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JOHN LACKEY |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Lackey pitches a great before
a three hour rain delay
May 19, 2013 ...
The Red Sox are so hot, even a Midwestern monsoon couldn't slow them down. John Lackey allowed one run on one hit over six innings as the Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Twins with a 5-1 win that featured a three-hour rain delay at Target Field.
Lackey, who earned his second win and first since April 28, lost his perfect game when Trevor Plouffe led off the fifth inning with a no-doubt double to the fence in left field. Plouffe came around to score on a throwing error by shortstop Pedro Ciriaco that
cut Boston's lead to 3-1.
Heavy rain stopped play in the middle of the seventh inning, and the prospect of more baseball looked doubtful as wave after wave of showers blew through the Twin Cities. But considering the score and the fact that it was Boston's last trip to town, umpire Jeff
Kellogg's crew was determined to wait it out.
The game resumed with the ball in the capable hands of Boston's bullpen. Three Red Sox relievers ran the bullpen's scoreless streak to 14 innings, including 10 1/3 innings in this series. Koji Uehara created a little drama by loading the bases with two outs
in the eighth, but he struck out Joe Mauer to end the threat and preserve the 3-1 lead. Junichi Tazawa gave up singles to the first two batters in the ninth, but recovered to nail down Boston's fifth straight win, all away from Fenway Park.
That bullpen who is about to get closer Andrew Bailey back from the disabled list, adding even more depth to a group that has been dominant of late. Lackey said the starting pitchers have taken note of that performance and its impact on the starters'
effectiveness. The Sox have survived and excelled with relievers adapting to new roles after the team's top two late-game options went to the disabled list. Over the first six games of this nine-game road trip, Sox relievers have pitched 20 innings and
allowed one run. They have walked only seven batters and struck out 21.
The Red Sox jumped ahead in the second inning, when Will Middlebrooks blasted his eighth home run of the year for a 1-0 lead. Middlebrooks waited on a changeup from Twins starter Pedro Hernandez and drove it 402 feet to the opposite field, clearing the scoreboard
in right-center to stake Lackey to an early lead.
The Red Sox scored a run on a Twins error in the third, then chased Hernandez with four straight singles in the fifth, including a run-scoring hit by Mike Napoli that pushed the lead to 3-0. The damage could have been worse for the Twins, but reliever Josh
Roenicke, who inherited a bases-loaded, one-out situation, got Middlebrooks on an infield popup and Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a comebacker to end the threat.
After the delay, Dustin Pedroia belted a two-run homer in the ninth for added insurance. The ball skipped off left fielder Josh Willingham's wrist and bounced into the flower bed above the wall, a break that Pedroia said he'd take considering it was only his
second home run. Pedroia has hit safely in 11 straight games at 21 of 45 on his streak and is now hitting .343. It was the culmination of a long weekend at Target Field, 28 innings, 10-and-a-half hours of baseball and a three-hour rain delay in the
span of just over 48 hours. |
