The Red Sox had a 2 game mini series with the Reds before heading home for an 11 game homestand and hoped to bring their winning streak to 3 games. The Sox had rookie Anthony Ranaudo on the mound vs. Mike Leake for the Reds. Ranaudo struggled throughout his outing including giving up a homer to the opposing pitcher Mike Leake, but he was able to hold on and be in line for the win. The game flip flopped back and forth, but then with a big swing of Mike Napoli’s bat the Sox took the lead for good and sailed to a mini sweep in Cincinnati.
The Sox got out to an early lead by scoring 2 runs in the 1st inning. Nava hit an RBI single to score Holt and then Napoli hit an RBI sac grounder to score Nava from 3rd base. Sox 2-0. In the 3rd inning the Reds were able to get a run on the board when Ranaudo allowed an RBI sac fly from Mesoraco. Sox 2-1. In the 4th Ranaudo found more trouble when he gave up a solo homerun to Schumaker and then a solo homerun to the Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake to give the Reds the lead 3-2.
The Red Sox didn’t take long before they got the lead back though. Yoenis Cespedes tied the game when he hit an RBI single to left. The Sox then took the lead when Mike Napoli took the ball out of the yard for a 2 run homer. This is the 3rd game in a row that the Sox have rallied and taken the lead by way of the homerun. Sox 5-3. The Reds grabbed one of those runs back in the 6th when Frazier hit an RBI sac fly to score Negron. Sox 5-4. Ranaudo was done after 6 innings and his pitching line was 91 pitches, 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB and 1 K. Burke Badenhop pitched a scoreless 7th inning and then Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless 8th. Koji Uehara was not available out of the pen, so Edward Mujica took the mound in the 9th. The early season struggles kind of seem to be behind Mujica and he was able to get his 3rd save of the season to give the Sox their 3rd win in a row.
Red Sox 5 Reds 3 BOXSCORE
WP: Ranaudo (2-0) LP: Leake (9-11) SV: Mujica (3)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
