Sports of Boston » David Ortiz

Red Sox Bats Overcome Buchholz’s Struggles in Win Over Orioles

Matthew Bond — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:26:23 +0000

The Red Sox are no longer in the basement of the American League East. Well, at least they’re not in the basement alone. The 8-6 win over the first place Baltimore Orioles combined with the New York Yankees loss tied the rivals with even 21-21 records for fourth place in the division. The win was led by a late offensive surge and solid relief pitching, making up for the early struggles of Clay Buchholz.

Mike Aviles had been hot, homering in his last three games and he got things started with an RBI single to center in the third inning. He finished the game with two hits and continues to find success in the leadoff spot. Dustin Pedroia added a sacrifice fly to give Boston an early 2-0 lead against Tommy Hunter.

Buchholz Wild Again

However, Buchholz gave the lead right back in the bottom half of the inning. He was wild and looked lost on the mound, allowing a base hit and walk to the seventh and eighth hitters in the Orioles lineup. Then, as number nine batter Robert Andino attempted to bunt, Buchholz struggled with his command, eventually allowing a bunt single after missing with the first three fastballs of the at bat.

With the bases loaded and no one out, he walked Xavier Avery, scoring the first Baltimore run. Then, J.J. Hardy laced a base hit up towards the middle of the infield, where a ranging Aviles at shortstop couldn’t get the ball out of his glove or an out as he attempted to get the force at second before throwing to first too late. With the bases reloaded and the game tied, Buchholz walked Nick Markakis, his third free pass surrendered in the inning as the Orioles took a sudden 3-2 lead.

The momentum of the game seemed to change in a sense when Adam Jones, arguably the most dangerous hitter in the Orioles lineup, bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. While a run scored, Buchholz went on to get the third out of the inning and limit the damage so Baltimore had just a 4-2 advantage, a potentially simple task for the Sox offense to overcome.

Red Sox Rally For Late Lead

After a Chris Davis solo home run gave the Orioles a 5-2 lead, the Sox went to work in the sixth against Hunter. David Ortiz only had one hit on the night, but it was a home run blasted deep to right field. Adrian Gonzalez followed it up with a double, eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead down to 5-4. With Will Middlebrooks on third base, Hunter was called for a balk, tying the game before the pitcher got out of the inning.

The game remained tied until Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the seventh to put Boston on top 6-5. They added two insurance runs when Middlebrooks drove home Pedroia in the inning and Pedroia smacked an RBI single the following inning. Middlebrooks had been slumping lately, but he collected three hits and raised his average up to .297 on the year.

Solid Sox Pen Seals the Win

The bullpen was effective in maintaining the 8-5 lead, as Andrew Miller earned the victory pitching 1.2 innings of scoreless work, striking out two batters. Rich Hill was roughed up, but only allowed one run as Vicente Padilla worked out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth.

Alfredo Aceves closed out the win, earning his 10th save of the season. The Red Sox have now won nine of their last 11 games and are one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. Unfortunately, all was not perfect on Monday night, as Buchholz did struggle mightily as he has done nearly all season long. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing 5 ER, and walked four batters while only striking out two. His ERA for the season stands at 7.84, and he remains one of the key areas of concern going forward.

Additionally the Sox received bad news with regards to the injury to Cody Ross, learning that the outfielder has a broken bone in his foot. He becomes the sixth Sox outfielder to go to the disabled list this season.

Tuesday night, the teams will square off again as the Sox send Felix Doubront to the mound, who has been one of the most consistent pitchers for the team all year. Baltimore counters with southpaw Brian Matusz, who has won three of his last four starts.

Aviles, Saltalamacchia Homer in Red Sox Rubber-Match Win

Matt Goisman — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:25:34 +0000

In a typical start by Philadelphia ace Cliff Lee, teams that manage two runs count themselves lucky. The Boston Red Sox scored five against the dominating lefty Sunday afternoon, and they didn’t waste them.

Mike Aviles and Jarrod Saltalamacchia both homered for the second straight day, and Josh Beckett held the Phillies to one run over 7.2 innings, giving the Red Sox a 5-1 rubber-match road victory over the Phillies.

Boston has now won eight of its last 10 games. They haven’t lost a series in three weeks.

