A .500 record in baseball is usually a sign of mediocrity. Right now, the Boston Red Sox can’t even get to .500. And before you jump down my throat, the Red Sox are from a mediocre team.
There’s many different reasons why the Red Sox can’t get to .500. One of them is the fact that things haven’t fired on all cylinders at once.
That was on display Tuesday night in Toronto, as the Red Sox offense pounded out 16 hits but still fell to the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 in 10 innings.
The problem last night was a rare, ineffective start from Jon Lester.
Lester had put his normal April struggles to pasture this year and has been one of, it not the best starting pitcher for the Red Sox this season (Josh Beckett being the other). But a tight strike zone, no command on his fastball and terrible location on his curveball led to a bad outing.
The tight strike zone came into play in the bottom of the 1st inning when Lester lost his focus and the Red Sox fell behind 3-0. The offense would get the Red Sox back in the lead on a Carl Crawford RBI single, David Ortiz solo home run and the first of two Adrian Gonzalez homers on the night.
But Lester would give the lead back after allowing a tying home run to J. P. Arencibia and the go-ahead run at the time off the bat of Jose Bautista. The Red Sox would get that run back off the bat of Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the top half of the 8th only to see Daniel Bard give up a pinch-hit home run to David Cooper in the bottom half.
The lead didn’t last long though as Adrian Gonzalez hit his second opposite field home run of the night on the first pitch he saw from Jays closer Frank Francisco.
All the Red Sox would get in the 10th inning was a Dustin Pedroia single. The Blue Jays on the other hand got a 1-out single from Rajai Davis, who followed that up with two stolen bases to set the stage for Cooper’s walkoff sacrifice fly against Matt Albers.
After the 2-10 start, the Red Sox battled back to get their record to 10-11 only to lose the next two games. At 11-15, they ran off three straight win to get to 14-15 only to lose the next three games. They closed out the 11-game homestand with three straight wins to get their record back to 17-18 only to fall last night.
This 2011 Red Sox team is a great team on paper but only a decent team on the field right now. We’ve seen the flashes where all the intrical parts have clicked together and then we’ve seen the team from last night. I still think it really is only a matter of time before this team puts together a solid run and puts the .500 mark in their rearview mirror.
But until the Red Sox can put it all together, the .500 mark can’t be a reality. It’s only a dream right now. Hopefully the trend of losing a few games after getting close to .500 ends tonight with (gulp) John Lackey.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Sox are beaten in 10th [Boston Globe]
A Molina has caught their eye [Boston Globe]
These are old-timer’s days [Boston Globe]
Extra frustrating loss for Red Sox [Boston Herald]
‘Pen relieves Sox of .500 record [Boston Herald]
Carl Crawford merits move up in order [Boston Herald]
Gonzalez swings into action [Boston Herald]
Red Sox fall to Blue Jays in 10th, 7-6 [CSNNE.com]
Wakefield won’t rule out playing elsewhere [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Lester struggles; Gonzalez homers twice [CSNNE.com]
Source: Francona won’t be punished for rhubarb [ESPN Boston]
Rapid reaction: Jays 7, Sox 6 (10 inn.) [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Red Sox still searching for .500 after 10-inning loss [Full Count]
Daniel Bard: Pitch to David Cooper ‘right where I wanted it’ [Full Count]
How Rajai Davis, Blue Jays ran past the Red Sox [Full Count]
Video: Jon Lester Says He ‘Just Didn’t Have It’ in Loss to Blue Jays [NESN.com]
Red Sox Remain on Wrong Side of .500 With Another Frustrating Series Opener [NESN.com]
Sox can’t get on an even keel [Providence Journal]
As Crawford’s hitting improves, so does his spot on the pecking order [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: In Boston, walk-offs come with price [Providence Journal]
Believe it or not, you still shouldn’t worry about these Red Sox [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun and the Globe and Mail websites.
Photo credit: Getty Images
