It looked bleak again for the Sox
Tuesday night. Down 5-0 after just two
innings and their starter on the night, Steven Wright, leaving after just one inning
of work, things looked downright miserable.
But these Sox don’t know the word quit.
They battled back and eventually overtook the lowly Astros for a big
15-10 win in Houston.
They simply took the game over
but pounding out 15 hits and scoring their second highest run total of the
season with 15 runs. The Sox were great
with runners in scoring position last night going 8 for 15 and though they left
9 men on base, they were getting some clutch hits. Jacoby Ellsbury and Ryan Lavarnway each had 2
RBI with two outs and David Ortiz added one as well.
Ellsbury ignited the offense last
night going 2 for 4 with 4 runs scored, 3 RBI and 2 walks. His 2 hits were homers and he now has 7 on
the year. He’s batting .301 now and is
in the midst of a great season.
Shane Victorino went 3 for 5 with
a walk and scored 4 runs as well. The
top 2 in the order combined to score 8 of the 15 runs. That’s how you win ballgames folks. Setting the table for the big cogs in the
lineup.
Dustin Pedroia went 2 for 5 with
2 RBI and Big Papi went 4 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI while walking once
as well. The Sox had 9 walks in the game
as Stephen Drew had 3 of them as well as going 1 for 2 on the night. Mike Napoli walked twice but went hitless on
the night. Brock Holt and Mike Carp were
also hitless on the night. They were the
only starters to do so.
Jonny Gomes who came in for Mike
Carp went 2 for 3 with 4 RBI and his 9th homer of the year. He pinch hit for Carp in the 6th
and hit his 4th pinch-hit homer of the season. It’s the most for a Sox hitter since 1953 and
one shy of Joe Cronin’s record of 5 in 1943.
As a team, the Red Sox have 6 pinch-hit homers of the season, again one
shy of the record set in 1953.
Ryan Lavarnway only had one hit
on the night but it was a big one. His
2-run double in the 5th put the Sox up 8-7 and they would not
relinquish the lead for the rest of the night.
Lavarnway also tied a Major League record he probably isn’t very proud
of last night. In the first inning, he
allowed 4 passed balls while attempting to catch knuckleballer Steven
Wright. It seemed like Wright’s knuckler
had a ton of movement yesterday and it wasn’t a good thing. He had no control over it at all and
Lavarnway couldn’t stop it.
Speaking of Steven Wright, he
wasn’t effective at all last night. He
lasted only 1 inning and gave up 3 runs while walking 2 and striking out
1. He only allowed 1 hit but with his
knuckle ball dancing the way it was, he couldn’t command it and the game just
got away from him.
The Sox turned to Brandon Workman
who also wasn’t very good on the night.
He came away with his 2nd win of the year but he was touched
up in his 4 and 2/3 innings of work.
Workman allowed 6 runs on 9 hits while walking 2 and striking out
2. Two of the nine hits were homers. The only positive thing was that he was able
to give the Sox some innings and the bats woke up so the bullpen wasn’t taxed.
Drake Britton went 2 and 1/3
innings and finally gave up a run. He
allowed only 1 run on 1 hit and struck out 3.
He’s looked very impressive so far and I’ve been very impressed with his
poise on the mound in high pressure situations.
Rubby De La Rosa made his Sox
debut last night and the fireballer threw a perfect frame striking out 2 of the
3 batters he faced. I’m looking forward
to more De La Rosa in the future.
With the win, the Sox now have 69 victories on the year with 47 games remaining. They’ve matched their win total from last year and are making us forget about the terrible season of 2012.
Tonight, the Sox will go for the
series win as they send Ryan Dempster (6-8, 4.54) to the mound. Dempster was terrible his last time out
against Seattle but had 2 good games before that. He needs to limit his pitch count and get
through more than 5 or 6 innings of work.
The Astros will send Jarrod
Cosart (1-0, 0.96) to the mound. Cosart
was just brought up and has been really good in his 4 starts so far. He has allowed 1 run or less every outing and
has gone 6 plus innings every outing.
The Sox will have their work cut out for them tonight.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE –
GAME MVP
Jacoby Ellsbury. Ellsbury had a hell of a night out of the top
spot in the lineup going 2 for 4 with 2 homers.
He knocked in 3 and scored 4 times and was also on base 2 additional
times with 2 walks.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
Brock Holt. Holt went 0 for 5 and seemed to have the
toughest night at the plate.PLAY OF THE GAME
Ryan Lavarnway’s 2-run double in the 5th inning to take the lead 8-7. The Sox wouldn’t lose the lead again.
NEXT
Wednesday, August 7th in Houston vs. the Astros.
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