Ellsbury Drives In Six As Sox Pound Yanks (69-43)

Today, the Sox pounded the Yankees 10-4 in a game where the Sox dominated on all aspects of the game. The Red Sox put runners at 2nd and 3rd with 1 out in the 3rd inning, and Jacoby Ellsbury drove one in with a sacrifice fly. It then became 2-0 as Dustin Pedroia doubled to left field. However, the Yankees got those back as they loaded the bases to start the 4th. Nick Swisher drove in a run on a 4-6-3 double play and Eric Chavez drove in another on a single to left making it 2-2. In the bottom of the 4th, the Red Sox put runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out. A single by Carl Crawford scored a run and made it 3-2. The Red Sox soon scored another on a single by Marco Scutaro to make it 4-2. The next batter, Jacoby Ellsbury, then made the Yankees forget about winning this one as he crushed a 3-run homer to right, making it 7-2. In the 5th, Francisco Cervelli scored on a single by Derek Jeter to make it 7-3. In the 8th, it became 7-4 as Mark Teixeira hit a home run to right field to cut the lead further. However, in the bottom of the 8th, the Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs and after a Marco Scutaro popup, it was Ellsbury again, singling in two and making it 9-4. A sacrifice fly by Dustin Pedroia then extended the lead to 10-4.

John Lackey was pretty good, allowing 3 runs in 6 innings, as he is now 10-8/6.14/76. In relief, Alfredo Aceves pitched a scoreless inning, Daniel Bard allowed a run in an inning, and Dan Wheeler pitched a scoreless inning. Jacoby Ellsbury (left) had a great game, going 2-4 with 6 RBIs, 3 on a home run, and a run scored, as he is now .321/19/72, as he is definitely having an MVP-caliber season.

Dustin Pedroia also had a pretty good game, going 1-4 with 2 RBIs. Carl Crawford also had a very good game, going 4-4 with 3 runs and an RBI as he is now .254/7/38, as he is not having a great year. Marco Scutaro went 1-3 with a run and an RBI. In the rubber match tomorrow night, the Sox will send Josh Beckett (9-4/2.20/122) up against Freddy Garcia (10-7/3.22/80) in a must-win game.

Bright Spots:

John Lackey- he was pretty sharp with 3 runs in 6 innings

Alfredo Aceves- a scoreless inning

Dan Wheeler- a scoreless inning

Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-4 with a homer and 6 RBIs in an awesome game

Dustin Pedroia- 1-4 with 2 RBIs

Carl Crawford- 4-4 with 3 runs and an RBI

Marco Scutaro- 1-3 with a run and an RBI

Dull Spots:

Daniel Bard- a run in an inning

David Ortiz- 0-4 with 2 strikeouts and 3 LOB

This was a great game for the Sox, and they need a win tomorrow to reclaim 1st place!