Red Sox Move Within A Game Of .500 With 4-3 Win

This is a series that the Red Sox really need to win– playing the worst team in baseball– and they are now just a step away after a 4-3 win last night. Last night’s game was a good one for Red Sox fans and baseball fans alike as it was filled with suspense and excitement. The Red Sox got some early rallies going in the game. With two outs and David Ortiz standing at first, Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled to the wall in right-center. Ortiz rounded third but was thrown out at the plate on one he should’ve certainly scored on. Ortiz would redeem himself in the fourth inning, though, when he led off the inning with a double. He would successfully score this time as Jarrod Saltalamacchia crushed a hanging splitter into the bleacher seats in right.

The Red Sox’ offense just kept moving along and they scored on RBI singles by Will Middlebrooks and Scott Podsednik in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. The Red Sox held a 4-0 lead at this time and Jon Lester had just been cruising along before hitting the seventh inning. He ran into a bit of trouble there as he allowed runners onto the corners with one away in the seventh. Luis Valbuena, of all people, was the man of the hour for the Cubs as he took a high fastball to the opposite field for a three-run homer to cut it to a 4-3 lead for the Red Sox.

Jon Lester would finish off his outing by striking out David DeJesus and would leave after allowing 3 runs in 6.2 innings of work, striking out eight. He would earn the win later– his fourth of the year. He left the one-run game in the hands of the bullpen and Scott Atchison successfully escaped the seventh inning for him. Vicente Padilla nailed down his 15th hold of the year with a shutdown eighth and Alfredo Aceves earned his 16th save with a good ninth. All in all, a tightly contested but solid win for the Red Sox.