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DODGER STADIUM |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Hanley Ramirez capitalizes on
Lackey's mistake to down
the Sox
August 23, 2013 ... John Lackey keeps pitching well, with nothing but encouraging pats on the back to show for his
effort. Lackey had pitched one of the best games of the season for the Red Sox and it wasn't close to good enough. At Dodger Stadium Lackey fired an eight-inning complete game, but the Red Sox lost to the Dodgers, 2-0.
In Lackey's 23 starts, Boston has been shut out five times and scored three runs or fewer 13 times. So even as Lackey has made a terrific comeback from Tommy John surgery, he has an 8-11 record. Lackey's 3.17 ERA is of little consolation to him. Lackey
allowed three hits and struck out six without a walk. But two of the hits came in the fourth inning, a single by Carl Crawford and a two-out, two-strike home run by Hanley Ramirez. For all the talk about Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez leading in to this series, it was another player who used to be property of the Red Sox that came back to haunt his
old team. Lackey retired the final eight Dodgers in order and needed only 97 pitches to navigate the eight innings. But it was the fourth time this season that Lackey took a loss despite going at least six innings and giving up two or fewer runs.
It was Ricky Nolasco and Kenley Jansen who combined on a two-hitter as the Dodgers beat the Red Sox before a crowd of 50,240.
Carl Crawford set the table in the fourth when he led off with a single to right. With two outs, Crawford stole second. Ramirez then belted a two-run homer to center. For the entire contest, the only semblance of a rally the Sox had was in the top of the
fifth, when Nava was hit by a pitch and Drew drilled a single into right. But Nolasco got a double play off the bat of Will Middlebrooks to end the inning.
With the loss, the Red Sox dropped back into a first-place tie with the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. Tampa Bay actually leads Boston by two in the loss column. Of late, manager John Farrell's team has been in a bit of a rut, losing eight out of 13.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers just keep chugging along, with a 29-5 record since the All-Star break.
The Red Sox could get lefty Matt Thornton back in the bullpen by the end of this weekend. Thornton, who threw a simulated game, has been out since injuring his right oblique on Aug. 4.
Former Red Sox center fielder Reggie Smith threw out the first pitch. The great broadcaster Vin Scully will return in 2014 for his 65th season with the Dodgers. Scully, 85, said he has been invigorated by the bounce-back season of the Dodgers. |
