The Sox ended April on a down note, losing 2 of 3 to Tampa, losing 4 of their last 6, and going 3-6 on their 9 game road trip. They go into May and their first series with the Yankees in a virtual tie for 1st.
The Sox just look bad. There is no other way to put it. They aren't getting the phenomenal starting pitching they got earlier in April. Their starting pitching hasn't even been much above average. The offense is struggling, as well. The Sox are finally starting to hit homeruns, but far too many of them are solo shots. We aren't putting up big innings, or getting clutch extra basehits. We aren't making too many valiant comebacks late in games, either.
Thursday night's 15-3 loss to Cleveland was quite embarrassing. We couldn't get to Paul Byrd, of all people, and Josh Beckett seemed to miss his spots on every single pitch. He gave up 3 homers and walked 5. He threw 100 pitches in 3.2 innings, only 57 of which were strikes. Even his strikes were missing. Four of the 6 hits he allowed were for extra bases.
The position players didn't do much better. We could only get two extra basehits, and left 9 men on base. Six of those nine left were in scoring position.
Thursday's Man of the Game is Ben Broussard who went 4 for 5 with a pair of homers, including a Grand Slam in the 1st inning on the first pitch he saw. He had 8 RBI and 10 total bases.
The B*tch-Goat:
Beckett: 0.8 - 3.2 IP, 8 ER, 9 R, 3 HR, 5 BB, 6 H
Youkilis: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 3 K
Eamirez: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 3 LOB
The Red Sox flew down to Tampa, normally a place where we're guaranteed to win a series. However, to quote Joe and Jerry "They're not pushovers anymore."
We lost to Casey freakin Fossum Friday night. Lost badly. Clement was poor, giving up 5 thru 6. Timlin and Papelbon kept us in the game with scoreless relief, but our offense fell way short. We left 14 men on base, 9 of whom were in scoring position. We also grounded into 2 double plays.
The Man of the Game is Casey Fossum who went 6 scoreless.
The B*tch-Goat:
Clement: 0.5 - 6 IP, 5 ER
Loretta: 0.2 - 0 for 5, 6 LOB
Pena: 0.2 - 0 for 4, 7 LOB
Ortiz: 0.1 - 1 for 4, 5 LOB
The Sox turned their ship around late in Saturday's game. A 9th inning 4 run rally gave the Sox a 9-6 win. The Sox bats came alive and made up for some below average pitching. Ten hits, 7 walks, and a hit batsman gave the Sox 18 baserunners. They made the walks hurt late in the game with a solid rally in the 9th. Papelbon recorded his 10th save of the season by striking out the side in the bottom of the inning. If it weren't for Papelbon and our pen, we'd be in really rough shape.
The Man of the Game is Kevin Youkilis who went 2 for 3, with a double, 2 walks, and 2 RBI.
Sunday's game appeared to be heading in the same direction with the Red Sox rallying in the 9th inning.
Schilling didn't have his best stuff on Sunday. He still pitched well enough for a win, though. Seanez was once again terrible, allowing 2 runs in the 7th inning, turning a 3-2 game into a 5-2 game. The deficit was too much for the Sox to overcome.
Pena and Lowell both homered in the top of the 9th, but neither one was with a runner on. The Sox got the tying run to 3rd with 1 out, but Youkilis struck out and Loretta grounded out to end the game.
The Man of the Game is Scott Kazmir who owns us for some reason. He went 7 and only allowed 1 run.
The B*tch-Goat:
Schilling: 0.4 - 6 IP, 3 ER
Seanez: 0.3 - IP, ER
Youkilis: 0.2 - 0 for 5, 3 Ks, 5 LOB
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 Ks
The Sox begin a two game series against New York back in Friendly Fenway. Chien-Ming Wang goes against Tim Wakefield in the first game. Shawn Chacon goes against Josh Beckett on Tuesday. Let's try not to go too crazy after this series if we sweep, get swept, or split. It's a 2 game series in early May. That's it.
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