The Red Sox lost 2 games in a row and lost a series to the Athletics. This is a team that the Sox should have been able to beat, maybe sweep. Daniel Bard took the mound for the Sox and came away with his 3rd loss of the season. Bard also did not get much run support. Bard and Doubront both got losses however both pitchers allowed less runs than Clay Buchholz did however he got the win with 11 runs of support.
Bard seem to coast through the first 3 innings. In the 4th he had his first hiccup. Bard gave up an a double to Cespedes and then an RBI single to a struggling Seth Smith. In the 6th, Bard found himself in trouble again. His pitch count was getting up there and he seemed to be hitting a wall. Bard gave up an RBI double to Seth Smith. It is worth noting that the hit was a ball that wasn’t ruled an error, but was clearly a catchable ball by Ross. Bard then gave up a RBI to Ka’aihue. Sox 0-3. Bard then hit Suzuki and gave up an RBI double to Inge. Sox 0-4. Matt Albers came out in relief of Bard in the 6th. Albers got the two outs we needed to get out of the inning. Bard’s line for the night was 5.2 IP, 101 pitches, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BBs, 1 K. After Albers, newly called up Clayton Mortensen came into the game and pitched 3 scoreless innings. He looked great. I know the plan is to send him back down when Cook comes up, however this outing may give the Sox something to think about it. Mortensen only gave up one hit and struck out 6 batters.
The Sox bats had a hard time getting anything going against Brandon McCarthy. In the 5th, the Sox were able to get a runner to 3rd base, but not bring him home. In the 7th, the Sox were finally able to get on the scoreboard. Marlon Byrd hit an RBI sac fly to get the Sox on the board. Sox 1-4. In the 9th, Pedey hit an RBI double to score the Sox’s second run. Sox 2-4. Adrian Gonzalez was at the plate as the tying run. Gonzo who has been seriously struggling at the plate continued that struggle. Gonzalez ground out to end the game.
The real upside of the game was the first major league game for Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks was called up when Kevin Youkilis was placed on the DL. Middlebrooks had himself a nice day at the plate. Middlebrooks went 2 for 3. Middlebrooks walked in the 2nd inning. He got his first major league hit in 5th when he hit an infield single. The Sox collected the ball and Youk joked like he was gonna give it away to a fan. tee, hee, hee. Middlebrooks got his second hit on the night in the 7th with a double, his first major league extra bases hit. All in all, a real nice first game for Middlebrooks.
Photo Credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Red Sox 2 Athletics 4 BOXSCORE
WP: McCarthy (2-3) LP: Bard(2-3) SV: Fuentes (1)
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