Red Sox Show Cubs Why They Left For 93 Years (24-20)

Last night, the Red Sox crushed the Cubs in their first trip back to Fenway since the 1918 World Series. The Red Sox took an early lead in the 1st inning, when Koyie Hill made an error trying to catch Jacoby Ellsbury stealing third, and letting him score. It became 2-0 when Dustin Pedroia scored on an Adrian Gonzalez single. An RBI double by Aramis Ramirez and an RBI groundout by Carlos Pena tied the game. A Kevin Youkilis sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Jed Lowrie gave the Red Sox a 4-2 lead. In the 4th, a 2-run single by Adrian Gonzalez and a 2-run homer by Kevin Youkilis made it 8-2. An Alfonso Soriano RBI single and a Reed Johnson 2-run double cut it to 8-5 in the 5th. A Jarrod Saltalamacchia home run and Jacoby Ellsbury scoring on a double play made it 10-5 Red Sox. In the 8th, 2-run singles by Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury, along with an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez made it 15-5.

Jon Lester was actually not particularly sharp, allowing 5 runs in 6 innings, but his offense backed him up. He earned the win, and is now 6-1/3.68/63 on the season. Scott Atchison relieved him with 3 innings of perfect relief, no runners even got on base. Jacoby Ellsbury had a great game, going 3-6 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, he is now .297/4/21. Dustin Pedroia had a good day as well, going 3-4 with 2 runs scored. Adrian Gonzalez was 4-6 with a run and 4 RBIs, as he is now .326/9/41. Kevin Youkilis also had a great day, going 3-5 with a 3 RBIs and a home run, as he is now .271/8/30 this year. David Ortiz went 2-5 and scored 2 runs. Carl Crawford went 1-5 with a 2-run single, as he is now .212/1/13. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-3 with 3 runs scored, and a home run, as he is now .236/2/11. Tonight, Alfredo Aceves (1-0/2.60/9) will go up against Carlos Zambrano (4-2/4.89/39) as the Sox look for for an 8-game win streak.

Bright Spots:

Scott Atchison- 3 innings of scoreless relief

Jacoby Ellsbury- 3-6 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI

Dustin Pedroia- 3-4 with 2 runs

Adrian Gonzalez- 4-6 with a run and 4 RBIs

Kevin Youkilis- 3-5 with 3 RBIs and a home run

David Ortiz- 2-5 with 2 runs scored

Jed Lowrie- 2-5 with an RBI

Carl Crawford- 1-5 with a 2-run single

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 2-3 with 3 runs scored and a home run

Dull Spots:

None!

The Red Sox had a great night last night from all aspects of the game, and it is now a 7-game win streak.