It was finally here, the first
playoff game since 2009 and the Red Sox did not disappoint. They were relentless and opportunistic and
the home crowd was roaring. They routed
the Rays 12-2 and they came across as dominant.
After a 4 day lay-off, no one
expected an offensive outburst like this.
The Red Sox were very balanced in this one as all 9 starters had a least
one hit and 1 run. This is just the 3rd
time in postseason history by any team that was accomplished and the first time
since 1936.
The Sox banged out 12 runs on 14
hits and also walked 5 times. They were
8 for 17 with runners in scoring position, which isn’t all that great, but does
show just how potent the offense was by getting 17 chances with runners in
scoring position. The score could have
been a lot worse as they left 8 men on base.
As I stated earlier, every Sox
hitter had at least 1 run and 1 hit.
Jacoby Ellsbury went 2 for 5 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base. Shane Victorino went 3 for 4 with a run, 2
RBI, a HBP and a stolen base. Dustin
Pedroia went 2 for 5 with 2 runs.
David Ortiz went 1 for 4 with 2
runs and a walk. Mike Napoli went 1 for
4 with a run, an RBI, a double and a walk.
Jonny Gomes went 1 for 4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and a walk.
Jarrod Saltalmacchia went 2 for 4
with a run, 3 RBI, a double and a walk.
Stephen Drew went 1 for 5 with a run and an RBI and Will Middlebrooks
went 1 for 3 with a run, a walk and an RBI.
The offense seemed to be clicking
on all cylinders and certainly didn’t look like a team that had a long
lay-off. They picked up right where they
left off from the end of the season.
While I’d like to see them improve with runners in scoring position, you
can’t really argue with what they did on Friday afternoon. They did all this damage and didn’t hit one
homer. That’s very impressive.
On the other side of the ball,
Jon Lester was dominant, throwing 7 and 2/3 innings. He let up 2 runs on 3 hits while walking 3
and striking out 7. Two runs he let up
were solo homers but he seemed to be on point Friday. The two solo homers were a bit concerning but
he seemed to be at his best when he had runners on, bearing down to get out of
pressure situations.
Junichi Tazawa pitched 1/3 of an
inning getting the only batter he faced.
It wasn’t a pressure situation and I’m guessing John Farrell did that as
a confidence booster. Ryan Dempster
pitched the last inning and gave up one hit but struck out 2 to end the game.
The biggest turning point of the
game came in the bottom of the fourth when Wil Myers, the rookie right fielder
for the Rays called a deep fly ball hit to right by David Ortiz. Myers mysteriously peeled off the ball at the
last second and the fell in and hopped over the wall for a ground rule double. That double set the wheels in motion for a
five-spot in the bottom of the fourth.
Perhaps the roar of the crowd, or
the fact that Myers saw center fielder Desmond Jennings out of the corner of
his eye combined for the biggest gaffe of the game. After that, Red Sox Nation let him hear it
for the rest of the game as the mockingly hollered his name.
It was the first postseason game
at Fenway Park since 2009 and the first playoff victory since beating the Rays
in Game 6 of the 2008 AL Championship Series.
The intensity of the crowd was apparent from the first pitch and the
players seemed to feed off of it.
The Rays will send David Price on
short rest to the mound for Game 2 on Saturday.
The Sox will counter with John Lackey.
SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE –
GAME MVP
Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and walked once
as well. He hit another double and just
continues to raise that Free Agent stock.
ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP
Stephen Drew. Drew went 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts on the
day. In a lineup that featured every
hitter doing something, Drew just did a little less.
PLAY OF THE GAME
The misplay by Wil Myers in the
fourth that led to a 8-2 lead.
NEXT
Saturday, October 5th,
vs. the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.
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