Don’t look now but it appears the Boston Red Sox are finally looking like the team general manager Theo Epstein envisioned before the start of the 2011 season.
After putting up two touchdowns in a 14-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday afternoon, the Red Sox did the same thing in a 14-1 rain-shortened win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Obviously the offense got the job done but the Red Sox also got another strong performance from Alfredo Aceves.
Aceves was the starter in last Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs only to watch Matt Albers have a rare 2011 meltdown. But luckily for Aceves, the offense made sure that wouldn’t happen on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Red Sox put up seven runs in the first inning. They did it a little differently on Thursday putting up five runs in the second and two more in the third. They added single runs in the sixth and seventh and finished it off with five more in the eighth before the rains came.
Tigers starter Max Scherzer had been brilliant all season long. He came into the game with a 6-1 record with a 2.98 ERA and was 3-0 with 0.77 ERA at Comerica Park in six starts. When all was said and done, he left the game after two plus innings after allowing seven runs on seven hits and two walks plus a strikeout. And his record stood at 6-2 with ERA jumping almost a full run to 3.86.
The big blow to Scherzer came in the second inning when Jacoby Ellsbury went deep for a 3-run homer to push the lead to 5-0. The Red Sox had scored two earlier runs after a David Ortiz single, Carl Crawford single, Drew Sutton RBI double and a Josh Reddick RBI single. They ended up chasing Scherzer from the game in the third after a Kevin Youkilis single, a walk to Big Papi and a 2-run triple by Crawford.
Speaking of Crawford, he continues to tear it up in May. After a four-hit game on Wednesday against the Indians, he followed it up with another four hits. He had hits in six straight at-bats (four Wednesday, two Thursday) before finally being retired in the fifth by Tigers reliever Adam Wilk, who happened to be making his MLB debut yesterday. He added two more hits in his final two ABs of the afternoon, including his second triple of the day and watched his average climb all the way up to .244. Considering where he started the season, .244 isn’t as bad as it may sound for someone making over $20 million a year.
Every member of the starting nine for the Red Sox had a hit.
Reddick, who was called up to replace Darnell McDonald who was placed on the DL with a sore quad before the game, had three hits and three RBIs in his 2011 Red Sox debut. Sutton was in for Jed Lowrie, who got the day off, and added two hits and two RBIs. Big Papi also had two hits while Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez and Jason Varitek each added one. Pedroia and Gonzalez also added RBIs.
Right now things are clicking on all cylinders for the Red Sox. I’m not sure I’d want to be facing them right now. They seem to be a bit more aggressive at the plate, not taking as many pitches as normal. But they are capitalizing on it right now and making the opposing teams pay for it.
Oh, and more thing. The Red Sox now find themselves in a tie for first place with the New York Yankees. Considering the awful start to the 2011 season, can you believe it?
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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Red-hot Crawford sparks another rout [Boston Globe]
Aceves continues to impress [Boston Globe]
Sox finally have hit on the right formula [Boston Globe]
Hazelbaker, Lin take one step up [Boston Globe]
Alfredo Aceves spins another quality start [Boston Herald]
Red Sox ride red-hot bats to top spot in AL East [Boston Herald]
Carl Crawford’s surge real three-for-all [Boston Herald]
Another stop for Josh Reddick [Boston Herald]
Red Sox coast to blowout win [CSNNE.com]
Crawford finally getting comfortable at the plate [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Aceves strong in second start [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 14, Tigers 1 [ESPN Boston]
Video: BBTN on streaking Crawford [ESPN Boston]
39 days later, the Red Sox have recovered [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox put up two touchdowns for second straight game [Full Count]
Miguel Cabrera Reflects on Early Baseball Days With Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett [NESN.com]
Josh Reddick Bringing Refined Approach, Added Knowledge As He Joins Red Sox for First Time in 2011 [NESN.com]
‘Pennies for Elephants,’ World Series Title for ‘Miracle Braves’ Steal Show at Fenway Park in 1914 [NESN.com]
Alfredo Aceves States Case to Remain in Red Sox Rotation Going Forward With Strong Outing in Detroit [NESN.com]
Terry Francona Francona Praises Team’s Aggressiveness in Second Rout in as Many Days [NESN.com]
Sox unleash another slugfest [Providence Journal]
Landing Aceves best ‘accident’ Sox have had [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Carl Crawford 2.0 just as impressive [Providence Journal]
Lowrie gets rare day off for Red Sox [RedSox.com]
Jenks to rehab in Pawtucket [RedSox.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 news, head over to Ann Arbor News, Detroit Free Press and Detroit News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brothers, Detroit4lyfe and The Tigers Den.
Photo credit: AP Photo
