Floyd got the ball in the top of the first and Mike Aviles flied out to center to start. Ryan Sweeney struck out swinging and Dustin Pedroia popped up to left to end the inning. The White Sox wasted no time getting to Beckett in the bottom of the first as Alejandro De Aza singled over the head of Adrian Gonzalez to start. Brent Lillibridge dropped down a bunt to move De Aza to second and Alejandro scored on the Alex Rios base hit to left to put the White Sox up for good. Adam Dunn hit the killshot with a two run home run to South America to ice the game. AJ Pierzynski struck out swinging and Alexei Ramirez grounded out to third to end the inning with the game already over 3-0 Chicago.
The BoSox failed to respond in the top of the second as Adrian Gonzalez struck out swinging to start. David Ortiz flied out to center and David Ross took strike three to end the inning. Beckett recovered in the bottom of the second as Kosuke Fukudome grounded out to first to start. Dayan Viciedo took strike three and Eduardo Escobar grounded out to first to end the inning.
Floyd dominated the top of the third as Nick Punto struck out swinging to start. Marlon Byrd also struck out swinging and Kelly Shoppach popped up to second to end the inning. The White Sox threatened in the bottom of the third as De Aza took strike three to start. Lillibridge dumped a base hit to right but Rios flied out to left. Lillibridge stole second and Dunn walked, but Pierzynski lined out to a running Ross to end the inning.
Aviles popped up to right to start the top of the fourth before Sweeney grounded out to second. Pedroia struck out swinging to end the inning. Ramirez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth before Fukudome flied out to left. Viciedo singled to left but Escobar struck out swinging to end the inning.
Gonzalez grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth before Ortiz grounded out to second. Ross walked to break up the perfect game but Punto took strike three to end the inning. De Aza struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth before Lillibridge flied out to left. Rios struck out swinging to end the inning. Apart from that first inning, Beckett had pitched very well.
The no-hitter continued in the top of the sixth as Byrd grounded out to short to start. Shoppach flied out to right as White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson told a funny story of how Blue Moon Odom won a big money bet by walking on his hands around the length of Municipal Stadium. Aviles grounded out to third to end the inning.
Dunn struck out swinging to start the bottom of the sixth before Pierzynski flied out to left. Ramirez flied out to right to end the inning.
Sweeney struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh but Pedroia broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to center. Gonzalez struck out swinging but Ortiz doubled into the right field corner. Ross hit a seeing eye single to left to score Ortiz and chase Floyd from the game. Addison Reed came in and Punto grounded out to first to end the inning with the BoSox down 3-1.
Beckett ran out of gas in the bottom of the seventh as Fukudome grounded out to first to start. Viciedo popped up to first in foul territory but Escobar singled in the hole at first. De Aza and Lillibridge both walked to load the bases and chase Beckett. His one mistake to Dunn was the difference in the game as he left after 6 2/3 innings while allowing 3 runs. Scott Atchison came in to face Rios and got him to fly out to right to end the inning.
Lars Anderson pinch hit for Byrd to lead off the top of the eighth and flied out to left to begin. Jarrod Saltalamacchia pinch hit for Shoppach and struck out swinging but Aviles walked to chase Reed. Matt Thornton came in to pitch to Sweeney but Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine countered by bringing in Darnell McDonald to pinch hit for Ryan. McDonald took strike three to end the inning....I could have done that. Rich Hill made his season debut in the bottom of the eighth and crapped his pants. Dunn walked and Brent Morel pinch ran for him. Pierzynski hit into a double play but Ramirez reached on a swinging bunt to Hill and Fukudome walked to chase Rich. Junichi Tazawa came in and Viciedo hit a single to left to score Ramirez for another run. Escobar flied out to center to end the inning with the White Sox ahead 4-1.
Thornton came back to close out the bottom of the ninth and Pedroia lined out to second to start. Gonzalez struck out swinging to earn the hat trick and Ortiz grounded out to first to end the game. The White Sox had won it 4-1.
Jackass of the Night is Adrian Gonzalez. He was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts in a game where one swing of the bat could have made the difference.
Gonzalez The Jackass
The Good:
Cody Ross was 1 for 2 with a walk and an rbi.
Scott Atchison retired the only man he faced.
The Bad:
Ryan Sweeney was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Darnell McDonald struck out as a pinch hitter.
Nick Punto was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Marlon Byrd was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Lars Anderson was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Kelly Shoppach was 0 for 2.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out as a pinch hitter.
Rich Hill was charged with a run in 2/3 of an inning.
The Ugly:
Mike Aviles was 0 for 3 but walked.
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 4.
Josh Beckett allowed just 3 runs but couldn't get out of the seventh inning. He allowed 6 hits and 3 walks but struck out 8 batters.
Junichi Tazawa allowed an inherited runner to score but none of his own in the eighth inning.
Final Thoughts:
All good things must come to an end and the six game win streak was snapped. Its too bad the Red Sox couldn't generate any offense until it was too late because Beckett overcame his lousy first inning to pitch into the seventh inning. Punto leaving men on and Tazawa giving up the fourth run ruined any hope of a comeback. Just have to tip your cap to Gavin Floyd the same way Jake Peavy dominated last night. Hopefully the Sox bats can wake up in their next series because essentially they've scored two runs in the last two games against a starter. Getting good starts from Beckett and Jon Lester has certainly helped turn things around this month. Still, the bats lit up the White Sox the first two games and that's the kind of offense they should be having, not the one that's been shut down the last two games. The BoSox have one game left this month and now they return home for a set with the Oakland A's. Clay Buchholz (2-1) gets the start for Boston against Tommy Milone of Oakland tomorrow night. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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