Dice-K Rocked As Sox Fall 9-2 On Rainy Night

Last night’s game against the Blue Jays continued to break Red Sox fans’ hearts as they’ve now continued their free fall all the way to last place. After a scoreless first inning (which involved me convincing myself that Dice-K was going to have a good night), the Blue Jays exploded in the second inning. Yunel Escobar started off the inning by ripping a line drive just over the monster. The next two batters reached base before Adeiny Hechavarria doubled off the third base bag to score another run. Anthony Gose followed him up with a single up the middle to make it 4-0 as he scored two runs. The Blue Jays got their final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly for Rajai Davis, which would wind up knocking Daisuke Matsuzaka from the game after all of 1.2 innings.

June 21, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (18) throws a pitch as they take on the Miami Marlins in the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

After a rain delay in the fourth inning, the Red Sox got a small rally going in the fifth. A walk and a single put two runners on base to start the inning off. Scott Podsednik scored one with a single to right  field.  They would score one more run in the inning on an RBI single by Pedro Ciriaco. Meanwhile, the Red Sox’ bullpen was cruising as Alfredo Aceves pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, fitting back into his natural role, and Andrew Miller tossed a scoreless frame.

After two more scoreless innings by Mark Melancon, the trouble came when Vicente Padilla took the hill. The Jays took a run when Adam Lind drove in Colby Rasmus with a single. The real trouble came with Andrew Bailey, as he allowed a single and a walk to start the inning. Anthony Gose followed him up by knocking his first major league home run– a three run shot– to right to make it 9-2. That would be it as the Red Sox shut down in a demoralizing loss.