Jon Lester looked to continue his comeback into legitimacy but ran into a brick wall in the first inning. Logan Forsythe flied out and Chris Denorfia struck out. Lester's problems with 2 outs continued as Carlos Quintin singled and Chase Headley singled him to third. Kyle Blanks singled home Quintin to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Jesus Guzman flied out to end the inning, Lester had already thrown 31 pitches. Padres starter Edinson Volquez was tough but seemed vulnerable in the bottom of the first. Shane Victorino hit a ground rule double with one out and Dustin Pedroia singled him to third then stole second. David Ortiz then ended a rally by smashing a liner....right to Pedro Ciriaco who doubled off Pedroia at second.
Lester rebounded from his tough first inning to retire the side in short order in the top of the second. Daniel Nava singled to lead off the bottom of the second but Volquez struck out the next 3 batters to end the inning. Lester got the first 2 batters of the top of the third before Quintin doubled. Headley grounded out to third to end the inning but what is with Lester having trouble with 2 out? The Sox threatened again in the top of the third when Jose Iglesias got with a pitch and Jacoby Ellsbury singled. Victorino grounded out but moved both runners. With both runners in scoring position....Pedroia struck out. Padres manager Bud Black took no chances and intentionally walked Ortiz to load the bases. Could Nava deliver?? NO! Nava grounded out to end the inning.
Even the mime can't handle Nava stinking up the batter's box
Lester once again failed to pitch a clean inning in the top of the 4th. He got the first 2 outs but Yasmani Grandal doubled. Ciriaco grounded out but this is getting annoying. The Sox finally broke through in the bottom of the 4th. Mike Carp singled and Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled him home to tie the game. Brandon Snyder and Jose Iglesias failed to advance Jarrod with groundouts and Ellsbury flied out to end the inning.
Tie Game
Lester got 3 straight groundouts in the top of the 6th but Volquez remained just as hot in the bottom of the inning. Carp doubled with one out but 3 straight strikeouts ended the inning with the game tied. Lester finished his outing by striking out 2 of the final 3 batters he faced. What a rebound after not only the first inning but the last month and a half.
Nick Vincent relieved Volquez in the bottom of the 7th and retired the side in order. Junichi Tazawa relieved Lester and made everyone proud by striking out the side in the top of the 8th.
The Sox threatened to take the lead in the bottom of the 8th when Pedroia doubled to lead off. Black had Ortiz intentionally walked before bringing in Luke Gregerson to pitch to Nava....who struck out. Carp flied out and Salty struck out to end the inning. Sox manager John Farrell took no chances and brought in Koji Uehara to pitch the top of the 9th. Uehara got 2 groundouts, walked Guzman but got the final out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Farrell took a chance when he sent Jonny Gomes to pinch hit for Snyder. Here's what happened:
THE GOOD:
Hero of the night is a no brainer....Mr. Walkoff himself Jonny Gomes
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4. Mike Carp was 2 for 4 with a run scored. Jon Lester was outstanding, tossing 7 innings of 1 run ball, scattering 6 hits and one walk, lowering his ERA to 4.41. Junichi Tazawa struck out the side in the 8th and Koji Uehara pitched a perfect 9th to earn the win (2-0, 2.00 ERA).
THE BAD:
Brandon Snyder was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts....and that's it.
THE UGLY:
Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino were both 1 for 4. David Ortiz was 0 for 2 but was intentionally walked twice. Daniel Nava was 1 for 4 and so was Jarrod Saltalamacchia, but Jarrod's one hit was a run scoring double. Jose Iglesias was 0 for 2 but was hit by a pitch.
Final Thoughts:
That was more like it from Lester. If he can get back on track the Sox are headed for good things. After a rocky first innings he allowed just 4 baserunners. It wasn't pretty on offense but a walkoff win is never a bad thing. Scoring 2 runs in 9 innings generally means you don't win but they managed to do it tonight. The offense is what it is but Lester's outing is just the tonic they need. The win puts the Sox at 52-34, 3 1/2 games in front of the Dirty Birds. Tomorrow night the Sox look for the sweep as Allen Webster goes against Eric Stults.
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