Game 59 – 6/4/2014 – in Cleveland vs. the Indians

RESULT – LOSS 7-4 (12 innings)

A long night gets even more dreadful as the Indians walk-off on the Sox in extras with a 7-4 win to complete the 3 game sweep.

The game started at 9:35 after a 2 and ½ hours rain delay and when all was said and done, it was 2:02 in the morning when Asdrubal Cabrera hit a walk-off 3-run homer in the bottom of the 12^th to finish off the Sox and sweep them out of Cleveland.

It is the 5^th time the Sox have been swept this season and the 6^th time they have been walked-off on.  In the 3 game series against the Indians, the Sox led just once, Wednesday after an Ortiz 6^th inning homer gave them a 2-1 lead.  They now fall to 5 games under .500 and 8 and ½ games behind the 1^st place Toronto Blue Jays.  It’s the biggest deficit they have had all season.

I get the Sox were at the end of their bullpen but putting Edward Mujica in a close situation right now is just not a good option.  In fact after this disaster of an outing, the Sox may just cut ties with the terrible relief pitcher.  He just doesn’t have it anymore; he lost it at the end of last year and still can’t find it.  In 1/3 of an inning last night, he let up 3 runs on 3 hits including the walk-off bomb.  His ERA is now up to a disappointing 7.29 as he’s allowed 17 earned runs in just 21 innings.  He’s also given up 28 hits, 7 walks and now 5 homers in those 21 innings of work.  The Sox have tons of options at Triple-A so it’s likely the Sox will cut ties with the right-hander.  If they don’t, they are just plain stupid at this point, the guys a bum.

The starter on the night, Brandon Workman didn’t do great but didn’t do terrible either.  Another so-so effort on his part has he went just 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 4 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3.  It’s likely that he’s a 5, maybe 6 inning starter at this point as he seems to struggle after 5 innings of work.

Chris Capuano didn’t help causes either as after Workman was lifted in the bottom of the 6^th after allowing a walk and then a single to put runners on 1^st and 3^rd, Capuano gave up an RBI single to Jason Kipnis to tie the game at 2.  He then would allow 2 more singles in a row to put the Sox down 4-2 before he was lifted for Burke Badenhop.  All in all, he allowed 1 earned run (2 inherited runs) on 3 hits without recording an out.

Burke Badenhop came in and settled things down going 1 and 1/3 innings allowing nothing.  Craig Breslow took over for the next 1 and 2/3 and allowed nothing as well while striking out 2.  Junichi Tazawa tossed a scoreless inning working around a hit and striking out 1 and Koji Uehara allowed just 1 walk while striking out 2 in his 2 innings of work.  Then Mujica came in and just stunk up the joint.

But you can’t win games when you don’t get any offense and the Sox were again putrid with the bats, getting 4 runs on only 7 hits while stranding 8 men on base and going 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.  They struck out 14 times as a team and their batting average on the night was a ghastly .167.

David Ortiz went 2 for 4 with a run scored, 2 RBI, a walk and his 13^th homer of the season.  Brock Holt went 1 for 6 with 2 RBI.  A.J. Pierzynski went 1 for 3 with a double before getting tossed arguing balls and strikes in the bottom of the sixth.  Daniel Nava, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Dustin Pedroia all had a hit in the loss.  Stephen Drew scored a run and walked once while everyone else did jack sh..

Just an awful series and the Sox will get a much needed day off before heading to Detroit to do battle with the Tigers.  It doesn’t get any easier folks as the Tigers are one of the best, if not the best team in the league.  Here’s hoping the Sox bats can come alive sometime soon.

SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE – GAME MVP

David Ortiz.  Ortiz reached base 3 times and hit his 13^th homer of the season on a night where the rest of the offense couldn’t get anything going.

ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP

David Ross.  Ross came in for Pierzynski and struck out in his only 2 plate appearances.  I know he brings a lot of leadership to the team but he absolutely can’t hit and is a liability every time he comes to the plate.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The walk-off 3-run homer by Cabrera to win the game in the bottom of the 12^th.

NEXT

Friday, June 6^th in Detroit vs. the Tigers.

Game 58 – 6/3/2014 – in Cleveland vs. the Indians

RESULT – LOSS 5-3

The Red Sox are reverting back to old ways as they let an old formula down them in Cleveland as they lose Game 2 of the series by the score of 5-3.

