Last night’s game may have been the game to switch the Red Sox’s losing ways. It was a come-from-behind win that featured great pitching, some clutch hitting, and a couple plays that made me scratch my head. Plus, the Sox are now 1-3, which means they won’t start the season 0-6, as they did last year.
I don’t know if it’s really fair to ask a 24-year-old Rookie to be the stopper to a pitching staff that has let the water run out over the past couple games, but that’s what the Red Sox essentially did with Doubront. Though Doubront didn’t have the most efficient of games (101 pitches, 62 for strikes, in 5 innings), he did a great job with what he brought with him. He gave up 4 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, and stuck out 6. The Blue Jays starting pitcher, Henderson Alvarez, barely bested Doubront with 6 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 run (a home run by Pedroia), 1 walk, while striking out 2. It was a pitching duel.
After Doubront was taken out, Valentine put in Scott Atchinson. I admit, I was a little anxious to see how Atchinson would pitch in this game; last year, he seemed to be more of a mop-up guy when he wasn’t in Triple-A. Atchinson blew me, and the Blue Jays, away! In 3 innings, he only gave up 1 hit, a single, while striking out 3 and walking 0. He was also incredibly efficient by only throwing 31 pitches.
Though, both of these pitching performances wouldn’t have meant anything without the spark that is Dustin Pedroia. With the Sox down 2-0 in the top of the 6th, Pedroia took a high, inside pitch out to the bleachers. I need to stop being so amazed with things Pedroia does because he’s constantly doing things that don’t seem possible, but that home run was electric. Even Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy, the NESN announcers, were shocked. So shocked, in fact, that they had to re-show the home run for Orsillo to shout “La Luna!” which I guess is what Pedroia wants said when he hits home runs. (I’m guessing this is supposed to be Spanish for “To the Moon!”)
Then, there was David Ortiz. Opposing teams have performed the shift on Ortiz for so long now, it just seems like second nature to see the infield play to the right side of the field. However, Ortiz took balls the opposite way for singles. Then, in the top of the 7th, Ortiz attempted to steal 2nd because the infield was playing so deep and no one was really covering the base. He was called out, but I think he was safe based on the angle I was looking at it.
When asked why he allowed Ortiz to attempt the steal in such a close game (it was 2-1 at this point), Valentine gave a great reason. If no one is going to play like Ortiz will steal, then he should attempt the steal. That way, when teams are in position that Ortiz is a steal-threat, it will open up a hole for the batter. For his part, Ortiz thought he was safe as well.
In the top of the 9th, Pedroia did his part again by hitting a double, taking third on a wild pitch, then scoring to tie the game on a sac fly by Gonzalez. Ortiz then hit another single, and McDonald pitch-ran for him. Ross hit a single, and Sweeney then hit a single to score McDonald and Ross. With a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th, Valentine called on his closer, Aceves.
Until this point, Aceves had two blown saves and had given up three runs without recording an out. He didn’t have an official ERA because of this. I was a bit hesitant as well, wishing that he wouldn’t blow another save. Aceves prevailed, striking out one and getting three outs without allowing a base-runner. The Sox won 4-2.
Last night’s game was really an entertaining game with great pitching and a come-from-behind win. I don’t know if it was the thought of losing another game, but I think I was more anxious watching last night’s game as I had been in a long time. My emotions were high, but it was all worth. Hopefully, this game proves to be the spark to ignite a winning streak for the Sox.
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