The Sox got some good news before the game. Clayton Mortensen cleared waivers and accepted a demotion to Pawtucket, meaning they didn't lose him after all. Also, the Sox sent down Jonathan Diaz and called up infielder Brock Holt....the OTHER guy they got in the Joel Hanrahan trade.
As for the game itself, the Sox struck first right off the bat. Jacoby Ellsbury opened with a single but Shane Victorino struck out. Dustin Pedroia lined out but David Ortiz reached on an infield single. Ellsbury took off to third which caught Angels catcher Chris Iannetta off guard and he threw the ball into right field, allowing Ellsbury to score the game's first run. Mike Napoli flied out to leave the first man on base...unfortunately it wouldn't be the last. Sox starter Ryan Dempster worked around a 1 out double to Mike Trout to retire the side.
The Sox got another run off starter Jerome Williams in the top of the second when Daniel Nava singled and Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled him over to third. Newcomer Brock Holt then hit a sac fly that scored Nava to make it 2-0. Jose Iglesias popped up and Ellsbury to end the inning. A run came in but another runner was left on. Howie Kendrick greeted Dempster in the bottom of the second with a 414 foot blast to cut the lead 2-1. Mark Trumbo flied out and Dempster threw a bunted ball into centerfield, allowing Aybar to reach second. Chris Iannetta made him play by singling home Aybar to tie the game. Brendan Harris struck out but JB Shuck grounded out to end the inning.
Williams worked a clean top of the 3rd and Mike Trout gave the Angels the lead back with a solo shot off Dempster in the bottom of the 3rd. Dempster got the next 3 outs but the damage was done. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the 4th. Napoli walked and Nava doubled him over to third. Salty doubled home both runners to give the Sox the lead 4-3. Brock Holt did his part by advancing Salty to third on a blown force play. Iglesias singled home Salty to make it 5-3. Garrett Richards relieved Williams as Ellsbury advanced both runners with a ground out. One of the big blows that came back to haunt the Sox was when Victorino struck out. Pedroia walked to load the bases but Ortiz struck out to end the inning.
Dempster worked around a 2 out double by Iannetta to retire the side in the bottom of the 4th. Napoli struck out to open the top of the 5th but Nava singled and Salty walked. Holt advanced the runners with a ground out, but Iglesias grounded out to end the inning. More men left on base. The Sox defense pitched in during the bottom of the 5th. Shuck doubled to center and was gunned down at third trying to advance by Victorino on a fly out by Trout. Pujols walked but Hamilton grounded out.
Michael Kohn relieved Richards for the top of the 6th. Victorino tripled with one out and Pedroia singled him home to make it 6-3. Ortiz flied out but Napoli walked. Nava popped up to end the inning, 1 run in but 2 more runners left on. Dempster pitched a clean bottom of the 6th, he's been solid tonight. Michael Roth replaced Kohn for the top of the 7th. Salty struck out and Sox manager John Farrell made his first big mistake by pinch hitting Holt for Brandon Snyder. Snyder struck out but Iglesias walked. Ellsbury reached first on catcher's interference (happens a lot with Ellsbury) but Victorino flied out...2 MORE left on base. Iannetta walked to begin the bottom of the 7th but Harris struck out. That was it for Dempster after 6 1/3 solid innings.
Andrew Miller replaced Dempster and uncorked a wild pitch to advance Iannetta to second. Tragedy struck when Shuck lined one up the middle and Miller spun awkwardly, injuring his foot trying to get out of the way. He had to be helped off the field as Farrell brought in Andrew Bailey for emergency relief.
Bailey got Trout to ground into a double play to end the inning but that's a huge loss. Kevin Jepsen relieved Roth in the top of the 8th and Pedroia greeted him with a single. Ortiz flied out but Napoli struck out. Nava then doubled home Pedroia and advanced to third on an error to make it 7-3. Salty was intentionally walked and Snyder flied out to end the inning. Holt could have done that! Bailey worked around a leadoff single to Pujols to retire the side in the bottom of the 8th. Angels closer Ernesto Frieri replaced Jepsen in the top of the 9th and Iglesias flied out. Ellsbury walked and Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Victorino (who hurt himself AGAIN) as Ellsbury swiped second. Gomes struck out and so did Pedroia to end the inning. FOURTEEN men left on base. Still, the Sox led 7-3 and were 3 outs away from going up 6 games on the New York Yankees.
