Longoria Home Runs Lead to Tired Sox Bullpen

By KC Downey in Red Sox ⋅ August 5, 2009 at 2:09pm ⋅ Post a comment

Despite finishing with four strikeouts, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria hit two home runs, one to tie the game in the eighth inning off Daniel Bard, and one to win it in the 13th inning off Takashi Saito in a 4-2 Rays win.

Jon Lester was magnificent on the mound yet again, allowing just three hits and one run in six innings. He struck out 10 batters but threw 110 pitches, which is way he didn’t last long.

After the Rays tied the game in the eighth inning, the Sox bullpen was in for a long night, which may throw them off for a few days. With Brad Penny on the hill Wednesday night and John Smoltz on the mound Thursday, the Sox staff could be in trouble.

Trading Justin Masterson to the Indians in the Victor Martinez deal left the Sox without a long reliever in the pen. So as a result, Theo Epstein called up lefty Billy Traber from Triple-A Pawtucket to help the team out for a few days. Sadly, this means Josh Reddick was sent down.

About KC Downey

KC is the "head coach" of the Sports of Boston, LLC blog network. Follow him on Twitter: @kc_downey

Tags: Billy Traber, Evan Longoria, Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays

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One comment for “Longoria Home Runs Lead to Tired Sox Bullpen”

[...] to get burned by third basemen via the walk off home run in extra innings. You might remember Evan Longoria hitting a home run to beat the Red Sox just three nights [...]

Posted by A-Rod Blasts Walk-Off HR in 15th | Sports of Boston | August 8, 2009, 10:27 am