Final, Pirates 3-1: Suddenly, the Red Sox and their booming offense are in a bit of a slump. DH or no DH, this offense is not getting hits when it needs to.
Boston goes quickly in the top of the ninth. It finishes the game having stranded 11 runners on base. The big outs in that sort of a situation came in the top of the eighth, when Marco Scutaro and David Ortiz are retired with two men in scoring position.
That’s the third straight loss for the Sox, who turn to Tim Wakefield to get back into the win column Saturday night. Wakefield will be going for career win No. 198 in a game that begins at 7:05 p.m.
See you there!
End 8th, Pirates 3-1: It will be the top of the order against Joel Hanrahan, who has 20 saves in 20 chances and a 1.31 ERA as the Pittsburgh closer this year.
Mid 8th, Pirates 3-1: And now David Ortiz is out of this game. Surprisingly, he is attacked aggressively by the Pirates with first base open, perhaps a commitment to not put the go-ahead run on.
The strategy works as Jose Veras gets Ortiz to ground to short to finish the eighth. Boston has left 11 on. Ortiz is 0-for-9 with 13 runners left on base in his last three games.
The Red Sox are down to the bare bones on the bench. Just Drew Sutton and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are all that’s left. J.D. Drew is in the game in right. Dan Wheeler is your new pitcher.
9:55 p.m.: High drama at PNC Park. David Ortiz is pinch hitting with two on and two outs in the eighth. The rain is falling rather hard.
First base is open, but the Pirates are pitching to Ortiz.
End 7th, Pirates 3-1: On to the eighth we go after Tommy Hottovy retires the only man he faces in the seventh.
Darnell McDonald and Mike Cameron are scheduled to begin the eighth. They are a combined 0-for-6 and continue to provide little at the plate.
9:40 p.m.: Matt Albers gives up one hit and then gets a pair of outs before Terry Francona comes with the hook.
Tommy Hottovy is your new pitcher. A runner is on third.
Mid 7th, Pirates 3-1: This is a pretty good bullpen that the Pirates have, and they wiggled out of a mess right there. They can now navigate the bottom half of the lineup in the eighth and in part of the ninth.
Daniel McCutchen struck out Kevin Youkilis to finish the seventh with two men on.
Matt Albers will take over for Jon Lester. It was a quality start for the lefty, but a grind at times.
9:27 p.m.: If you’re wondering about the use of Josh Reddick pinch hitting against a lefty, there’s plenty of logic to it.
Terry Francona obviously will not go to Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He will save David Ortiz for a more crucial situation. Drew Sutton is your only backup infielder, so you need to hang onto him for defensive purposes.
Perhaps J.D. Drew could be used, but Francona would like to use him in a spot where he then gets to go into the field. So, his pinch-hitting duties will come at the expense of Mike Cameron.
And there are not many guys swinging a better bat than Reddick, who singled to improve to 10-for-23 (.435). Dustin Pedroia walked one out later, setting up a big spot for lefty Tony Watson against Adrian Gonzalez.
Watson got ahead 0-2 and then induced a pop to the catcher. Huge out for the Pirates, who are making a pitching change to face Kevin Youkilis with two on and two out.
End 6th, Pirates 3-1: It’s been a strange night at third base for Kevin Youkilis.
There was the ball that hit the bag during the Pirates’ two-run rally in the third. He also started a big double play in the fourth.
In the sixth, there’s an infield hit that goes his way and then he commits his fifth error of the season, helping the Pirates put together a little rally.
Singles sandwiched the error, the second of which allowed Lyle Overbay to drive in a run and maintain his mastery of Jon Lester, who is now out of this game. Josh Reddick is batting to begin the seventh.
Mid 6th, Pirates 2-1: Marco Scutaro lined into a double play to end the sixth, but it might end up helping the Red Sox out.
Jon Lester was on deck. He likely would’ve been hit for if Scutaro reached. Now, they can get another inning out of him and pull him to start the seventh.
You’ll see Lester empty the tank right here.
8:52 p.m.: Paul Maholm did a very nice job, especially considering the small strike zone. He is done one out into the sixth after giving up a single to Jason Varitek.
End 5th, Pirates 2-1: A nice moment for Chase d’Arnaud, who tripled with two outs to pick up his first major league hit in this, his major league debut.
d’Arnaud is left at third after Jon Lester wins a lengthy encounter with Andrew McCutchen, but the hit helped make Lester work a bit more. The lefty’s pitch count is up to 87.
Don’t know too much about d’Arnaud, but I hope he doesn’t make too many errors. Otherwise, people can really get on him for that small ‘d’ thing.
Mid 5th, Pirates 2-1: Darnell McDonald gave it a good ride with a long fly to center with two on in the fifth. Alas, it dies just before the track and the inning ends with two more on base.
McDonald is 0-for-3 and has stranded six. Obviously, everyone would love to have David Ortiz in those situations, but Ortiz was 0-for-8 and stranded 12 in his last two games. Just sayin’.
