Red Sox - 000 021 020 - 5 13 0 Phillies - 000 000 002 - 2 4 0Lester (7-2-0-2-5, 120) was nearly untouchable and Jason Varitek cracked two solo home runs as Boston avoided a sweep in Philadelphia. The win was Terry Francona's 700th regular-season victory as Red Sox manager.
Lester and Hamels were matching each other bagel for bagel until Hamels was hit on the right hand by Adrian Gonzalez's line drive in the fourth inning. Hamels (4-2-0-0-2, 53) made the play on Evil Bert and then retired Dustin Pedroia to end the inning, but did not return to the mound. X-rays were negative on Hamels's right hand contusion.
With Hamels gone, the Red Sox wasted no time in scoring runs. Josh Reddick tripled off David Herndon with one out in the fifth and scored on Drew Sutton's single. Marco Scutaro singled and, after Lester fanned, Jacoby Ellsbury hit the second of his three singles to bring in Sutton.
Varitek homered off Herndon with two outs in the sixth to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. In the eighth, Pedroia and Varitek hit back-to-back dongs off Drew Carpenter. Reddick nearly made it three in a row, but his fly ball was caught at the base of the wall in right-center.
Boston's 5-8 hitters -- Varitek, Reddick, Sutton, Scutaro -- each had two hits.
After Daniel Bard pitched the eighth, Bobby Jenks faltered in the ninth, allowing a lead-off single and a one-out, two-run home run to Ryan Howard. After Jenks walked Shane Victorino, Tito went to Jonathan Papelbon, who quickly dismissed the next two hitters.
The Red Sox begin a three-game weekend series in Houston on Friday night - and then the scourge of interleague play will finally be over ... until next year.
Theo talked about a lot of stuff.
AL East: Brewers/Yankees at 1 PM.
The first game was SWEET! Yesterday's game was SWEEEET!! Will today's game be SWEEEEP!!!? We'll see. My 8-5 Sox win prediction sucked, but that's ok with me.
ReplyDeleteWith the tv blackout, once again i watched last night's game this morning. Will watch today's game around 5-6 after the NESN blackout clears out in the mlb.tv archive. Here I am, a Phillies fan in VT, 212 miles from Boston and I have to endure a blackout.
This should be another great pitching matchup. Fortunately, the Phils adjusted their rotation the other day to have Hamels pitch (still on four days rest) over Jekyll and Hyde Kendrick.
Saw the Vick comment from you, Allan. He is the reason I am boycotting the Eagles.
Today's prediction:
RED SOX - 37
MFP - 16
Theo on the lack of production from right field: "I haven't checked in the last day or two. I think we've scored more runs than anybody in baseball."
ReplyDeleteJacoby Ellsbury CF
ReplyDeleteDarnell McDonald RF
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Jason Varitek C
Josh Reddick LF
Drew Sutton 3B
Marco Scutaro SS
Jon Lester P
Jimmy Rollins SS
Placido Polanco 3B
Chase Utley 2B
Ryan Howard 1B
Shane Victorino CF
Ben Francisco RF
Raul Ibanez LF
Carlos Ruiz C
Cole Hamels P
***
PeteAbe: "Kevin Youkilis is out with a sore left ankle, the result of a foul ball last night. He's getting a precautionary x-ray before the game. He said he had trouble sleeping last night. Youkilis is already playing with a sore right ankle."
PeteAbe again: "A source close to Mike Cameron told the Globe this morning that the Red Sox are working on a roster move that involves the outfielder. Cameron was called into a meeting with team officials today when he arrived at Citizens Bank Park. It is unclear whether Cameron is being released, designated for assignment, traded or being placed on the disabled list. ..."
***
Here I am, a Phillies fan in VT, 212 miles from Boston and I have to endure a blackout.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Jays play the Red Sox on Fridays and weekends, I am blacked out at work. ... No fun.
Saw the Vick comment from you, Allan. He is the reason I am boycotting the Eagles.
One of our nephews is a huge Eagles fan and, as a kind and thoughtful human being, was quite upset when they signed him.
Article from MLB.com says Cameron was DFA'd.
ReplyDeleteThis was the Red Sox press release from 12:31. re: Cameron DFA, Navarro called up.
ReplyDeleteAlong with DFAing Cameron, the Sox recall Yamaico Navarro.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Yook's sore left ankle from the foul ball last night forced their hand a bit for infield depth. Yook already playing on a sore right ankle. (Plus Cameron being cold, burnt toast doesn't make this move hurt at all.)
Remy says the Red Sox will have their hands full today because Hamels "has never lost to the Red Sox".
ReplyDeleteOH NOES!!!!!!!!!!!!
(He has made 3 starts against the Sox, 1 in 2008 and 2 last year.)
Remember how excited we were for the big 2010 signings?
