It's a pretty damn good poker hand. It's not so good for a pitching rotation. Brad Penny went 6 innings, allowed 5 runs, and that was enough of a hole to bury the once again struggling Red Sox offense. He's made 21 starts for the Sox, and has yet to go 7 innings.
But what's the alternative to Penny? John Smoltz, who gives the team 4 good innings and 2 wretched innings? Clay Buchholz, who suffers from the same symptoms as Smoltz?
The good news is that Jason Bay hit a homerun in his return. The bad news is that he reaggravated his hamstring, and will miss at least the beginning of the Yankee series. It was nice seeing you for a bit, J-Bay.
And Victor Martinez homered, but with nobody on base, just like Bay's solo shot. The Sox hit homers with nobody on, and did nothing when they had baserunners. 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
And if you want some more bad news, John Smoltz is on the mound Thursday night against 7-2 Joba Chamberlain.
Source:
ESPN.com
Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Chris O'Meara
