Well, this isn't exactly how the Red Sox would have drawn it up, but a win is a win.
David Ortiz got the start at DH and got the Red Sox started by hitting his first home run of the season into the monster seats in left-center. The Sox would add a couple more on a sac fly and GIDP.
Jon Lester was better than he had been before, but not exactly outstanding in his 4th start of the season. He struck out 7 and allowed 0 runs, but the 8 baserunners and 4 walks show he's not exactly all the way back yet. He failed to get out of the 6th inning, loading the bases with 2 outs, but left with a 3-0 lead.
The bullpen ended what had been a relatively solid streak of games when Daniel Bard allowed a 2-run homer in the 7th inning to Adam Jones. Julio Lugo would score the tying from 3rd in the next inning on a groundout after pinch running for Matt Wieters, who had doubled off Hideki Okajima.
With 2 outs and the bases loaded thanks to a J.D. Drew single, an intentional walk to Victor Martinez, and a base on balls from David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre came to the plate with a chance to put the Red Sox on top. Remarkably, Jim Johnson could not find the strike zone even against one of the biggest free swingers in the league, and walked in the go-ahead run.
Papelbon got the save in shaky fashion, giving up a walk and allowing a hit, but was bailed out by Bill Hall, who threw a strike to second on the ball off the wall to catch the runner by a good few feet.
Not pretty, but right now, the Red Sox will take it.
Game Notes:
- Adrian Beltre tripled his walk total with 2 on the night.
- The defense had another underwhelming night, as Beltre was noticeably sluggish with a number of throws, costing the Red Sox a valuable out (should have been 2, but they got lucky on the call). Marco Scutaro, for his part, tried to start a double play on a runner who had been off with the pitch. The underhand toss to second actually hit Wieters while he was standing on the bag.
- Orioles pitching did not record any strikeouts on the night.
- Dustin Pedroia has one hit in his last 20 at bats. This trip to the 3-hole has not been a successful one.