The Red Sox took advantage of having the struggling Astros and took a 4 game sweep before heading out of town on the road. I'll be doing a quick summary of both Saturday and Sunday's games in this recap.
Saturday's Game:
Felix Doubront ended up having himself a nice outing, however it sure didn't look that way in the 1st inning. Dubi started the game by loading the bases with no outs. Doubront then walked in a run and gave up a sac fly. He escaped from the inning with no other damage, but he threw 31 pitches and looked lost on the mound. However, when Doubront came back in the 2nd inning he looked like a different guy. Those two runs would be the only runs that Doubront would give up until the 7th inning when he gave up a sac grounder to 3rd. Dubi really buckled down and when he left the mound in the 7th inning he was in line for a win. Doubront's pitching line for the night was 103 pitches, 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB and 8 Ks. While the 1st inning was painful to watch, it was impressive to see how Doubront was able to turn it around.
The Sox bats had Dubi's back and not only got those runs back, but then some. The Sox tied up the game 2-2 with an Ellsbury 2 RBI single. Then the Sox were able to take the lead later in the inning when Papi doubled to score Drew and Ells. Sox 4-2. In the 4th, the Sox grabbed another run with an Ortiz RBI sac fly. Sox 5-2.
Tazawa came into the game in the 7th to finish off the inning. Tazawa ended up balking and then walking a batter, but he got the out we needed to get out of the inning. The Sox bats exploded in the bottom of the 7th scoring 3 more runs. Stephen Drew hit an RBI single followed by RBI singles from Nava and Pedey. Sox 8-3. In the 8th Daniel Bard took the mound and did not have the outing he was hoping for. Bard looked wild and walked both of the batters he faced. Farrell went out to get him and replaced him with Alex Wilson. Wilson gave up an RBI single, but then got out of the inning. In the 9th, Andrew Miller came out and had himself a nice 1-2-3 inning.
Red Sox 8 Astros 4 BOXSCORE
WP: Doubront (3-0) LP: Peacock (1-3)
Sunday's Game:
Sunday was the return of John Lackey to the mound. Lackey left the mound in Toronto after having an arm injury that looked like it could be season ending, but ended up being bicep strains that wouldn't hold him out for more than a few weeks. Lackey hoped that he could return to the mound and jump right in line with the performances of his fellow starting pitchers. Lackey gave up a single run in the 1st when he issued two walks and an RBI single. Sox 0-1. Lackey would shake off the cobwebs and really gut through the rest of the outing. That would be the only run that Lackey would give up through his outing. Lackey ended up pitching through 6 innings and had himself a quality outing. Lackey's pitching line for the night was 6 IP, 81 pitches, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB and 4 Ks. Good job Lack!
The Sox bats tied the game in the bottom of the 1st with an RBI single from David Ortiz. Papi has been on fire at the plate since coming back from the DL. In the bottom of the 4th, the Sox took the lead for good. Stephen Drew hit an RBI triple to score Carp and Salty. Sox 3-1. In the 5th inning, the Sox added two more runs with RBI doubles from Pedey and Carp. Sox 5-1. The Sox added their final run in the 7th with an RBI double from Papi. Sox 6-1.
The Sox bullpen got into the game in the 7th inning and absolutely did their job. Clayton Mortensen pitched himself a scoreless 7th and then handed the ball over to Koji Uehara in the 8th. Koji pitched a scoreless inning of his own and then headed into the dugout for high fives galore. Andrew Bailey came in for the 9th and with the help of a diving catch by Daniel Nava had himself a scoreless inning.
Red Sox 6 Astros 1 BOXSCORE
WP: Lackey (1-1) LP: Norris (3-3)
Can't we play the Astros all the time? Pretty pretty please!
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