Red Sox Go Score Early

Aviles led off his second game in a row with a home run, depositing a 1-1 off-speed pitch into the left field bleachers. He added an RBI single in the top of the second, driving in Marlon Byrd with a grounder between third and shortstop. Aviles finished the game 2-for-5, one of just two Red Sox to finish with two hits.

The Red Sox got to Lee again in the third, with Adrian Gonzalez (2-for-4) singling and Will Middlebrooks doubling with one out. That set the stage for Saltalamacchia, who crushed a 2-0 change-up from Lee into the standing area behind the center field seats for a 5-0 Red Sox lead. At this rate, perhaps Saltalamacchia should intentionally get stitches in his ear before every game.

Lee settled down after Saltalamacchia’s home run, retiring the next 11 Red Sox. Despite several long innings early, three 1-2-3 middle innings allowed Lee to pitch a full seven on a season-high 112 pitches. He gave up nine hits and a walk, suffered his second loss of the season and saw his ERA rise from 1.95 to 2.66.

Lee also struck out six, including the side in the first. His curveball proved especially difficult for Red Sox hitters, dropping out of the strike zone at the last possible moment.

Beckett Runs Scoreless Stretch to 14.1

Beckett followed up a seven-inning shutout with another excellent performance, holding the Phillies scoreless over the first seven innings. He allowed two on base just once during that stretch: the bottom of the third, when second baseman Freddy Galvis led off with an infield single – one of four by the Phillies – and Lee moved him to third with a one-out double.

Beckett exited the third unscathed, however, getting a grounder to third that couldn’t score Galvis and then a liner to David Ortiz at first to end the inning.

The lineout reflected a strong day in the field for Ortiz, who committed no errors and made several fine defensive plays. He dove to corral a Shane Victorino grounder in the fourth, which would’ve resulted in an out had Beckett covered the bag correctly, and he jumped to snag a Hunter Pence liner one batter later. He also finished two double plays.

Beckett only ran into trouble in the eighth, giving up a one-out double to pinch-hitter Pete Orr. Two batters later, Orr scored from third on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Juan Pierre. Beckett walked his next batter, then Vicente Padilla replaced him.

Padilla walked his first batter, then got third baseman Ty Wiggington to ground out with the bases loaded to end the eighth, pushing Padilla’s impressive streak of stranded inherited runners to 13. Alfredo Aceves set the Phillies down 1-2-3 in an efficient, nine-pitch ninth.

Picking up the win, Beckett evened his record at 4-4. He gave up one run on seven hits and two walks. He struck out five thanks to solid off-speed pitches that, while perhaps not quite as sharp as Lee’s, still kept Phillies hitters very off-balance. He threw nearly 70 percent of his pitches for strikes, and started off 21 of his 30 batters faced with strikes.

Only lead-off hitters gave Beckett any trouble, with five Phillies beginning their innings by getting on base. None of them, however, scored.

Due to a scoreless streak of 14.1 innings, Beckett’s ERA has plummeted from 5.97 all the way to 4.38 in just 10 days. If Beckett continues pitching as he did Sunday, that number will only continue to fall.

Cody Ross Powers Red Sox to 5-3 Win at the Trop

Aryeh Rosenfield — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:06:45 +0000

After dropping the series opener on Wednesday night by the score of 2-1, the Boston Red Sox hit two home runs on Thursday night to back Felix Doubront en route to a 5-3 victory. Doubront went 5.2 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) and striking out seven. Matt Moore made the start for the Tampa Bay Rays and gave up only five hits over six innings – but two of the hits were solo home runs.

The Red Sox got off to a hot start out of the gate with first-inning singles from Mike Aviles and David Ortiz. Up was Adrian Gonzalez, who had guaranteed to the press after Wednesday night’s loss that he would go deep. Upon hearing this, David Price tweeted to his 87,000+ followers that “Moore should put one right between his numbers.” On the first pitch of the at bat, Moore did indeed drill A-Gone in the area of his belt buckle. Gonzalez finished the game 0/3, leaving his promise unfulfilled. After Will Middlebrooks struck out, Cody Ross drew the walk to open the scoring.

Marlon Byrd led off the second inning with a home run, his first of the year. Cody Ross continued the picket fence push in the third with his seventh homer of the season.

Felix Doubront was cruising when it appeared that he had induced B.J. Upton to pop out to first to end the bottom of the third. Instead, Kelly Shoppach was called for catcher interference, allowing Upton to reach first base. Doubront then hit Luke Scott and allowed a single to Jeff Keppinger that scored Upton.

