Lester Back To Form (7/23/13)

I did not see this game as I was on vacation



News:

None


THE GOOD:

Hero of the Night is an easy one. The contributors on offense were backed up by a solid performance from Jon Lester, so he gets the nod. He improved to 9-6 on the season, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits in 6 1/3 innings with 8 strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 4.50 in the process

                                               Hero of the Night

Other babyfaces include David Ortiz who was 2 for 4. Mike Napoli was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Mike Carp was 1 for 3 with an rbi. Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Carp then singled and scored. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 3 with a walk. Matt Thornton got the one batter he faced in the top of the 7th. Junichi Tazawa struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced. Koji Uehara struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced as well.


THE BAD:

None....yes, none. No one...zip...nada.


THE UGLY:

Shane Victorino was just 1 for 5 but scored a run. Daniel Nava was just 1 for 4 but scored as well. Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 2 but knocked in a run. PU Drew was 1 for 4 with a run and an rbi. Jose Iglesias was 1 for 4 with an rbi.



Final Thoughts:

Nice to see Lester back on track. The Rays are the toughest competition the Sox will face in the AL East this year. Baltimore doesn't have an ace and the Yankees are heading down the drain amid PED scandals and injury. The win improved the Sox to 61-41, 1.5 games ahead of the Rays. Tomorrow David Price is in town in game 3 of the series and it'll be up to Felix Doubront to match him. As the trade deadline nears it seems obvious that the Sox need a bullpen arm that can get righthanders out, a slugging outfielder and an ace. Hopefully they can address this situation before its too late.