Humber got the ball in the top of the first inning and Mike Aviles walked to start. Ryan Sweeney took strike three but Aviles swiped second base. Dustin Pedroia beat out a roller down the third base line and Adrian Gonzalez doubled to left to score Aviles, putting Boston on top. David Ortiz got a base hit to left to score Pedroia and put runners at the corners. Kevin Youkilis watched strike three go by and Saltalamacchia grounded out to second to end the inning with Boston ahead 2-0.
Doubront got the ball in the bottom of the first and Alejandro De Aza broke his bat grounding out to second to start. Alexei Ramirez grounded out to short but Adam Dunn walked. A wild pitch moved Dunn to second and Adam scored on the Paul Konerko double over the head of Marlon Byrd to cut the lead. AJ Pierzynski walked and Sox pitching coach Bob McClure sprinted to the mound to shout that cleaning the gutters is very hard. Alex Rios forced AJ at second to end the inning with Chicago down 2-1.
Lars Anderson led off the top of the second with a fly ball to left before Byrd popped up to right. Aviles grounded out to third to end the inning. Dayan Viciedo led off the bottom of the second by popping up to Aviles to start. Brent Morel lined out to right and Gordon Beckham struck out swinging to end the inning.
The BoSox struck again in the top of the third as Sweeney pounded a ground rule double down the left field line to start. Pedroia hit a bullet to short but Gonzalez walked followed by Ortiz drawing a walk to load the bases. Youkilis put his slump to bed by belting a grand slam into the bullpen to ice the game. Saltalamacchia then drilled a home run off the right field foul pole for back to back jacks. Anderson hit a bullet but right to Anderson and Byrd took strike three to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-1.
The White Sox tried to fight back in the bottom of the third as De Aza flied out to left to start. Ramirez walked and Dunn got hit before Ramirez moved to third on the fly ball to right by Konerko. Pierzynski ripped a base hit to left to score Ramirez with another run. Rios forced AJ at second to end the inning with the White Sox down 7-2.
Aviles flied out to center to start the top of the fourth before Sweeney grounded out to second. Pedroia grounded out to short to end the inning. The White Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Viciedo hit a home run all the way into Lake Eerie to cut the lead. Morel lined out to center before Beckham grounded out to third. De Aza doubled to left but Ramirez took strike three to end the inning with Chicago down 7-3.
The Red Sox answered in the top of the fifth as Gonzalez took strike three to start. Ortiz flied out to center but Youkilis ripped a base hit to left. Saltalamacchia pounded his second home run of the game to increase the lead but Anderson took strike three to end the inning with Boston ahead 9-3.
Doubront cruised in the bottom of the fifth as Dunn popped up to short to start. Konerko grounded out to short and Pierzynski grounded out to first to end the inning.
Will Ohman came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Byrd beat out an infield single to second to start. Aviles banged into a double play and Sweeney grounded out to short to end the inning. Doubront returned for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth with Darnell McDonald now in left. Rios grounded back to the mound to start but Viciedo lined a base hit to right. Morel flied out to right and Beckham forced Viciedo at second to end the inning. That was it for Doubront who was solid but not spectacular, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings to put himself in position to win.
The BoSox beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the seventh as Pedroia grounded out to short to start. Gonzalez grounded out to second and Ortiz grounded out to short to end the inning. Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and De Aza took strike three to start. Ramirez hit a bullet to Youkilis but Dunn and Konerko stroked back to back singles. Pierzynski grounded out to second to end the inning.
Brent Lillibridge took over at first with Zach Stewart now on the mound for the top of the eighth inning. Youkilis beat out a roller to third but Saltalamacchia banged into a double play. McDonald popped up to second to end the inning. Rios hit a routine grounder to Youkilis who let the ball bounce off his chest for an error to start the bottom of the eighth. Tazawa gave him the middle finger but recovered to strike out Viciedo swinging. Morel flied out to center but Beckham was hit in the stomach. De Aza popped up to center to end the inning.
De Aza made a great catch to rob Byrd of extra bases to start the top of the ninth before Aviles doubled off the left field wall. Sweeney drilled a base hit to left to score Aviles before taking second on the throw home. Pedroia popped up to right in foul territory to move Sweeney to third but Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning with Boston ahead 10-3.
Tazawa came back to close out the bottom of the ninth and Ramirez hit a bullet right to Pedroia to start. Dunn struck out swinging and Lillibridge took strike three to end the game. The Red Sox had won it 10-3.
Hero of the Night is Kevin Youkilis. His grand slam ignited the offense and outscored Chicago by himself.
The Good:
Ryan Sweeney was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a walk, rbi and run scored.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with 2 home runs and 3 total rbis.
Felix Doubront got his first win of the season by tossing 6 solid innings allowing just 3 runs while striking out 2.
Junichi Tazawa earned his first save with 3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Lars Anderson was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Darnell McDonald was 0 for 1 at the plate.
The Ugly:
Mike Aviles was just 1 for 4 but walked, stole a base and scored two runs.
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 but scored a run.
Adrian Gonzalez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but walked, drove in a run and scored a run.
Marlon Byrd was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Final Thoughts:
That's four wins in a row and another where the offense stepped up. Its a shame Jacoby Ellsbury is hurt because the rest of the bats have woke up. Youkilis and Saltalamacchia have stepped up lately and maybe Sox manager Bobby Valentine really did wake him up with his comments. Either way the Sox are on a winning streak and hopefully they can ride the momentum for the rest of the month. Doubront was solid but not spectacular and Tazawa slammed the door when he came in. The Sox bullpen is pathetic with Andrew Bailey out and Daniel Bard in the rotation but hopefully Tazawa can be effective out of it. All in all it was a good win and hopefully the offense is here to stay. They're going to need it with their bullpen woes and John Lackey out for the season. The Sox look to make it five in a row and 2 straight against the White Sox tomorrow night when Daniel Bard (1-2) takes on John Danks of Chicago. The game begins at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Comiskey Park.
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