Starting pitching gave up the lead early, the Sox bounce back, the relievers can’t hold a lead late, the bats never show up, especially in clutch situations and the outfield contributes absolutely nothing, sound familiar?  That was the deal when the Sox were losing 10 straight and not putting any runs on the board and well that’s exactly what happened last night.

The Sox managed only 3 runs on 10 hits and walked 3 times.  They were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.  They had plenty of key opportunities to score a lot more runs and couldn’t get a clutch hit.

It started in the top of the 1^st when Brock Holt singled to start the game and Bogaerts was hit by a pitch to put runners on 1^st and 2^nd with no outs.  The Sox would then lineout (Pedroia), groundout (Ortiz) and strikeout (Gomes) to end the inning.

The Indians would then add 3 runs on 5 straight singles off Jake Peavy in the bottom of the 3^rd to put the Sox in a quick 3-0 hole.  It could have been worse if not for the 6-4-3 double play that Peavy induced to kill the rally.

In the top of the 2^nd, the Sox again had men on 1^st and 2^nd with only 1 out but Herrera grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

In the 3^rd, after Bogaerts put the Sox on the board with his 2^nd homer of the series, the Sox put 2 runners on again, this time with 2 outs but Pierzynski would fly-out to end the inning.

In the top of the 7^th, after the Sox had tied the game on 2 straight doubles by Bogaerts and Pedroia, the Indian walked Ortiz to put runners on 1^st and 2^nd with no outs but the Sox would then go down in order as Gomes would pop-up to short and Pierzynski and Hassan would strike out to end the inning.

The Sox would not threaten again and the Indians would add 2 more on a Michael Bourn double off of Andrew Miller in the bottom of the 7^th.  Both runners were put on by Peavy but Miller couldn’t strand the runners.

Simply put, this offense stinks!  The outfield is atrocious as last night the combination of Gomes, Bradley Jr. and Hassan went 2 for 10 with a run scored and a walk as they struck out 5 times.  Alex Hassan, who was brought up from Triple-A was 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts.  I don’t see anything in Hassan and the fact that he was batting .217 down in Pawtucket should have told us something.  I don’t get why he got the call-up, I mean the guy was barely hitting his weight in Triple-A but he gets the call-up?  Was there no one else that could come up?  A quick scan of the stat page at Pawsox.com says that only Daniel Nava (.253) was actually better right now as Bryce Brentz is on the DL but why not have Nava out there?  Hassan clearly isn’t the guy.

One of these outfielders needs to step up and start hitting as Victorino is still weeks away from coming back.  I don’t know what the correct combination is and perhaps it’s putting Brock Holt out in left when Mike Napoli is ready to come of the DL but either way, someone needs to hit out there.

Xander Bogaerts went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, an RBI, a double, his 5^th homer of the year and a hit by pitch.  He’s red hot and is showing why he’s the top rated prospect on the Red Sox.  A definite star in the making.

Dustin Pedroia went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a walk.  Jonathan Herrera went 2 for 4 with an RBI.  Jackie Bradley Jr. was on base twice with a hit and a hit by pitch, Pierzynski, Gomes and Holt all reached base with a hit.  Ortiz walked once, as did Gomes.  Sounds like lots of men on base with not a lot of runs.

Jake Peavy had some great moments in Tuesday’s lost and some terrible ones.  It started out terrible as the Indians had 5 straight singles to plate 3 runs in the 1^st inning.  He then set down 14 straight as the Sox managed to climb back in the game and tie it up at 3.  However Lonnie Chisenhall broke up the string of 14 straight in the 6^th with 2 outs but he recovered to get the final out of the inning.  John Farrell decided to run him out in the 7^th and he would then walk the leadoff hitter and then give up a single to Yan Gomes.  He then made a great play on a sacrifice bunt attempt to get the lead runner out at 3^rd but was removed for Andrew Miller (beardless by the way and weird looking) to face the lefty Michael Bourn.  I get that Farrell was playing the statistics but Bourn was 5 for 8 in his career against Miller.  Well, now he’s 6 for 9 as he promptly doubled over Gomes’ head in left to plate the 2 runs that would down the Red Sox.  The runs were charged to Peavy but Miller needed to strand those runners.

Overall, Peavy’s stat line was pretty bad, 6 and 1/3 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs while walking 1 and striking out 3.  His season ERA is now up to 4.72 and he’s not pitched well as of late.

