Sox Comeback To Beat O's (9/1/10)

With the rosters expanded (Sox brought up Dustin Richardson and Robert Manuel while activating Eric Patterson and Jared Saltalamaccia from the DL) the Sox now had more help to get them through the rest of the year. In this game it was the same cast of characters that mounted the big comeback to win the game.

Jon Lester (15-8, 3.27 ERA) was off in the beginning but recovered to post a solid night while Jake Arrieta did what he could through 5 innings. It started off right for Boston when David Ortiz doubled in Marco Scutaro to give the Sox a 1-0 lead, but Lester returned to his Toronto form in the bottom of the inning.

Lester got Brian Roberts to ground out but allowed a single to former Sox player Julio Lugo. Nick Markakis followed with a single and Jon plunked Ty Wigginton to load the bases. Adam Jones then gave the O's the lead when he doubled in Lugo and Markakis. Lester then uncorked a wild pitch that scored Wigginton and moved Jones to third. Felix Pie then doubled as Lester looked completely lost, now trailing 4-1. He managed to recover to strike out Matt Weiters and get Nolan Riemold to ground out.

Arrieta opened the top of the second by getting both Jed Lowrie and Mike Lowell out. Daniel Nava singled and then Ryan Kalish doubled to score Nava, cutting the deficit in half. Marco Scutaro then grounded out to end the inning but the Sox proved they weren't about to go quietly. Lester continued to struggle in the bottom of the 2nd inning. He managed to get Josh Bell to fly out and strike out Brian Roberts, but Lugo again singled off of him. Markakis worked a walk and then Wigginton singled home Lugo. Facing the threat of being yanked, Lester struck out Adam Jones to end the inning.

The Sox couldn't answer back in the third as Drew, Martinez and Ortiz were retired in order without a defense. Lester than appeared to find his groove when he retired the side in the bottom of the third. In the top of the 4th, Beltre led off by flying out and Lowrie followed by doing the same. Mike Lowell singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but could not score when Nava struck out swinging. Lester then continued his resurgance when he retired the side in order, striking out Roberts and Lugo in the process.

The Sox got a run back in the top of the 5th. Bergesen struck out Kalish and got Scutaro to fly out to open the frame but JD Drew wasn't so easy. Drew belted his 18th homer of the year to cut the deficit to 5-3 before Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox still trailed but they were slowly mounting a comeback.

Lester aided the comeback by continuing to pitch effectively. He retired the side in order in the bottom of the 5th, including punch outs of Wigginton and Jones. Big lefty Mark Hendrickson (1-5, 5.20 ERA) took over for Arrieta and worked around a Jed Lowrie single to retire the side and keep the lead intact. Lester came back for the bottom of the 6th and struck out Pie to begin. Wieters and Reimold hit back to back singles but got Bell to pop up. Brian Roberts walked to load the bases but Lester punched out Lugo for his 10th K of the game.

The Sox then turned the game around in a hurry in the top of the 7th. Darnell McDonald pinch hit for Nava and singled to open the frame. Bill Hall pinch hit for Kalish and struck out bringing up Marco Scutaro. Marco then launched his 8th homer of the year to tie the game at 5 apiece. JD Drew then walked to chase Hendrickson from the game. Alfredo Simon came on and allowed a double to Victor Martinez that scored Drew before intentionally walking David Ortiz. Beltre was miffed so he socked a 3 run blast (24th) to increse the lead 9-5. Lowrie and Lowell grounded out but the Sox had showed some life to take the lead.

Daniel Bard took the mound in the bottom of the 7th and got Markakis to fly out.Wigginton singled but Bard got pinch hitter Jake Fox (in for Adam Jones) to bang into a double play to end the threat right then and there. In the top of the 8th, Simon worked around a walk to Marco Scutaro to retire the side.

The O's got to Bard in the bottom of the 8th. Felix Pie doubled to lead off and Matt Wieters moved him over to third on a ground out. Reimold then scored Pie on a sac fly but Bard slammed the door by striking out Bell. Matt Albers took over and retired the Sox in order in the top of the 9th. Sox closer Jon Papelbon took the mound in the bottom of the 9th. Papelbon struck out Roberts and got Lugo to ground out before the game was delayed when one of the umpires left the game. When play resumed, Markakis grounded out to end the game and giving Papelbon his 34th save of the year. The Sox are still 8 behind the Yankees and 7 behind the Rays as they look to the series finale tomorrow with the matchup of Daisuke Matsuzaka against Brad Bergesen.