Whether we want to believe it or not, recent callups Pedro Ciriaco and Mauro Gomez may have saved the season for the Boston Red Sox last night in the second game of the doubleheader.
After the New York Yankees took the first game in the afternoon and got out to 3-0 lead in the 1st inning of the second game on a Mark Teixeira home run, things were looking mighty bleak for the local nine. But the Red Sox managed to chip away against the lead scoring single runs in the 3rd and 5th innings off of Phil Hughes.
In the 6th inning, things took a change for the better as they managed to load up the bases against Hughes. And it was Ciriaco who provided the big hit as his bases clearing double gave the Red Sox a 5-3 lead
Felix Doubront gave a run back in the 7th when Andruw Jones hit a solo home run, his third of the day as he had hit two in the first game of the day-night doubleheader. The Red Sox managed to put the game away in the bottom half though.
Adrian Gonzalez led off the inning with a double and came around to score two batters later on a Ryan Sweeney triple. Sweeney had been activated before the game after spending time on the DL with a bad toe. Ryan Kalish was optioned to make room for Sweeney. Gomez followed the Sweeney triple with a RBI double. Mike Aviles pinch-ran for Gomez and he scored on a Ciriaco double.
With Daniel Nava at the plate, Ciriaco stole third and scored when Russell Martin‘s attempt to throw him out ended up down the line in left field.
Ciriaco’s speed brings a different element to the Red Sox right now with Jacoby Ellsbury out of the lineup. Obviously the stolen base is one example. Another would be in the 5th inning when Curtis Granderson made an error. Ciriaco was standing halfway between first and second watching the play develop and once he saw the ball dropped, he used his wheels to get to third base. Nick Punto brought him in for the second run of the game.
When Doubront gave up the three run homer to Teixeira in the 1st, it marked the third straight game the Red Sox found themselves trailing before they’d get their hacks. But he settled down nicely and kept his team in the game allowing the offense to mount a comeback.
The first game was quite ugly.
The Red Sox normally have good success against Freddy Garcia. But with what basically amounted to a spring training lineup, the inexperience of the lineup showed as they were very impatient with Garcia. Instead of making him work, they made a lot of first pitch swings.
Franklin Morales had been pretty dominant as a starter. The difference though it wasn’t against a lineup that is as strong as the Yankees put out on a daily basis. He left a lot of pitches out over the meat of the plate and the Yanks took advantage of that by hitting four home runs, including the aforementioned two by Jones.
Justin Germano saved the Red Sox bullpen for the second game though by throwing 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball. If it weren’t for him the Red Sox bullpen could have been in a world of hurt for the second game.
Another win for the Red Sox tonight would huge.
For starters, it would keep them above .500 and it would also keep them from being in the basement at the All-Star break. And while a win would mean they didn’t gain any ground on the Yankees over the four game series, it would keep them alive in the wild card race. Plus, there’s always what they would do at the trade deadline.
And with the the second wild card this year, things are a lot more interesting as to what teams will do, the Red Sox included.
We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Later on [boston globe]
This team has big-time trust issues [boston globe]
Garcia much more lively in this start [bston globe]
Another setback for Crawford [boston globe]
New faces help Sox rally in 2nd after losing opener [boston herald]
Sox’ numbers don’t lie [boston herald]
Fastball struggles sink Franklin Morales [boston herald]
Adrian Gonzalez’ focus singular [boston herald]
Carl Crawford hits another snag [boston herald]
Second opinions confirm Pedroia diagnosis [rob bradford – weei.com]
Ciriaco leads Red Sox to 9-5 victory over Yankees [csn new england]
Gonzalez extends hitting streak to 18 games [csn new england]
Doubront earns ninth win [csn new england]
Valentine: ‘I believe in (Gomez) as a hitter’ [csn new england]
Valentine: Ciriaco ‘a nice breath of fresh air’ [csn new england]
Germano makes strong case for rotation [espn boston]
MLB chastises Sox for showing replay [espn boston]
Depleted Sox lineup offers little resistance [espn boston]
Morales falls back to Earth vs. Yanks [espn boston]
Unlikely heroes Ciriaco, Gomez lift Sox [espn boston]
Say hello to ‘Pedro, Pedro, Pedro’ 2.0 [espn boston]
If Carl Crawford needs surgery eventually, Boston Red Sox should shut him down now [espn boston]
Jarrod Saltalamacchia: ‘We didn’t brush [Mark Teixeira] back and look what happened’ [full count]
Freddy Garcia redeems himself at Fenway [full count]
Did Justin Germano prove he can start for the Red Sox, or someone else? [full count]
Closing Time: Pedro Ciriaco, Mauro Gomez stars in Red Sox win [full count]
‘Pedro, Pedro, Pedro’ chants humble Pedro Ciriaco after breakout game: ‘I’m here for my glove’ [full count]
Nuggetpalooza’s stat of the day: Getaway Sunday [full count]
Felix Doubront Uses Determination as Tool in Red Sox Comeback Victory [nesn.com]
Mark Teixeira Should Play ‘Women’s Sport,’ Is Scared of Getting Hit by Pitches, Vicente Padilla Says [nesn.com]
Salvage effort: Ciriaco, Sox split DH [mike petraglia – weei.com]
Doubront shakes off early home run to finish first half strong [projo sox blog]
Throwback night: New Pedro ignites Red Sox [redsox.com]
Ellsbury progressing after latest rehab start [redsox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the ESPN New York, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and The Journal News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, NYY Stadium Insider.
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