Andrew Miller went 2/3 of an inning and allowed 1 hit (that scored those last 2 Peavy runs) but then struck out the other 2 hitters he faced.  Craig Breslow went 1/3 of an inning and allowed 2 hits but Burke Badenhop was able to get a double-play ball to end the threat.  Breslow did not pitch well again.

To avoid the sweep, the Sox will send out Brandon Workman (0-0, 3.24) to the mound as he appeals a 6-game suspension for his role in the melee on Friday night against the Rays.  He’s pitched well enough in his first 2 starts and hopefully he can tame the hot Indian bats.  Corey Kluber (6-3, 3.04) will counter for the Indians.  Kluber is having a really good start to 2014 and has pitched well of late.  In his last 8 starts he’s given up 3 or less earned runs while going pretty deep in games.  In his last outing, he held the good Rockies lineup to only 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 12 in 7 and 1/3 innings.

SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE – GAME MVP

Xander Bogaerts.  Again the only one that seemed to come to hit on Tuesday night.  Bogaerts went 2 for 4 with 2 extra base hits (16^th double, 5^th homer) and was on base again as he was hit by a pitch.  He scored 2 runs and knocked in another.

ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP

Alex Hassan.  Hassan went 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts.  I think it’s time to get this kid a ticket back to Pawtucket.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Michael Bourn’s 2-run double off Andrew Miller in the bottom of the 7^th to give the Indians a 2-run lead and eventual win.

NEXT

Wednesday, June 4^th in Cleveland vs. the Indians.

Game 57 – 6/2/2014 – in Cleveland vs. the Indians

RESULT – LOSS 3-2

Well the 7 game winning streak came to sudden stop yesterday as the Indians behind a masterful pitching performance by Justin Masterson (see what I did there?) beat the Red Sox 3-2 in Cleveland last night.

Former Red Sox pitcher, Justin Masterson, who is a very interesting free agent after this season (come on Sox, make a play for him), struck out 10 Red Sox hitters in 7 scoreless innings.  He allowed just 3 hits and walking 4.  The Sox had him on the fence in the 1^st inning as after a Bogaerts single, he walked Pedroia and then Pierzynski to load the bases with 2 outs.  However, he would fan Jonny Gomes looking to end the threat and that would be the only time the Sox would come close to scoring on him.

In the 4^th inning, Masterson did something pretty impressive as he struck out Gomes, Sizemore and Stephen Drew (playing his first game of the season) on a total of 9 pitches and all 3 K’s were swinging.  In fact, at one point in the game he threw 25 consecutive strikes.  When he pounds the strike zone, he’s tough to hit.  His slider last night was just nasty as it bit hard outside on right handers and got in on the hands to lefties.

The Red Sox were pitiful at the plate on Monday night as they managed only 2 runs on 5 hits.  They left 5 men on base and were 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position.  They barely had any opportunities in the loss.

Xander Bogaerts went 2 for 4 with a run scored, 2 RBI and his 4^th homer of the season.  It was a two-strike opposite field bomb that cut the lead to 1 in the 8^th, which made a game out of it.  Unfortunately they could do no more as the Indians won their 4^th straight game.

Brock Holt went 1 for 4 with a run scored, Dustin Pedroia went 1 for 3 with a walk and David Ortiz went 1 for 3 with a walk.  Pierzynski and Stephen Drew both walked once but that was it for hits.  In fact, the 5-9 hitters were a combined 0 for 16 with 7 strikeouts, absolutely no production at all from the bottom of the order.

Grady Sizemore, playing in Cleveland for the first time since leaving his hometown team went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and is now batting an abysmal .226.  With Brock Holt taking fly balls in the outfield, I think the end of the Sizemore experiment may be coming to an end.  He’s lucky right now as the Sox have 2 outfielders on the DL (Victorino and Carp), but when they are healthy, I think Sizemore will be the odd man out.

Stephen Drew made his season debut and went 0 for 2 with a walk and strikeout.  However he did do well in the field as he was in on 3 double-plays.  He was also sporting some new glasses/googles last night that he didn’t have last year.  Bogaerts had 1 assist at 3^rd with no other plays.

John Lackey was on the hill and was pretty good, but received no run support.  Lackey was credited with a complete game as he went 8 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits.  He struck out 3 and walked 2 and threw only 96 pitches.  The double-play ball helped him a lot in this game as the Sox were able to turn 3 to get him out of some trouble.

