Sox Back With a Bang, Top Yankees (7/19/13)

I did not see this game as I was on vacation.


News:

The Sox got some bad news when Andrew Bailey was placed on the 15 day disabled list with a shoulder problem. Jose De La Torre has been called up to take his place. This feels weird because he was dominant in his last outing so it wasn't like when Miller or Hanrahan had to leave the game.

                                                                  OUT

                                                                   IN


THE GOOD:

Hero of the Night is so tough to choose from so tonight we have co-winners. Hero number 1 is tonight's winning pitcher, Felix Doubront. Doubront tossed 6 1/3 solid innings while giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 3 hits and 3 walks. He struck out 5, lowered his ERA to 3.76 (lower than both Andy Pettite and CC Sabbathia) and improved to 7-3 on the season.

                                            Hero of the Night 1

The other hero is the offensive star, Jonny Gomes. He went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a two run blast in the second inning.

                                             Hero of the Night 2

Other do-gooders include Jacoby Ellsbury who was 2 for 3 with a walk and a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 1st off Pettite. David Ortiz was 2 for 4 and Jose Iglesias was 1 for 3 and knocked in an insurance run in the bottom of the 7th. Junichi Tazawa got out of the 7th inning without a run allowed while Craig Breslow tossed a scoreless 8th. Koji Uehara earned his 9th save and lowered his ERA to 1.66.


THE BAD:

Shane Victorino was 0 for 2 before Daniel Nava pinch hit for him and went 0 for 2 as well. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 0 for 3 with a strikeout and his throwing error allowed New York's 1st run to score. Brandon Snyder was 0 for 2 before Brock Holt pinch hit for him and failed to reach base as well.


THE UGLY:

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4. Mike Napoli was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.


Final Thoughts:

Nice to come out of the gate with a win, especially against the Yankees who may lose A-Rod for the rest of the season due to his involvement with PED's. Derek Jeter is also on the DL so a sweep right here could knock the Yankees so far behind Tampa and Baltimore that they may mentally give up. One team who won't give up are the Tampa Bay Rays who won again, thus keeping the Sox lead in the AL East at 2.5 games with a record of 59-39 overall. It was good to see Doubront continue to do well after his horrific start to the season. Tomorrow John Lackey goes up against CC Sabbathia in Game 2 of the series.