Royals - 500 000 010 - 6 9 0 Red Sox - 100 001 001 - 3 15 0Steven Wright had a rough first inning, walking two men and giving up a three-run homer to Eric Hosmer. Then he allowed a single and two-run dong to Alex Gordon. Wright did settle down, however, and blanked the Royals over the next five innings (6-7-5-3-1, 95).
In the bottom of the first, the Red Sox had a run in and the bases loaded with only one out. But Sandy Leon and Jackie Bradley both struck out to squander that opportunity.
Boston also wasted a 1st-and-3rd/no-outs situation in the third, as Hanley Ramirez popped to short and - yes, once again - Leon and Bradley both struck out.
The Red Sox rallied in the bottom of the ninth and with two outs had the potential tying run at the plate, but Leon grounded to second.
Some Good Things: Mookie Betts went 5-for-5, with two RBI. Dustin Pedroia was 4-for-4 with a walk, a run, and an RBI. Xander Bogaerts had three hits and David Ortiz hit his 41st double (but when the Red Sox needed him to be clutch, he grounded into a double play in the ninth).
Elsewhere: The Blue Jays pummeled the Twins 15-8 to claim sole possession of first place. The Yankees routed the Orioles 14-4.
Pedroia, 2BSteven Wright returns after missing three starts when he injured his right shoulder sliding into second base as a pinch runner on August 7. His last start was on August 5. .. In addition to activating Wright, the Red Sox optioned Heath Hembree to Pawtucket.
Bogaerts, SS
Ortiz, DH
Betts, RF
Ramirez, 1B
Leon, C
Bradley, CF
Shaw, 3B
Holt, LF
Clay Buchholz is headed back to the bullpen, as Eduardo Rodriguez will start on Sunday night.
It's a very tight three-team race with only 35 games to go in the regular season:
AL East: BAL/MFY and MIN/TOR.BOS 71-56 --- TOR 71-56 --- BAL 70-57 1.0
6 comments:
WEEI, on Joe Kelly: "In 11 relief appearances with the PawSox since returning from a rehab stint with Lowell last month, Kelly has allowed one run in 14 innings while fanning 23 and walking just one. The right-hander has retired 23 of the last 27 batters he's faced."
When we saw him pitch for Lowell in mid July, Kelly was awful. It sounds like he's improved tremendously since then. Whether he's an option from the bullpen in September and beyond remains to be seen. Right now, the Sox are just throwing everything at the bullpen walls to see what sticks.
The Red Sox finally get an off day next Thursday, which they haven't had since 08 August after returning from Los Angeles.
Wright's Wrevenge against stubborn asshole Ned Yost tonight!
Elias:
Max Scherzer allowed only two hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 10 in eight innings as the Nationals avoided being swept by the Orioles [on Thursday]. It was the fourth time in his career that Scherzer threw a game in which he allowed no more than two hits with no walks and at least 10 strikeouts, the most such games since 1893 when the pitching mound was set at 60' 6". Four pitchers had three games like that in their career: Walter Johnson, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Corey Kluber.
Scott Lauber, ESPN:
Clay Buchholz will return to a bullpen role for the Red Sox, but manager John Farrell said it will be an enhanced responsibility, likely involving an opportunity to pitch the eighth inning. Sox are still seeking a primary setup man, with Farrell preferring to use Brad Ziegler mostly against right-handed hitters.
Andrew Benintendi could play again before the end of the regular season, according to Red Sox manager John Farrell. Benintendi doesn't have structural damage to his left knee, a diagnosis confirmed Friday after the Red Sox rookie left fielder underwent another MRI, an X-ray and a CT scan. "This could've been much, much worse," Farrell said.
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