Ortiz, Nava Lead Sox to Sweep of D-Backs

By KC Downey in Featured, Red Sox ⋅ June 18, 2010 at 3:17am ⋅ Post a comment

Thursday night in Boston, the Red Sox moved up their start time to 6:10 to accommodate people who wanted to watch the Celtics and Lakers in Game 7. It was supposed to be a glorious night for Boston sports fans. The Sox did their part, defeating the hapless Diamondbacks 8-5 and sweeping away an Arizona squad currently in dead last in the NL West.

More than 3,000 miles away and hours later in Los Angeles, the Celtics failed to seize the moment, falling to the Lakers 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. One out of two aint bad, right? Wrong. The Celtics were playing for all the marbles. The Sox were basically playing batting practice.

Anyway, back to the diamond. Pitching and defense were not on the table for either squad on Thursday, as D-Backs Ace Dan Haren was plagued by two errors in the field, leading to two unearned runs. He was shaky anyway in his 5.2 innings, where he allowed six runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks.

Sox starter John Lackey was not impressive either, and hurt his own cause with an error. In all, the big righty allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks in six innings to earn his eighth win of the season.

Leading the way for the Sox offense was David Ortiz, who clubbed his 14th home run of the season and finished 2-5 with two RBI. Rookie sensation Daniel Nava also chipped in with three hits, including two doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored.

Jonathan Papelbon allowed a run in a non-save situation in the ninth.

Sox Stud of the Game: Marco Scutaro

Scutaro is quietly putting together a strong season at short for the Sox. On Thursday night, Scutaro finished 2-4 with an RBI double, an RBI single, and a sac fly (three RBI if you’re counting at home). That’s a great way to make three out of your five plate appearances count for something.

Sox Dud of the Game: John Lackey

Despite earning the win, Lackey was shaky in allowing eight hits, two walks, and a man to reach base via an error. Hard to knock the guy though, considering he’s still 8-3.

Game Notes:

W: John Lackey (8-3)
L: Dan Haren (7-5)

Darnell McDonald finished with two stolen bases. Dustin Pedroia stole one base.
Adrian Beltre continues to produce, going 1-2 with two runs, an RBI, and two walks.
David Ortiz also finished with two walks.
Stephen Drew one-upped his brother, J.D. Stephen went 3-5, while J.D. went 0-4.