Red Sox Remain Below .500 In Extras (17-19)

Last night, the Red Sox lost 7-6 to the Blue Jays in a very close game in which the Jays walked off in the 10th inning. In the first inning, after a hit and 2 walks loaded the bases with no outs, Edwin Encarnacion walked to drive in a run. On two force outs, the Blue Jays scored two more, making it 3-0 Blue Jays. An RBI single by Carl Crawford made it 3-1 in the second inning. In the top of the 4th, David Ortiz homered to dead center field to make it 3-2 Jays. After Dustin Pedroia reached base to start the 5th inning, Adrian Gonzalez homered to left field, giving the Sox a 4-3 lead. However, it didn't last, as in the bottom half of the inning, Jose Bautista hit a shot to right to tie it at 4-4. In the bottom of the 6th inning, J.P. Arencibia crushed a ball to left field to make it 5-4 Blue Jays. After a Jed Lowrie double in the 8th, Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled him in, making it 5-5. In the bottom of the 8th, David Cooper it his first MLB home run, to make it 6-5 Blue Jays. Adrian Gonzalez proceeded to hit his 2nd home run of the game, to tie it up at 6-6. However, Rajai Davis came across the plate on a sacrifice fly by David Cooper as the Red Sox lost 7-6.

Jon Lester was not very sharp, as if he was better the Sox would have won. He allowed 5 runs in 5+ innings, earning a no-decision and making him 4-1/2.96/51 this year. Rich Hill threw a scoreless 1 1/3 of an inning, and Alfredo Aceves threw a scoreless 1/3 of an inning before Daniel Bard and Matt Albers each allowed runs in their 1 inning and 1 2/3 innings, respectively. Jacoby Ellsbury had a great game, going 3-6 out of the leadoff spot. Dustin Pedroia went 2-4 and scored a run as he may be breaking out of that slump. Adrian Gonzalez went 3-6 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. David Ortiz (left) went 3-5 with a home run and 2 runs scored. J.D. Drew went 2-5 with a walk. Carl Crawford and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each had an RBI, and went 1-5 and 1-3, respectively. Tonight, John Lackey (2-4/7.16/18) and Jesse Litsch (3-2/4.04/31) will go in the final game of this short 2-game series.

Bright Spots:

Rich Hill- 1 1/3 scoreless innings

Jacoby Ellsbury- 3-6

Dustin Pedroia- 2-4 with a run scored

Adrian Gonzalez- 3-6 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs

David Ortiz- 3-5 with 2 runs and a home run

J.D. Drew- 2-5

Carl Crawford- 1-5 with an RBI

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 1-3 with an RBI

Dull Spots:

Jon Lester- 5 runs in 5+ innings, not a good start

Daniel Bard- 1 run in 1 inning

Matt Albers- 1 run, the winning run, in 1 2/3 innings

Kevin Youkilis- 0-5 with 2 strikeouts

I am pleased with the offensive performance, but not the pitching, in last night's game.