Today would not be another groundhog day for Jon Lester where he pitched okay, but not well enough for the win. Lester ended up getting more run support in the 1st inning than many starters get for the whole game. Lester gave up a run early and then gave up 2 more HRs throughout his outing, however he pitched well enough to be leaving the game in line for the win.
Jon Lester gave up a run in the first inning with a leadoff double to Lawrie and then an RBI single to Rasmus. Sox 0-1. Lester got the 3 outs he needed to get out of the inning with only the one run scoring. Luckily for Lester, the Sox bats would score him 6 runs in the bottom of the inning. In the 4th, Lester would give up another run on a towering solo HR from Jose Bautista. In the 6th, Lester would give up his final two runs when he gave up a double to Bautista and then a 2 run HR to Encarnacion. Lester pitched 7 innings and would be done for the night. His pitching line was 100 pitches, 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 4 Ks. Melancon came out and pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning. Melancon has continued to show his value since returning from the DL. In the 9th, Clayton Mortensen took the mound to finish off the game. Mortensen pitched a 1-2-3 inning to, but it was a wee bit more dramatic. Kelly Johnson hit what would have been a HR into the bullpen however Darnell McDonald made a bullpen wall jumping catch to rob him of a hit and a run. Nice job DMac! Mortensen happily tipped his cap to DMac after that play.
Photo Credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images
The Red Sox offense for sure was alive today and pounced all over Ricky Romero. Romero allowed 6 runs to score in the bottom of the 1st. Nava walked to start the game and Pedey hit an RBI double to score Nava. Sox 1-1. Papi walked and Ross singled to load the bases. Gonzo reached on a fielding error and Pedey and Papi scored. Sox 3-1. Middlebrooks hit a RBI sac grounder to score Ross. Sox 4-1. Aviles hit an RBI single to score Gonzo. Sox 5-1. The Sox scored their final run of the INNING with an RBI single from DMac to score Aviles. Sox 6-1. In the 2nd, Romero kept walking people and paying the price. Ortiz and Ross walked and then Gonzo hit an RBI single to score Papi. Sox 7-1. Gonzo ended up being tagged out at 2nd, but he got the run across none the less. In the 4th, the Sox kept adding runs to the scoreboard. Romero gave up his 3rd walk of the day to David Ortiz and then a double to Cody Ross. Romero was pulled from the game and then Sox went after their bullpen. Gonzo hit an RBI single to score Papi. Sox 8-1. Aviles hit an RBI double to score Cody Ross. Sox 9-1. There was only one more run for the Sox bats to score and that one was by David Ortiz. Papi came to the plate in the 5th inning and this time he was not walked. Papi hit a solo HR to center field. This was Papi’s 21st HR of the season and his 399th career HR. We’ll all be watching and waiting for HR #400.
The Red Sox hit their way to a nice win and took the series from the Blue Jays before heading off to the west coast for a little bit. The Sox are not only not in the basement anymore in the AL East, but right now are tied for 3rd place.
Red Sox 10 Blue Jays 4 BOXSCORE
WP: Lester (5-5) LP: Romero (8-2)
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