It was a great day for Boston sports as the Boston Bruins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Boston Red Sox also defeated the Baltimore Orioles in a scary game they almost lost. t got hairy at the end but the Red Sox pulled out a victory against a tough Baltimore Orioles team. The Sox need to beat good teams in order to prove they're for real and this was a good effort against a team on the rise.
The Sox were shut down in the top of the first by Freddy Garcia as Baltimore once again struck first, this time they wasted no time in the bottom of the first. Nate McLouth singled and Manny Machado doubled him home. Nick Markakis singled Machado to third and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Adam Jones singled Machado home to make it 2-0. Chris Davis grounded out to advance runners over. Lackey got a big out when Matt Wieters popped up. JJ Hardy flied out to end the inning with the O's in front 2-0, but it could have been a lot worse.
The Sox looked to rally in the top of the third. Jose Iglesias singled but Jacoby Ellsbury bounced into a double play. Shane Victorino struck out to end the potential rally. Machado singled to lead off the bottom of the third but he was thrown out trying to steal by Saltalamacchia. Markakis and Jones popped up to end the inning.
The Sox finally ended their scoreless drought in the top of the 4th. Dustin Pedroia singled but David Ortiz struck out. Mike Carp continued his hot streak by swatting his 8th home run of the year to tie the game.
Jonny Gomes singled but Salty flied out. PU Drew doubled home Gomes to give the Sox the lead. Iglesias grounded out. Lackey pitched well with the lead, working around a 2 out walk to JJ Hardy to end the inning.
Ellsbury singled and stole second before being sacrificed to third by Victorino. Pedroia grounded out but Ellsbury scored to up the lead 4-2. Ortiz flied out to end the inning. The O's looked to fight back when Taylor Teagarden singled and took third when Dustin Pedroia committed his first error of the season on a ground ball by Nate McLouth. The Sox caught a break when McLouth got caught stealing and Machado grounded back to Lackey for the second out. Markakis flied out to left to end the inning. The Sox had a horseshoe up their ass big time.
Carp grounded out to first to lead off the 5th but then Jonny Gomes smashed a 418 foot bomb to center to up the lead 5-2.
TJ McFarland relieved Freddy Garcia and got out of the inning unscathed. Lackey continued to remain red hot, retiring the bottom of the 6th in order. Talk about a breath of fresh air after the stench of Doubront's start. Shane Victorino and singled and stole second with 2 out in the top of the 7th but Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. Lackey finished strong in the 7th, getting a double play and a groundout from Teagarden to end his brilliant outing.
McFarland pitched a clean 8th inning and Koji Uehara of the Orient Express came on for the bottom of the 8th. Uehara pitched right out of a video game getting 9 straight strikes to strike out the side.
Iglesias drew a 2 out walk in the top of the 9th but foolishly was thrown out trying to steal. That set the stage for the bottom of the 9th with Andrew Bailey on the mound. Jones greeted him with a single but he struck out the dangerous Davis. Matt Wieters then spoiled the party by launching a 2 run home run to cut the lead 5-4. Hardy then singled but the O's then committed the worst gaffe possible. Alexi Casilla ran for Hardy as Flaherty hit a shot to right that was caught by Victorino. Casilla apparently forgot there was only one out so he ran all the way to third, Victorino could have underhanded the ball to first but either way, Casilla was doubled off and the Red Sox had won 5-4.
THE GOOD:
Hero of the night goes to John Lackey. Without his great pitching, the Sox may have lost the game thanks to Bailey unable to pitch well in the ninth inning consistantly. He scattered 7 hits and a walk for just 2 runs in 7 innings of work.
Other good guys include Jonny Gomes who was 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 runs scored. Mike Carp was 1 for 3 with a 2 run bomb, his 8th of the season, plus a walk. Jose Iglesias once again played flawless defense and went 1 for 3 with a walk. Koji Uehara struck out the side on 9 straight strikes in the bottom of the 8th. Shane Victorino was 1 for 3 and stole a base.
THE BAD:
Up until the 9th inning there was no one on this list. That was until Andrew Bailey served up the 2 run meatball to Wieters. He got his 8th save of the year but now his ERA stands at 2.95.
THE UGLY:
Everyone else really. Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 but scored and stole his 31st base of the season. Dustin Pedroia drove in a run but committed his first error of the season and was just 1 for 4. David Ortiz was just 1 for 4. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 0 for 4 which normally would put him on the bad list but he threw out 2 key baserunners behind the plate. PU Drew was 1 for 4 but he made the one hit count by driving in a run.
Final Thoughts:
2 straight great games thrown by Sox starters but only one win to show for it. Luckily the offense stepped up big time as the Sox took a game back from the Dirty Birds. The win puts the team at 42-28, 2 1/2 games in front of the O's. Tomorrow, Jon Lester tries to end his slump and put the Sox at a season high 3 1/2 games in front of someone. The status of Clay Buchholz remains a sore subject but if Lackey can continue to pitch like this and Lester gets his head out of his ass, the Sox may be on their way to truly contend in the AL East. It will be nice to see Rubby De La Rosa at some point...if they ever use him.
No comments:
Post a Comment