Jose Reyes worked a leadoff walk in the top of the first and Lester went to 3-0 on Jose Bautista, causing fans to groan and say "Here we go again!" Luckily Lester induced a fly out and Edwin Encarnarcion grounded into a double play to end the inning. Toronto starter, ex Yankee Chein-Ming Wang was tough to begin the first, getting 3 ground ball outs to end the bottom of the first in short order.
Lester worked a clean top of the second then the floodgates opened. David Ortiz and Mike Carp worked back to back walks but Daniel Nava singled home Ortiz to make it 1-0. Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to make it 2-0 and PU Drew doubled in Nava to make it 3-0. Jose Iglesias had yet another infield single that scored Salty and Jacoby Ellsbury also singled to make it 5-0 without an out being recorded.
Shane Victorino momentarily helped Wang but banging into a double play, but Dustin Pedroia capped off the inning with a 2 run shot into the monster seats to make it 7-0 and chase Wang from the game. Aaron Loup relieved Wang and gave up a single to Ortiz, but Carp struck out to end the inning. A lot of credit should go to the Toronto bullpen, they allowed just 2 hits the rest of the game.
Pedroia's blast makes it 7-0
Could Lester hold the fort in the top of the 3rd? Rajai Davis grounded out, Maicer Izturis struck out and Emilio Bonifacio grounded out. So far so good. Loup retired the side in order in the bottom of the third. Jose Bautista became the first Jays baserunner by drawing a 1 out walk in the top of the 4th but was erased on the Edwin Encarnarcion double play. Juan Perez took over in the bottom of the 4th and retired the side without a whimper. The Jays finally broke through in the top of the 5th. Mark DeRosa struck out but Melky Cabrera got Toronto's first hit of the day. 2 batters later Rajai Davis singled and Izturis doubled in both runners. Bonifacio popped up but it was now 7-2 Red Sox. The Sox were retired by Perez in the bottom of the 5th in short order.
Lester rebounded by pitching a clean top of the 6th. Perez concluded his perfect afternoon with a clean bottom of the 6th. In the bottom of the 7th, Lester blew away DeRosa again then got the next 2 batters, for the first time since May 15th he was outstanding.
The Sox mounted their first threat since the first inning when Victorino doubled with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th against Brett Cecil then Pedroia walked. Unfortunately Ortiz struck out to end the inning. Lester returned for the top of the 8th but quickly gave up singles to Davis and Izturis before departing with an injured hip. Junichi Tazawa replaced Lester and walked Bonifacio to load the bases. Jose Reyes scored Davis with a sac fly but a wild pitch moved up both runners. Bautista grounded out but scored Izturis to make it 7-4, the boxscore shows Lester gave up 4 runs but only 2 of them were really his fault. Tazawa got the final batter to end the inning. Saltalamacchia doubled with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th against Steve Delabar but Drew left him there by striking out.
New closer Koji Uehara took the mound for the top of the 9th. Adam Lind pinch hit for DeRosa and grounded out. Koji then blew away Cabrera and JP Arencibia to end the game. Sox win 7-4.
THE GOOD:
Hero of the Night is the deserving Jon Lester. Yes he gave up 4 earned runs but was outstanding, carrying a no hitter into the 5th inning and pitched into the 8th inning.
Other do-gooders include Dustin Pedroia who was 1 for 3 with a walk including a 2 run home run. David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a walk. Jose Iglesias was 1 for 3 with an rbi and run scored. Koji Uehara earned his 3rd save and lowered his ERA to 1.97.
THE BAD:
None....thank God.
THE UGLY:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 but the one hit knocked in a run. Shane Victorino was just 1 for 4. Mike Carp was 0 for 3 but walked and scored. Daniel Nava and PU Drew were both 1 for 4 with an rbi and run scored. Junichi Tazawa let both inherited runners to score but did not allow a run himself.
Final Thoughts:
Lester claimed his 8th inning was minor and won't affect his next start, he better be right because the Sox won't survive with both Lester and Clay Buchholz out. It was an otherwise great win and even though they scored all their runs in one inning, they pitched just well enough to get the job done. Everyone contributed which is a good sign. The win puts the Sox at 48-33, 3 1/2 games in front of the Dirty Birds. Who would have thought that the Sox would be in first place going into July before the season started. Tomorrow the rookie Allen Webster takes on Josh Johnson. Hopefully Webster can put out a strong start and build his confidence.
No comments:
Post a Comment