Battery Powers Sox In Win Over Cubs (32-33)

Lester pitched very well
through six innings

The Red Sox really needed a win last night to take advantage of the worst team in the league and to climb within a game of the .500 mark. A two out walk by David Ortiz in the first inning could have started a rally. Jarrod Saltalamacchia carried on with that by doubling off the wall in right-center. As Ortiz rounded third and headed for home, the Cubs nabbed him at the plate to end the inning. Ortiz would redeem himself in the fourth inning, however, as he led off the inning with a double. Saltalamacchia kept his good game going by crushing a home run to dead right field to score Ortiz and himself and make it 2-0. The Red Sox couldn't make anything else out of the inning, though, as the next three batters all struck out. A pair of one out walks in the sixth put the Red Sox in a position to score and extend the lead. Will Middlebrooks would do just that when he singled up the middle to score Ortiz from second. Future opportunities to score would be squandered, though, when Jarrod Saltalamacchia was thrown out at third.

Saltalamacchia had a home
run and a double

The Red Sox offense kept piling it on in the seventh inning, when Mike Aviles led the inning off with  a double. After a Jon Lester strikeout, Scott Podsednik drove him in with a single up the middle to make it 4-0. That strikeout may have affected Lester in some way as he became startlingly inefficient in the seventh. Jeff Baker doubled to lead off the inning and was moved to third base on a groundout by Tony Campana. Wellington Castillo walked to put two runners on and bring the tying run to the on deck circle. They would both come in to score, plus one more, when Luis Valbuena of all people hit a high fly ball to left-center to cut it to 4-3. Lester struck out David DeJesus to finish his night and he was taken out with a line of 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Scott Atchison would finish off that inning, Vicente Padilla came in for the eighth, then Alfredo Aceves came in for the ninth and earned his 16th save of the season.


Bright Spots:
Jon Lester- 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K, W (4-4)
Vicente Padilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K, SV (16)
Scott Podsednik- 2-4, 1 RBI
David Ortiz- 1-2, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 BB
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Will Middlebrooks- 1-4, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B

Dull Spots:
Dustin Pedroia- 0-5, 3 LOB
Ryan Sweeney- 0-4, 2 K, 3 LOB

Player of the Game:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- Saltalamacchia played a great game both at and behind the plate, going 2-3 with a homer and a double and leading a great performance by Jon Lester-- he is now .254/12/32.