Wakefield Guides Red Sox Past Blue Jays; Lester Hits DL

By KC Downey in Featured, Red Sox, Top Story ⋅ July 7, 2011 at 3:04am ⋅ Post a comment

Tim Wakefield (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

With news of Jon Lester hitting the disabled list on Wednesday, the Red Sox were left with 3/5 of their rotation out with injuries. Leave it to old reliable Tim Wakefield to right the ship and give the Red Sox rotation some stability, despite the fact he’s approaching 45 years old and in his 17th season with Boston.

Wakefield scattered nine hits and three runs over 7.0 strong innings. He struck out seven to earn his fifth win of the year and 198th of his career in a 6-4 Red Sox triumph. He currently has 184 wins with the Red Sox, 8 short of tying Roger Clemens and Cy Young atop the career list. At least rate with all the injuries, he has an outside shot of reaching that fabled total.

“He was pitching the best I’ve seen him so far,” said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia of Wake. “He’s definitely a guy that deserves to be in the rotation.”

The bats also helped out in a big way, hammering Jays lefty Ricky Romero yet again, even without Adrian Gonzalez in the lineup (he was out with a stiff neck). Romero has allowed 11 earned runs in 8.2 innings this year against Boston.

Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-5 with two doubles and a leadoff home run. He also stole a base and finished with 3 RBI, including a key two-out, two-run double in the fourth inning.

Kevin Youkilis, meanwhile, went 3-4 with a HR and two doubles of his own. He was batting fifth and playing first base for the first time this season.

Sox Stud of the Game: Jacoby Ellsbury

Those 3 RBI, including the key two-run double in the fourth, really won the game for the Red Sox. He’s a very deserving All-Star.

Sox Dud of the Game: Jonathan Papelbon

Usually, Paps is an All-Star, but this year he’s not thaaaat deserving, which is why he’s not on the team. A day after giving up two runs in the ninth, Paps yielded one run before striking out the side to secure the save.

Game Notes:

W: Tim Wakefield (5-3)
L: Ricky Romero (7-8)
SV: Jonathan Papelbon (19)

Scott Atchison replaced Lester on the active roster. Alfredo Aceves will likely take Lester’s spot in the rotation.
Yunel Escobar went 4-5 for the Jays.
The game was delayed for about 40 minutes due to rain.