1-5: Red Sox Fall Again As Lineup Goes Quiet

The Red Sox are now 1-5 on the season after a disappointing performance from the lineup left Jon Lester hanging in a 1-3 defeat.

Through the first inning, Ricky Romero did not seem due for an All-Star caliber start, as Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez each took big swings for long fly ball outs. And when in the third the Sox put their first two batters on base, it seemed like Romero's time could be up.

Instead, however, Kelly Shoppach messed up a bunt, Jacoby Ellsbury brought one run home, and then Pedroia and Gonzalez were retired to end the threat with just one run crossing the plate. And from there through the end of the eighth, Ricky Romero was essentially perfect.

Jon Lester was no slouch himself, but the third inning would prove more difficult on him, with a single, triple, and sacrifice fly resulting in a pair of runs for the Blue Jays. The Sox held the lead for all of a third of an inning.

Like Romero, Lester would storm through the next few innings looking perfect himself. Only in the seventh did he start to show signs of weakness, allowing two long fly balls in another 1-2-3 inning. With 100 pitches on his arm, it may have been time for a call to the pen, but the decision to leave him in was hardly outlandish. But when after recording two outs Lester allowed a walk to Rajai Davis, there wasn't even anyone warming in the pen. Lester would successfully fool Davis, throwing to first and catching him running, but Adrian Gonzalez' throw to second would not record the out. The next pitch, a cutter to Yunel Escobar, wound up in center field, giving the Jays their insurance run.

While the Sox would again rally in the ninth, getting two men on base to start the inning, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, and David Ortiz could do nothing to bring them in, leaving the score stuck at 1-3.