The San Diego Padres were the recipients of the same thing one of their pitchers did on Monday night. And that is take advantage of control issues from Alfredo Aceves.
Aceves appeared to be cruising along in the 2nd inning having retired Orlando Hudson and Anthony Rizzo. Then the wheels on the bus fell off for him.
He walked Cameron Maybin, Nick Hundley and Chris Denorfia to load the bases. He followed that up by walking Jason Bartlett and Chase Headley to force in two runs that put the Padres out front 2-1. Aceves ran into more trouble in the 3rd inning when he allowed two more runs on after getting the first two outs of the inning.
Rizzo doubled and came around to score on a Maybin single. After a Maybin stolen bases, Hundley brought him in with a double.
The Red Sox did battle back though getting a run in the bottom half of the 3rd when Jacoby Ellsbury singled in Josh Reddick who had led off with a triple. It would be Reddick’s RBI double that scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia getting the Red Sox to within a run in the 4th inning.
They would finally tie up in the 6th inning when Adrian Gonzalez burned his former team for a single that scored Marco Scutaro. And as quick as the Red Sox tied it up, the Padres retook the lead in the 7th.
Dan Wheeler has struggled for the most part in his first season with the Red Sox. He left the game with the bases loaded for Daniel Bard.
Bard did his job by getting a ground ball to Gonzalez at first off the bat of Rizzo. Unfortunately Gonzalez bobbled it and couldn’t throw home allowing Headley to score. Gonzalez did get the out at first but the damage had been done.
Obviously the control issues for Aceves are a big concern but considering the fact he was making the spot start for Josh Beckett on short notice, you have to be pleased that the Red Sox were still in the game when he departed. As good as Aceves had been as a starter, last night’s effort shows he might be best suited for the Red Sox bullpen going forward.
Offensively, leaving runners in scoring position ultimately hurt the Red Sox last night. They left 13 runners on base and were just 3-for-13 with RISP. If you think back to how good this offensive has been as of late, we can only hope that last night was just a blip in the radar.
All things considered though, the Red Sox are still playing great baseball. Last night’s loss was just their fourth of the month (14-4).
Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you’re on the home page.
After walking the San Diego Padres to victory last night, the Boston Red Sox look to take the series in the rubber game of a three-game set at Fenway Park.
Today’s first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. and you can watch the game on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Padres television market, you can catch the game on Channel 4 SD. And if you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.
John Lackey looks for his fourth straight win since returning from the disabled list in his 11th start of 2011. In his previous 10 starts, Lackey is 5-5 with a 7.02 ERA. He will be making his first career start against the Padres this afternoon. In 30 career interleague appearances (29 starts), Lackey is 15-5 with a 3.02 ERA. He made four interleague starts for the Red Sox in 2010 and was 2-1 with a 5.11 ERA. In his lone interleague start of 2011 which came in his last time on the mound against the Milwaukee Brewers, Lackey picked up the win after allowing four runs in eight innings of work.
Clayton Richard makes his 16th start of the season for the Padres and reaches a milestone mark of 100 career appearances today. In his previous 15 starts, Richard is 2-9 with a 4.35 ERA. This will be his second career appearance (first start) against the Red Sox. In his only appearance out of the Chicago White Sox bullpen back in 2008 at Fenway Park, he allowed one run in one inning of work. In two interleague starts this year, Richard is 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA (8 ER/10 IP). As a member of the Padres, Richard is 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts during interleague play.
