Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. Clay Buchholz was sent down to Pawtucket and Jed Lowrie was called up to take his place. Jonathan Van Every was released as well, so much for him.
As for the game, if the Sox are going to get back to the ALCS this year, they're going to need better from Brad Penny (6-4, 5.02 ERA). He got rocked for 6 runs in just 5 innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of. Rookie pitcher Mark Rzepcynski held the Sox to just 1 measly run in 6 innings. The Sox took an early lead but Jose Bautista capped off a 3 run fourth inning to put the Jays ahead and Adam Lind smashed a two run home run to ice it. Rocco Baldelli drove in a run and Jed Lowrie hit his first home run of the year, but the game belonged to Toronto. The Jays took the game 6-2 at the Skydome.
Rzepcynski got the ball in the top of the first and JD Drew struck out swinging to start. Dustin Pedroia got a base hit to left and moved to second on the Kevin Youkilis grounder to second. David Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning. Penny got the ball in the bottom of the first and Marco Scutaro flied out to right to start. Aaron Hill lined out to left and Adam Lind grounded outn to first to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second as Jason Bay doubled to the centerfield wall to start. Mike Lowell walked and Rocco Baldelli lined a base hit to right. Bay scored easily and Lowell JUST slid into third in time. Baldelli took second on the throw but Jed Lowrie watched strike three go by. George Kottaras popped up to third and Drew grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 1-0.
The Jays answered in the bottom of the second as Scott Rolen got a base hit to center to start. Lyle Overbay singled to right to move Rolen to third and Alex Rios walked to load the bases. Old pal Kevin Millar banged into a double play but Rolen scored to tie the game. Jose Bautista flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Pedroia lined out to center to start the top of the third but Youkilis hit a ground rule double down the right field line. Ortiz grounded out to second to move Youk to third but Bay struck out swinging to end the inning. Raul Chavez led off the bottom of the third by grounding out to Penny to start. Scutaro took strike three and Hill lined out to second to end the inning.
Lowell led off the top of the fourth with a grounder to short and the Toronto announcers took a shot at the recently released Julio Lugo, saying Terry Francona said the Lugo they got in 2007 wasn't the same from the previous few years. Baldelli flied out to right and Lowrie flied out to center to end the inning. The Jays took command in the bottom of the fourth as Lind flied out to left to start. Rolen dumped a base hit to center, Overbay got a base hit to right and Rios got a base hit to left to score Rolen. A passed ball moved the runners over before Millar took strike three. Bautista doubled to center to score both runners to ice the game. Chavez flied out to right to end the inning with the Jays ahead 4-1.
The Sox blew a rally in the top of the fifth as Kottaras walked to start. Drew forced George at second and Pedroia walked. Youkilis struck out swinging and Ortiz grounded out to second to end the inning. Penny came back for the bottom of the fifth and Scutaro doubled to right to start. Hill grounded out to short but Lind hit a home run off the roof of the Skydome to increase the lead. Rolen flied out to center and Overbay struck out swinging to end the inning. That was it for Penny who got rocked for 6 runs in just 5 innings.
Nice going Penny
Home run Lowrie
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the sixth as Bay walked to start. Lowell flied out to left and Baldelli grounded into a double play to end the inning. Justin Masterson came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Rios popped up to second to start. Millar took strike three and Bautista flied out to right to end the inning.
Jesse Carlson came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Lowrie greeted him with his first home run of the season to cut the lead. Hill robbed Kottaras of a base hit and Rolen made a diving catch to rob Drew of a hit. Jeremy Accardo came in to face Pedroia and Dustin flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 6-2.
The Jays beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the seventh as Chavez grounded out to second to start. Scutaro and Hill both grounded out to short to end the inning.
Jason Frasor came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Youkilis struck out swinging to start. Ortiz flied out to left and Bay was frozen for strike three to end the inning. Ramon Ramirez came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and more ineptitude occurred. Lowrie and Lowell collided on a pop up for an error to move Lind to second and Rolen walked. Overbay flied out to left, Rios struck out swinging and Millar watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Keystone Kops
Scott Downs came in to close out the top of the ninth and Lowell doubled to left to start. Baldelli struck out swinging and Lowrie flied out to right to bring up pinch hitter Jason Varitek. Varitek grounded out to third to end the game. The Jays had won it 6-2.
Jackass of The Night is Brad Penny. The Sox bats didn't do much but Penny allowing 6 runs in 5 innings put the game away early.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Jason Bay was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Mike Lowell was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Justin Masterson tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Ramon Ramirez tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
JD Drew was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
David Ortiz was 0 for 4.
Jason Varitek was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Kevin Youkilis was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Rocco Baldelli was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.
Jed Lowrie was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but hit a home run.
George Kottaras was 0 for 2 but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That was a bad game and more concerning for the future rather than the present. The Sox couldn't get over the Tampa Bay Rays last year with Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester so they needed more help. Brad Penny was supposed to be that help and so far he's nowhere close to what they need him to be. Again, the Sox are good enough to keep a lead in the AL East or the wild card but once October starts, they're going to need Penny to step up. The offense got shut down by a rookie and that pop up error was just a microcosm of the game. The Sox have two weeks until the trade deadline, they may need to ship someone for another starter because this isn't going to cut it. The loss dropped the Sox to 55-35, 2 games ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to bounce back in a battle of aces as Jon Lester (8-6, 3.87 ERA) takes on Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays. The game begins at 1:05 PM at the Skydome.
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