The Red Sox wasted no time in jumping on a slumping Phillies team, scoring in bunches early to build an insurmountable lead, and taking the first game of the series 12-2.
Starting for the Phillies, Jamie Moyer entered the game with a perfectly respectable 3.98 ERA. He left in the second inning not having recorded an out with an ERA over five. The Sox tacked on an extra three runs in the third inning off reliever David Herndon. Though they failed to score in the last five innings, it's hardly anything to complain about.
Leading the offense...well, was just about everyone. But of special note were David Ortiz, whose 3-5 with two (opposite field) doubles performance broke the long slump he'd fallen into on the road trip. Marco Scutaro got on base four times from the leadoff spot, and Mike Lowell went deep in his first at bat. Of the Red Sox starters, only Bill Hall failed to get a hit.
With that sort of run support, John Lackey didn't even have to be good to pick up the win, but he was anyways. Going seven strong on just 86 pitches (despite throwing 20 in the first inning), Lackey did what you want in a game with a big lead: pounded the strikezone. Lackey didn't allow any free passes on the night, and while he only recorded three strikeouts, he got the Phillies to pound the ball into the ground, allowing just two runs. Boof Bonser, fresh off a historically bad performance in Cleveland, managed to get the last six outs without allowing a run, despite loading the bases in the eight inning with zero outs.
Twelve runs scored, two allowed, some rest for a couple of the more banged up starters, and no real bullpen use while chewing up the opponents'. That's the perfect way to start a series.