After a tough loss on Friday night, Dustin Pedroia left no ambiguity when saying he thought the offense wasn't doing its job and needs to drive in more runs going forward.
Easier said than done.
On his birthday, rookie Mauro Gomez provided a fair chunk of the offense Friday, going 2-for-2 off the bench, including a home run and three RBIs. Gomez is undoubtedly one of the players auditioning for a role next season, and although the 28-year-old is a bit old to be considered a prospect, the Red Sox have a gaping hole at first base headed into 2013, there are few viable options on the free agent market, and Gomez has had a .960 OPS in Triple-A Pawtucket this year.
Aside from Gomez, Pedroia was the only player in the Boston lineup with an RBI on Friday — picking up the 400th of his Red Sox career. Although Pedroia had a 15-game hitting streak snapped Wednesday in Seattle, the second baseman is hitting .353 with nine stolen bases in ten attempts since the beginning of August.
On the Blue Jays' end, Jose Bautista is of course lost for the season, but between Edwin Encarnacion's breakout season, Adam Lind and Colby Rasmus, there's still plenty of power in the Toronto batting order.
Check out the lineups for both teams below:
Toronto Blue Jays
Rajai Davis, LF
Colby Rasmus, CF
Edwin Encarnacion, DH
Adam Lind, 1B
Yunel Escobar, SS
Kelly Johnson, 2B
J.P. Arencibia, C
Adeiny Hechavarria, 3B
Anthony Gose, RF
Aaron Laffey, P
Boston Red Sox
Pedro Ciriaco, 3B
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Cody Ross, RF
Mauro Gomez, 1B
Ryan Lavarnway, C
Mike Aviles, DH
Scott Podsednik, LF
Jose Iglesias, SS
Daisuke Matsuzaka, P
