As for the game, what an epic failure. Not only did the Red Sox get swept by the Milwaukee Brewers at home, they laid an egg and got shut-out as well. Yovani Gallardo outpitched Jon Lester to hand the Sox a 4-0 loss at Fenway Park. How many runs did the Sox score Dean Wormer?
Lester took the mound in the top of the first inning and Carlos Gomez popped up to center to start. Rickie Weeks grounded out to short but Ryan Braun singled off the glove of shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Aramis Ramirez flied out to left to end the inning. Yovani Gallardo began his dominance in the bottom of the first inning when Daniel Nava grounded out to a diving Mark Reynolds at third. Dustin Pedroia hit a little roller up the middle that would have been a single but Weeks through the ball away, allowing Dustin to reach second. David Ortiz lined out to center and Mike Napoli watched strike three go by to end the inning.
The Brewers struck first in the top of the second when Jonathan Lucroy led off with a double off the Monster. Khris Davis caught the Sox asleep with a bunt single that put runners at the corners and Mark Reynolds singled to right. Nava picked the ball up and spiked it like a football before doing a dance as both Lucroy and Davis scored to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead. Reynolds stood at second but remained as Lyle Overbay flied out to the left field warning track. Nava crashed into the right field wall, reaching into the stands to catch a ball hit byJeff Bianchi and Carlos Gomez flied out to center to end the inning with the Brewers up 2-0
The Sox looked to rally when Bogaerts led off the bottom of the second with a single to center. Jonny Gomes watched strike three go by but Jonathan Herrera singled to center. Jackie Bradley Jr hit a hot shot to second that flummoxed Weeks. He threw to first on a bang bang play....OUT! But wait! Sox manager John Farrell used the new challenge system to challenge the call, but JBJ was still ruled out. Both runners moved into scoring position but David Ross grounded out to short to end the inning. Very frustrating not to get the call at first.
Lester recovered to pitch a clean top of the third inning. Herrera made a great play to throw out Weeks at first before Lester whiffed Braun. Ramirez was rung up on a check swing in the dirt to end the inning. Gallardo robbed Nava of a line drive up the middle by snaring it at the last second to open the bottom of the third. Pedroia grounded out to short but Ortiz singled to center. Napoli grounded out to short to end the inning.
Lester stayed tough in the top of the fourth inning, getting Lucroy to fly out to right to begin. Davis whiffed and Herrera robbed Reynolds of a line drive hit to end the inning. The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the fourth as Bogaerts grounded out to short to start. Davis made a great catch to rob Gomes of a hit and Herrera grounded out to second to end the inning.
Lester was red hot in the top of the fifth inning as Overbay hit a broken bat grounder back to the mound to begin. Bianchi whiffed and Gomez grounded out to short to end the inning. That's 12 in a row retired by Lester after the single/error.
Unfortunately the Sox would not score in the bottom of the fifth. JBJ grounded out to first and Ross grounded out to third, but somehow Nava doubled into the right field corner. Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning.
Lester continued his hot streak in the top of the sixth inning. Weeks whiffed to begin before Braun flied out to right. Ramirez also flied out to right to end the inning, that's 15 in a row retired by Lester. The Sox continued to struggle in the bottom of the sixth as Ortiz grounded out to first to begin. Napoli was rung up on a 3-2 pitch for strike three and Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning.
The Brewers struck again in the top of the seventh inning. Lucroy grounded out to third but Davis doubled to the centerfield wall when Pedroia missed the tag. Reynolds walked but Overbay whiffed. Bianchi singled in the hole and Davis beat Gomes' throw to increase the lead. Reynolds swiped third but Gomez was retired by Herrera on a bunt attempt to end the inning with the Brewers ahead 3-0.
The lead remained intact after the bottom of the seventh. Gomes and Herrera both flied out to center but JBJ doubled off the Monster. Ross beat out an infield single to put runners at the corners and that was it for Gallardo. Zach Duke came in and....Nava flied out to center to end the inning.
With 101 pitches on his arm, Lester returned for the top of the eighth inning. Weeks lined out to left but Braun singled to chase Lester. He pitched reasonably well but Nava's error and the incompetence at the plate didn't help at all.
Edward Mujica came in and also got no help from his defense. Braun took off for second and Ross decided to throw the ball to FIRST base instead. Napoli was not ready for the throw and Braun ended up on third. Sure enough, Ramirez singled to score Braun and close the book on Lester. He tossed 7 1/3 innings and was charged with 4 runs, not the best but Nava and Ross didn't help with their errors. Lucroy worked a walk but Davis popped up to short right. Mujica froze Reynolds on the outside corner for strike three but it was now 4-0 Milwaukee.
Tyler Thornburg came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth with Scooter Gennett now playing second base. Pedroia flied out to right and Ortiz grounded back to the mound, but Napoli beat out a chopper to second base. Bogaerts was rung up on a check swing to end the inning.
Andrew Miller came on to pitch the top of the ninth and snared a line drive by Overbay to start the inning. Bianchi singled to left but Bogaerts made a good jumping catch to rob Gomez of a hit. Gennett whiffed to end the inning. Thornburg came back to close out the game in the bottom of the ninth. Gomes somehow singled off the Monster but Herrera whiffed. JBJ whiffed and AJ Pierzynski pinch hit for Ross.....and grounded out to first to end the game. The Brewers had swept the Red Sox out of Fenway Park with a dominating 4-0 win.
Jackass of the Night is Daniel Nava. His error allowed the go-ahead runs to score and his failure at the plate inhibited the team's chances to win.
The Good:
David Ross was 1 for 3.
Edward Mujica got the final two outs in the eighth inning.
Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
AJ Pierzynski was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4.
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jonny Gomes was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jonathan Herrera was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Jon Lester took the loss by giving up 4 runs (2 earned) in 7 1/3 innings.
Final Thoughts:
Gadzooks that was bad! Getting swept at home is embarrassing enough but being shutout in the finale is even worse. The Sox are suffering from a serious World Series hangover but that's to be expected. They better shake it off soon because they can't afford to fall behind the Detroit Tigers or the Tampa Bay Rays too far. The Sox are back in action tomorrow as John Lackey (1-0) looks to stop the losing streak against the visiting Texas Rangers. Tanner Scheppers goes for the Rangers at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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