In the bottom of the fourth, Chris Gimenez hit a ground ball back to the mound with a runner on first. Doubront was unable to field in cleanly and could only get the out at first, allowing Sean Rodriguez to move up to second. Rich Thompson made him pay with an RBI single to cut the Boston lead to one.

Mike Aviles was ejected after arguing a called strike three that ended the top of the seventh inning. It was the first ejection of his career.

Sox manager Bobby Valentine used four pitchers to get four outs after removing Doubront from the game in the bottom of the sixth. In the top of the eighth, Cody Ross secured some insurance for reliever Vicente Padilla by singling home Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz to stretch the lead back to three runs.

Valentine had been hoping that Padilla would be able to complete the eighth before going to closer Alfredo Aceves in the ninth, but after a double and a hit batter brought the tying run to the plate, Bobby had to bring in Aceves for the four-out save. Aceves gave up a single to Upton to make it 5-3 Boston, but then induced Scott to ground out to end the threat. A one-two-three ninth earned Aceves his eighth save of the season, and preserved Doubront’s fourth victory.

The Red Sox now head to Philadelphia for a three game set against the Phillies. Daniel Bard (3-4) will face Cole Hamels (5-1). The first pitch is at 7:05 from Citizens Bank Park.

Beckett Leads 5th Straight Win, Tim Wakefield Honored at Fenway

Matthew Bond — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:57:25 +0000

On a rainy Tuesday afternoon which featured the honoring of Tim Wakefield, the Red Sox swept away the Seattle Mariners in the short two-games series with a 5-0 win, led by a dominate rebound start from Josh Beckett.

David Ortiz opened up the scoring in the third when he homered deep to right field off of Blake Beaven giving Boston a 1-0 lead. It was his eighth home run of the year and 27th RBI. Ortiz had two hits and is now batting .353 on the season.

In the fourth, Mike Aviles hit an RBI double into the right-center gap, adding to the team’s double count for the season. Entering the day, the Red Sox had just over 100 doubles, many. many more than the Kansas City Royals, who have the second most at 76. An RBI ground out by Ryan Sweeney made it 3-0. Aviles launched another RBI double in the 8th to extend the lead to 5-0.

Beaven was chased after just the four innings due to a high pitch count and the Boston batters making solid contact against him throughout. He threw 93 pitches, allowing 5 hits and the three runs, walking two and striking out four.

Beckett Strong

Beckett, on the other hand, overpowered the Mariners from the beginning, in similar fashion to Jon Lester‘s performance Monday night. He retired the first nine batters he faced, striking out six, including four in a row until Dustin Ackley reached on a weak infield single.

He picked apart the Seattle lineup by combining an array of pitches with excellent location, the latter of which had been the problem in his most recent start. On Tuesday, he pitched seven strong, allowing only four hits, no runs, two walks, and nine strikeouts. Had it not been for the rested Sox bullpen from Monday’s game, he probably could have seen another inning of work as he threw 93 pitches.

Rich Hill pitched a perfect 8th inning as he continues to establish himself as a reliable left-handed reliever. Hill has pitched 7.2 innings this year for the Red Sox and holds an impressive 1.17 ERA. Alfredo Aceves needed just 11 pitches in the ninth inning to close out the win, giving Boston straight victories to close out the homestand.

Red Sox Upcoming Road Trip

The Red Sox improved to 17-19 on the year as they get ready to head out on a challenging road trip. First up they play another short two-game series against in Tampa Bay against the Rays. Then, interleague play kicks off as they square off with the Phillies’ strong pitching staff in Philadelphia. Finally, next Monday they head to Baltimore, where the Orioles currently find themselves tied for first in the American League East.

The trip will say a lot about this Red Sox team, including whether or not they are going to be able to keep up their strong pitching as of late. In the five-game winning streak, each of the five Sox starters have delivered a quality start, the first time Boston pitching has done that since May of last year.

Jon Lester Finishes Mariners in 6-1 Red Sox Win

Matthew Bond — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:02:02 +0000

It was the type of outing it seemed like Jon Lester was due for. The Seattle Mariners brought their offensively challenged lineup to face the Sox ace, and he effectively shut them down in an impressive complete game win.

