The Red Sox offense, which had been stymied by King Felix Hernandez on Friday, came alive Saturday afternoon, scoring 11 runs off 13 hits. Six of those hits were for extra bases. Manny Ramirez hit homerun #504 in the 1st, tying Eddie Murray for 23rd on the all-time list.
Fortunately for the Sox, neither Manny nor Ellsbury missed much time with the injuries they suffered in Thursday night's game. Ellsbury would replace Ramirez as a pinch runner in the 8th inning.
JD Drew continued his 7 game hit streak. He was 3 for 5 with a homerun, a triple, 2 RBI, and 3 runs. Drew now leads the Red Sox in batting average and OBP. He's raised his average .035 points since May 28th, and is 5th in the AL in batting average.
Dustin Pedroia got the day off. He's been struggling mightily as of late, going hitless in his last 12 at-bats. He's 1 for his last 17. His average has plummeted from .301 on May 21st to .266.
Kevin Youkilis committed an error at first base in the 9th inning. He seemed to lose sight of a ball thrown to him by Alex Cora. The ball dropped, Willie Bloomquist reached, and eventually came around to score. It was Youkilis' first error as a first baseman in 238 games, an MLB record.
Wakefield pitched superbly, allowing 2 runs in 7 innings. Eight of his 13 starts this year have been Quality Starts (6 innings or more, 3 earned runs or fewer).
Craig Hansen hasn't allowed an earned run in 5.2 innings, an impressive stretch for him. During that period, his ERA has deflated from 7.20 to a more tidy 4.60.
The Red Sox face the Mariners this afternoon in the rubber game. Justin Masterson faces Erik Bedard.
Source:
ESPN.com
Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mary Schwalm
