Final, Red Sox 7-0: Brandon Workman entered and struck out the final two hitters to finish off a 7-0 victory.
Jon Lester was fantastic Monday, as he pitched into the ninth inning while shutting down the Giants’ offense. Lester gave up six hits in 8 1/3 shutout innings. He struck out three and walked two while throwing 115 pitches (77 strikes).
The Red Sox seized control in the second inning, when they scored three runs against Giants starter Tim Lincecum. Shane Victorino and Daniel Nava led the offensive attack with three hits apiece. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew each had two hits.
The victory was a much-needed one for the Red Sox, who entered having lost four of their last five games. The Sox had a pretty crazy travel schedule to get to San Francisco, but it clearly didn’t have much of an impact.
The Red Sox and Giants will go at it again Tuesday. Jake Peavy and Ryan Vogelsong will take the hill, with the first pitch scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET.
Good night, everyone.
1:11 a.m., Red Sox 7-0: Jon Lester couldn’t finish off the complete game.
Lester needed just two pitches to record the first out of the ninth inning. He then gave up back-to-back singles, and John Farrell will turn to Brandon Workman.
It was an excellent performance by Lester, though.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 7-0: The Red Sox added two more runs for good measure.
Dustin Pedroia, who had been having a tough night offensively, hammered a ball toward the right-center field gap with one out. Hunter Pence lunged for it, but the ball traveled just past his glove and rolled all the way to the wall.
There’s a triangle area out in right-center at AT&T Park, so Pedroia was able to run a little bit. He easily made it to third base standing up.
David Ortiz struck out swinging for the second out. He’s now 0-for-5 with two K’s.
Jarrod Saltalamachia drove in Boston’s sixth run by smacking a double down the right field line. The ball actually landed on the line and kicked up chalk. The double was Salty’s 34th of the season.
Daniel Nava knocked in Saltalamacchia with a single into right field. Nava put an inside-out swing on it, and the blooper landed just out of Marco Scutaro’s reach.
It looked like Jon Lester’s night was over, as Brandon Workman was warming up in the Red Sox’ bullpen. Lester apparently convinced John Farrell to let him try to finish this one, though. Lester is coming back out for the ninth inning with his pitch count sitting at 107.
End 8th, Red Sox 5-0: Every time it looks like the Giants have a chance to chip away, Jon Lester digs deep and pitches his way out of it.
The Giants put two runners on with one out in the eighth inning, as Brett Pillar walked and Andres Torres singled into left field. Lester made sure that the threat didn’t go any further.
Marco Scutaro hit a perfect double play ball to short. Stephen Drew fielded it right near second base, stepped on the bag and fired to first to end the inning.
Lester has thrown 107 pitches, and Brandon Workman was warming up in the bullpen. That means it may have been Lester’s last inning, in which case it was a stellar performance by the left-hander.
Jose Mijares will be the new Giants pitcher in the ninth inning.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 5-0: The Red Sox went down in order in the eighth inning. Guillermo Moscoso has done an excellent job since relieving Tim Lincecum in the sixth inning.
Moscoso has yet to yield a hit, and he has four strikeouts in three innings after striking out one more in the eighth.
Will Middlebrooks flied out to left field, and Jon Lester grounded out to short. Jacoby Ellsbury then went down hacking to end the inning.
End 7th, Red Sox 5-0: Jon Lester is dazzling right now.
Buster Posey led off the seventh with a single up the middle. Dustin Pedroia dived for the sharp grounder, but the ball kicked off his glove and into center field.
That was all that the Giants mustered up against Lester in the inning.
Hunter Pence hit a high fly ball to center field that Jacoby Ellsbury handled for the first out.
Pablo Sandoval then nearly grounded into his second double play. The ball was hit too softly to Will Middlebrooks at third base, though, and Sandoval beat out Pedroia’s relay throw.
Guillermo Moscoso, who has pitched the last two innings for the Giants, will apparently pitch at least one more. The Giants let him hit in the seventh inning, and he grounded out to second base.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 5-0: Guillermo Moscoso tossed a scoreless seventh inning to keep San Francisco’s deficit at five runs.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Daniel Nava and Stephen Drew went down in order against Moscoso.
Saltalamacchia and Drew each struck out swinging. Squished in between the two K’s was a flyout to Brett Pill in left field.
End 6th, Red Sox 5-0: The Giants finally started making some noise in the sixth inning. They couldn’t turn it into any runs, though.
Brett Pill, who entered the game as part of the double switch that ended Tim Lincecum’s night, walked with one out. Andres Torres then singled into left field, and it looked as if the Giants were primed to do some damage.
Jon Lester, as he has done all night, stepped up when he needed to. Marco Scutaro and Brandon Belt flied out to right field and left field, respectively.
Lester has been very sharp thus far. He has thrown 82 pitches through the first six innings.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 5-0: The Red Sox’ lead is up to five runs.
Guillermo Moscoso plunked Shane Victorino upon entering the game. Victorino had three hits before being struck in the shoulder, so he has now reached base four times.
Dustin Pedroia is having a tough night at the dish. He’s now 0-for-4 with two double plays after grounding into a twin killing in the sixth inning. Jacoby Ellsbury, who led off with a single, took third base on the double play.
David Ortiz struck out on a big, hearty cut to end the inning, but it wasn’t before Moscoso delivered a wild pitch that allowed Ellsbury to score Boston’s fifth run.