Jason Vargas took the mound for Seattle to face the red-hot Red Sox, who were coming off of their 12-run outburst on Sunday. In the first inning, David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez each ripped RBI doubles to give Boston an early 2-0 lead.

Daniel Nava delivered his first home run in the majors since his dramatic grand slam in his first major league at bat. This time it was a two-run blast over the Green Monster, extending the Boston lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning. Kelly Shoppach also homered later in the inning over the Monster as the Red Sox were hitting everything hard against Vargas.

Lester was stellar from the beginning. He retired the first 11 batters he faced on just 39 pitches before Ichiro Suzuki broke up the perfect game with an infield single back to Lester. From there he was solid, working towards what ended up being his strongest performance of the season. He pitched all 9 innings, allowing 8 hits and a single run in the ninth when he grew tired, throwing a total of 119 pitches.

The Red Sox are now on a four-game winning streak, and things are truly beginning to turn around after a bad start. Tuesday night Josh Beckett, will attempt to continue the recent success in the last game of the short two-game series with Seattle.

Pink Bats Explode for Red Sox in Dominant Mother’s Day Blowout

Matthew Bond — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:59:50 +0000

Mother’s Day has a good ring to it at Fenway Park. The most memorable game the Sox played was the “Mother’s Day miracle”, when they scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles in 2007 for a dramatic win. Sunday’s game between Boston and the Cleveland Indians might not enter that realm of fame, but it was exactly what the home crowd needed: a blowout victory. The Sox opened scored often early and late, all part of a 12-1 win.

Masterson Pummeled

The offense rode the pink bats early on against former Sox pitcher Justin Masterson. After David Ortiz earned a two out walk, Adrian Gonzalez doubled on a line to left, putting runners on the corners. Will Middlebrooks delivered with a base hit to left, scoring the first run of the game. Then Daniel Nava doubled off the Green Monster to drive in Gonzalez, making it 2-0 Boston. Cody Ross was drilled by a pitch by Masterson on the ninth pitch of his at bat, loading the bases. The first pitch thrown to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was promptly ripped into right field beyond a Cleveland defensive shift, scoring two more runs.

The Red Sox sent nine batters to the plate in the four run inning, forcing Masterson to throw 31 pitches. The quick start was ideal with Daniel Bard on the mound, as again he struggled with his command on Sunday. After two effective innings, he became erratic in the third. The former reliever walked Jack Hannahan with one down, and then issued another free pass to Johnny Damon on four pitches. Jason Kipnis delivered a base hit to load the bases, followed by a run-scoring four pitch walk to Asdrubal Cabrera. Luckily for Bard, a lengthy at bat by Travis Hafner ended in a soft ground ball to second which Dustin Pedroia turned into an inning ending double play. Bard threw 29 pitches in the frame, only 15 for strikes.

Middlebrooks continued his hot hitting with a solo home run in the third inning. The ball carried just to the top of the Monster, falling back into the field of play as the 23-year old. It was his fourth home run of the season as he continues to find success at the plate in the big leagues. Middlebrooks is batting .310 this year, impressing as Kevin Youkilis remains on the disabled list.The Sox tacked on another run in the sixth, when Saltalamacchia lined an RBI base hit to left field which Damon was unable to come up with.

Bard pitched six shaky innings, but he managed to escape jams and limit the Cleveland offense. He allowed just the one run, struck out two, and walked four. He left with a 6-1 lead but any doubts of a win were quickly erased as the Sox went to bat in the seventh. The offense unloaded on reliever Dan Wheeler, touching him for six earned runs as the game got out of hand.

Sox Score Six in the 7th

Pedroia got things started with a double. Ortiz drove him in with a base hit. Gonzalez doubled as well to put two runners in scoring position for Middlebrooks. He walked on a wild pitch, advancing the base runners and giving the Sox an 8-1 lead. Then Nava reached base for the fourth time with a 2 RBI double. After a ground out, Saltalamacchia launched his fifth home run of the season deep to center field, giving Boston a 12-1 lead which they would hold on to for the win.

All in all the Sox are still in last place and need all the wins they can get. But this win was great as the team wrapped up their four game series with the first place Indians, coming back from losing the first game to win the series. The Sox are now on a three-game winning streak and will play again tomorrow night as they welcome the Seattle Mariners to town.

