Alfredo Aceves Solid But Red Sox Lose to Jays

With under a week until Opening Day, Alfredo Aceves continues to make Bobby Valentine’s life difficult. After a rather large hiccup in his last outing, Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves went 6 innings in Thursdays loss allowing 2 runs (1ER) on 3 hits.

Final Line on Aceves:6IP,3H,1ER,2BB,4K

Long shot lefty Justin Thomas allowed the other Blue Jays run in the top of the eight when Anthony Gose walked and then stole second, third and home to give the Jays the winning run in the ball game.

The Red Sox’ offense was quiet for the most part with only Jarrod Saltalamacchia mustering more than one hit. He had a single in the seventh and a double in the ninth bringing his spring average up to .296 in 37 at bats.

In the second inning, Darnell McDonald took a walk to get on base before stealing second and coming around to score when Ryan Sweeney roped a double to left.

David Ortiz hit a solo homer in the Red Sox half of the sixth giving him his third homer in 44 at bats this spring. His batting average still sits at .227.

Those two runs were all the Sox could manage against Jays pitching, leading them to a 3-2 loss with just 5 games left to go in Spring Training.

A Few Red Sox Notes:

— RHP Felix Doubront faced 21 batters in a minor league game Thursday allowing no runs on 2 hits, striking out 4.

—Jacoby Ellsbury was back in the lead off spot for the game. He went 0-4 giving him a .261 BA this spring.

–With a perfect ninth inning, Michael Bowden has allowed 2 ER in 9 IP with 10 hits, a walk and 7 strikeouts this spring.