Buchholz worked a quick top of the second inning. JP Arencibia grounded out but Adam Lind singled, only for Brett Lawrie to ground into a double play to end the inning. The Sox threatened in the bottom of the second inning although Jonny Gomes flied out. Will Middlebrooks hit a ground rule double and Stephen "PU" Drew worked a walk, but David Ross struck out. Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning.
The Jays struck first in the top of the third inning. Colby Rasmus worked a walk but Emilio Bonifacio struck out. Munenori Kawasaki sacrificed Rasmus to second and he scored on the Cabrera base hit. Bautista singled and Encarnarcion walked to load the bases but Arencibia popped up to end the inning with the Jays ahead 1-0. The Sox failed to answer in the bottom of the third inning. Victorino struck out and Pedroia singled..only to be thrown at second trying to stretch a double. Ortiz singled but Napoli struck out to end the inning.
The Jays struck again in the top of the fourth inning. Lind singled and moved to second on the Lawrie ground out, then scored on the Rasmus single. Bonifacio banged into a double play to end the inning but the Jays were up 2-0. Once again the Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the fourth inning. Gomes hit one up the elevator shaft, Middlebrooks struck out and PU Drew grounded out to end the inning.
Buchholz nearly pitched a clean inning in the top of the fifth inning. Kawasaki and Cabrera grounded out but Bautista walked. Encarnarcion grounded out to end the inning. Buehrle continued to dominate in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ross grounded out, Ellsbury popped up and Victorino flied out to end the inning.
Buchholz matched Buehrle in the top of the sixth inning. Arencibia and Lind grounded out but Lawrie lined out to end the inning. The Sox went quietly in the bottom of the sixth inning. Pedroia grounded out, Ortiz flied out and Napoli struck out to end the inning.
Buchholz tossed zeroes in the top of the seventh inning. Rasmus grounded out, Bonifacio flied out and Kawasaki grounded out to end the inning. Buehrle continued his hot streak in the bottom of the seventh inning. Gomes, Middlebrooks and Drew all grounded out to end the inning. Buehrle had retired 13 in a row.
Buchholz did what he could in the top of the eighth inning. Cabrera grounded out but Bautista singled. Encarnarcion grounded out and Arencibia struck out to end the inning. Clay was outstanding, tossing 8 innings of 2 run ball to keep his ERA at 1.69.
Somehow the Sox rallied in the bottom of the eighth. David Ross worked a leadoff walk as Jays manager John Gibbons lifted Buehrle for Darren Oliver, who had the Sox number up until now. Ellsbury then hit a ball off the centerfield wall that scored Ross as Ellsbury made a mad dash around the bases for a clean triple. Things appeared bleak when Victorino struck out. Then with the infield pulled in, Pedroia hit a ground ball to shortstop Kawasaki which, if fielded, not only would have been the second out but Ellsbury wouldn't have scored. Instead Kawasaki bobbled it and Ellsbury scored the tying run with the go-ahead run now on first. The once clutch Ortiz struck out but Oliver intentionally walked Napoli to get to Gomes. This was the guy they brought in to platoon with Daniel Nava to hit lefties and so far he hasn't been able to do it. Could this be it? The go-ahead run at second base, a chance to be the hero, every kid's dream right? Well if that's the dream, reality was a nightmare as Gomes looked at strike 3 to end the rally. Didn't even get the bat off his shoulders, at least Ortiz and Victorino swung, fans waited for Gomes to swing and he never did.
Still, the game was tied and in marched one half of the Orient Express, Junichi Tazawa to hold the fort in the top of the 9th. That lasted all of 30 seconds as Adam Lind capped off his 3 for 4 effort with a solo blast into the centerfield bleachers. Tazawa then gave up a single to Brett Lawrie but managed a 'strike em out, throw em out' double play when he whiffed Rasmus and Ross gunned down Lawrie. A strikeout of Edwin Encarnarcion ended the Jays day at bat with a 3-2 lead.
In came Jays closer Casey Janssen who hadn't blown a save all year and opponents were hitting less than .100 off him. Will Middlebrooks then gave Sox fans hope when he hit a ball that bounced in front of Melky Cabrera and under his glove for a double. At this point, Sox fans were screaming for PU Drew to drop a bunt down or at the very least, pull the ball to the right side of the field to advance Will. Nope, PU lined out to short. Daniel Nava pinch hit for Ross and he too failed to advance Will by popping up. That left it up to Jacoby Ellsbury who capped off the 0 for 11 afternoon with a groundout leaving the tying run stranded at second base. It was one of the worst clutch hitting performances in recent memory and hopefully this won't be a continuing trend throughout the year. The Jays had won it 3-2.
Jonny Gomes was brought in to hit left handed pitching but was completely useless today. He went 0 for 3 against Mark Buehrle then came up with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 8th against Darren Oliver only to look at strike 3, earning Jackass of the Night honors.
THE GOOD:
Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 4 with an rbi.
Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4.
Clay Buchholz was outstanding, tossing 8 innings of 2 run ball. He walked 3 and struck out 4.
THE BAD:
Daniel Nava was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Junichi Tazawa gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth inning.
THE UGLY:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 1 for 5 with a run scored and an rbi.
Shane Victorino was just 1 for 4.
David Ortiz was 1 for 4.
Mike Napoli was 0 for 3 with a walk.
Stephen Drew was 0 for 3 with a walk.
David Ross as 0 for 2 but walked and scored a run.
Final Thoughts
Once again the Red Sox had trouble with left-handed pitching. They could only score 2 runs off Mark Buehrle and Darren Oliver through 8 innings. Also once again the Sox pitchers were incompetent in the 9th inning as Tazawa gave up the home run to Adam Lind. The bottom line is the Sox can't hit lefties and they've struggled all year in the 9th regardless of who has pitched. Speaking of pitching, it was learned today that Joel Hanrahan will have season ending surgery meaning he was paid 7 million dollars for 7 mostly ineffective innings, which amounts to a million dollars an INNING. This also means that combined with Andrew Bailey and Bobby Jenks, the Red Sox have spent 27 million dollars for 3 closers only to have them throw 50 mostly ineffective innings combined. Jon Papelbon by himself has made 24 million for 83 mostly effective innings in the meantime.
All in all it was another tough loss that highlighted 3 glaring weaknesses on the team. Inability to hit in the clutch, inability to hit lefties and inability to pitch in the 9th inning. THIS is why they are in 3rd place and presumably there to stay. Still, getting one or 2 more effective bats in the lineup and getting the closer situation fixed will put this team back in contention. They're in their first slump of the season and how they deal with it will give a glimpse into what the future holds. Tomorrow Ryan Dempster looks to salvage the home stand against Brandon Morrow.
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