With the Sox down 4-3 in the
bottom of the ninth and runners on 1st and 2nd after a
single by Drew and walk by Carp, Will Middlebrooks stepped to the plate for a
chance to tie up the game. If you
remember, back on May 16th, Middlebrooks was up in the same
situation against the Rays and Fernando Rodney and delivered a bases-clearing
double to give the Sox one of their signature comeback wins on the season.
This time, Middlebrooks hit an
absolute missile to third base but this line drive was snagged by Evan Longoria
and the Rays escaped the sweep by the score of 4-3 in Tampa Bay.
The Red Sox ended their road trip
5-2 against 2 very good teams in the Yankees and Rays and remain in a great
position to win the AL East as they hold a 8 ½ game lead with only 14 games
left.
Offensively, the Sox left a lot of
runs out on the base paths as they were just 1 for 7 with runners in scoring
position and they stranded 7 men.
Stephen Drew went 2 for 3 with a walk, an RBI and his 25th
double of the season. Jarrod
Saltalamacchia went 1 for 3 with an RBI, walk and his 12th homer of
the season; he also stole his 2nd base of the year as well. David Ortiz added his 27th homer
of the year and also walked in the game.
Dustin Pedroia and Daniel Nava
had the other 2 hits but the Sox only mustered 6 total hits in the game. Xander Bogaerts had a tough game at the dish
going 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts. Johnny
Gomes and Mike Napoli both went 0 for 4 and also had 2 strikeouts. Mike Carp had a walk in his pitch hit opportunity. They weren’t going to let him win the game 2
nights in a row.
Jake Peavy wasn’t sharp for the
Sox. He went 6 innings giving up 3 runs
on 4 hits while striking out 4 and walking 5.
His command was off and it made him throw a lot of pitches, 104 in 6
innings. Peavy doesn’t usually walk that
many so hopefully he’ll get that issue under control before his next
start. Credit the Rays for being patient
and working Peavy deep into counts.
Drake Britton pitched 1 and 1/3
innings of scoreless ball. Rubby De La
Rosa took the loss as he gave up the winning run on 2 hits in just 1/3 of an
inning. He missed badly to Evan Longoria
who hit a ground-rule double and would come around to score the winning run on
a Wil Myers base-hit. Matt Thornton got
the last out of the game.
It wasn’t a sharp game
offensively or pitching wise but the Sox head home with a great lead in the AL
East and an opportunity to face the New York Yankees this weekend and set them
back in the Wild Card.
The Sox will send John Lackey to
the hill Friday night against the Yanks best starter Hiroki Kuroda. It will be a good match-up to start the
series and I personally can’t wait. It’s
nice to have both teams actually playing for something in September.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE –
GAME MVP
Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty went 1 for 3 with his 12th
homer of the season. He scored 2 runs
and even stole a base Thursday night.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts went 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts and
looked overmatched at the dish on Thursday night. He’s young and still learning so he’s due for
some of these games sometimes.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Wil Myers RBI double in the
bottom of the 8th to put the Rays up 4-3.
NEXT
Friday, September 13th,
at home against the New York Yankees.
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