Red Sox Lose On Royals' 8-run 6th (76-49)

Well, Tim Wakefield was denied 200 wins again in a really tough 9-4 loss to the Royals. The Red Sox led off the 3rd inning with runners on 1st and 3rd and no outs. Marco Scutaro promptly grounded into a double play, however, that scored one for the Sox. In the bottom of the 3rd, Alcides Escobar singled to lead off the inning and 3 batters later, Billy Butler doubled him in to tie it at 1-1. In the top of the 4th, there were runners at 1st and 2nd with 1 out when Carl Crawford singled in Dustin Pedroia. Later in the inning, a sacrifice fly by Darnell McDonald made it 3-1. After Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled to lead off the 6th, Ryan Lavarnway knocked him in for his first MLB RBI. However, in the bottom of the 6th, all hell broke loose after Eric Hosmer singled with one out. Consecutive doubles by Jeff Francoeur and Mike Moustakas made it 4-3. After a walk to Salvador Perez, a single by Chris Getz would tie it up at 4-4. A 2-run double by Alex Gordon and an RBI single by Melky Cabrera would extend the lead further to 7-4. Then, after a walk to Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer cleared the bases with a 2-run triple to make it 9-4.

Tim Wakefield was pretty good until the 6th, but he ended up allowing 4 runs in 5 1/3 innings and is now 6-5/4.97/69. Matt Albers was awful in relief, allowing 5 runs in 1/3 of an inning and earning the loss. Franklin Morales went 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Dan Wheeler threw 1 scoreless inning. Dustin Pedroia had a good game, going 2-4 and scoring a run. Carl Crawford went 2-4 with an RBI in a good day for him. Ryan Lavarnway had his first good day in the major leagues, going 2-3 with an RBI. Darnell McDonald (left) went 1-3 with an RBI. Today, we will have a good chance of winning the series as Jon Lester (12-6/3.22/143) will take the hill against Danny Duffy (3-7/5.66/69).

Bright Spots:

Franklin Morales- 1 1/3 scoreless innings

Dan Wheeler- 1 scoreless inning

Dustin Pedroia- 2-4 with a run

Carl Crawford- 2-4 with an RBI

Ryan Lavarnway- 2-3 with an RBI

Darnell McDonald- 1-3 with an RBI

Dull Spots:

Matt Albers- 5 runs in 1/3 of an inning, as this was one of his best outings in a Red Sox uniform by far

Adrian Gonzalez- 0-5 with a strikeout and 2 LOB

This was a tough game, as we would have won if not for one bad inning.