After rattling off just two hits the previous night, the Boston bats were held to one hit through the first four innings Wednesday, falling behind 2-0. But the offense finally came to life in the fifth when the Red Sox managed to plate six runs before going on to a 9-2 victory. In that big six-run frame, the Sox notched seven hits and had eight straight batters reach base.
Starter Josh Beckett wasn't his best, but the Sox ace grabbed his 16th win of the season after holding the Royals to two earned runs over six innings while striking out seven.
Red Sox 9, Royals 2
Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
September 23, 2009
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Headliners: Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Bay each drove in a pair of runs in the come-from-behind win. Ellsbury got the ball rolling with a two-run triple (his 10th of the season) to tie things up in the fifth, while Bay tallied RBIs No. 114 and 115 with a two-run single later that inning.
Designated hitter David Ortiz smashed a three-run bomb to right-center in the top of the ninth and ended with two hits and a game-high four RBIs upping his season total to 88. The homer was his 25th of the season.
Dirt dog: Despite allowing 12 hits in his six innings of work, the win gave Beckett his third career 16-plus win season (16 wins in 2006, 20 in 2007). The righty now has 207 1/3 innings pitched this summer, surpassing his previous season high of 204 2/3 in 2006, his first year with Boston. Beckett's seven strikeouts also put him at 194 on the season, tying a career-high set in 1997.
Victor Martinez extended his hitting streak to a career-high 22 games with a base hit up the middle in the top of the fifth inning. Martinez is batting .349 (29-for-83) with 11 runs, 16 RBIs and six doubles during the streak which started Aug. 18 against the Blue Jays. The Sox are 14-8 during his stretch.
Better luck next time: Third baseman Mike Lowell was the lone Sox starter without a hit or run, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
Key moment: After a pair of singles by J.D. Drew and Alex Gonzalez, leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury spanked a two-run triple to center to tie things up at two with one out in the fifth. Ellsbury scored the go-ahead run one batter later when Dustin Pedroia laced a single to left. The Sox would add a few more thanks to a two-run single by Jason Bay and an RBI knock from David Ortiz to take the 6-2 lead.
On deck: The Red Sox hope to even up the four-game series Thursday evening at Kauffman Stadium. Clay Buchholz has won his last five decisions and will be looking for his sixth in a row as he takes on Wednesday's call-up Anthony Lerew and the Royals in the series finale.
The Red Sox righty hasn’t lost since Aug. 13 and has allowed one earned run or less in six of his last eight starts and two combined runs in his last three trips to the hill. Buchholz held the Orioles to one run on five hits in six innings in his last outing. The run, a homer, was the first long ball he’s allowed since coughing up two on Aug. 24.
Lerew was promoted from Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday to fill in for rookie Dusty Hughes, who was scheduled to start Thursday, but left his last outing early with a strained elbow. The 26-year-old Lerew went 6-2 with a 2.42 ERA in his last 10 regular-season starts for the Naturals. The righty appeared in 11 career games for the Braves from 2005-2007 out of the bullpen, posting an 8.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.
