Jon Lester Shaky, Red Sox Lose 6-5
By John Green
Jon Lester had problems with his command the last time he took the mound against the Twins, this time he gave up 8 hits in his 3 IP against the Pirates.
The Red Sox got things started in the second inning when Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled to start the inning and Josh Kroeger singled to drive him in.
The Pirates hit Lester well through his entire outing, but he was able to keep them off the scoreboard until the third when he allowed four runs.
Josh Harrison started the inning with a ground rule double which was followed by an Andrew McCutchen single to drive in the first run of the game. Three more hits would follow, including a 2-run homer by Matt Hague to make it 4-1. Lester would get the final two outs of the inning before being replaced by Junichi Tazawa.
The Red Sox got two back in the fourth when Adrian Gonzalez started the inning with a double and Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with a 2-run homerun.
Gonzalez would then drive in the tying run in the fifth on a double that brought Kevin Youkilis around to score making it 4-4.
The Red Sox would take a the lead in the seventh on a Mauro Gomez solo homer only to have it yanked away in the bottom half of the inning when Nate McClouth hit a 2-run homer off of presumed Sox closer Andrew Bailey.
The homer from Nate McLouth was the end of the scoring for both teams, with the Pirates handing the Red Sox their third straight loss.
Red Sox Notes From Wednesday’s Game:
–With a 2 for 3 performance Adrian Gonzalez now boasts a .364 average this spring.
–Jarrod Saltalamacchia also went 2 for 3 in the game raising his spring average to .188
–Junichi Tazawa pitched a stellar three innings allowing just a hit while striking out two. His spring ERA sits at 3.68
–Andrew Bailey, the Red Sox presumed closer allowed two runs in an inning of work bringing his ERA to 6.75