Lester did exacty what the other starters have done during the series with the Yankees, gave up runs in the first inning. Lester did not have a great outing and the bats were not able to make up for it. The Sox lost 3 out of 4 to the Yankees as they head into the All Star Break in hopes the rest does them good.
Lester gave up 3 hits in a row to start the game including an RBI double to Teixeira to give the Yanks their first run. Lester almost got out of it with just that damage, however Gomez botched a double play ball and the Yanks got another run on a groundout from Swisher. Lester gave up another run in the 2nd with a sac fly by Stewart. In the 5th, Lester gave up an RBI triple to ARod for his 4th run of the game. Ryan Sweeney ran all the way into the triangle and tried to make the play and ended up hitting his head against the bullpen wall as a result. Let’s just hope he doesn’t end up on the concussion DL again. Lester gave up his final run with an RBI single to Andruw Jones. Bobby V came out to get Lester and his night was over. His line for the night was not great, 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks.
Scott Atchison was out in relief of Lester and got the outs he needed to get out of the 5th with no more damage. Atchison also pitched a scoreless 6th, however he found trouble in the 7th. In the 7th, Atchy gave up a 2 run HR to Andruw Jones. This was Jones’ 4th HR of the series. Mark Melancon came out in relief of Atchison and continued to pitch well. He finished the 7th inning and pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Alfredo Aceves pitched the 9th and although he got himself into trouble, he got out of it without any runs scoring. Aceves let the first two Yankees on and then retired the next 3 in order.
The Sox bats continued to have trouble with Ivan Nova and just weren’t able to make up for Lester’s poor start. The Sox scored their first run in the bottom of the 1st when Cody Ross reached on an error by Derek Jeter to score Ciriaco. David Ortiz hit an RBI double in the 3rd to score Ciriaco. The Sox bats wouldn’t score again until the 8th inning. Their 3rd and final run would be scored by an RBI double to score Saltalamacchia.
The Sox head into the break back at 500 and tied for last place in the AL East. Let’s just hope we have a better second half than we had a first one.
Red Sox 3 Yankees 7 BOXSCORE
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