Red Sox Return To .500 With Tough Loss (44-44)

Until the seventh, Buchholz was very
sharp last night

My first game back from Nature Camp looked like exactly the game I like for a while-- a good pitching duel. Neither team had scored and Mike Aviles had the only hit of the ballgame as we entered the bottom of the third inning. However, back-to-back singles leading off the inning put the Rays in a good position to break that scoreless tie. Sean Rodriguez crushed a pitch deep into the gap that made me feel that the Red Sox were very lucky that Jacoby Ellsbury was back. He kept it to a sacrifice fly, rather than a two-run double that it may have been otherwise. Empowered by that catch, the Red Sox put together a strong fourth inning-- culminating with Will Middlebrooks' two-out two-run home run to left-center to make it 2-1. The Rays wouldn't score again until the fifth after a leadoff double by Jeff Keppinger was further aided by a sacrifice bunt. With the infield in, Jose Molina hit a hard grounder to shortstop that Mike Aviles booted so the Rays tied the game.

Middlebrooks had a two-run
homer, his 11th

In the top of the sixth, the Red Sox would take advantage of some defensive miscues to take another lead. A one-out walk by Cody Ross moved to second on a passed ball, third on a groundout, and home on a botched pickoff to third base to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. However, it would be in the seventh that it all unraveled. Clay Buchholz allowed the Rays to put two runners in scoring position with just one out. He was taken out in favor of Matt Albers, who did the smart thing and walked the bases loaded to set up the double play. However, that move didn't look so smart as he walked a run in to the next batter-- Jose Lobaton. Or when the Rays took the 4-3 lead on a sacrifice fly by Elliot Johnson. The Red Sox squandered a leadoff double in the eighth and turned things over to the Rays, who quickly got insurance on a moonshot by B.J. Upton. They would hold the lead and win 5-3.


Bright Spots:
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-4, 1 2B
David Ortiz- 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB
Will Middlebrooks- 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Mike Aviles- 2-4

Dull Spots:
Matt Albers- 0.1 IP, 2 BB, BS (4)
Andrew Miller- 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 K
Pedro Ciriaco- 0-4, 2 K, 4 LOB
Daniel Nava- 0-4, 1 K, 3 LOB

Player of the Game:
Will Middlebrooks- Despite only going 1-4, he provided the main offensive outburst with a two-run homer and is now .291/11/39 this season.