Apparently the National League can’t slow the down the Boston Red Sox offensive juggernaut at least for now. The Red Sox offense continued their dominance at the plate last night at Fenway Park in a 10-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
After the 1st inning though, it looked like it might be just another typical John Lackey start where he sucks. And I’ll admit I’m not a big fan of him at all. But after allowing two runs in the 1st inning and then two more in the 3rd inning, Lackey settled in and retired 15 straight batters before Nyjer Morgan singled in the 8th inning. But Lackey promptly got out of the inning when Ryan Braun flew out to Jacoby Ellsbury who doubled off Morgan at first.
Lackey needed 58 pitches to get through the first three innings. He then needed just 53 more to get through the next five innings. Hopefully Lackey bought Dustin Pedroia an adult beverage or two last night because if it wasn’t for the Laser Show flashing the leather in the 3rd inning, Lackey might have been done sooner rather than later.
With the bases loaded and no out in the 3rd, Casey McGehee smoked a shot up the middle but Pedroia made an incredible diving start to start a 4-6-3 double play. Although the tying run scored on the play, this is where Lackey began his run of retiring 15 straight batters. Honestly, it wasn’t like Lackey was hit hard in that inning, the balls just happened to fall in the right places.
But without Pedroia stopping that ball, it’s quite possible the Brewers could have taken a 5-4 lead and still had two runners on the bases and no outs.
It didn’t take long for the Red Sox offense to pick up their pitcher in the 1st after he had allowed two runs.
Ellsbury started it with a solo home run off of Brewers starter Shaun Marcum. After Pedroia flew out, Adrian Gonzalez picked up the first of his three hits on the night with a single. Two batters later, David Ortiz brought home Speedy Gonzalez from first base to tie the game up at two.
The bad news that came from the 1st inning for the Red Sox is the fact that Carl Crawford had to leave the game after straining his hamstring beating out an infield single. He was diagnosed with a grade 1 strain of his hamstring and will be reevaluated later today before a decision is made as to whether or not he’ll be placed on the DL.
Marcum left the game with an injury after the first and the Red Sox got to his replacement Marco Estrada for two more runs in the second.
Pedroia reached on a two-out walk and went to third on a Gonzo bot double. They both came into score on a Kevin Youkilis single to make it 4-2. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they would lose Youk after the 4th inning with a case of the ol’ “intestional turmoil”. By the way, there’s no truth to the rumor that the skidmarks on Youk’s pants were from a case of the runs.
The hitting machine that is Gonzalez put the Red Sox ahead for good in the 5th when he went over the Green Monster for his 15th home run of the season and a MLB-leading 62nd RBI. Oh by the way, those three hits for Gonzo on the night raised his average to a paltry .352. Remember folks, we get seven more years of this.
The offense would bust this game open in the 6th and 7th innings with five more runs.
It was great to see Lackey bounce back with his third straight win in as many starts after returning from the disabled list. But it was also nice to see the offense not let up after being slowed down just a tad in Tampa. The Red Sox win last night also increased their lead back to 2.5 games over the New York Yankees who lost to the Chicago Cubs.
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.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
The Achilles’ heel? Sox reminded of a vulnerability on Friday [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Sox show punch [Boston Globe]
Righty made an impression [Boston Globe]
Crawford strains hamstring [Boston Globe]
Red Sox firing on all cylinders [Boston Herald]
Dustin Pedroia’s shining ‘D’ [Boston Herald]
Rich Hill has his rehab plan set [Boston Herald]
Carl runs into trouble [Boston Herald]
Sox take fizz out of Brewers, 10-4 [CSNNE.com]
Lackey appreciates offensive support [CSNNE.com]
Red Sox notes: MRI reveals Grade-1 strain for Crawford [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 10, Brewers 4 [CSNNE.com]
Pedroia a buzz killer for Brewers [ESPN Boston]
Postgame updates on Crawford and Youkilis [Extra Bases]
Rich Hill: No plans to change arm slot post Tommy John [Full Count]
Closing Time: It’s a big 10-4 for Red Sox in win over Brewers [Full Count]
Crawford to be re-evaluted Saturday after suffering Grade 1 hamstring strain [Full Count]
Red Sox prove Bruins don’t have monopoly on clutch offense and defense [Full Count]
Video: Tom Werner: ‘This Has Been Such a Great Time to Be a Sports Fan in Boston’ [NESN.com]
Red Sox Congratulate Bruins on Stanley Cup Win With Sign Behind Home Plate at Fenway Park [NESN.com]
NESN, Red Sox Congratulate Bruins on Stanley Cup Win With Full-Page Ad in The Boston Globe [NESN.com]
Carl Crawford Suffers Hamstring Strain, Will Be Re-Evaluated on Saturday [NESN.com]
More Sparkling Defense From Dustin Pedroia Sparks John Lackey, Red Sox in Win Over Brewers [NESN.com]
Josh Beckett’s Dominant One-Hit Performance Earns Him Amica Pitcher of the Week Honors [NESN.com]
Pedroia’s defensive gem helps Boston find its groove [Providence Journal]
Scutaro finally getting back into the swing of things [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Lowrie to the DL, Crawford suffers hamstring strain [Providence Journal]
Dice-K, Hill making progress following surgery [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 the Capitol Times, Green Bay Press Gazette and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel websites. You can also visit our Bloguin brother The Brewers Bar.
Photo credits: Getty Images, Getty Images
