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 1st 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 4th 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 4th homer of the season. It was a two-strike opposite field bomb that
cut the lead to 1 in the 8th, which made a game out of it. Unfortunately they could do no more as the
Indians won their 4th 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 3rd
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 3rd 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 3rd 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 3rd base didn’t
affect Bogaerts bat last night as he was the only one to get the Sox on board as
he hit his 4th homer of the season in the 8th 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 1st 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 3rd. 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 3rd in
Cleveland vs. the Indians.
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