The Sox got the worst case scenario news regarding Andrew Miller before the game. It turns out he needs season ending foot surgery. It sucks because he was starting to become their left-handed power arm out of the bullpen. More crummy news to come out of the extra innings loss, lose Miller for the year and go on a 3 game losing streak.
The Sox opened the game when Daniel Nava flied out. Jonny Gomes singled to left but Dustin Pedroia bounced into a double play. Jon Lester took the hill in the bottom of the first and struck out Brad Miller to open the game. Nick Franklin grounded out and Raul Ibanez struck out to end the inning. David Ortiz singled but Mike Napoli struck out. Mike Carp singled as well but Jarrod Saltalamacchia flied out. Jose Iglesias struck out to end the inning. Kendrys Morales doubled to lead off the bottom of the second but Lester got Kyle Seager flied out to center. Old friend Jason Bay flied out and Justin Smoak popped up.
Brock Holt led off the top of the third with a walk and Nava advanced him to second on a ground out. He was stranded when Gomes lined out and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. Mike Zunino reached on an infield single to open the bottom of the third. Michael Saunders struck out but Miller singled. Lester recovered to strike out Franklin and induce a fly out from Ibanez to end the inning. Ortiz singled to open the top of the 4th but King Felix struck out 2 of the next 3 batters to retire the side.
Lester ran into trouble in the bottom of the 4th. Morales and Seager singled but Bay struck out. Smoak doubled to drive in Morales and Zunino walked to load the bases. Lester walked in Saunders to make it 2-0 but got Miller in an infield fly. Franklin lined out to end the inning. The Sox showed some balls by fighting back in the top of the 5th. Iglesias was hit by a pitch and Holt singled. Nava singled home Iglesias and advanced Holt to third. Gomes alertly swung and missed on a pitch headed for the backstop, taking the strike out but Iglesias scored to tie the game 2-2. Pedroia grounded out but Ortiz walked. Napoli struck out to end the inning.
After working so hard to tie the game, Lester gave it right back when Ibanez led off the bottom of the 5th with a solo blast. Lester got the next 3 outs but the score was now 3-2 M's. The Sox went in order in the top of the 6th and the M's put the game away in the bottom of the 6th. Smoak and Zunino worked back to back singles to chase Lester. Rookie Alex Wilson came on and got some shoddy defense when Nava threw double by Saunders away, allowing both runners to score. Miller advanced Saunders to third on a groundout but Wilson recovered to strike out Franklin. Ibanez singled home Saunders to make it 6-2. Morales popped up to end the inning. Lester goes 5 innings and gives up 5 runs.....pathetic.
Could the Sox respond in the top of the 7th? Holt grounded out, Nava flied out and Gomes popped up to end the inning.....so the answer was no. Seager walked to open the bottom of the 7th but Bay popped up. Seager advanced to second on a wild pitch and Smoak doubled him home to make it 7-2. That was it for Wilson as Jose De La Torre replaced him to pour gas on the fire. Zunino struck out but Saunders doubled home Smoak. Miller singled home Saunders and Franklin doubled in Miller. Ibanez struck out to end the mercy killing. 4 runs allowed by Wilson and De La Torre made it 10-2.
The Sox tried to desperately rally in the top of the 8th against Oliver Perez. Pedroia singled but Brandon Snyder ran for him, time to bring in all the scrubs. Ryan Lavarnway hit for Ortiz and flied out. Napoli doubled in Snyder and Carp advanced Napoli to third with a ground out. Saltalamacchia doubled in Napoli to make it 10-4 but Iglesias popped up to end the inning. The M's weren't done scoring. Snyder moved to third and Holt to second as Morales was hit by a pitch and Seager walked. Bay struck out but Smoak walked. Zunino scored Morales with a ground out to wrap up the scoring as Saunders struck out. Yoervis Medina had mop up duty in the top of the 9th. Holt grounded out but Nava singled. Gomes struck out but Snyder was hit by a pitch. Lavarnway grounded out to end the stinker 11-4.
THE GOOD:
Daniel Nava was 2 for 5 with an rbi. Brandon Snyder was hit by a pitch and scored a run. David Ortiz was 2 for 2 with a walk. Brock Holt was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
THE BAD:
Jackass of the Night is once again Jon Lester, a repeat offender. In a game they needed to give the bullpen a rest, Lester went 5 innings and gave up 5 runs, falling to 8-5 with a 4.60 ERA.
Ryan Lavarnway was 0 for 2 after pinch hitting for Ortiz. Alex Wilson continued to struggle by giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. Jose De La Torre gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in an inning and 1 2/3.
THE UGLY:
Everyone else. Jonny Gomes was just 1 for 5. Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 before being ran for by Snyder. Mike Napoli was 1 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi. Mike Carp was just 1 for 4 while Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 1 for 4 with an rbi. Jose Iglesias was 0 for 3 but came around to score a run.
Final Thoughts:
Well, it was fun while it lasted. It looks like the Sox aren't going to recover following the devastating loss to the Angels. They have a bevy of people on the disabled list and they just lost Andrew Miller for the season. What's worse is the bullpen is starting to break down as Alex Wilson is giving up runs in bunches and Junichi Tazawa has lost a lot of zip on his fastball. The Sox fall to 54-37 and 3.5 games in front of a new threat, the Tampa Bay Rays who've won 6 in a row. Nothing much more to say other than Allen Webster goes tomorrow.
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