Saturday, September 17, 2011

Tough Streak Continues As Sox Unable To Break Out Of Slump (87-64)

The Sox played a tough game against the Rays today, as we lost a close game and continued playing bad baseball. With Desmond Jennings on 1st base in the 1st inning, the Rays took an early lead as Ben Zobrist went the opposite way to left for a 2-run shot to make it 2-0. In the 3rd inning, it was Jennings again, as he scored on a wild pitch with Evan Longoria at the plate. After Carl Crawford singled to lead off the 3rd, Mike Aviles knocked a double to center field to score him and make it 3-1. After Aviles got to 3rd base on a bunt by Marco Scutaro, he was driven in on a sacrifice fly by Jacoby Ellsbury. With runners at 1st and 2nd and two outs in the 5th inning, Evan Longoria singled in Brandon Guyer to make it 4-2. With runners at 2nd and 3rd with 1 out in the 7th inning, Jacoby Ellsbury grounded a ball to the shortstop to score a run and make it 4-3, but that was it.
     Jon Lester wasn't fantastic, allowing 4 runs in 7 innings, as he is now 15-8/3.15/167. He was relieved by Daniel Bard and Franklin Morales with a scoreless inning each. Jacoby Ellsbury (left) was one of few offensive bright spots for the Red Sox, as he went 1-3 with 2 RBIs, as he is now .318/27/96. Carl Crawford also had a pretty good day against his former team, going 2-4 with 2 runs scored. Mike Aviles had a great day, going 3-4 with a run and an RBI, as he is now .261/6/35 on the season, and a very impressive .361/1/4 since joining the Red Sox at the trading deadline. Tomorrow, the Red Sox will play a key game which could, for all practical purposes, lock away the wild card. However, it won't be easy as Tim Wakefield (7-6/5.13/84), fresh off his 200th win, will go against David Price (12-12/3.34/206) and the Rays.

Bright Spots:
Daniel Bard- a scoreless inning
Franklin Morales- a scoreless inning
Jacoby Ellsbury- 1-3 with 2 RBIs
Carl Crawford- 2-4 with 2 runs scored
Mike Aviles- 3-4 with a run and an RBI

Dull Spots:
The rest of the offense: 1-19 with 7 strikeouts

We need a win tomorrow, it is simply crucial.

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