Romero Outduels Lester As Jays Win Series (1-5)

Lester pitched well

We Red Sox fans have to be as optimistic as possible right about now and think about how the Sox were 0-6 heading into their home opener last year-- this year they're 1-5. The Red Sox actually took their first early lead of the year when they put themselves in a good position to score with Cody Ross and Mike Aviles leading off the third inning with singles. Jacoby Ellsbury went opposite field with a single to left but that would be pretty much all that they would get in that inning as Dustin Pedroia struck out and Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to end the inning. However, the Blue Jays got those runs right back in the third inning when Eric Thames led off the inning with a single and Rajai Davis brought him in with a triple before Davis was driven in by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Yunel Escobar to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead in the third inning. The next few innings went very quickly for each team as Jon Lester and Ricky Romero were each dominant in their second starts of the season.

However, he couldn't get the win

However, finally in the eighth inning, the Blue Jays got another little something going when Rajai Davis walked and stole second with two outs in the inning. Yunel Escobar would hit a blooper into center field where Davis would easily score with his speed to give the Blue Jays an additional cushion heading into the ninth. This concluded Jon Lester's night, as he threw a complete game-- 8 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K-- in his first loss of the year. In perfect Red Sox fashion, the Sox didn't go down easily. They put Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia on base with walks to lead off the inning-- chasing Ricky Romero from the game and entering Sergio Santos-- who blew the game two nights ago. However, Santos pitched well this time around and before you knew it the Sox were done.

Bright Spots:
Jon Lester- 8 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Jacoby Ellsbury- 1-3, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 1-3, 1 R

Dull Spots:
Adrian Gonzalez- 0-4, 4 LOB
Kevin Youkilis- 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB
David Ortiz- 0-4, 2 LOB
Darnell McDonald- 0-3, 1 K
Kelly Shoppach- 0-3, 1 K, 2 BB

Player of the Game:
Jon Lester- Lester pitched very well despite the loss, he allowed just three runs in eight innings and usually with the Red Sox offense that's enough-- however, he now sits at 0-1/2.40/10 in 15 innings.