RESULT – LOSS 3-1
The Red Sox ran into a masterful performance by
Cliff Lee last night and sometimes there’s nothing you can do against a pitcher
with pin point control. Ryan Dempster
was good as well but Cliff Lee was brilliant and the Phillies rode that horse to
a 3-1 victory.
The Sox mustered only 1 run on 4 hits on the
night as Cliff Lee went 8 strong innings striking out 8 and walking no
one. Then former Red Sox closer Jonathan
Papelbon, the career leader in saves for the Red Sox, came in to close out the
game in the ninth. It was his first
appearance in Fenway Park since he left in free agency after the 2011 season.
He came in to a mix of boos and cheers but the
boos took over the closer he got to the mound.
It surprised me as Paps gave us some great seasons and was a fan
favorite in his time with the Red Sox.
His 2007 season and playoffs is something I will always remember him for
and if I were at the game, I would have stood up and applauded him for his time
in Boston.
Papelbon got the final 3 outs of the game and 2
of them came against former pals David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. Big Papi said after the game that Paps looked
good out there and he tried not to look at his face.
The good news on the night was that Ryan Dempster
looked pretty good and seems to have broken out of his 3 game skid. Dempster pitched 7 strong innings giving up
only 6 hits and 2 runs, striking out 4 and walking 3. He looked a hell of a lot better last night
and though he didn’t get the win he has to feel better about his performance, I
know I do.
Offensively there wasn’t much to talk about for
the Red Sox. Ellsbury, Pedrioa, Nava and
Iglesias had the only hits on the night.
Ellsbury stole his 16th base of the year and Pedroia knocked
in a run. The Sox has no extra base hits
and only had 3 runners in scoring position all night. It was the case of the Red Sox running into a
great pitching performance and the Phillies doing just enough offensively to
get the W.
The series shifts to Philadelphia for a two game
set as they’ll continue the series in a weird home away 4 game series. The Sox will send John Lackey (3-4) to the
mound against Kyle Kendrick (4-3).
Lackey has been brilliant lately and will hope to continue the pace
tonight against the tough Philly lineup.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE – GAME MVP
Ryan Dempster.
Even though he took the loss, Dempster looked good out there after 3
straight poor performances. He went 7
innings and gave up only 2 runs on 6 hits.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
The whole offense really but David Ross again was
terrible. Going 0 for 2 with 2
strikeouts. Ross now has gone 0 for his
last 7 with 7 K’s. If he’s not careful
he’ll be looking for a job soon.
PLAY OF THE GAME
The 9th inning homer off of Junichi
Tazawa by Dominic Brown. It put the
Phillies up 3-1 and provided and extra cushion for Jonathan Papelbon, though he
didn’t need it in the bottom half of the inning.
NEXT
Today, Wednesday 5/29 in Philadelphia vs. the
Phillies.
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