Lackey got the ball in the top of the first and Ben Zobrist struck out swinging to start. Desmond Jennings popped up to Jackie Bradley Jr and Matt Joyce struck out swinging to end the inning. Bedard got the ball in the bottom of the first and Dustin Pedroia grounded out to third to start. Shane Victorino singled in the hole at second but David Ortiz struck out swinging. Mike Napoli grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Evan Longoria led off the top of the second by grounding out to third and old pal James Loney grounded out to first. Wil Myers singled to left but David Dejesus lined out to Gomes at the left field wall to end the inning. Gomes popped up to second to start the bottom of the second but Xander Bogaerts drew a walk. AJ Pierzynski took strike three and Will Middlebrooks forced Bogaerts at second to end the inning.
Yunel Escobar popped up to first to start the top of the third before Ryan Hanigan grounded out to third. Zobrist grounded out to first to end the inning. Jackie Bradley Jr popped up to third to start before Pedroia flied out to right. Victorino lined a ball off the Monster but was thrown out at second trying to stretch a double to end the inning.
The Rays beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fourth as Jennings grounded out to second to start. Joyce grounded out to third and Longoria grounded out to short to end the inning. Ortiz struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the fourth before Napoli walked. Gomes doubled off the Monster but Bogaerts struck out swinging. Pierzynski grounded out to first to end the inning.
Loney doubled off the Monster to begin the top of the fifth but Myers struck out swinging. DeJesus walked but Escobar flied out to right. Hanigan struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the fifth as Middlebrooks walked to start. JBJ doubled to center but Pedroia lined out to third. Middlebrooks scored on the sac fly to center by Victorino. Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Rays struck back in the top of the sixth as Zobrist grounded out to first to start. Jennings doubled to center then took third on the Joyce base hit to right. Longoria hit a sac fly to center to score Jennings and Loney grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
The Sox exploded in the bottom of the sixth with Brandon Gomes now on the mound. Napoli walked to start before Jonny Gomes also drew a walk. Bogaerts popped up to left and Rays manager Joe Maddon wanted Juan Carlos Oviedo to face Pierzynski. AJ responded with a base hit to center to score Napoli. Middlebrooks doubled off the centerfield wall to score Gomes and JBJ also doubled off the centerfield wall to score Pierzynski and Middlebrooks. A wild pitch moved JBJ to third but Pedroia grounded out to short. Victorino hit a ground rule double down the right field line to score Bradley to increase the lead. Ortiz struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 6-1 Sox.
The Rays struck back in the top of the eighth as Myers doubled off the centerfield wall. Myers moved to third on a grounder to first by DeJesus but Escobar struck out swinging. Hanigan singled off the Monster to score Myers to cut the lead but Zobrist forced Ryan at second to end the inning with the Rays down 6-2.
Josh Lueke came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh as Napoli got a base hit to left to start. Gomes beat out a double play ball and Bogaerts struck out swinging, but Pierzynski got a base hit to right. Sox analyst "Psycho" Steve Lyons made a hilarious comment he got a royalty check for the TV show VIP for 10 cents while quipping "It cost more to print the check!" Middlebrooks struck out swinging to end the inning.
Lackey returned for the top of the eighth and Jennings grounded out to short to start. Joyce lined out to a running JBJ and Longoria grounded out to short to end the inning. Lackey was great, gutting out 8 innings and allowing 2 runs off 6 hits and a walk.
The Sox wrapped up the scoring against Joel Peralta in the bottom of the eighth and JBJ flied out to right to start. Pedroia dropped a base hit to right as "Psycho" Steve told a story of how there's a famous photograph of the 20 strikeout game by Roger Clemens where Steve is the only one celebrating. Victorino got a base hit to left and Ortiz got a base hit to center to score Pedroia. Napoli beat out a double play ball but Gomes took strike three to end the inning with the Sox up 7-2.
Ortiz joins the hit parade
Edward Mujica came in to close out the top of the ninth and Loney pounded a ground rule double down the right field line to start. Myers walked and both runners moved over on the DeJesus grounder to short. Escobar singled in the hole at short but Bogaerts threw the ball away for an error to score Loney & Myers, moving Escobar to second. Hanigan flied out to right and Sox manager John Farrell took no chances, bringing in Koji Uehara to face Zobrist. Ben struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-4.
Sox win
Hero Lackey
David Ortiz was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Hero of the Night is John Lackey. He went 8 strong innings allowing just 2 runs off 6 hits and a walk while striking out five.
The Good:
Shane Victorino was 4 for 4 with 2 rbis.
Mike Napoli was 1 for 3 with 2 walks and and an rbi.
AJ Pierzynski was 2 for 4 with an rbi and a run scored.
Will Middlebrooks was 1 for 3 with a walk, an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
Koji Uehara earned his sixth save by finishing off the ninth inning.
The Bad:
Edward Mujica allowed 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 5 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Jonny Gomes was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and an error but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Good win but that's yet another game where Mujica couldn't get the job done. The fact Uehara had to come into a game the Sox were leading 7-2 is a disgrace. Its not like Sox fans couldn't see it coming, after all he famously lost the closer's job at the end of last year to Trevor Rosenthal. Still, the encouraging sign was the offense has returned with Victorino going 4 for 4. Combined with the rotation pitching as well as it has, let's see if the Sox can repeat the magic of last season. That five run sixth inning was the quick strike offense the Sox need to display moving forward. If they want to leave April in the past, they better come out swinging in the month of May. They can't afford to fall behind the other teams in the AL East with the way they're playing to start the season. The Sox look to make it two in a row against the Rays tomorrow night when Jake Peavy (1-0) takes on Cesar Ramos of Tampa. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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