Pedroia Is The Hero Again As Red Sox Smash Orioles (58-36)

Last night, I was live at the game as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 15-10 in a definite pitching game (sarcasm). The Orioles got an early lead in the 1st as with runners on 1st and 2nd, Derrek Lee crushed a 2-run double off the center field wall. In the 3rd, a leadoff homer by Jarrod Saltalamacchia put the Sox back in the game. Then later in the inning, with runners at 1st and 2nd, singles by Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez gave the Sox a 3-2 lead. With runners on 1st and 2nd in the 4th, an error by Derrek Lee and a sacrifice fly by Jacoby Ellsbury made it 5-2. In the 5th, Josh Reddick smacked a home run to give the Sox a 6-2 advantage. In the bottom of the 5th, however, all hell broke loose as a 2-run homer by J.J. Hardy narrowed the lead to 6-4. Then an Adam Jones home run cut it even further to 6-5. With the bases loaded, later in the inning, Nolan Reimold hit a perfectly placed double down the left field line, scoring 2 and making it 7-6 Orioles. With runners on 1st and 2nd in the 7th, Kevin Youkilis singled one home to make it 7-7. In the 8th, the Red Sox loaded the bases with 1 out, setting up for a big inning. Dustin Pedroia broke the tie with a rocket double out to right field to make it 9-7. Then Kevin Youkilis smacked a 2-run single to make it 11-7. An RBI single by Carl Crawford (first day back from the DL) made it 12-7. Finally, a Darnell McDonald double really put the book on this game, as he cleared the bases and made it 15-7. However, the Orioles were not done either, in the bottom half, an RBI single by J.D. Hardy and a 2-run single by Nick Markakis made it 15-10.

Tim Wakefield was pretty bad, allowing 7 runs, 3 earned, in 4 2/3 innings. Dan Wheeler took over and tossed 2 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, earning the win, as he did a great job of not letting things get out of hand. Randy Williams allowed 3 runs in an inning

and Franklin Morales tossed a scoreless inning. Jacoby Ellsbury had a great game, going 3-4 with 3 runs and an RBI. Dustin Pedroia also did well, going 2-5 with a run and 3 RBIs. Kevin Youkilis had a great game, going 2-6 with 1 run and 3 RBIs. Josh Reddick went 1-4 with 2 runs and a solo home run, he is now .347/4/18. Carl Crawford did well in his first day back, going 2-5 with 2 runs and an RBI. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (left) went 2-5 with 2 runs and a solo home run, as he is now .247/7/25. Darnell McDonald came off the bench, and knocked a 3-run double, wow. Marco Scutaro also did well, going 2-5 with 2 runs scored. Tonight, Kyle Weiland (0-0/13.50/2) and Jeremy Guthrie (3-13/4.45/80) will start.

Bright Spots:

Dan Wheeler- 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief and the win

Franklin Morales- a scoreless inning of relief

Jacoby Ellsbury- 3-4 with 3 runs and an RBI

Dustin Pedroia- 2-5 with a run and 3 RBIs

Kevin Youkilis- 2-6 with a run and 3 RBIs

Josh Reddick- 1-4 with 2 runs and a home run

Carl Crawford- 2-5 with 2 runs and an RBI

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 2-5 with 2 runs and a solo home run

Darnell McDonald- 1-1 with a 3-run double off the bench

Marco Scutaro- 2-5 with 2 runs scored

Dull Spots:

Tim Wakefield- 7 runs, 3 earned, in 4 2/3 innings

Randy Williams- 3 runs in an inning

J.D. Drew- 0-3 with a strikeout

This was a really fun game to be at and I'm glad I had that opportunity.