Red Sox Rout Tigers 14-1 in Rain-Shortened Victory

By Mike Carlucci in Featured, Red Sox, Top Story ⋅ May 26, 2011 at 8:44pm ⋅ Post a comment

Alfredo Aceves Making a Name for Himself in the Rotation (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

During the offseason, the Red Sox looked like the team to beat in the American League – a run-scoring machine. Two weeks into the season it looked like the machine wasn’t as good as advertised; the pitching, the hitting, and the bullpen all looked like the injury-plagued 2006 and 2010 squads. As the saying goes, the past is the past. Today the Sox continued their stomping of the AL Central with a 14-1 thrashing of the Detroit Tigers on a rainy Thursday afternoon.

Once again, the Red Sox got to work early. While talented young pitcher Max Scherzer tossed a scoreless first inning, the second and third (where he did not record an out) were less kind. Unlikely producer Drew Sutton drove in the first run of the game and scored himself on a three-run shot by Jacoby Ellsbury. With five runs scored in the second inning, the assault was on.

A Youkilis infield single, a walk by David Ortiz and a triple by Carl Crawford plated two more Sox runs and knocked Scherzer out of the game. The Sox then scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, running the score to 9-1 as rain poured onto the field. With bad weather on the horizon since the start of the game, the grounds crew kept the conditions as playable as possible but the infield was turning to mud. Yet they played on: five more runs in the eighth and the score hit 14-1 when the game entered a rain delay from which it would not resume.

Alfredo Aceves pitched six innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out six to move to 2-0 on the season. With the injuries to John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka, this strong outing against a formidable Tigers lineup is more than the Sox could have expected from Aceves, who was tabbed as the long man out of the bullpen just weeks ago.

Matt Albers chipped in with a clean inning of his own, including an acrobatic catch of a ball hit right back to his glove.

Sox Stud of the Game: Carl Crawford

Carl Crawford is on fire: four for five with two triples, two runs scored, and three RBI.

Sox Dud of the Game: No One

Every batter recorded a hit and all but Jason Varitek collected either a run or an RBI. Games like this are truly a pleasure for Red Sox Nation.

Game Notes:

W: Aveces (2-0)
L: Scherzer (6-2)

Over the last two games Carl Crawford is 8-for-9 and has raised his average over 30 points to .244
Jacoby Ellsbury hit his fifth home run of the season.
Filling in for the third day in a row, this time to give a day off for Jed Lowrie, Drew Sutton went two-for-five with two runs and two RBI.

About Mike Carlucci

Mike Carlucci writes about the Red Sox for Sports of Boston and can be found blogging about baseball and technology. He has a J.D and enjoys palindromes and espresso. You can follow him on Twitter @mikecarlucci or on Google+.

Tags: Alfredo Aceves, Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury