I did not expect the Sox to win this game. Brad Penny had looked awful recently, and Edwin Jackson is perhaps the most underrated pitcher in the AL. But Penny's first Quality Start since July 24th, and homeruns from Pedroia, Green, and Bay propelled the Sox to their first win in over a week.
It wasn't too pretty. Manny Delcarmen blew a save, which seems to be a nasty habit the bullpen's picked up. But thankfully Papelbon hasn't succumbed to peer pressure. He came in and got a 4 out Save, needing only 11 pitches to do so.
The Sox got contributions from everywhere in the lineup. Only Victor Martinez was held hitless.
Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5, scoring twice. He also stole his 51st base, surpassing his total from last season.
Dustin Pedroia hit his 9th homerun in the 1st, scoring Ellsbury and giving the Sox an early 2 run lead. In 1 inning, they matched their run total from the final 3 games of the Yankees series.
Youkilis was 2 for 4, Ortiz had an RBI, Drew was 2 for 3 with a walk, J-Bay hit his 22nd homerun, Kotchman was 2 for 3 and made a nifty play at first base, and Nick Green knocked in his first RBIs of August.
And making this win even sweeter was Tampa Bay losing 8-7 to the Angels, and the Yankees falling 5-4 at the hands of the Blue Jays.
Junichi Tazawa makes his first Major League start Tuesday night against Rick Porcello.
Source:
ESPN.com
Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
