JA Happ got the ball for the Jays in the top of the first and was mister fly ball outs. Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonny Gomes and Dustin Pedroia all flied out in short order. The Jays wasted no time scoring off Dempster in the bottom of the first when Brett Lawrie smacked a 1-1 fastball out of the yard for a leadoff home run. Adam Lind flied out but Jose Bautista walked. Edwin Encarnarcion grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the second. Mike Napoli doubled to start the inning but Daniel Nava struck out. Will Middlebrooks walked and Mike Carp singled home Napoli. David Ross to load the bases and Stephen "PU" Drew hit a sac fly to score Middlebrooks. Ellsbury flied out to end the inning but Boston had taken a 2-1 lead. Dempster kept the lead in the bottom of the second. JP Arencibia singled but Melky Cabrera lined out. Colby Rasmus and Emilio Bonifacio flied out to end the inning.
The Sox threatened in the top of the third. Gomes doubled and moved to third on a Pedroia fly out. Napoli whiffed but Nava walked. Middlebrooks grounded out to end the inning. Dempster ran into trouble in the bottom of the third. Munenori Kawasaki walked but Lawrie popped up. Kawasaki stole second as Lind walked. Bautista walked to load the bases but Encarnarcion bounced into another double play to end the inning.
The Sox failed to take advantage of a wild Happ in the top of the fourth. Carp walked but Ross banged into a double play. Drew, Ellsbury and Gomes all walked to chase Happ. Bet Ross is feeling bad about swinging away now. Brad Lincoln relieved Happ and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. Dempster navigated the bottom of the fourth as well. Arencibia grounded out and Cabrera struck out but Rasmus singled. Bonifacio flied out to end the inning.
The Sox failed to score off Lincoln in the top of the fifth inning. Napoli popped up but Nava doubled. Middlebrooks grounded out and Carp struck out to end the inning. Dempster cruised in the bottom of the fifth. Kawasaki grounded out and both Lawrie and Lind struck out to end the inning.
The Sox caught a break in the top of the sixth inning. Ross walked and moved to second on a wild pitch strikeout by PU Drew. Steve Delabar replaced Lincoln and Ellsbury greeted him with a single to score Ross with the big insurance run.
Gomes and Pedroia grounded out to end the inning. Dempster returned for the bottom of the sixth and cruised. Bautista flied out, Encarnarcion lined out and Arencibia struck out to end the inning. 6 innings of 1 run ball by Dempster, that's more like it.
Delabar kept the Sox off the board in the top of the seventh. Napoli struck out, Nava popped up and Middlebrooks struck out to end the inning. Andrew Miller took the mound in the bottom of the seventh. Cabrera struck out but Rasmus singled and took second on a wild pitch. Bonifacio grounded out but Kawasaki walked to chase Miller. Junichi Tazawa was brought in and he walked Lawrie to load the bases. Lind struck out to end the inning.
Brett Cecil took the hill in the top of the eighth inning. Carp struck out but Ross walked. Drew struck out and Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning. Koji Uehara was next up in the bottom of the eighth. Bautista popped up but Encarnarcion singled. Arencibia and Cabrera struck out to end the inning.
Esmil Rogers replaced Cecil in the top of the ninth and the Sox almost tacked on another one. Gomes hit a little dribbler that turned into a base hit. Lawrie threw a little too wide of first that allowed Pedroia to reach....but Napoli grounded into a double play. Nava walked to put runners at the corners but Middlebrooks popped up to end the inning. Joel Hanrahan came on to close it out in the bottom of the ninth. Rasmus singled and Rajai Davis pinch hit for Bonifacio. Davis popped up and Kawasaki grounded into a double play to end the game. The Sox had won it 3-1.
Hero of the Night is Ryan Dempster. With offense at a premium, his 6 innings of 1 run ball were what the doctor ordered. He allowed 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4.
The Good:
Jonny Gomes was 2 for 4 with a walk. Daniel Nava was 1 for 3 and walked twice. Mike Carp was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi. David Ross walked 3 times and scored a run. Andrew Miller got the first two outs of the bottom of the seventh. Junichi Tazawa got the final out of the seventh. Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless eighth. Joel Hanrahan earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 5
The Ugly:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 but walked and drove in a run. Mike Napoli was 1 for 5 with a run scored. Will Middlebrooks was 0 for 4 but walked and scored a run. Stephen Drew was 0 for 2 but walked and drove in a run.
Final Thoughts:
Everything is going right for the Red Sox but there are perils-a-plenty for even the most successful teams. The injury bug can rear its ugly head at any time and who knows how long David Ortiz or Jacoby Ellsbury will last with their injury history. Still, a win is a win and Dempster stepped up big time in this one. Getting Hanrahan back healthy with Bailey out and having him pitch effectively is a must at this point because if he goes out again, they're screwed. The win put the Sox at 20-8, firmly in first place in the AL East. The Sox now head out to Arlington Texas for a 3 game set with the Rangers. Felix Doubront goes for the Sox opposite Derek Holland in Game 1 tomorrow night.
No comments:
Post a Comment