Red Sox vs Phillies coverage
Red Sox vs Phillies boxscore
Two points that I must make note of:
- Jon Lester is nasty.
- Daniel Bard is nasty.
OK, so the points are similar, but they are still different. Lester dominated the Phils' lineup tonight, going seven, allowing two hits, one run, two walks and striking out 11 -- which includes six straight strikeouts at one point. Lester didn't get the win, however, because the game went into extras, where the Sox promptly won in 13.
Since Jonathan Papelbon wasn't available, Ramon Ramirez went in the 9th for the save, but it just wasn't in the cards. With the Sox up 2-1, Ryan Howard hit a solo shot to tie it and send it into extras.
In the 13th, with the bases loaded, Jacoby Ellsbury came through in the clutch with the game-winning RBI single. Nick Green hit a sac fly and Mike Lowell followed with an RBI of his own to put the Sox up 6-3.
Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Takashi Saito pitched well in relief, but Daniel Bard was called upon in the 13th for the save. After a leadoff walk, he struck out Jayson Werth, struck out Ryan Howard, hit Raul Ibanez (99MPH in the arm. That is a dent in the morning), and capped his first career save by striking out Shane Victorino. All three batters looked ugly in their Ks.
Bottom line is that the Sox win. As ugly as it may have been, there were many good performances. Let's hope we can keep this momentum building. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Antonio Bastardo matchup Saturday at 7 in game two of the series.