Webster struck out Jamey Carroll to open the game but the wheels fell off quickly. Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham worked back to back walks before Justin Morneau hit a ground-rule double that scored Mauer. Trevor Plouffe hit a sac fly that scored Willingham and now all Webster needed was a 3rd out. He wouldn't get it as Ryan Doumit capped off the rally with a 2 run home run to put the Sox in a huge 4-0 hole two outs into the game. Webster got the third out but the damage was done.
Once again proving this year was different than last, the Sox showed some balls by rallying. Jacoby Ellsbury opened the bottom of the first by striking out but the alert Shane Victorino bunted his way on. Pedroia followed with a single. Ortiz struck out and Twins starter Pedro Hernandez carefully walked Mike Napoli to bring up the struggling Johnny Gomes......bad idea. Gomes turned on a pitch to belt a grand slam to tie the game and send the crowd into a frenzy.
The rally wasn't over just there. Jarrod Saltalmacchia doubled and Stephen Drew singled him home to give the Sox a 5-4 lead just like that. All Webster had to do was calm down and they could win this one.....he didn't. Light hitting Pedro Florimon homered off Webster to tie the game leading off the top of the second. Carroll walked and Mauer doubled him over to third. Webster dug down to get Willingham to pop up, but Morneau hit a sac-fly, scoring Carroll, to give the Twins the lead back. Again, if Webster could get the last out, the damage could be controlled but he couldn't. Plouffe doubled home Mauer and manager John Farrell had seen enough. Just like that, Webster was gone after 1 2/3 innings and 3 walks, 6 hits and 7 earned runs (so far). Because they lost, he earns Jackass of the Night (dis)honors but he's not alone.
In from the bullpen came the man Webster replaced, the demoted Felix Doubront. You would think he would be chomping at the bit at a chance like this. You'd think he would get nasty and want to dominate the game to show that it was a mistake they demoted him. Maybe he could slam the door on the Twins so the Sox could get back in the game and to show Farrell he was good enough to start......nope. Doubront walked Doumit, allowed a single to Oswaldo Arcia to load the bases, a single to Aaron Hicks that scored Plouffe (giving Webster 8 earned runs on the night) and Doumit, a double to Florimon that scored Aricia and Hicks before finally getting the final out by striking out Carroll. The boos rained down on Doubront who showed Farrell nothing other than demoting him was the right decision. Trailing 11-5, the Sox still had some fight left in them in the bottom of the second. Pedro Ciriaco flied out and Elsbury lined out. Victorino got one of the runs back with a solo shot to cut the lead to 5 runs. Pedroia doubled but Ortiz grounded out to end the inning.
Again, at this point if Doubront could just settle down the Sox offense could get to work getting back in the game. At first he did in the top of the third inning. Mauer grounded out and Willingham struck out, but Morneau singled. Plouffe grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. Unfortunately the Twins realized Hernandez wasn't going to get it done so they relieved him in favor of Ryan Pressly. Napoli grounded out and Gomes struck out but Saltalamacchia singled. PU Drew flied out to end the inning
The Twins got the Victorino blast back in the top of the fourth inning. Doumit and Arcia singled and advanced into scoring position on the passed ball by Saltalamacchia. Hicks walked to load the bases and Doumit scored on the Florimon double play. Carroll grounded out to end the inning with the Twins up 12-6. The Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ciriaco and Ellsbury worked back to back walks. Victorino beat out a double play ball but Pedroia failed to score Ciriaco with a ground out. Ortiz grounded out to end the inning.
Doubront fell apart in the top of the fifth as well. Mauer led off with a double but Willingham struck out. Morneau grounded out but Plouffe singled Mauer home. Doumit singled and Arcia doubled to score Plouffe. Hicks grounded out to end the inning with the game out of reach 14-6. 6 earned runs allowed by Doubront.
Pressly returned for the bottom of the fifth inning and Napoli greeted him with a single. Gomes flied out, Saltalamacchia struck out and Drew grounded out to end the inning.
Doubront had given up 6 runs of his own and his shoddy pitching had put the game out of reach. Farrell left him in for the 6th inning and surprisingly Felix responded with a clean inning. Florimon and Carroll grounded out and Mauer struck out to end the inning. At this point Farrell was just hoping Felix could eat up innings, which he was. Pressly matched him in the bottom of the sixth. Ciriaco struck out before Ellsbury and Victorino struck out to end the inning.
Doubront returned for the top of the seventh inning with Daniel Nava now in right field. Ciriaco fielded a ground ball hit by Willingham and instead of throwing it to first, he curiously threw it to an unprepared Saltalamacchia at home, allowing Josh to reach. Morneau flied out but Plouffe singled. Doumit lined into a double play to end the inning. The Sox got a run back off Chad Fien in the bottom of the 7th when Dustin Pedroia singled. Ortiz grounded out and Napoli singled to advance Dustin to third. Jonny Gomes brought home Pedroia with a sac fly. Saltalamachia popped up to end the inning. The score was now 14-7 Vikings....er Twins.
