With a 2-1 lead, Jon Lester fell apart in the seventh -- and Tito let him stay on the hill long enough to let the first five Angels reach base: single, single, FC, single, double.
Manny Delcarmen and Javier Lopez couldn't shut the door -- Anaheim scored six times on seven hits -- and suddenly, it was garbage time (Sexy Lips and the White Flag) for the final two innings.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Sox raises our hopes slightly by loading the bases -- Alex Gonzalez double, Kevin Youkilis infield single, Mark Loretta walk -- but David Ortiz, who did not deliver with runners at second and third and two outs in the seventh, couldn't do it here either. During his at-bat, a wild pitch scored a run, but then Ortiz struck out to end the game.
Lester was tagged with the first loss of his career, but it's worth pointing out that this was his first start in which he did not walk a batter.
In New York, Chien-Ming Wang threw a complete game, two-hit shutout. The 6-0 win over Tampa puts the Yankees only one-half game behind the Red Sox. ... Not good.
***
Kelvim Escobar (3.88) / Jon Lester (3.04), 7 PM
Lester, unbeaten in his first nine starts, is 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA in five games at Fenway.
Escobar came off the disabled list (elbow inflammation) last Saturday for his first start since July 6. He threw 98 pitches in seven innings, allowing three runs and five hits in the first inning, but only four hits and no runs over the next six frames.
Weather Report: As of 4 PM, there was a chance of scattered thunderstorms and high winds into early evening.
Terry Francona said that David Wells will start against Cleveland on Monday, followed by Kyle Snyder and Lester.
'not good' is exactly what i thought, since the yankees are fixing to sweep the rays.
ReplyDeletewe have to win these next two games.
baby weaver, say hello to yr imminent 1st loss of the season ;p
since the yankees are fixing to sweep the rays.
ReplyDeleteYankees v Devil Rays, Game 2, 8th inning: Devil Rays 19, Yankees 5.