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BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Lackey lets it slip away
in the
series finale
May 9, 2013 ...
At the point of contact, it looked like nothing more than a hard grounder back to the mound. John Lackey did the first part of his job, gloving it. Then he felt himself lose a bit of the grip on the ball. Lackey was in fact about to lose his
grip of the game, one in which the suddenly-reeling Red Sox would lose to the Twins, 5-3, at Fenway Park.
This was a night in which Lackey felt great about the way he threw the ball. Except, of course, that sixth-inning grounder off the bat of Trevor Plouffe that Lackey fielded and then threw into center field. Instead of an inning-ending double play, the Twins
tied the game on that play.
After Lackey's fielding miscue tied it, Ryan Doumit hit a fly ball to medium-depth in right field. Shane Victorino made a nice catch and then a perfect throw to the plate. But catcher David Ross barely missed the tag, and Justin Morneau slid in safely to put the
Twins ahead.
Two batters later, Lackey gave up a two-run homer to Oswaldo Arcia. It has been a frustrating few days for the Red Sox, who have lost six of their last seven to fall to 21-14 on the season. After getting swept in Texas, Boston lost three out of four at home to the
Twins.
Early on, the story was Lackey. He seemed to have all his pitches going in his fourth start of the season. In all, Lackey gave up six hits and five runs over seven innings, but just one of the runs was earned. He walked one and struck out eight. Through
the first four innings, Lackey was magnificent, allowing just two baserunners. The first sign of trouble came in the fifth, when Arcia drilled a one-out triple and Aaron Hicks smashed an RBI double, making it a one-run game.
The Twins grabbed the momentum in the sixth, and never gave it back. As for the Red Sox, if there has been a common thread during this mini-rut, it's the offense coming up a little short.
The Sox have lost three straight and six of their last seven games, and for the first time this season have dropped into second place in the American League East. The slide has coincided with sloppy defense. The Sox committed two errors and have 11 in their last
seven games.
David Ortiz was 0 for 5, ending five innings and leaving five runners on base. He is hitless in his last 13 at-bats, stranding 10 runners. Regression was inevitable after Ortiz hit .440 with 17 RBIs in his first 13 games off the disabled list. Dr. James Andrews
will examine the injured right arm of Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan. The Sox clearly aren't expecting good news, given that Hanrahan was placed on the 60-day disabled list. Hanrahan was shifted to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster for righthanded reliever Jose De La
Torre, who was promoted from Triple A Pawtucket. Lefthander Franklin Morales will continue his rehab assignment Monday with Pawtucket. He is scheduled for three innings. Morales went two scoreless innings for Double A Portland Wednesday and showed good velocity. He is being
prepared as a starter. John Farrell said Morales would need at least two more rehab appearances before being ready. |
