John Lackey gave up 3 runs in the 1st inning last night and it looked like it was going to be one of “those” nights. Lackey had been on a nice roll…having come into the game winning his last 3 starts and that seemed to be in jeopardy.
Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia immediately put a dent in that 0-3 start by hitting back to back HRs off Chen. Ellsbury hit his 17th HR and is now tied with Adrian Gonzalez for the same amount of HRs on the team. Wowza! In the 2nd, the Sox offense got going again to give Lackey the lead. The Sox had the bases loaded with no outs. Ellsbury walked a run in to tie the game. Pedey hit a sac fly and Gonzo hit a sac grounder to give the Sox a 5-3 lead. Ellsbury also stole a base during the inning. So, he’s got 17 HRs and 29 stolen bases.
Lackey settled right down and had 1-2-3 innings in the 3rd and 4th and then the Sox bats put this game on ice. The bases were loaded when David Ortiz came to the plate. GRAND SLAM DAVID ORTIZ. The ball hit into the first few rows of the bleachers in right center field for his 20th HR of the year and his 10th career grand slam.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola
Lackey gave up a solo HR in the top of the 5th, however he still pitched well for the day. He was pulled in the bottom of the 6th at 113 pitches and replaced by Randy Williams. Those smattering of boos that Lackey received in the 1st were replaced by cheers as he left the mound. Williams pitched himself in and out of trouble and 1.2 innings of relief. Dan Wheeler finished off the game as the Red Sox rolled to another WIN!
Red Sox 12 Royals 5 BOXSCORE
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