What killed Lackey were the 2 walks he allowed in the first inning.  Both came around to score on Lonnie Chisenhall’s opposite field double with 2 outs.  They would add the “winning” run in the 3^rd when Michael Bourn, who tripled, scored on an Asdrubal Cabrera single.  It would be all they would need as the bats just couldn’t get it going.

The Sox drop yet another one-run game.  They have played in an American League most 20 games decided by one run.  They have lost 13 of them, which also leads the league.  To make some headway in the AL East, they’re going to have to start winning these close games.

They’ll be back at it again on Tuesday night as Jake Peavy (1-2, 4.50) will take the hill for the Red Sox.  Peavy was really good in his last outing, getting a no decision but pitching 8 solid innings giving up 3 runs on 8 hits.  He’ll hope to continue that strong showing tonight.

He’ll be opposed by Indians starter T.J. House (0-1, 4.05).  House is making just his 3^rd start of the year and he was really good in his last outing as he went 6 and 1/3, giving up just 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 8 against the White Sox.

SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE – GAME MVP

Xander Bogaerts.  The change to 3^rd base didn’t affect Bogaerts bat last night as he was the only one to get the Sox on board as he hit his 4^th homer of the season in the 8^th inning.

ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP

Jonny Gomes.  Gomes went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts in the loss and could have made a huge impact in the 1^st when he watched 3 straight strikes to end the inning with the bases loaded.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Michael Bourn’s leadoff triple in the bottom of the 3^rd.  Bourn would come around to score on Cabrera’s base-hit to give the Indians a 3-0 advantage and the eventual win.

NEXT

Tuesday, June 3^rd in Cleveland vs. the Indians.

Game 56 – 6/1/2014 – at Home vs. the Tampa Bay Rays

RESULT – WIN 4-0

What a difference a week makes.  At this time last week, the Sox were staring at a 10 game losing streak straight in the face.  The pitching was a mess, they couldn’t get anything going offensively, especially with runners in scoring position.  But today, the Sox are riding high as they complete the 3-game sweep of the Rays by the score of 4-0 to run their current winning streak to 7 games.

This time it was Jon Lester who was dominant on the mound as the big lefty went 7 innings, allowing just 4 hits, no runs while striking out 12 and walking only 1.  He’s now 6-6 on the season and looked brilliant on Sunday.  At one point in the game, Lester retired 12 consecutive batters with a string of 5 straight strikeouts at the back end of that stretch.  Not one single Rays hitter even sniffed 3^rd base on the afternoon.

It was the 2^nd time this season he struck out 10 plus, as he struck out 15 against Oakland in early May.  He’s racked up 2 wins in the current 7 game winning streak and struck out 12 despite just throwing 112 pitches.

Edward Mujica continues to show signs of life as he pitched a scoreless 8^th inning by working around a walk and a hit.  He has now lowered his ERA to 6.10, which still isn’t great but it’s better than the 11+ he was sporting about 2 weeks ago.

Koji Uehara nailed down the ninth striking out 1 of the 3 batters he faced in a non-save situation.

Offensively the Sox had 4 runs on 7 hits and should have had a ton more runs as they walked 7 times.  They were not good with runners in scoring position going 2 for 14 and leaving 10 men on base.  The story of the game was the rookies and some 1^st career hit moments on the night.

Alex Hassan was called up from Pawtucket and went 1 for 3 with a run scored and a walk in his Major League debut.  He collected his first hit in the bottom of the 4^th and scored the games first run on a Bock Holt double later in the inning.  Hassan is not high up on the Red Sox farm rankings but his plate approach is something the Sox love.  He works the count very well and gets on base a ton via walks.

One of the Sox higher ranked prospects was also at Fenway on Sunday afternoon.  Garin Cecchini was not in the starting lineup for the Sox at the beginning of the game but came on in the top of the 4^th after Dustin Pedroia was ejected from the game after mouthing off to the home-plate umpire.  Cecchini is a high prospect and plays 3^rd base down in Pawtucket.  He went 1 for 2 with an RBI and double in his Major League debut.  He also played very well at 3^rd base, nearly turning a triple play late in the game.  He stepped on 3^rd and looked to fire to 2^nd to get the lead runner but he was almost at the bag, so he stopped and fired to 1^st to complete the double play.  Very good instincts and I’m looking forward to more Cecchini in the future.

