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BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Dustin Pedroia and John Lackey
give clutch performances in Sox win
July 12, 2013 ...
The Red Sox returned to Oakland with John Lackey, who pitched seven strong innings and Dustin Pedroia who had the key hit, as the Sox beat the Athletics, 4-2, before an energetic crowd of 27,084. John
Lackey allowed just two runs over seven innings of work at O.co Coliseum, yielding just three hits and striking out five on the way to his seventh win and 12th quality start of the season. The right-hander has now allowed three runs or fewer in 14 of his 16 starts this season and posted a
2.32 ERA in 11 outings since May 19, yet his uncharacteristic four walks in the series opener are indicative that he wasn't as sharp as past outings, even if some the credit should go to Oakland, the most-walked team in baseball.
Boston (58-37) maintained its hold of the best record in the American League with its win over the AL West-leading A's (54-39). The Red Sox are 5-3 thus far on their current 10-game excursion down the West Coast to set a Red Sox pre-All-Star break record with 58
wins. The team's success of late can be attributed to clutch two-out hitting, which accounted for all four of Boston's runs tonight and 11 of the team's last 13.
Brock Holt extended his hitting streak to six games with a two-run knock in a second inning that featured two A's errors. Holt has seven RBIs in seven games since joining the Red Sox from Triple A Pawtucket.
Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a two-run single in the eighth inning. He also made a defensive play that saved a run. Pedroia also came up big in the fifth inning with one out and runners at the corners. He picked Josh Donaldson's sizzling liner
to start a double play and end the inning with Boston up just one run at the time.
The A's scored an additional run off a solo home run from former Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie an inning later, but Lackey settled down to retire the last six batters he faced, an encouraging sign for a player who has said he pitches better in the second half of
the season. Former A's closer Andrew Bailey pitched a scoreless eighth for the Red Sox, striking out Chevrolet Home Run Derby participant Yoenis Cespedes with a man on first to end the inning. Bailey has thrown 51/3 scoreless innings in his last four
outings, allowing two hits and striking out seven. Koji Uehara earned his eighth save of the season by striking out the side in the ninth.
The four-run showing was a drop in production for the Red Sox, who had scored 34 runs in their last four games, but that's to be expected against an A's rotation that has now allowed three runs or fewer in their last nine games. Jacoby Ellsbury's 19-game hitting
streak came to a close. He had batted .413 with seven doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs and 16 runs during the stretch.
The Red Sox did not wait until closer to the trade deadline to improve their bullpen. They obtained lefthander Matt Thornton from the White Sox in exchange for Double A outfielder Brandon Jacobs. The 36-year-old Thornton has appeared in 40 games for
Chicago this year. He has a 3.86 earned run average and a 1.250 WHIP. Over 28 innings, Thornton has allowed 25 hits and struck out 21.
Clay Buchholz will throw in the bullpen again tomorrow and possibly again in New York before the All-Star Game. He would then throw a three-inning simulated game later in the week or stay in the bullpen. Under this latest plan, Buchholz would pitch one
minor league game before being activated off the disabled list. According to John Farrell, Buchholz is free of the shoulder pain that has kept him out since June 8.
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