John Lackey finally stepped-up in a big game situation to pitch a gem after being being questioned all week about his toughness and as soon as he is pulled for closer Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th, the game went to hell. Papelbon came in to the game with a 2 run lead, 0 outs and o men on base in the 9th and proceeded to give up a double to Vernon Wells, an rbi single to Adam Lind and a single to Aaron Hill before recording an out. Then after striking out Travis Snider, Pap allowed an rbi double to Edwin Encarnacion to tie the game before intentially walking Lyle Overbay to load the bases and get pulled for Daniel Bard. Bard allowed a sac-fly to Fred Lewis for the walk-off win, making this one of the worst losses of 2010.
Papelbon’s blown save was his 6th of the year that ties him for the most blown saves allowed in any season since making his debut in 2005. Pap’s 3.26 era this year and 5 losses are also career highs, making Red Sox nation scratch their collective head and wonder what has happened to their shut-down closer. A blown save is tough in general to watch, but something about today was that much worse, given the recent Sox stretch of wins and how crucial each game has become at this time of year. More than in any other season, there has been a ton of chatter around potentially trading Papelbon and this afternoon’s game is surely not going to help the outcry of disgust and frustration with the Louisiana native.
Lost in all of the 9th inning implosion is John Lackey’s dominate performance this afternoon. Lackey went 8+ innings, allowed just 3 earned runs, struck out 4 and finally put the Sox in a position to win. He had allowed just 2 earned runs through 7 innings, but gave up a solo home run to Jose Bautista to begin the 9th before being pulled for Jonathan Papelbon. Lackey put the Sox in a position to win late, which is what they were hoping from him when he signed back in the winter. If he can pitch like he did tonight for the remainder of the season, he will surely help the Sox remain in the playoff race down the stretch.
With the Tampa Bay Rays on a day off Thursday, the Sox will lose 0.5 games in the AL Wild Card and with the New York Yankees facing off against the mighty Kansas City Royals for a 3-game set beginning Thursday night, this could be an even more painful loss to swallow. Coming out of today’s heart breaker, the Sox players need to regroup on the flight to Texas Thursday night, because they are going to have to play their A+ baseball in order to have a shot at taking the much-needed series with the Rangers. They will be facing an intimidating lineup and impressive, consistent starting pitching on a nightly basis in Arlington, TX.
The past 3 games the Sox starting pitching has been great, that trend needs to continue for the next few months. Let the heart burn continue…
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