It was a good day for Boston sports. The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Rangers in Game 2 of their second round NHL playoff series and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins. Not even mother nature could derail John Lackey (2-4 3.31 ERA) or the Red Sox today as they got some timely hitting and outstanding pitching in the midst of heavy rain. After an idiotic 3 hour rain delay, the Sox cruised to a 5-1 win and series sweep over the Twins at Target Field.
Pedro Hernandez took the mound for the top of the first inning and Shane Victorino returned from his kamikaze back injury with a single. Jonny Gomes flied out to center and Dustin Pedroia lined out to right, but Victorino swiped second. David Ortiz grounded out back to the mound to end the inning. Lackey began his outing by getting Jamey Carroll to fly out to center to start. Joe Mauer struck out and Justin Morneau grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the second inning. Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava both grounded out to short, but Will Middlebrooks clobbered a 416 foot bomb to centerfield for his 8th home run of the year. Jarrod Saltalamacchia whiffed to end the inning but the Sox were on top 1-0.
Trevor Plouffe lined out to a running Victorino in right to start the bottom of the second. Oswaldo Arcia grounded out to second and Wilkin Ramirez struck out to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the third although Pedro Ciriaco grounded out to short to start. Victorino walked and advanced to third on the single by Gomes. Pedroia hit a routine double play ball to Plouffe but he threw the ball away, allowing Victorino to score. Ortiz struck out and Napoli flied out to right to end the inning but it was 2-0 Sox.
Lackey cruised in the bottom of the third inning as Chris Parmalee flied out to center, Aaron Hicks grounded out to second and Pedro Florimon whiffed to end the inning.
The Sox tried to strike again in the top of the fourth when Nava singled and moved to second on a Middlebrooks ground out. Saltalamacchia singled Nava to third but Ciriaco blew the safety squeeze bunt and was thrown out at first, although Salty moved to second. Victorino lined out to third to end the inning, what a squander. Luckily Lackey continued to cruise in the bottom of the fourth as Carroll grounded out to second, Mauer flied out to center and Morneau grounded out to short to end the inning. Lackey was perfect through four.
The Sox struck again in the top of the 5th. Gomes grounded out but Pedroia singled and Ortiz singled him over to third. Napoli singled home Pedroia to increase the lead. Daniel Nava singled to load the bases but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pulled Hernandez for Josh Roenicke, who managed to get Middlebrooks to pop up to second. Saltalamacchia hit a comebacker to end the inning but it was 3-0 Sox.
The Twins finally scored in the bottom of the 5th but it wasn't so much their offense as it was....well....bawfulness. Plouffe led off with a double to break up the perfection and Lackey hit Arcia with a pitch. Lackey struck out Ramirez and looked to be out of the inning when Parmelee hit a picture perfect double play ball to Pedroia who flipped to Ciriaco who.....threw the ball away allowing Plouffe to score. That sound you heard was Jose Iglesias trying to suffocate himself with his own pillow. Luckily Hicks grounded out to end the inning, turns out this would be the only run the Twins would score as it was 3-1.
Ciriaco had a chance to redeem himself in the top of the 6th and guess what he did.....he popped up to first. I can do that, so can whoever is reading this. Victorino grounded back to the mound and Gomes popped to second to end the inning. Lackey was up to the task in the bottom of the sixth inning as Florimon grounded out to second, Carroll grounded out to short and Mauer whiffed to end the inning. 6 shut-out innings by Lackey, outstanding.
The Sox went quietly in the top of the 7th as Pedroia struck out to start. Ortiz flied out to center and Napoli struck out to end the inning....then the rains came. The delay went for THREE HOURS. During the delay, the movie The Sandlot was shown on the big screen in its entirety marking the 20 year anniversary since the movie came out.
After the 3 hour delay, Lackey's day was done. He had allowed just 1 hit and one unearned run in 6 innings and appeared to be headed for a complete game. Lackey had been victimized by bad luck lately but for one night anyway, the luck turned his way. He was outstanding until a 3 hour rain delay led to his departure.
Andrew Miller took the mound for the bottom of the 7th. Miller continued the bullpen's recent hot streak by setting the Twins down in order as Morneau grounded out to first to start. Plouffe struck out and Arcia grounded out to third to end the inning.
