David Ortiz had four hits, including two home runs, and Curt Schilling was superb on the mound as the Red Sox pummeled the White Sox 10-1 for a sweep of the day-night doubleheader. Kevin Youkilis added a 3-run homer and Mike Lowell had 2 more RBI’s for a team leading 90.
In the doubleheader, the Red Sox pounded out 28 hits while scoring 21 runs. The bullpen didn’t allow a run in 6 1/3 innings. The Red Sox have now outscored the White Sox 52-18 this season.
The White Sox got on the U.S. Cellular scoreboard in the 2nd inning. After Schilling got Jermaine Dye out, he left a splitter out over of the meat of the plate that Juan Uribe planted in the left field seats. This was the only mistake Schill made all night. He responded to home run by getting Danny Richar to ground out. Alex Gonzalez followed with a single but Schill finished off the inning by getting Toby Hall to line out to Dustin Pedroia at second.
Chi-sox starter John Danks pitched well for the first three innings of the game but he ran into some big trouble the second time around with the lineup. Pedroia worked a lead-off walk and came around to score when Big Papi crushed the first of his two home runs. Manny Ramirez followed with a single and he scored all the way from first on a Lowell double, giving the Sox a 3-1 lead. Danks finally got his first out of the inning when he got Kevin Youkilis to pop out. Bobby Kielty then worked a walk. Coco Crisp chased Danks from the game with a double that scored Lowell. Ozzie Guillen brought in Gavin Floyd and Kevin Cash greeted him with a single to right field that scored Kielty, giving the Sox a 5-1 lead. The hit by Cash was his first in a MLB game in two years. Floyd got out of the inning as he got Julio Lugo and Pedoria to pop out and ground out respectively.
Floyd had a little trouble getting guys out at the beginning of the 5th inning. Big Papi led off with his second home run of the game, a solo shot, to make it 6-1. The home run may have unnerved Floyd as he then walked Manny and Lowell. Youk brought them both home as he crushed a Floyd offering into the seats for a 3-run homer and a 9-1 Bosox lead. Floyd settled down after the Youk homer as he got Kielty to fly out and he struck out Coco. He walked Cash but finished off the inning by getting Lugo to ground out.
Schilling was cruising right along. After allowing 3 hits in the first two innings, he only gave up a walk to Darin Erstad in the 6th inning. Schilling would come out of the game after throwing 98 pitches for 6 innings. He allowed those 3 hits, walked 1 and struck out 3. A splendid outing for Schilling.
The Sox added a run in the 9th inning. Big Papi led off with his 4th hit of the night, a single. He went to third on an Eric Hinske double. Hinske had come in earlier for Manny as a defensive replacement. Guillen went to the bullpen for Mike MacDougal and he was greeted by a Lowell single that scored Papi for the final margin of 10-1.
Eric Gagné mopped up in the 9th, allowing just a Dye single. He finished off the game with a strikeout of Uribe.
With two wins on the day, the Red Sox increased their lead in the AL East to 6 games. The Yanks can cut that lead to 5.5 or it can go up to 6.5 depending on what happens in the Yanks-Tigers game tonight. The start of their game was delayed 4 hours by rain.
The Red Sox now give the ball to their knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, who will be opposed by White Sox ace Mark Buehrle. Gametime tommorow is 3:55 PM and the game will be televised by FOX.
Notes and musings:
Jon Lester will be starting on Monday night for Portland and just in case you want to watch it, you can. The game will be televised on NESN at 7 PM. With the Red Sox off on Monday, NESN is showing the “Road to Fenway”.
Dustin Pedoria rejoined the lineup after being hit on Wednesday night by Tampa starter Edwin Jackson in the left elbow.
Schilling won his second game in a row for just the second time all season.
Josh Beckett’s 16th win tied his career high.
Despite warming up in the first game, Jonathan Papelbon was available for game 2.
Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 19 games in the first game of Pawtucket’s doubleheader. That ties the Pawsox record.
Ellsbury did get a hit in the second game of the Pawsox doubleheader so he extended his hitting streak to 20 games which is now the Pawsox record.
NESN was showing an interview with Dustin Pedroia when Big Papi hit his first homer. They got to him when he had rounded first base.
Since the All-Star break, the Red Sox are 25-17 while the Yankees are 28-13. The Red Sox are hitting .289 as a team while the Yankees are hitting .320. The Sox have hit 36 home runs while the Yanks have hit 71. In those games, the Red Sox are averaging 5.6 runs a game while the Yanks are averaging 7.2.
Gordon Edes will host an event for the Jimmy Fund in Chicago tomorrow night. He will be hosting “An Evening of Red Sox Baseball†with Gordon Edes and friends. If you’re in the Chicago area, you should definitely check it out. For more details, click here.
