Red Sox Unable To Come Back From Pirates' Rallies (44-32)

Well, I wanted to make the title of this post "Timmy Ballgame," I really did. Unfortuantely he was not sharp and last night was a tough game for the Sox, as we lost 6-4 to the Pirates. The Red Sox took another early lead in the 1st inning, as with Dustin Pedroia on third base, Adrian Gonzalez grounded out. Gonzalez struck again in the 3rd, with an opposite field home run to make it 2-0. In the 4th, the Pirates made a splash as Lyle Overbay crushed a 3-run homer to right field, making it 3-2 Pirates. Later in the inning, pitcher Jeff Karstens singled back up the middle to make it 4-2. In the 5th, the Pirates got some insurance as a ball rolled through teh legs of Dustin Pedroia, scoring a run and making it 5-2. In the top of the 7th, home runs by Josh Reddick and Jacoby Ellsbury put the Sox back in the game at 5-4. Unfortunately, the Pirates got right back in the bottom half with a long home run by Garrett Jones to make it 6-4.

Wakefield was not good, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings. He earned the loss, and is now 4-3/4.54/33. Matt Albers allowed a run in 2/3 of an inning in relief and Daniel Bard threw a perfect 1 1/3 innings. Jacoby Ellsbury only went 1-5, but he had a very clutch home run, and is now .304/9/39. Dustin Pedroia went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Adrian Gonzalez only went 1-5 as well, but he had a home run and an RBI groundout, and is now .358/16/71. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a pretty good game, going 2-4 with a double that was almost a home run. Josh Reddick went 2-3 with a home run, he is now .462/1/8. Today at 1:35, Andrew Miller (0-0/4.76/6) and James McDonald (5-4/4.86/62) will go in the series finale.

Bright Spots:

Daniel Bard- 1 1/3 scoreless innings when we needed it

Jacoby Ellsbury- despite batting 1-5, he had a clutch home run

Dustin Pedroia- 2-4 with a double and a run scored

Adrian Gonzalez- 1-5 with a homer and an RBI groundout

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 2-4 with a double

Josh Reddick- 2-3 with a solo home run

Dull Spots:

Tim Wakefield- despite starting out well, he collapsed late

Matt Albers- allowed a solo home run in 2/3 of an inning

Kevin Youkilis- 0-3

Marco Scutaro- 0-4 with 5 runners left on base

I am sad that the Sox gave up their early rally, and it is now a 4-game skid.