Still, you wonder if these wasted chances will doom the Sox.
The runners reached on a hit batter (Adrian Gonzalez) and a walk (Kevin Youkilis). Gonzalez has not been retired since Tuesday.
End 4th, Pirates 2-1: It really felt as if Jon Lester’s night was going to go south after the first two reached in the fourth and the third man battles the southpaw for 12 pitches.
However, Lester won that battle by getting Ronny Cedeno to pop to second, and then gets a huge twin killing on a grounder to Kevin Youkilis.
Not only does the double play end the threat, but it gives Lester a chance to start the fifth against Paul Maholm, if Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle elects to hit Maholm.
The Pirates lefty is at 78 pitches entering the fifth. Lester is at 71.
Mid 4th, Pirates 2-1: Jon Lester is now 0-for-2 in this one and 0-for-17 in his career after a pop to short. He has made contact both times tonight.
So, there’s that.
At the very least, he does need to lead off the fifth thanks to a two-out hit by Marco Scutaro. That can radically transform an inning having Lester or Ellsbury leading off, so mad props to Scutaro. Mad, mad props.
End 3rd, Pirates 2-1: If you are a Red Sox fan, the last 30 minutes or so of baseball was just disastrous.
After leaving the bases loaded in the top of the third, Boston runs into all sorts of issues in the bottom half.
It started with a bunt single by Ronny Cedeno. Former PawSox catcher Michael McKenry lines a shot to right that Mike Cameron misplayed. It goes in as a double, but only because Cameron got a late break and his dive did not work. The ball got by him and rolled a bit toward the wall.
Then, with first base open, Jon Lester chose to pitch around Paul Maholm and work to Jose Tabata with the bases loaded. (That’s sarcasm. No way Lester should be walking pitchers who are 3-for-27).
Tabata then grounded one down the line that may have nicked the bag and took off on Kevin Youkilis. Everyone’s safe, a run scores, and one more comes in on a double play.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: Six straight hits now for Adrian Gonzalez, and the updated average is .363.
A single to right and a single to left. What a hitter.
Gonzalez’s base hit followed one by Dustin Pedroia, both coming with two outs. Kevin Youkilis then walked to load the bases, setting things up for David Ort…er…Darnell McDonald.
As Ortiz watches, McDonald grounds to third to leave ’em loaded. McDonald is now 4-for-39 (.103) this year.
Paul Maholm was getting squeezed in a big way right there. Silly National League with its silly little strike zone.
End 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: Three outs on the ground for Jon Lester in the second. The Pirates have yet to make any solid contact.
Lester leads things off in the third. These are always funny/scary moments.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: And we have our first example of how playing in the NL parks can impact the way you have to play.
With one out, Jason Varitek grounded a hit down the right-field line. He made the turn at first and tried to stretch it into a double, but was a rather easy out.
Still, that’s a time you take that gamble. With one out in the inning and Jon Lester in the hole, you know there aren’t many chances left. If the captain reached second it would’ve given Marco Scutaro one chance to drive him in with a single.
Otherwise, you leave something up to Lester with runners on. Lester is 0-for-15 in his career.
Scutaro grounded out to finish it, giving Paul Maholm a great chance to start the third on a good note with Lester at the plate.
End 1st, Red Sox 1-0: A darting cutter gets Andrew McCutchen swinging to end a quick first inning for Jon Lester. He is now throwing that pitch nearly 30 percent of the time.
Thinking ahead, and knowing David Ortiz will be a late-inning weapon throughout this trip, it’s interesting to note that he is a .195 (15-for-77) hitter coming off the bench.
Mid 1st, Red Sox 1-0: Leadoff walks will kill you. Leadoff walks to Jacoby Ellsbury with this sort of lineup behind him will kill you…um…more.
Paul Maholm is very much alive, but in baseball venacular had some life sucked out of him in the first. And it all began with a leadoff walk.
After Dustin Pedroia lined to right for the first out, Ellsbury raced to third on a single by Adrian Gonzalez, taking advantage of a slight bobble in right. That made Kevin Youkilis’ chopper to third rather fruitful as the only play was at first base and Ellsbury scored the game’s first run.
Gonzalez now has five hits in a row and his average is .361. A debate broke out the other day in the press box at Fenway about his chances to flirt with .400. Most agreed it was a stretch, but as the number climbs you have to at least think about a Rod Carew- or George Brett-like run.
7:05 p.m.: The first pitch to Jacoby Ellsbury is a ball, and we are prepared to have one.
6:31 p.m.: So much talk about the pitching. Josh Beckett’s flu, Clay Buchholz’s back, Jon Lester’s so-so-ness, John Lackey’s struggles, Tim Wakefield’s resurgence, Andrew Miller’s potential.
How the staff performs on this trip will be something to watch. In games that figure to be lower scoring affairs which could put some pressure on the bullpens, it’s up to the starters to give innings on a consistent basis.
