The Red Sox hadn’t been able to win a game at the Trop yet in 2014, but the big bat of David Ortiz would take care of that yesterday. The Sox had AAA pitcher Allen Webster on the mound who struggled his way through his outing, but the 3 runs that David Ortiz put on the scoreboard would end up just barely holding up.
Allen Webster was tapped to take Jake Peavy’s spot in the game yesterday. Webster has done well in AAA, but has historically struggled when up with the Red Sox. Webster would end up getting the win, but it wasn’t a sharp outing. Webster only allowed 3 hits, but he also ended up walking 5 batters in just a little over 5 innings. Even with his shaky control the game was tied 0-0 until the 3rd inning when David Ortiz came to the plate. Papi hit a 3 run bomb off of Rays starter Chris Archer. Archer would criticize Ortiz after the game because he did not appreciate Papi showboating by way of a bat flip after he hit the long ball. That seemed pretty rich coming from Archer given how much he is completely okay with showboating when he gets a big out on the mound.
After the Sox had the lead, Webster did give two of those runs right back in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Webster gave up a double to Jennings to plate Casali and Kiermaier. Sox 3-2. Webster was able to settle down and not let the inning get away from him, but now the Sox were just barely clinging to the lead. Webster got one out in the 6th inning before John Farrell went out to get him. His pitching line for the night was 86 pitches, 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 5 BB and 4 Ks. Webster probably could have gone deeper into the game, but I think Farrell really wanted this game and he probably also wanted to show off some of his relievers to some scouts who were at the game.
Craig Breslow was the first arm to come out of the bullpen. He took the mound, however he wasn’t able to do his job. Breslow gave up a hit and Farrell went to go get him in favor of Edward Mujica. Mujica did his job and got the 2 outs the Sox needed to get out of the inning. Miller took the mound in the 7th inning. He is one of the most watched reliever by other teams as the trade deadline is approaching. Miller issued a leadoff walk, but then retired the next 3 batters in order to end the inning. Junichi Tazawa took the mound in the 8th and put the struggle he had on Friday behind him. Taz had a 1-2-3 inning with 2 strikeouts. The final pitcher out of the Sox bullpen was the closer Koji Uehara. Koji gave up a leadoff single, but then K’ed the side to secure his 21st save of the season and the win for the Sox.
Red Sox 3 Rays 2 BOXSCORE
WP: Webster (1-0) LP: Archer (6-6) SV: Uehara (21)
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