Red Sox - 000 000 010 1 - 2 7 1 Mariners - 001 000 000 0 - 1 4 0Dustin Pedroia tied the game with a solo home run in the eighth inning and pinch-hitter Ryan Kalish doubled and scored on David Ortiz's sacrifice fly in the tenth, as Boston salvaged a split with the Mariners.
With one out in the top of the tenth, Kalish batted for Brent Lillibridge and doubled high off the wall in right-center. He took third on Pedroia's line drive hit to right, and the Red Sox wisely did not test Ichiro Suzuki's arm. Ortiz look at two balls and then lofted a high fly to right-center that allowed Kalish to score the go-ahead run with ease.
Alfredo Aceves needed only five pitches to retire the top of the Mariners' order in the bottom half for his 19th save. It was Boston's first extra-inning victory of the season, in six opportunities.
Doubront (4.1-3-1-5-4, 103) never looked comfortable and set a season-high with five walks. Nonetheless, his performance was encouraging, as he battled into the fifth inning, allowing only one run. He did with the bases loaded and one out, however, but Matt Albers got Jesus Montero to ground into an inning-ending double play on the first pitch!
Albers issued a two-out walk to Dustin Ackley in the sixth, but he was caught stealing. Scott Atchison was perfect for two innings, not allowing the ball out of the infield. Vicente Padilla allowed a one-out double and a two-out walk in the eighth, but worked out of that spot of trouble.
Boston pitchers allowed only five runs in the four games (39 innings).
Pedroia was 2-for-5 (the dong was his first since May 10) with a stolen base, and Cody Ross had two singles and a walk. ... Will Middlebrooks left the game in the ninth with left hamstring tightness (suffered, possibly, on his steal of second in that inning).
The Red Sox (42-37) are 6.5 GB the Yankees, but only one-half game out of second place. They begin a three-game series in Oakland tomorrow night.
Mike Aviles is ill, so there is a new lineup.Aviles, SSLillibridge, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ross, RF
Gonzalez, 1B
Middlebrooks, 3B
Nava, LF
Shoppach, C
Lillibridge, CFPunto, SS
The Mariners are batting .199/.276/.290 at home this season, and averaging 2.8 runs per game. It is inexcusable for the Red Sox to be fighting for a split of a four-game series this afternoon.
5 comments:
Inexcuseable, but happening. This team is Jekyll and Hyde. Or Sybil.
SoSHer Rasputin:
"We've played the whole season with two outfielders on the DL, Buchholz pitched worse than Lackey for a month and a half, the Bard to the rotation experiment failed, Youks turned out to be completely washed up. Oh, and Adrian Gonzales has been absolute shit so far. ...
[T]hey're a half a game out of second place with those two outfielders on their rehab assignments, Buchholz having straightened his shit out, Dice K being back and looking better than he has in years, a bullpen that has quality depth, and half a season to make up fewer games than the Rays made up in September.
If you don't have a positive vibe about this team you're just not paying attention."
***
"If you don't have a positive vibe about this team you're just not paying attention."
That's the thing. People have been told the team is unlikeable, and after a few days in April it was the usual panic talk. So they stop watching, assuming the team is eternally in last place, the bullpen is blowing every game, and the selfish team is disrespecting the fans. At that point it doesn't matter how much they win or how loveable they act, the minds have been made up and the radio does nothing to change it. Because "hi, this is Bob from Braintree, I'm just calling to say everything's going fine and I have no complaints" doesn't get any ratings.
"If you don't have a positive vibe about this team you're just not paying attention."
I hate being told I'm not paying attention because I reach a different conclusion than someone else. I know it's just a cliche, but it's so friggin arrogant.
I have a positive vibe when the team is winning. When they play like shit and lose, I have a negative vibe. Either way, I'm watching.
People who call themselves fans but don't know what the team is doing can go to hell.
(That started out as "people who don't watch can go to hell", which sounds better, but isn't fair. Lots of serious fans can't always watch.)
Brent Lillibridge, not Scott :)
(For the record, I still call Daniel Bard "Josh Bard" at least half the time I refer to him...)
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