ReplyDeleteSo glad I can watch the game today (altho not threading much). I had to miss last night's game for a war resisters fundraiser. We broke our previous record for attendance and $$ raised, a great success, and tons of fun.
ReplyDeleteNow, win pls.
"I haven't checked in the last day or two. I think we've scored more runs than anybody in baseball."
ReplyDeleteDenial is often the best approach.
Great start--Ellsbury beats out an IF grounder, and things are looking up. Then double play, strikeout, we're done in the 1st. And I'm pissed.
ReplyDeleteMcDonald batting #2 is nearly beyond comprehension.
ReplyDeleteOTT
ReplyDeleteI was pumped about the Cameron signing, and I'm pumped to see him DFA'd.
ReplyDeleteThat didn't work out as I'd have liked.
It's Tek batting 5th that's really confusing to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd Reddick singles Ellsbury over to second.....oh right we batted McDonald second.
ReplyDelete0 runs, 2 hits for us, 0 runs, 1 BB for them, thru 3.
ReplyDeleteMIL - 00
ReplyDeleteMFY - 20
2nd most runs scored in MLB - 410
ReplyDeleteMFY have 416.
NESN replays
ReplyDeleteone from the roof top - can't see it
then a tight closeup - out of the frame
finally a replay we can see!
man,t hey suck.
Adrian knocks the glove off the pitcher on a line drive.
ReplyDeleteAnd Don wonders if the pitching hand is hurt!
phils should take him as a precaution. it's good to be safe
ReplyDeletedon and jerry clearly have problems telling right from left (e.g., ortiz's foot the other day)
ReplyDeleteLester allows 1st hit with 1 out in 4th. It was a Jeter3000.
ReplyDeletei think that was a line drive, 2 hops to reddick. unlike a flair that comes to a dead stop in short RF
ReplyDeleteI watched it again and you're right, more solidly hit than I thought, but still slightly looping. 0-0 after 4.
ReplyDeleteCole Hamels out because of the earlier liner off glove hand. Larry Herndon's adopted son in.
ReplyDeleteAgain Don not watching or something .RF overruns ball, turns Reddick's double into a triple, and Don says fielder "has a bobble."
ReplyDeletewhat the hell else would he be looking at? a hot dog vendor?
ReplyDeleteSutton singles home Reddick. 1-0 Red Sox.
ReplyDeleteCould be they can't see into RF corner from the booth (Why not check the monitor in that case?), and all he knew was the guy wasn't throwing the ball in so had to assume bobble.
ReplyDeleteFirst and third, rally continues!
NESN with a great shot of Utley trying to fool the runner by fielding the phantom grounder and phantom flipping to second. But does former 2Bman Remy say anything about it......?
ReplyDelete2-0! That's my boy!
ReplyDeleteElls singles in a run, 2-0 Boston. Two outs, 1st and 2nd.
ReplyDeleteDon & Remy are far from perfect, but I'm glad I don't monitor them closely enough to be as annoyed as you guys. I have enough trouble being so annoyed at all the corporate logos and in-game advertising.
ReplyDeleteOh but the pitcher's up so the inning ends.
ReplyDelete(And by the pitcher I mean McDonald.)
Just checked in on the game (GDGD) at work and saw LBJ up with 2 men on... nice. Gets a hit--very nice. Next man up MCDONALD?!?! WTF? I nearly fell out of my chair--Where's Pedey? Microwave plays the part of rally killer. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteI now see that because of Youk's bruised foot they the little-big man batting clean-up.
Anyone have some quotes from FY about that?
Cactus Dong!!!
ReplyDeleteTek DONG! I had a good feeling when Don said the pitcher's having such a great inning (with a 2-batter sample size)
ReplyDeleteCaptain, my Captain!
ReplyDeleteAnd NESN, king of the moon shot, this time is so sure it's NOT a HR, they actually stay on the fielder the whole time, zoomed in, to the point where we don't see the ball land in the stands, because they're off camera.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, 3-0 after 5.5.
i HATE when they do a replay and they zoom in on the ball coming out of the pitcher's hand, then try to pull back so we can see the hitter hit it (they often don't do that, so we miss it), then they zoom in on the ball in the air, so we have no idea how it is travelling over the fence.
ReplyDeleteit's horrible. they should not show anything than show that.
Well the other night the camera was actually trying to follow the ball in the pitcher's hand mid-windup and were failing every time. I think it was Andrew Miller.
ReplyDeleteNice little hitNrun action, Sutton ran, Marco Placed it perfectly, and it's first and third, on outs.
ReplyDelete2 outs, 1st and 3rd, it's up to....pinch hitter JD Drew. One pitch, and he's out. 3-0 after 6.5.
ReplyDeleteif don gives us a "very gone", we will have our first bingo (as far i have heard) of the year.
