Last night, Daisuke Matsuzaka walked 8 batters in less than 5 innings in his first start since throwing 8 innings of 1-hit ball. Tonight, Tim Wakefield one-upped him, allowing 9 runs in just 3.2 innings, courtesy of a 7-run 4th inning meltdown which saw 5 straight singles before an out was recorded, and a Yuniesky Betancourt 2-out grand slam.
Victor Martinez, in his return to the lineup, contributed some big hits including a 2-run homer to drive in 4 of the Red Sox' 5 runs. Marco Scutaro went 3-for-5 in the leadoff spot, as Jacob Ellsbury returned to the Disabled list.
After wakefield was pulled, the Red Sox avoided using most of the more important members of their bullpen, but also allowed the Royals to put the game away, scoring 1 off of Ramon Ramirez, and 2 more off Hideki Okajima (who only recorded one out). Bill Hall actually came in to pitch the 9th as the Red Sox dropped their second straight to the supposedly hapless Royals, 12-5.
The Sox can only get a split out of this series now, which looked like it could be a chance to gain some more ground in the East. With Greinke on the mound tomorrow, they might be lucky to get even that.