Then, of course, you have the wide variation in opponents. Pittsburgh is one of the weaker lineups in the National League. Philadelphia is annually one of the best. And then there’s Houston, which rests right in the middle in many major categories.
What is interesting is the success Boston pitchers have had on the road this year. The team ERA is 3.61 away from home, compared to 4.35 on Fenway. One might think that such a disparity is always the case, given Fenway’s hitter-friendly climate. Not so. The splits last year were rather even, and the staff was much more successful at home in 2008 and 2009.
Jon Lester, of course, has been fantastic away from home this season. Since his Opening Day stinker in Texas, he is 6-0 with a 2.58 ERA in eight starts on the road. Great opportunity for him to re-establish his dominance tonight.
5:39 p.m.: Six of the nine Pirates hitters have never faced Jon Lester. The other three are all bunched together in succession, and each has actually done rather well vs. the lefty.
Here is the Pittsburgh batting order, followed by a few notable numbers:
Jose Tabata, LF
Chase d’Arnaud, 3B
Andrew McCutchen, CF
Neil Walker, 2B
Matt Diaz, RF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Ronny Cedeno, SS
Michael McKenry, C
Paul Maholm, SP
Diaz, Overbay and Cedeno are a combined 9-for-28 (.321) with two home runs, one triple and 10 RBIs against Lester. Of course, nearly all of that is Overbay’s. You might recall he ripped both of those homers in back-to-back at-bats against Lester in a game at Fenway on Aug. 20.
Both of homers were of the three-run variety. The second chased Lester. He was charged with nine runs in two innings.
That was against homer-happy Blue Jays team that dominated many slugging categories. Overbay is now part of a Pirates unit that ranks 26th in the majors in slugging.
That should help out Lester. He has been prone to the home run ball this year, serving up 14 already to tie his total for all of 2010. His career high is 20.
4:50 p.m.: Word out of Pittsburgh is that Jed Lowrie is suffering from a bruised nerve in his left shoulder.
WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reported that Lowrie’s visit with Dr. Lewis Yocum this week revealed that the damaged nerve had caused the muscles in the area to weaken.
It will be a matter of rest and then strengthening before we can even begin to talk of Lowrie’s return.
In other news, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald tweeted that Clay Buchholz is tentatively scheduled to start July 4 in the opener of a seven-game homestand.
Speaking of lengthy homestands, the longest one remaining on the Boston schedule just became even longer. A nine-game stay at Fenway is now 10 after the rescheduling of the May 17 game against Baltimore, which was rained out, was set for Sept. 19 at 1:05 p.m.
That will be the first half of a day-night doubleheader. There are no days off on this homestand, meaning Boston will play 10 games in nine days, all against AL East opponents.
3:07 p.m.: As anticipated, Terry Francona has resisted the urge to put Adrian Gonzalez in right field in the first of nine straight games in NL parks.
Eight chances left to create a stir.
Then again, those that care about the pitching-catching tandems will note that Jason Varitek will be catching Jon Lester for just the second time this year. Jarrod Saltalamacchia should be in there Saturday to play with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
With David Ortiz looming as a fantastic pinch-hitting option in the late innings, here is the lineup for the opener in Pittsburgh.
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Darnell McDonald, LF
Mike Cameron, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Marco Scutaro, SS
Jon Lester, P
Not many players in the order have faced Pirates lefty Paul Maholm. Mike Cameron will have to set the example. He is 13-for-30 (.433) with three home runs and nine RBIs vs. Maholm.
That plays a little into “The Decision” for Francona each day. If there is a lefty on the mound, he will be inclined to give Cameron that start in right since he usually has good numbers in those situations and would be an immeasurable defensive upgrade over Gonzalez. Same goes for if J.D. Drew has some really good numbers against a particular righty. Makes Francona’s decision that much easier to make.
We discuss scenario and more in our Top 10 Things to Watch for During Red Sox’ Nine-Game Interleague Road Trip.
9 a.m.: The Red Sox commence a nine-game interleague road trip Friday night when Jon Lester leads them into a series opener in Pittsburgh.
There will be plenty of intrigue leading up to each game of the excursion, for everyone wants to see if and when Terry Francona installs Adrian Gonzalez in right field. It probably will not happen right away, and we can expect to see David Ortiz sitting against lefty Paul Maholm in the opener.
Lester is aiming to become the first 10-game winner in the American League. He had a chance to reach that mark his last time out, but suffered the loss against Milwaukee. Lester is 5-2 with a 4.94 ERA over his last eight starts. He has never faced Pittsburgh.
Maholm, meanwhile, is 2-4 but has a 2.84 ERA in his last nine starts. Like Lester, he has never faced his opponent tonight.
This is Boston’s first trip to Pittsburgh since 2003, when the Sox took two of three. Boston had the same result when the teams last met at Fenway Park in 2005.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., but rain is in the area. Of course.