ReplyDeleteUmp, it's not a ball just because the batter starts walking to first.
ReplyDeleteAlso, announcers, if it's a close pitch like that you might want to, like, talk about it. (I know you had a pre-positioned ad there, and that's what's really important.)
Lester at 120 pitches, 2 on, 2 out, 3-2 count to Ibanez....
ReplyDeleteKs his ass!!!!
3-0 Sox after 7
We've been on the road since 11:00 am on our way to Atlanta, listening to the game We just switched drivers so I can now read and post.
ReplyDeleteMy comments so far:
Mcdonald batting 2nd????
Yay Tek
Nice job Lester.
And, if these Philly announcers mention that the phillies have their first chance at a series sweep since 2000 again, I may have to yell a little. Although they have been quieter about it since the Sox took the lead.
BIG K!!!!
FUCK YEAH!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFY!!!! 0-2 pitch. Niiiice.
ReplyDeleteCalling occupants of interplanetary crafts: Watch for flying baseballs!
ReplyDeleteNot exactly very gone but we'll take it.
Fuck yeah!!!
ReplyDeletePost-game quotes will be awesome.
CACTUS DONG.
But THAT's Vari-Gone!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCACTI!
ReplyDeleteThat did not drift!
B2B Dongs! And TWO cactus dongs!!! That's more like it.
ReplyDeleteFY, now that's clean-up.
ReplyDeleteOh man, who didn't think that was going B2B2B...!
ReplyDeleteb2b and two for Tek. That should end the series sweep talk.
ReplyDeletealmost a Reddong to make it 3 in a row
ReplyDeletewe need drew to go deep - like 800 feet to dead center.
ReplyDeleteOh man, who didn't think that was going B2B2B...!
ReplyDeleteThe phillies announcers did.
we need drew to go deep - like 800 feet to dead center.
ReplyDeleteTotally. Preferably with the bases loaded.
We just entered Bill Lee Highway in North Carolina. It's not the same Bill Lee. I looked it up. He was some bigwig with Duke Power.
ReplyDeleteIt must be hard for a manager to call Scott Mathieson into a game and not get Scott Atchison. "I said Mathieson, not Atchison!!!"
ReplyDelete"pitch count ... rising" will also give us bingo, but that one is unlikely.
ReplyDeleteMIL - 000 000 000 - 0 6 1
ReplyDeleteMFY - 201 000 01x - 5 8 0
9th, loaded, 2 out, 3 on, 3-2 to Dustin... pops out.
ReplyDelete5-0 us going bottom 9.
Youk's gonna give FY shit for that performance... :-P
ReplyDeletebig lead, throw strikes Jenx
ReplyDeleteJenksy
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean throw strikes on 0-2!
ReplyDeletenot how we wanted the Bingo
ReplyDeleteDid Jenks promise Papelbon he'd give him a save situation?
ReplyDeletewell, if you count "way gone"
ReplyDeleteNESN: where deep flies go to die. We'll show you the crowd as it lands in the fielder's glove, or we'll show you the fielder while it lands in the stands, OR we'll show you the first deck as it lands in the second deck. Only on NESN.
ReplyDeletePhillie on third, 5-2 us, 2 outs 9th.
ReplyDeleteNO SWEEP. 5-2 final.
ReplyDeleteDirty sweep-avoiding water! On to Houston, see you there. :)
ReplyDeleteDirty yay!!
ReplyDeleteTito with Boston: 700-514
ReplyDeleteDual Cactoid Dongs today?
ReplyDeleteAnything to avoid the sweep.
Cactus Dongi. Cool....
ReplyDeleteWatched game at 6pm (post-blackout). First, congrats on the win, and for Terry's 700th (remember, he was the Phils manager in hard times)! I'd say Adrian Gonzalez hit the equivalent of a Grand Salami when he smashed Cole Hamels' hand, forcing him out of the game and allowing three consecutive pitchers in that have pitched more for the AAA IronPigs than the big club. But give credit to Jason Varitek (that name is SO high tech!). And even JD had a hit to the vexation of Phils fans.
ReplyDeleteAllan, hope you check out the Phils for the next three days in your back yard.
And you say no more interleague after Houston? Um, what if the Sox make the Series? That's interleague, isn't it?
Chow, and I'll check in from time to time.
Um, what if the Sox make the Series? That's interleague, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteTechnically, yes, it is. And I did think of that. But it seems like apples and oranges to me. It is only one series and playing the NL is unavoidable if the Sox want to play in the WS. I will still hate the 2 sets of rules if it happens though. In fact, I'll hate it more than I do for games in June and July, because the stakes are higher.
Allan, hope you check out the Phils for the next three days in your back yard.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'll see the scores, but that will likely be it.