Red Sox Ride Aviles, Linares To Win

The only real thing we can conclude from yesterday's games is that Boston College is better than Northeastern. Last night, the Red Sox played their final non-official game of the Spring Training season against Boston College. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 2nd-- helped by a very nice start by Felix Doubront (he went 2 innings, striking out one and allowing a hit). However, the Sox exploded for 4 runs in the 2nd inning-- helped by a liner off the bat of Mike Aviles (right), which went for a 2-run double to give the Sox a 2-0 lead. An RBI grounder by Juan Carlos Linares and a passed ball accounted for the other two runs. However, in the 3rd-- Junichi Tazawa was a bit rough, allowing two runs on three hits to push the lead to 4-2. In the bottom of the 3rd, though, Ryan Lavarnway got on base with a double. He was scored on a beautiful opposite field single by Alex Hassan. In the 4th, Aviles lined another shot off the monster-- this time, leading off the inning. Pedro Ciriaco pinch-ran for him, stealing third and scoring on a single by Linares. In the 5th, Doug Mathis wasn't terribly bad, but his defense didn't support him-- highlighted by a throwing error on a potential double play by Pedro Ciriaco. In the 7th, I was quite impressed by Chorye Spoone; he earned the save with a perfect inning, including striking out Travis Ferrick on a filthy curve to lead off the inning. All in all, a solid win for the Sox-- but definitely BC put up a tougher fight than NEU.

Bright Spots:
Felix Doubront- 2 innings, 1 hit, 1 strikeout, no runs
Chorye Spoone- 1 inning, 1 strikeout, no runs or hits
Mike Aviles- 2-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 1 run
Pedro Ciriaco- 1-1, 1 run, 2 stolen bases
Juan Carlos Linares- 1-3, 2 RBIs
Ryan Lavarnway- 2-2, 2 runs, 1 double
Alex Hassan- 1-1, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 walk

Dull Spots:
Junichi Tazawa- 2 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Nick Punto- 0-3, 1 strikeout, 2 left on base
Jason Repko- 0-3, 2 strikeouts, 4 left on base