Alex Wilson took the mound for the bottom of the 9th. Gomes took over in left and Nava moved to right. Wilson punched out Aybar but Iannetta singled. Alberto Callaspo flied out meaning the Sox were one out away from victory with a 4 run lead. Shuck singled...no problem right? Wrong....Trout was hit with a pitch to load the bases and Farrell panicked. In came Koji Uehara to pitch to Pujols. Albert singled home Iannetta and Shuck to make it 7-5. Collin Cowgill ran for Pujols and made it to third, Trout scoring on the single by Hamilton. With things crumbling, Uehara then got what he wanted, a ground ball. Snyder fielded the ball and....THREW IT OVER THE HEAD OF PEDROIA INTO RIGHT FIELD!!! What was left of the Angels Stadium fans went wild as Cowgill scored to tie the game. With the winning run at third, Uehara struck out Trumbo to delay the inevitable.
The fourteen men left on base, the error by Dempster to allow the 2nd run to score, Miller getting hurt, Snyder's error...all things contributed to the situation the Sox were in: top of the 10th with the game tied. The Sox were powerless as Frieri struck out the side in short order. Craig Breslow was summoned to pitch the bottom of the 10th. Aybar singled but Iannetta struck out. Salty then gunned down Aybar trying to steal. Callaspo singled but Shuck flied out to end the inning. With Tazawa overworked, THIS is where Bailey would have been used if Miller didn't get hurt. Dane De La Rosa pitched the top of the 11th and retired the side in order.
Breslow returned for the bottom of the 11th. Trout struck out but pinch hitter Brad Hawpe singled. In stepped Josh Hamilton who had been a huge bust to this point for LA. Not tonight.....BANG! A walkoff 2 run home run crushed the hopes of a 6 game lead for the Red Sox. The Angels had prevailed 9-7.
THE GOOD:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with a walk, a run scored and an rbi. Daniel Nava was 4 for 6 with an rbi and 2 runs scored. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with 2 walks, a run scored and 2 rbi's. Ryan Dempster pitched 6 1/3 solid innings, giving up 3 runs, should have been his 6th win of the year. Andrew Bailey pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
THE BAD:
Lots of choices for jackass of the night but we'll start with the heels. Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Victorino and struck out. Alex Wilson got the first 2 outs of the 9th but left the bases loaded. Koji Uehara allowed all 3 runs to scored including one of his own to tie the game. The reason the tying run came in was due to tonight's jackass winner Brandon Snyder
Not only did he go 0 for 3 after pinch hitting for Brock Holt, he made the costly error that cost the Sox the game in the bottom of the 9th.
THE UGLY:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 with a walk, a steal and a run scored. Shane Victorino was 1 for 5 with a run scored and outfield assist before leaving with injury. David Ortiz was just 1 for 6. Mike Napoli was 0 for 4 but walked twice and scored. Brock Holt was 0 for 2 but both outs were groundouts that advanced runners and drove in a run. Jose Iglesias was 1 for 5 with a walk and rbi. Andrew Miller allowed a single to his only batter faced but left with injury. Craig Breslow gave up the walkoff home run but also pitched a clean bottom of the 10th, wasn't his fault he was in that position.
Final Thoughts:
What more can be said really? They were leading 7-3 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and lost. This is the kind of loss that can spiral a team into a losing streak. Hopefully they have better mental makeup than that. The loss drops the Sox to 54-35, 5.5 games in front of the Yankees. Hopefully Miller is ok and hope the Sox can quickly forget a game like this. Tomorrow night John Lackey is matched against Jered Weaver. Hopefully John Farrell learns from his mistake and not take Holt out of a game.
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