saltalamacchia flied out but Drew continued his hot streak with a double. Ellsbury popped up but Drew advanced to third on a wild pitch. The slumping Victorino stranded him with a ground out. Once again Lester ran into trouble in the bottom of the 6th. Longoria struck out but Escobar doubled. Lester struck out Loney but he hit Rodriguez. This time it was the Rays who couldn't get the clutch hit as Molina grounded out to end the threat.
Ramos returned for the top of the seventh and got Pedroia to ground out. Ortiz grounded out and that was it for Ramos. Kyle Farnsworth came in and got Napoli to ground out to end the inning. Roberts led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single. At this point, the Rays had almost as many hits as the Sox but were 6 runs down. Jennings flied out and Roberts was erased on the fielder's choice by Johnson. Zobrist grounded out to end the inning. Lester had tossed 7 innings of 2 run ball to put the Sox in position to win.
The Sox finally scored again in the top of the 8th. Daniel Nava pinch hit for Gomes and grounded out. The slumping Middlebrooks pulled himself together to bash a 400 foot bomb to center for his 7th homer of the year. Saltalamacchia and Drew struck out to end the inning but the Sox were ahead 9-2.
Things got a bit shaky in the bottom of the 8th. One half of the Orient Express, Koji Uehara came on to replace Lester and gave up a leadoff single to Longoria. Uehara got Longoria at second on a fielder's choice from Escobar but he walked Loney. Matt Joyce pinch hit for Rodriguez and flied out. Now with 2 outs, Uehara settled down to strike out Luke Scott to escape the jam.
Josh Lueke got the ball in the top of the ninth. Ellsbury walked but Victorino hit one up the elevator shaft. Pedroia flied out as Mike Carp pinch hit for Ortiz. Carp flied out to end the inning. Jose De La Torre had the ninth inning and he looked much better this time around. Pinch hitter Jose Lobaton grounded out, Jennings struck out and Johnson whiffed to end the game. The Sox had won 9-2.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Hero of the Night is.....*drumroll*....STEPHEN DREW! Drew went 2 for 3 in the game as his walk started the 3rd inning rally and his grand slam finished it. His batting average climbed to .245 which is 11 points lower than Ellsbury and 10 behind Saltalamacchia. Who's the real PU indeed?
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi.
Jonny Gomes was 1 for 3 with an rbi and a run scored.
Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4 with a home run.
Jon Lester earned his 6th win by tossing 7 innings of 2 run ball while striking out 5.
Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Jose De La Torre pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
THE BAD:
Shane Victorino was 0 for 5.
Mike Carp was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Daniel Nava was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
THE UGLY:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 0 for 3 but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Lester to the rescue again. The Sox really need to learn how to hit like this when other pitchers not named Clay Buchholz and Lester are on the mound. It was a good win that put the Sox at 23-17, 2 games behind the Yankees. They still have a lot of work to do but knocking around a lefty that's had their number, even if injured, is nothing to sneeze at. Victorino is slumping but he's been getting on base all year to this point so it was bound to happen. The ones that are killing them are Middlebrooks and Ellsbury. Saltalmacchia and Drew are expected to hit .240 (which Drew is grossly overpaid to do so) but they expect a heck of a lot more out of Ellsbury and Middlebrooks. At least Middlebrooks showed some pop tonight. Tomorrow Felix Doubront goes for the Sox against Tampa starter Alex Cobb in the rubber game of this 3 game set.
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