Doubront Shines in 4-1 Victory, Pedroia Keeps Streaking

Matthew Bond — Sun, 13 May 2012 05:13:44 +0000

The Red Sox aren’t accustomed to winning games at Fenway Park this season. In fact, Boston won consecutive games at their home park for the first time all year on Friday night. The 4-1 win over Cleveland was highlighted by a terrific outing by southpaw Felix Doubront, who held the Indians lineup to just three hits over his six innings of work. The offense contributed enough support for him, and the bullpen was sharp to close out the win.

Doubront was opposed by Zach McAllister, filling in for original starter Josh Tomlin who was sent to the disabled list with a sore wrist before the game. McAllister was surprisingly solid, keeping Cleveland in the game despite the potent Boston lineup.

A big part of that stellar offense as of late has been Dustin Pedroia, who extending his hitting streak to 13 games with a single to center in the first inning. He drove in the first Boston run in the third with an RBI double high off the Green Monster to left. After leaving Friday night’s game with a heel injury, David Ortiz followed Pedroia’s lead with an RBI double of his own, giving the Sox a 2-0 lead.

From there Doubront and the bullpen gave the team everything they could ask on the mound. He allowed just one run in his six innings of work, walking two and striking out five. From there Boston got a perfect inning of work from three different relievers to close out the game. Andrew Miller and Vicente Padilla each earned holds for pitching the seventh and eight respectfully. In five innings of work this season, Miller has not allowed a run and has held opposing hitters to a .125 average.

Closer Alfredo Aceves earned his seventh save of the year after a shaky start, striking out Indians catcher Carlos Santana to end the game. Boston improves to 14-19 on the year, earning their first winning streak since April 28th.

Sunday in the series finale, former Red Sox reliever Justin Masterson will start against his old team. He was traded to Cleveland in the deal that brought former Sox catcher Victor Martinez to town. He will be opposed by Daniel Bard, who takes aim for his third win of the season.

David Ortiz Ticketed for Causing Minor Car Accident near Fenway Park

KC Downey — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:05:07 +0000

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was issued a citation for causing a multi-car accident before Friday night’s game against the Indians.

Ortiz was on his way to Fenway Park when he got into the accident near the corner of Boylston Street and Ipswich Street.

According to police, the other driver involved in the crash was stopped at the red light when Ortiz’s car spun out of a gas station and struck the front driver’s side of the car.

“I lost a little control coming out of the gas station and I hit a car, but I’m fine,” Ortiz said shortly after the accident. “Everybody is fine.”

Ortiz was ticketed for an improperly made left turn.

No one was hurt in the crash, and Ortiz played later that night as the DH. He went 1-3 with a walk and a run scored, but left the game in the 7th inning with a heel injury. He apparently suffered the injury in the 5th inning trying to beat out an infield single.

Red Sox Fall to Orioles in 13 Innings

Matthew Bond — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:16:46 +0000

On a night when the Boston Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks in overtime, the Boston Red Sox were playing a bit of extra baseball in what ended up being their third consecutive loss.

The division rival Baltimore Orioles (16-9) were in town, looking to improve upon a strong start to their season. The ninth inning ended with the score tied 4-4, as it remained until first baseman Chris Davis singled home catcher Matt Wieters, giving the Orioles a lead that they would hold on to as the Sox ended up losing 6-4.

One of the biggest differences this year for Baltimore has been the pitching, led by Wei-Yin Chen, who was scheduled to face the Red Sox for the first time. Chen was signed by the Orioles after years of stellar success pitching in Nippon Professional Baseball. He was opposed by Jon Lester, who was coming off of his best outing of the year against the Chicago White Sox.

Sox Surrender Leads

All-or-nothing Orioles slugger Mark Reynolds homered off of Lester over the Green Monster to tie the game 1-1 after the Sox scored on a passed ball earlier. Reynolds entered the game hitless in his last 13 at-bats but broke out, going 2-4 with the home run and a double.

The Sox regained the lead after an RBI groundout by David Ortiz. After hitting nearly everything in sight lately, Ortiz came back down to Earth, going 0-5 with a walk. The Sox added another run with a sacrifice fly by Cody Ross, but the early 3-1 lead was again surrendered by Lester.

In the top of the fourth, following a leadoff walk, Wieters connected on a base hit down the right field line, which got past Ross, allowing a run to score and Wieters to end up on third base, eventually scoring himself to tie the game again 3-3.

