Finally! by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox give fans something to cheer about


Off to their worst start since 1996, the Red Sox finally showed some life.

After a weekend that had the makings of being a sure series win, somehow turned into a series sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, who just so happen to be the worst team in baseball.

The Red Sox had not beaten a team by more than two runs since they defeated the Kansas City Royals by a score of 8-3 back on April 10. It seemed as if though even when the Red Sox were winning, it was a struggle. Red Sox manager Terry Francona called for a closed-door, players only meeting prior to the game.

How did the Red Sox respond? 17 runs, 20 hits, 4 home runs, 11 extra-base hits and an 8-for-14 showing with runners in scoring position.

It was a feel-good win all around. Everyone in the Red Sox' starting lineup had a hit. In fact, Dustin Pedroia and Marco Scutaro were the only players who didn't have a multi-hit game.

A bulk of the offense was provided by the Red Sox' five and six hitters, JD Drew and Mike Lowell. Drew and Lowell combined to go 8-for-9 with 4 doubles, 4 runs scored, 7 RBI and a walk.

For Drew, his four-hit night tied a career high, and for Lowell, he tied a career high with 3 doubles.

It seemed like the combination of Drew and Lowell could have taken on the Angels single-handedly, but it's time to give credit to the rest of the lineup.

Kevin Youkilis, who had a day off in the series finale against the Orioles with a sore groin, showed that his day of rest did nothing but good for him. Youkilis led off the bottom of the second with a mammoth home run to left field that cleared the wall and then some.

Angels starter Joe Saunders later hit him with a pitch, which Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy thought was intentional, was intentionally walked and smoked a double to deep left-center that most likely was a home run in any other ballpark.

In that same inning, Bill Hall one-handed a monster shot two-run homer. The long ball for hall was his first as a member of the Red Sox. Joining him in that category in the bottom of the sixth was Adrian Beltre.

With a 1-0 count, Beltre launched a ball into outer space for his first home run as a member of the Red Sox.

Needing a hit to prevent being the only player in the Red Sox lineup to finish without one, Pedroia cranked a three-run bomb into the Monster seats for his seventh round-tripper of the season.

That was a good effort. I think I'm stating the obvious when I say that we swung the bats very well," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "We swung it early, we kept at them, and I think we probably needed a night like that."

Oh, by the way, Clay Buchholz did start this game. He's had better starts, he had worse starts, but on a night like this, it was good enough to grab a win and move over .500 for the year. Buchholz tossed 109 pitches over 5.2 innings. The right-hander yielded four earned runs on eight hits, walking three and striking out two.

Final score: Angels 8, Red Sox 17
WP: Clay Buchholz (3-2)
LP: Joe Saunders (1-5)
H: Manny Delcarmen (2)

Game notes: The Red Sox won't come out and say it, but Mike Lowell's four-hit, three-double night essentially created a full-time platoon at DH between he and David Ortiz. It would be foolish for the Red Sox to not bat Lowell against left-handers at this point. JD Drew is batting .529 (9-for-17) in his last four games with 3 HR, 2 doubles and 7 RBI. After an 0-for-4 showing on Sunday to end his eight-game hit streak, Adrian Beltre rebounded with a two-hit performance, including his first HR since October 1 of last season. Beltre is hitting .436 in his last ten games. The 20 hits, 17 runs and 7-run sixth inning were all season highs.

Tweet of the night:

The TOTN comes from Boston Herald Sox writer, Scott Lauber:

@ScottLauber: Did anyone think pitching-and-defense #RedSox were capable of a 17-run, 20-hit outburst? "We did," Kevin Youkilis said. "You guys didn't."

Tuesday's pitching match-up:

Jon Lester will look to continue his pitching brilliance as of late, as the left-hander has not allowed an earned run in his last two starts. Lester struck out a season-high 11 batters in his last outing against the Blue Jays and will have to buckle down against the Angels, as his 7.78 ERA against them is proof of his struggles versus the Halos. Ervin Santana will try to even up this series, but hasn't fared well against Boston. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA against the Red Sox in his career.

-Jared Carrabis

To order Jared's debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, click HERE!





Published on May 04, 2010

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