Lester Comes Through, BoSox Roll ChiSox 6-1

by Ben Buchanan on Sep 6, 2009 7:41 PM EDT Comment 19 comments

More photos » Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

It's always nice when you have to choose whether it was the dominant pitching or productive offense that was the story of the game. Let's go with pitching for now. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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After dropping the first two games of the series by a combined score of 17-3, the Sox looked to Jon Lester to play the role of stopper--a role he filled perfectly. After allowing a single and a walk to the first two Chicago batters, Lester induced a bloop fly ball which Dustin Pedroia made a fantastic play on, doubling Scott Podsednik off of second and averting a first-inning disaster. After that, he was nearly untouchable, allowing only 3 hits and a walk in 7 scoreless innings, throwing 122 pitches.

The offense showed some life through the first 3 innings, but didn't score until the 4th when Jason Bay singled and Mike Lowell homered to left on a John Danks fastball. Another Bay single would plate Jacoby Ellsbury for a 3rd run in the 5th.

The White Sox would cut the lead to 2 runs in the 8th as Billy Wagner allowed his first earned run with the Red Sox on an absolute bomb by Ramon Castro. He would retire the next 2 batters before Bard came in and struck out Paul Konerko on 3 pitches.

Victor Martinez put the game out of reach, hitting a 3-run homer off of Octavio Dotel. Jonathan Papelbon gave up only a single in the 9th in closing out the game.

The Sox will look to earn a series split as they send a struggling Josh Beckett to the mound against "Mr. Perfect" Mark Buerhle. Buerhle has been hittable of late, giving up 35 hits over his last 23 innings, but has managed to avoid too much damage.

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Good day

Tampa and Texas both lost. And i know this race is pretty much over but NY lost too, nice to see they aren’t invincible. But it still took over 8 runs to lose. We have to either get our offense rolling like that, our pitching like Lester has been performing, or a lot of both.

by qthaballa on Sep 6, 2009 8:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Even with the Yankees 7 1/2 games up on us it's always good when they lose.

by Mike-Dub on Sep 6, 2009 8:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

but the Yankees ARE invincible

according to the two NYY fans I visited with over the weekend ( I can’t type the usual MFY lingo as one NYY fan is a reverend so it seems rather disrespectful) but listening to them talk you’d think the NYY were on pace to go 162-0 (173-0?)

I’ve missed a few games but was happy to see the Sox grab a victory today.

"You know," Girardi said, shrugging his shoulders, "it didn't work."

( Joe Girardi on pitching to Manny Ramirez with first base open)

by MassGal on Sep 6, 2009 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So he preaches a Satanist doctrine?

@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Sep 6, 2009 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yankee fans are, by and large, clowns

They derive their identity from the team when they win – the Yankees are then a manifestation of their own personal greatness. The rhetoric goes so over the top, you wonder what it is about their lives that demands this behavior.

But when the team is losing, ‘Yankee fans’ don’t know them bums.

by Mister Snitch on Sep 7, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mark Wagner?

Chowdah Chatter
Fear the Rebel Polar Bears

by crabchowdah on Sep 6, 2009 8:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess that's what happens when you have to know the names of all those minor leaguers

Chowdah Chatter
Fear the Rebel Polar Bears

by crabchowdah on Sep 6, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've made that mistake so many times since we were first talking about getting Billy Wagner

You would not believe it.

by Ben Buchanan on Sep 6, 2009 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So have I.

Being quiet – well, relatively quiet – prevents a lot of those mistakes.

@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Sep 6, 2009 10:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

HELL YES SOX!

this is why you rock and yankees suck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJqXcjZsplM

by freestyle09 on Sep 6, 2009 9:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks - I didn't have my speakers turned up or anything.

@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Sep 6, 2009 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

are you one of the kids in the video

or do you just know them?

by revived0103 on Sep 7, 2009 2:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

200k's

Lester also record 200k’s today. Congrats to him. He joins the great Sox’s leftys of all time to do that.

by PatsCeltsSoxs on Sep 6, 2009 10:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

... None of them have ever done it.

@bs_uf15bosox9be The Original Gameday; Learn to use SB Nation

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Sep 6, 2009 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly!

Chowdah Chatter
Fear the Rebel Polar Bears

by crabchowdah on Sep 7, 2009 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What do people think

of Wagner’s velocity drop. Guns were saying 94-96 the first few times out. Last 2 games 91. Is it just the gun? Is it his arm?

by Buzzy on Sep 7, 2009 10:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Arm

Any team that thinks he’s going to step in and close deserves to lose their money. But the Sox should sign him as a setup arm, if his price (i.e., Wagner’s grandiose expectations of his value – hello? The gutter-bound METS just DUMPED you?) comes down.

by Mister Snitch on Sep 7, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs