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 3rd base on the
afternoon.
It was the 2nd 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 8th 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 1st 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 4th 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 4th
after Dustin Pedroia was ejected from the game after mouthing off to the
home-plate umpire. Cecchini is a high
prospect and plays 3rd 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 3rd base, nearly turning a triple play late in the
game. He stepped on 3rd and
looked to fire to 2nd to get the lead runner but he was almost at
the bag, so he stopped and fired to 1st 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 1st 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 4th to put the Sox ahead 3-0.
NEXT
Monday, June 2nd in Cleveland vs. the Indians..
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