Lester, Sox, Remain on Early Season Roll, Finish Sweep of Indians
By Aidan Flynn
The Sox stayed hot Thursday night, beating the Indians 6-3, and in the process, completed the sweep of the Tribe. Jon Lester continued to look sharp tonight, despite actually raising his ERA from 1.42 to 1.73. Lester made quick work of Indians hitters throughout the night, allowing only four hits and one walk. In addition, Lester struck out five and only allowed two runs to cross the plate during his seven innings of work.
Following Lester’s departure, the bullpen wasn’t quite the perfection it was on Wednesday, but Andrew Miller, Koji Uehara, and Andrew Bailey managed to preserve the lead. Although Uehara allowed a run following a Carlos Santana double (run credited to Miller), each pitcher recorded one strikeout and Bailey saved his second game of the young season.
April 13, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester (31) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
On the offensive side, seven different hitters recorded hits, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Napoli each with two. Adding to the group effort were RBIs by five different hitters, including two by the burgeoning Daniel Nava. The first RBI of Nava’s was Napoli, who led off the inning with a triple, and got the Sox off to an early 1-0 lead.
The Sox gained some breathing room in the 7th, adding three runs to cushion the previously one run lead. After a leadoff single by Ellsbury, Napoli drove him in on a single to right, and advanced Shane Victorino to third. Next, Nava hit a sac fly, to make it a two run lead, while Napoli adroitly advanced to second on the throw. That sharp baserunning immediately paid dividends as pinch-hitter Mike Carp singled to right field to put the sixth and final Red Sox run on the board.
Other notable individual performances include Dustin Pedroia (1-4, RBI, BB, 2 SB), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1-4, HR), and Jacoby Ellsbury (2-5, 2 R, SB).
Tomorrow marks the first game in Boston since the Marathon tragedy on Monday, in which multiple bombs killed three and wounded 176 others. Additionally, David Ortiz is set to make his season debut tomorrow following the issues he faced with his right Achilles.
All together it should be an incredible atmosphere as the Sox take on the Royals at 7:10, with a familiar match-up of James Shields going against Clay Buchholz.