Here are this afternoon’s lineups:
 31-44 |
 44-29 |
||
| 1. Will Venable | RF | 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF |
| 2. Jason Bartlett | SS | 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 3. Chase Headley | 3B | 3. Adrian Gonzalez | 1B |
| 4. Ryan Ludwick | LF | 4. Kevin Youkilis | 3B |
| 5. Jesus Guzman | DH | 5. David Ortiz | DH |
| 6. Orlando Hudson | 2B | 6. Darnell McDonald |
LF |
| 7. Anthony Rizzo | 1B | 7. Drew Sutton |
SS |
| 8. Cameron Maybin | CF | 8. Jason Varitek |
C |
| 9. Nick Hundley | C | 9. Mike Cameron | RF |
| Clayton Richard | SP | John Lackey | SP |
And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:
Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Ready for Reddick? Why outfielder may need more playing time [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Sox go belly up in loss [Boston Globe]
Hoping to fill some gaps in baseball [Boston Globe]
Special teamers [Boston Globe]
Reddick’s time is right now [Boston Globe]
Stomach bug bites Beckett [Boston Globe]
Red Sox run out of runs [Boston Herald]
Alfredo Aceves totally out of control [Boston Herald]
Anthony Rizzo does homework on ex-teammate Daniel Bard [Boston Herald]
Tim Wakefield happy to make pitch in Pittsburgh [Boston Herald]
Jacoby in speed trap [Boston Herald]
Idea of Reddick helping not off Wall [Boston Herald]
Sox cover bases with Spanish social media [Boston Herald]
Francona on The Dan Patrick Show [CSN Chicago]
Aceves loses control in spot start vs. Padres [CSNNE.com]
Sox in a hole without DH in N.L. parks [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Sox pitchers start taking batting practice [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Gonzalez to OF giving Francona “anxiety” [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Padres 5, Sox 4 [ESPN Boston]
Josh Reddick making strides [ESPN Boston]
Video: State of the Nation [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox pregame notes [ESPN Boston]
Pregame notes from Fenway [Extra Bases]
Scutaro scratched; Sutton at SS [Extra Bases]
Red Sox have turned around early woes [FoxSports.com]
Terry Francona, Jon Lester and the art of saving ‘gas in the tank’ [Full Count]
Closing Time: Padres 5, Red Sox 4 [Full Count]
Pitching coach David Ortiz has some words of advice for Alfredo Aceves [Full Count]
The decline of J.D. Drew? [Full Count]
Dave Roberts on D&C: Padres don’t want to rush Casey Kelly to majors [Full Count]
Peter Gammons on M&M: ‘Dangerous’ to put Adrian Gonzalez in outfield [Full Count]
Red Sox still wrestling with decision on Gonzalez in outfield on NL swing [Full Count]
Having To Play 9 Games By Someone Else’s Rules [Hartford Courant]
Adrian Gonzalez, Anthony Rizzo and The Trade [Hartford Courant]
Red Sox Pitchers Getting Their Swings In As They Prepare for Trips to National League Parks [NESN.com]
Alfredo Aceves’ Control Issues, Wasted Scoring Chances Doom Red Sox Against Padres [NESN.com]
Video: David Ortiz Can’t Explain Rare Stolen Base Against Padres [NESN.com]
Rick Peterson Excited to See ‘Moneyball,’ Has Ideas How Jon Lester Can Avoid Early-Inning Problems [NESN.com]
Red Sox Should Resist Temptation to Use Adrian Gonzalez in Outfield [NESN.com]
Video: What Makes Boston America’s Best Sports City? [NESN.com]
Josh Beckett Still ‘Really Sick,’ May Not Be Able to Start on Saturday [NESN.com]
Video: Adrian Gonzalez Move to Right Field Would Reshuffle Multiple Lineup Spots [NESN.com]
Francona still has “anxiety” about using Gonzalez in the outfield [Projo Sox Blog]
Ex-Red Sox executives excited about challenge of rebuilding Padres [Projo Sox Blog]
San Diego gets free pass [Providence Journal]
For pitchers facing the Sox, it’s become same, old grind [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Maybin, Miller have traveled similar paths [Providence Journal]
Lackey looks to keep rolling in series finale [RedSox.com]
Crawford, Hudson dedicate time talking to youth [RedSox.com]
Big Papi has DH thing down pat [RedSox.com]
Because Winning Them All Is Overrated [Surviving Grady]
Even for the Red Sox, there’s always something to worry about [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]
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 North Coast Times and San Diego Union-Tribune website. You can also check out our Bloguin brother RJ’s Fro.
Photo credits: Getty Images, Getty Images, Getty Images
Also contained in the release is information about the “Top of the Rent” season tickets.