Red Sox Rally, Play Spoiler On Rays (67-81)

Cook got his fourth win of the year

This was a really great game for the Red Sox-- it displayed a number of things we haven't seen lately. First and foremost, a win, but also a pitching game-- things we haven't seen recently apart from the Blue Jays series. On that note, pitching was very prominent in this game as Alex Cobb (8-9, 4.26) and Aaron Cook (3-10, 5.18) practically matched each other pitch for pitch for the first few innings. It wasn't until the bottom of the fifth that the Rays finally got something going off Cook. The Rays started things off with a Luke Scott single, Jeff Keppinger lineout, and Carlos Pena single to put runners at the corners with one out. The Rays took the first run on a safety squeeze by Ryan Roberts, just scoring Scott fr, third. However, it didn't take the Red Sox long to catch up at all. With two outs and Jose Iglesias on third base, all Jacoby Ellsbury needed was a base hit. However, he got much more than that when he sent a line drive over the wall in right-center to make it 2-1.

Ellsbury had a tie breaking home run

Things got going faster for the Red Sox in the seventh inning. On a single, walk, and failed force attempt they were able to load the bases with no outs. Two runs came in when Mauro Gomez lined a ball over the third baseman's head and into left field for a two-run, pinch-hit single. On a sacrifice bunt and intentional walk, the Red Sox managed to load the bases again-- this time with one out. It was Ellsbury again here as the center fielder drilled a single to score another run and give the Red Sox a 5-1 lead. The Red Sox held that lead for a few innings, but the Rays cut it into it a little in the ninth inning. Mark Melancon came in to pitch and promptly allowed a leadoff single to B.J. Upton. Upton stole second and got to third on a wild pitch, eventually scoring on a Ben Zobrist groundout. However, that would be it as the Red Sox closed down a 5-2 win.

Bright Spots:
Aaron Cook- 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W (4-10)
Rich Hill- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
Junichi Tazawa- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
Jacoby Ellsbury- 3-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
James Loney- 2-4, 1 R
Mauro Gomez- 1-1, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Mark Melancon- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 K
Cody Ross- 0-4, 1 K, 4 LOB
Ryan Lavarnway- 0-4, 1 R, 2 K, 4 LOB
Scott Podsednik- 0-2, 1 K

Player of the Game:
Jacoby Ellsbury- Ellsbury had the key hit and then some, going 3-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs as he led the Sox to victory-- he is now .273/4/23.