Brock Holt stayed red hot by going 4 for 4 with 4 doubles, a stolen base, 2 RBI, a run scored and a walk.  He reached base 5 times in the game and is currently batting .337.  He simply needs to be in the lineup everyday right now and the Sox are getting creative with him as he played 1^st base Sunday.  John Farrell has also been working Holt out in the outfield so he should be sticking around for awhile.

Jonny Gomes went 1 for 2 with a run scored and 2 walks.  David Ortiz was on base twice with 2 walks and Jackie Bradley Jr. scored a run and walked in the win. Jonathan Herrera went 0 for 3 but drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

The Sox will try to keep it going as they head to Cleveland for a series against Terry Francona and the Indians.  John Lackey (6-3, 3.27) will take the hill for the Sox against former Red Sox pitcher Justin Masterson (2-4, 5.21).  Lackey was brilliant in his last outing and he looks to keep it going on Monday night.

SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE – GAME MVP

Brock Holt.  Holt continues to be a great leadoff hitter getting on base 5 times in the game with 4 doubles and a walk.

ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP

David Ross.  Ross continues to be terrible at the plate this year as he went 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Brock Holt’s 2-run double in the bottom of the 4^th to put the Sox ahead 3-0.

NEXT

Monday, June 2^nd in Cleveland vs. the Indians..

Game 55 – 5/31/2014 – at Home vs. the Tampa Bay Rays

RESULT – WIN 7-1

Pardon the pun, but Rubby De La Rosa’s first start as a member of the Red Sox was an absolute gem.  The righty went 7 shutout innings giving up just 4 hits while walking none and striking out 8 to lead Boston over Tampa Bay 7-1 on Saturday night.

It was such a dominating performance that the Rays managed only 2 of the 21 outs outs he recoded were out of the infield.  He had pinpoint control with his fastball which he could fire at 98-99 and his changeup was dropping off the table as the Rays just couldn’t touch him.  De La Rosa continually left them off balance as he mowed through the Rays lineup.

With the win, the Sox now have won 6 in a row and the young players are the ones helping out with De La Rosa being the newest to the bunch.

Offensively, the Sox banged out 7 runs on 11 hits while walking twice.  They did leave 7 on base and were only 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position but had some help from the long ball on Saturday night.

Brock Holt hit his first career homer and went 2 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI.  Jackie Bradley Jr. went 1 for 4 with a run scored, 2 RBI and his first homer of the season.  A.J. Pierzynski went 2 for 4 with an RBI as he stayed smoking hot.

Jonathan Herrera, who may be the odd man out when Stephen Drew is ready in the minors, went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.  Grady Sizemore went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and Xander Bogaerts went 1 for 3 with a run scored, his 15^th double and 2 walks.  Mike Carp drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and also was hit by a pitch in the game.  The only Sox not to reach base were Jonny Gomes and David Ortiz who both went 0 for 4.

After De La Rosa came out of the game, Alex Wilson pitched the final 2 frames of the game giving up 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 2.

The story of the game however, was the outstanding pitching performance by Rubby De La Rosa.  The Dodger’s raved about him when he was in their farm system and he had a handful of Major League starts for them that showed tremendous potential but yesterday in his season and Red Sox debut he looked brilliant.  What surprised me the most was just how confident he looked out there.  He didn’t seem nervous at all and had a lot of faith in all of his pitches.  I don’t remember him having as good a changeup as he featured last night when he was a reliever last year but man he was on yesterday.  With Buchholz and Doubront being so inconsistent so far this year, if De La Rosa can pitch like that, the Sox may have just found a huge piece of the pie.

The Sox will go for the sweep Sunday afternoon as Jon Lester will take the hill against Erik Bedard.

SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE – GAME MVP

Rubby De La Rosa.  He simply shutdown the Rays in his season debut.

ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP

David Ortiz.  Ortiz went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and was one of 2 Red Sox hitters that failed to record a hit on the afternoon.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Brock Holt’s 2-run homer in the bottom of the 3^rd.  It would be all the Sox would really need on the night but they would add more for insurance later on.

NEXT

Sunday, June 1st at Home vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.

Game 54 – 5/30/2014 – at Home vs. the Tampa Bay Rays

RESULT – WIN 3-2 (10 innings)

The fireworks happened during the game and then after the game as the Sox win their 5^th straight and walk-off on the Rays by the score of 3-2 in 10 innings.

