Friday night at the Fens was hardly a pitcher’s duel as both Beckett and Blue Jays starter Scott Richmond were each smacked around for five runs in five innings. Beckett was wild in the outing, walking a season-high five batters and plunking Toronto's Marco Scutaro in the helmet.
Boston’s offense went hitless for the first two-plus innings but the bats broke out with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth highlighted by a Jason Bay two-run homer. After a 43-minute rain delay in the top of the eighth, the Sox were able to plate the eventual game-winner in the bottom half before Jonathan Papelbon came in to close things out in the ninth.
Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5
Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.
August 28, 2009
Headliner: Jason Bay smashed a high Scott Richmond slider deep over the Monster with Victor Martinez on base to tie things up at five apiece in the fifth inning. Bay's big blast extended his hitting streak to seven games and he now has five RBIs in the last five games to give him a team-high 92 for the season.
Dirt dog: With runners on first and second and the Red Sox down 3-2 in the fourth, Jacoby Ellsbury was quickly down 0-2 before battling back to a full count. He then belted Richmond's eighth pitch of the at-bat to the triangle in center for a ground-rule double. Ellsbury’s 23rd two-bagger of the season was Boston’s fifth hit of the frame and tied the game up after the Sox entered the inning down 3-0. Ellsbury, who was removed from Thursday night’s contest in the fifth with an ankle injury, ended the night 2-for-3 with two walks and one RBI.
Better luck next time: Josh Beckett struggled to find the plate on Friday night and when he did, the Blue Jays bats made him pay. The Red Sox ace struck out nine but went just five innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits. He was having control troubles all night long as he drilled Marco Scutaro in the head with a pitch and ended up walking five batters, the most he’s allowed in a game since Sept. 16, 2006. Beckett allowed two homers in the contest — one by Aaron Hill in the second and another by Rod Barajas in the fifth — and has now allowed 10 in his last three starts.
Key moment: Tied at five with a runner on first with one out in the top of the eighth, Toronto's John McDonald — Scutaro's replacement at shortstop — doubled to left. Travis Snider attempted to score from first on the double, but as Snider headed toward home with a feet-first slide, catcher Jason Varitek blocked the outer edge of the plate with his left foot as he caught the relay, preventing the runner from touching the base. Snider was spun around by the collision, and Varitek put the tag on to record the second out and keep things tied up.
On deck: The Red Sox and Blue Jays will try to play through what will likely be a wet Saturday evening game at the Fens as a pair of young guns — Clay Buchholz and Ricky Romero — take center stage.
In his third season with the Sox, Buchholz is 2-3 with a 5.02 ERA. The young righty has been inconsistent since joining the team after the All-Star break, going winless in five starts after winning his debut. Buchholz got a no-decision in his last outing after coughing up seven earned runs on six hits in Boston’s 12-8 win over Chicago on Monday. In four career starts against the Jays, Buchholz is 2-2 with a 2.82 ERA including two wins in two starts at the Rogers Centre in Toronto this season.
Romero, a left-handed rookie, has been a bright spot for Cito Gaston this season, sporting an 11-5 record to go with a 3.91 ERA in 21 starts. The 24-year-old picked up a win in his last start after limiting the Angels to two runs and eight hits over six innings. Romero has struggled against the Sox in his first MLB season, going 0-2 with a 10.50 ERA in three starts. He was yanked after just 3 2/3 innings in his last outing against Boston when the Sox put up six runs (five earned) and eight hits.
