Jon Lester once again struggled in his start and the Red Sox bats were just not able to overcome it in the loss to the White Sox. The difference was when Lester threw a pitch right down the plate and Kevin Youkilis took it over the Monster.
Lester took the mound in hopes of turning things around in the second half, unfortunately we saw a lot of the same struggle that he showed in the first half. Lester only lasted 4 innings and gave up 6 runs. Ugh. Lester gave up 2 runs in the first with giving up an RBI double to Konerko and an RBI single to Rios. Lester was lucky to get out of the inning with that being the only damage. In the 2nd, Lester gave up another run on an RBI double to De Aza. BoSox 2-3. In the 4th inning with 1st base open and strike out artist Adam Dunn on deck, Lester gave up a 3 run HR to former Red Sox Kevin Youkilis. Youk got YYYOOOUUUKKKK! cheers as he rounded the bases and Lester got boos as he left the mound at the end of the inning.
As for the Red Sox offense, they weren’t shabby, but they didn’t have enough in them to make up for poor start by Lester. In the 1st, the BoSox tied the game briefly. Having Ellsbury and Crawford back made a huge difference in the inning. Ellsbury singled and stole second. Crawford singled to score Ellsbury and then stole second. Crawford came home on a Gonzo RBI single to tie the game. The BoSox wouldn’t crack the scoreboard again until the 8th inning. Crawford singled to start the inning and this time while Middlebrooks was batting, he stole third base. Good lord, I’ve missed Crawford and his speed on the base paths. Middlebrooks hit an RBI single to plate Crawford. BoSox 3-7. Next Kelly Shoppach came up to pinch hit for Salty. Shoppy took no time hitting a 2 run bomb to the Green Monster. BoSox 5-7. Suddenly this felt like a game. Unfortunately, Cody Ross popped out to end the inning. In the 9th, the BoSox would not be able to get anything else going and went down to the White Sox.
A positive thing about the game was the pitching of Junichi Tazawa who came out in relief of Lester in the 5th inning. Tazawa pitched 4 innings and only gave up one run. Tazawa one run came in the 6th when De Aza hit an RBI single. All in all though he pitched pretty well and in comparison pitched a lot better in his 4 innings of work than Jon Lester did. Franklin Morales who has been sent back to the bullpen came out in the 9th inning and pitched a 1-2-3 inning.
Red Sox 5 White Sox 7 BOXSCORE
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