Edward Mujica worked around a leadoff walk in the top of the 10^th, with help from Andrew Miller to keep the score tied at 2 going to the bottom half of the inning.  David Ortiz came to the plate and everyone including me wanted him to hit that walk-off homer.  Especially after the antics involving him earlier in the game, which we’ll get to later, but Ortiz would ground-out into the shift.  Next up was Jonny Gomes who was hit by the pitch to put a runner on 1^st with only 1 out and A.J. Pierzynski coming to the plate.  Pierzynski drilled a pitch into the right-center gap and outfielders Wil Myers and Desmond Jennings literally ran into each other and it dropped in for a hit.  A.J. would wind up with a triple because Gomes scored for the walk-off win, but it likely would have been an inside the park homer had the game kept going.

Before that exciting finish however, the game featured all sorts of drama.  In the bottom of the first, David Price drilled David Ortiz in the back with a first-pitch fastball.  If you remember, last year, in Game 2 of the ALDS, Price let up 2 homers to Ortiz and after the game blasted Ortiz for how long it took him to round the bases on those homers.  I figured it was over because Ortiz had told the media he apologized to Price the next day but I guess Price wasn’t over it.

A warning was issued directly after and John Farrell was ejected because he argued that his team should not have been warned, and if so, then Price needed to be ejected.  Price was not and Farrell went off and earned himself an ejection with a good tirade after he was tossed from the game.

In the 4^th, emotions were again high as Price hit Mike Carp with a high and tight pitch in the forearm.  Price again evaded ejection and new acting manager Torey Lovullo was ejected for arguing the fact.  Benches cleared as Ortiz clearly looked like he wanted a piece of Price at that time.  Tempers cooled and in the end only Lovullo was tossed to the showers.

In the top of the 6^th, Brandon Workman fired a pitch behind Evan Longoria of the Rays.  He was immediately ejected as both sides were already given a warning.  Also ejected was the Sox 2^nd acting manger, Brian Butterfield.  Though it looked like he was trying to hit Longoria, it was also raining at the time.  In my opinion, he should have been left in the game since Price was not ejected but hey, I’m just a spectator.

Even with the emotions flying high, the Sox were able to keep their cool and deliver a game-tying hit in the 7^th and then the walk-off in the 10^th for their 5^th straight win.

Overall the offense wasn’t great as they only had 3 runs on 8 hits and struggled with men in scoring position going 1 for 7 and leaving 11 men on base.

Xander Bogaerts went 3 for 5 with a run scored, an RBI and his 14^th double of the year.  A.J. Pierzynski went 2 for 5 with an RBI, double and triple.  Pedroia walked once and also had a hit.  Ortiz went 1 for 4 with an RBI and Jackie Bradley Jr. went 1 for 4 with a run scored.  Brock Holt reached base with a walk and Mike Carp was hit by a pitch.

Not much going for the offense as Price did look pretty good on the mound save for the beanings of course.

Brandon Workman did pretty well again in his 2^nd start of the season as he went 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits.  He walked 3 and struck out 4 and exited early after the ejection.  He wasn’t sharp with his command and walked a little too many for my liking but he’s looking more reliable at this point that Doubront was so that is encouraging.

Burke Badenhop was the first out of the bullpen and fired 1 and 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, letting up just 1 walk while striking out 1 as well.  Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless frame with a strikeout and Koji Uehara did the same.  Edward Mujica went 2/3’s of an inning giving up just a walk and Andrew Miller retired the only batter he faced to earn the win on Friday night.

It was a great win and their second consecutive walk-off.  Emotions will sure be high again on Saturday night as Rubby De La Rosa (0-0, 0.00) will take the hill for the Red Sox for the first time as a starter.  He’ll be taking Clay Buchholz’s spot in the rotation and I’m excited to see what the kid’s got.  He was one of the prizes we received in the Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett trade.  So far we’ve only seen him in relief so it’ll be nice to see if he has starter potential.

SHAVING CREAM PIE TO THE FACE – GAME MVP

A.J. Pierzynski.  A.J. had 2 hits on the night but made them count as he had a double and a walk-off RBI triple.

ELBOW TO THE FACE – GAME LVP

Grady Sizemore.  The Sox are not giving up on the Sizemore experiment but he’s still very inconsistent at the plate.  On Friday he went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Pierzynski’s walk-off triple in the bottom of the 10^th.

NEXT

Saturday, May 31st at Home vs. the Tampa Bay Rays.