Brian Duensing took over for the top of the eighth and struck out both Nava and Middlebrooks to start. Saltalamacchia walked but Ciriaco flied out to right to end the inning. Koji Uehara of the Orient Express ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth as Ramirez started with a double. Uehara struck out Parmalee but Josh Willingham pinch hit for Hicks only to strike out. Florimon walked and Carroll singled to load the bases. Uehara struck out Mauer to end the inning, big squander by Minnesota.
Now it was Minnesota's turn for bawful in the top of the ninth. Victorino was retired on a squibber in front of the plate but Gomes worked a walk. Dustin Pedroia hit a long fly ball that Josh Willingham should have had at the wall,.....instead bouncing off his wrist over the wall for a 2 run home run. Not nearly a BOINK but just as bawful. Have a look for yourself:
Ortiz singled and Napoli walked but Nava flied out to left. Middlebrooks struck out to end the inning with the Sox up 5-1. Staked to a 4 run lead, the other half of the Orient Express, Junichi Tazawa, came on to finish the game in the bottom of the ninth. Morneau and Plouffe hit back to back singles to start, but Arcia struck out. Ramirez struck out and Parmalee grounded out to second to end the game. The Sox had swept the Twins with a 5-1 win.
It's about time but John Lackey finally earns Hero of the Night status. He was nearly perfect in 6 innings of work and was a Pedro Ciriaco error away from a shutout. He still earned his 2nd win of the season.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with 3 total rbis and 2 total runs scored including a 2 run homer.
David Ortiz was 2 for 5.
Daniel Nava was 2 for 5.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
The Bad:
Pedro Ciriaco was 0 for 4.
The Ugly:
Shane Victorino was just 1 for 4 but stole a base, walked and scored a run.
Jonny Gomes was just 1 for 4 but walked and scored.
Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 but walked and drove in a run.
Will Middlebrooks was just 1 for 5 but made the hit count as it was a solo home run.
Final Thoughts:
Another gutty win for the Red Sox and good news all-around. All but one (who I will get to in a moment) member of the Sox got a hit and the bullpen just completed a 6 game stretch where they allowed just one run to score. Its nice to see Middlebrooks get his power stroke back and even better to see Lackey do well. Pedroia and Ortiz continue to hit while Jacoby Ellsbury got a much needed day off. Even more good news is on the horizon as Andrew Bailey appears to be coming off the disabled list tomorrow. The 5 game winning streak was a much needed jolt after the hideous homestand but that's where the good news ends and something very bawful needs to be addressed....the Red Sox bench. As a starter, Mike Carp has been outstanding. As a pinch hitter, he's been bawful so far. Pedro Ciriaco is hitting .184 with SIX errors so far this year. David Ross has provided pop in his bat but has been average defensively at best. Jonny Gomes has picked it up of late but is still hitting .190. Ryan Lavarnway has been here a week but even he is hitting .143. Luckily there are moves that can be made if needed. The Sox have Bryce Brentz and Jose Iglesias in Triple A ready to replace Carp and Ciriaco and Lavarnway can replace Ross if he ever learns how to hit major league pitching. The worst offender of the bunch is Ciriaco. He's supposed to be the utility infielder but he's been committing way too many errors. Last year he was a nice little story on a team headed nowhere but the magic appears to be gone this year. I've said it so many times but FORGIVE ME FOR SHOUTING BUT THERE IS NOTHING CIRIACO HAS DONE THAT IGLESIAS CAN'T SO FAR!! Still, having a mediocre bench for your main problem indicates the team is doing well. The 3-5 starters are too Jekyll and Hyde for my liking but the bullpen has been outstanding. The starters batting average is a little low for my taste but they are winning the 1 run games more frequently than last year. All in all hopefully the Sox can continue their winning ways against another AL Central pretender, the Chicago White Sox tomorrow night in Chicago. The win over the Twins moved the Sox to 27-17, a half game behind the Yankees, who were rained out, for first place in the AL East. Jon Lester goes for the Red Sox against Dylan Axelrod at 8:10 PM.
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