Ironically if Doubront had pitched shut-out ball when he came in, the Sox would have either be tied or only 1 run down at this point. Andrew Miller came in top pitch the top of the eighth and struck out Arcia, Hicks and Florimon to end the inning in short order. Brian Duensing pitched the bottom of the eighth as Drew singled and Ciriaco walked. Ellsbury beat out a double play ball as Nava hit a sac fly to score Drew. Pedroia popped up to end the inning with the score now 14-8.
In what was probably the second worst decision of the night, Farrell brought in new closer Junichi Tazawa to pitch mop up duty. Carroll and Mauer singled before Taz plunked Willingham to load the bases. Wilkin Ramirez ran for Willingham as Morneau hit a sac fly to score Carroll. Plouffe struck out and Doumit flied out to end the inning. What a waste that was.
Mercifully the game ended in the bottom of the ninth with Glen Perkins pitching. Ortiz and Carp struck out before Gomes popped up to end the game. The Twins had won 15-8.
GADZOOKS!!! Allen Webster was not ready at all, allowing 8 earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings with 6 hits (1 home run) and 3 walks, earning him Co-Jackass of the Night.
Webster isn't alone though. If the Sox could have held the damage to just 7-8 runs, they would have had a chance in the game. As it was, Felix Doubront earns the real Jackass of the Night award by allowing 6 earned runs of his own that put the game out of reach.
THE GOOD:
Shane Victorino was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a solo home run.
Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Mike Napoli was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Stephen Drew was 2 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi.
Andrew Miller struck out the side in the top of the eighth.
THE BAD:
David Ortiz' hitting streak came to an end with an 0 for 5 performance.
Mike Carp struck out in his only appearance.
Junichi Tazawa allowed a run in the ninth inning.
THE UGLY:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 0-4 with a strikeout but did manage a walk in the 9th inning.
Daniel Nava flied out in his only at bat but it drove in a run.
Jonny Gomes was just 1 for 4 but made the hit count as it was a grand slam. He also drove in 5 total runs with a sac fly.
Pedro Ciriaco was 0 for 2 with an error but walked twice.
Final Thoughts:
Basebawful indeed. Webster was supposed to be the chosen one but he proved otherwise in this stinkeroo. Even worse was Doubront had a chance to stick it to Farrell for benching him by cleaning up the mess but instead he poured gas on the fire. Other than the walkoff win by the Rangers and the walkoff win by the Red Sox, the boys have been pounded in 4 of the last 6 games. Injuries to both closers hurt but giving up runs in bunches is not going to win any games. It was nice the offense stepped up but this time it was the pitching that was bawful. How do you give up 20 hits to a team that has Mauer and Morneau but not much else?
Even more damaging was the news that Hanrahan's arm is badly bruised meaning his injury is a lot more serious than originally thought. If that wasn't bad enough, apparently Jose Iglesias has been benched down in Pawtuckett for brooding. Who can blame him really? He's being held back because the Sox think Pedro Ciriaco is the best utility infielder option they have. One again Sox management has their heads up their collective ass and its doing more harm than good. I don't know Ciriaco as a person so I won't call him any names, but as a player, there's nothing he has done that justifies his spot on the roster over Iglesias. Ciriaco isn't that good of a hitter and if he can't field his positions, why is he even on the roster over a defensive wizard like Jose? Basically they're telling Jose to keep his mouth shut and wait his turn but Iglesias, no doubt seeing Pedro Ciriaco's blunders in the field, is probably telling Pawsox manager Gary Discarcina "fuck you, I can do better than HIM!"
Its a sad saga and things are rapidly turning into last year. Injuries have piled up (Morales, Hanrahan, Bailey, Ross, Middlebrooks) and there is dissension in the ranks (Iglesias) combined with lousy starting pitching. Demoted outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr recently did an interview recently saying he's ready to try again for the Red Sox but he too must wait. After all, the Sox need Jonny Gomes right? All in all, the Sox are in their first funk of the season pitching wise but let's reserve judgement until they can prove if they can snap out of it or not. Dempster, Lester, Lackey and Buccholz have been solid so far and if they can continue keeping games close, all the offense has to do is come around and they'll be fine. As of now they're now tied for first place with the surging Baltimore Orioles and sinking fast. To be fair, this team was never supposed to be true contenders so this is no time to panic or make hotshot trades. The loss drops the Sox to 21-13 and losers of 5 of their last 6....all but 1 of which have been blowouts. Tomorrow the Sox have a chance to pull even in the 4 game series if John Lackey can put a good start in. Just the fact the Sox are relying on John Lackey to save the day made my skin crawl just thinking about it.
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