Manager Bobby Valentine batted youngster Will Middlebrooks second following an impressive big league debut. This time around, he was just 1-6, but the one was a big double to lead off the bottom of the fifth. He advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez and scored on a RBI base hit by Dustin Pedroia. Gonzalez had three hits after slumping throughout the majority of the season to this point.

Battle of Bullpens

The Sox held the 4-3 lead until the top of the seventh when the Sox needed to go to their unpredictable bullpen. First up was Vincente Padilla, who had been a slightly brighter aspect of the pen to this point. Padilla allowed a leadoff double, and two more runners, loading the bases with no one out. He induced a double play, which tied the game 4-4, as it remained until the 13th.

The Orioles relievers were brilliant after Chen departed at the end of the fifth. Their five pitchers tossed eight shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks as the Sox bats went cold. On the other side, the Boston relievers were solid, especially Alfredo Aceves, who pitched 2.2 innings, striking out six. Franklin Morales was handed the loss after allowing the go-ahead base hit by Davis.

Aaron Cook Pitches Saturday

On Saturday the Red Sox will try again, with Aaron Cook starting his first game in a Boston uniform. The righty was signed in the offseason to add potential rotation depth, and he looks to begin to contribute on Cinco de Mayo. With AAA Pawtucket this season Cook was very good, recording a 3-0 record with a 1.89 ERA.

He had spent his entire time in the big leagues with the Colorado Rockies, holding a career 72-68 record and 4.53 ERA. He’ll be opposed by Jason Hammel, who is 3-1 with a 1.97 ERA for Baltimore.

Red Sox Continue Winning Ways in Pitchers’ Duel

John — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 02:33:14 +0000

It was very refreshing to see Boston get off to such a great road trip, and that hasn’t let up. Thanks to a 1-0 victory against the White Sox, that streak now stands at six.

However, Chicago could have done better. The most important play of the game came in the first inning, with Chicago at bat. After drawing a two-out walk, Adam Dunn ran into third on a Paul Konerko double. Cody Ross bobbled the ball in left, which would have allowed Dunn to easily score. However, Dunn didn’t bother watching the play, and determined beforehand to stop at third, despite being waved around. Alex Rios then flew out to end the inning.

It wasn’t a total loss in the inning, though. Those last three batters really took a lot out of Lester, who threw 32 pitches in the inning. Still, Lester came back strong in the 2nd and 3rd innings, with 11 and 12 pitches in the frames respectively.

The Red Sox then scored the game’s only run in the 4th. With Ryan Sweeney on second and one out, Adrian Gonzalez hit a difficult pop fly to no man’s land in right, barely fair and quite shallow. Gordon Beckham missed running out from second on a dive, but still could have (relatively) easily come up with the catch. Sweeney, banking on the difficult play not being made, ran hard all the way and scored easily.

In the bottom of the inning, Marlon Byrd seemed to hurt his wrist to a minor degree diving for a ball that ended up being another Konerko double. He did stay in the game, though, and continued to be productive. And in another base running mistake, Konerko could have easily walked to third when a pitch got well past Jarrod Saltalamacchia, but doubting himself, got a bit there and ran back to second.

Mike Aviles also seemed to tweak himself straining to make a throw to second in the 7th, overthrowing the ball. However, there really wasn’t any concern as he quickly got back to his old self without any need for aid.

Franklin Morales and Vicente Padilla combined to complete the 8th inning in relief of Jon Lester, who threw a massive 122 pitches through seven innings. Paul Konerko made things interesting by drawing a walk against Padilla with two outs and a man on, but Rios then grounded out meekly to second. Alfredo Aceves then recorded a perfect 9th for save, despite some lengthy at bats, and never let up on his fastballs in the least.

Sox’ Stud of the Game: Jon Lester

Throwing such a great game and getting out of the early jam, how could you not go with Lester?

Sox’ Dud of the Game: Nobody

Only three Sox had hits, and only Sweeney had two, but that was really due to the effectiveness of Jake Peavy.

Game Notes:

W: Jon Lester (1-2)
L: Jake Peavy (3-1)
S: Alfredo Aceves (5)

The 1st inning was the third of the year in which Lester threw 30+ pitches.
Lester got his first win in his fifth start of the season, and his first win overall since last September.
Boston won their first 1-0 game since last June.