11:53 p.m., Red Sox 4-0: Tim Lincecum’s night is done.
Guillermo Moscoso will be the new pitcher following a double switch by the Giants. Brett Pill will head out to left field.
Jacoby Ellsbury is on first base. He singled to lead off the sixth inning.
End 5th, Red Sox 4-0: Jon Lester is turning in an excellent performance thus far.
Hunter Pence smacked a ground ball up the middle. Stephen Drew ranged over, but he couldn’t corral it and was charged with an error.
Lester immediately wiped Pence off the bases. Pablo Sandoval hit a high chopper that the Red Sox turned into a double play.
Initially, it seemed like the Sox wouldn’t have a chance to turn two because of how high the ball bounced into the air. Dustin Pedroia got the ball to Drew quickly, though, and Sandoval’s slow foot speed certainly helped.
Jeff Francoeur grounded out to end the inning.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 4-0: Stephen Drew showed some pop in the fifth inning.
Tim Lincecum got two quick outs to begin the fifth. David Ortiz grounded out to first base, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out looking when Lincecum pulled the string.
Daniel Nava got things going by singling into center field. Nava has now reached base three times, and he scored his second run when Drew labeled a ball off the center field wall.
The Giants intentionally walked Will Middlebrooks for the second time after Drew’s RBI double. They took their chances with Jon Lester, who struck out looking on a pitch located on the outside corner.
End 4th, Red Sox 3-0: Jon Lester hasn’t had any problems yet.
Andres Torres gave San Francisco its first hit with a single into left field to lead off the inning. Lester buckled down from there.
Marco Scutaro, who actually drilled a ball just foul down the left field line during his at-bat, flied out to left field for the first out.
Lester almost benefited from a double play when Brandon Belt hit a ground ball to second base. It wasn’t hit hard enough, though, and Belt beat out Stephen Drew’s relay throw.
Lester exited the inning by getting Buster Posey to fly out to center field.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 3-0: Shane Victorino is having a good night at the plate. He now has three hits after singling in the fourth inning.
Victorino drilled a line drive over the head of second baseman Marco Scutaro with one out. Scutaro made a leaping attempt, but the ball sailed just beyond his reach and into right-center.
Victorino’s single didn’t amount to anything, though. Dustin Pedroia hit a ground ball right at shortstop Brandon Crawford, which the Giants easily turned into a double play after Pedroia stumbled a bit while exiting the box.
End 3rd, Red Sox 3-0: Jon Lester is mowing them down right now.
Lester enjoyed his third straight perfect inning, picking up two strikeouts in the process.
Jeff Francoeur and Tim Lincecum were the two strikeout victims. Brandon Crawford flied out to left field for the other out.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 3-0: Oh, National League.
The Red Sox had an opportunity to add to their lead in the third inning, but the Giants opted to take their chances with Jon Lester batting. It worked out.
David Ortiz grounded into the shift for the inning’s first out. Marco Scutaro made a nice sliding stop in shallow right field. He popped to his feet and fired to first, where Brandon Belt made a good scoop.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked with one out, and Daniel Nava singled into center field to start up a quick threat. Both runners advanced a station when Stephen Drew grounded out.
With first base open, the Giants walked Will Middlebrooks with two outs to face Lester with the bases loaded. Lester hit a slow roller to second base to end the inning.
End 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: After watching Tim Lincecum labor through the top of the second inning, Jon Lester cruised through the bottom half.
Lester retired the side in order, which was no easy task with Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval coming up in the inning.
Posey began the frame with a very loud out. He hit a towering fly ball to deep left field, and Daniel Nava ranged back to make the catch a step in front of the wall. In most ballparks, we’d be looking at a 3-1 game.
Pence then grounded out, and Sandoval struck out swinging. Lester followed a curveball with a fastball located high and way to sit down Sandoval.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: The Red Sox have struck first.
Tim Lincecum immediately ran into trouble in the second inning, as the first three hitters reached. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew sandwiched a Daniel Nava walk with a pair of singles into right field.
Will Middlebrooks, who has been swinging a hot bat since being recalled, got jammed with an 0-1 fastball. He managed to inside-out a fly ball to deep right field, though, and Saltalamacchia tagged up and scored after Hunter Pence made the grab.
Lincecum then made a weird mistake with Jon Lester batting. It looked like Lincecum slipped off the mound while delivering his first pitch, and the right-hander was charged with a balk. That allowed Nava, who took third on Middlebrooks’ flyout, to cross the plate with Boston’s second run.
Lester’s at-bat ended with the Boston pitcher dropping down a sacrifice bunt. Drew moved up to third base, giving Jacoby Ellsbury a chance to do some two-out damage.
Ellsbury reached on a catcher’s interference call — as he’s done a number of times this season. Ellsbury was awarded first base after he hit catcher Buster Posey’s mitt while swinging. Shane Victorino, who doubled in the first inning, followed with an RBI single into center field.
Lincecum has already thrown 45 pitches through two innings.
End 1st, 0-0: Jon Lester breezed through the first inning.
Andres Torres and Marco Scutaro both flied out to Shane Victorino in right field, and Brandon Belt grounded out to Stephen Drew at short.
Lester needed just six pitches to get the job done.
Mid 1st, 0-0: You never really know what you’re going to get with Tim Lincecum. He kept the Red Sox scoreless in the first inning, though.
Jacoby Ellsbury struck out to begin the ballgame. Ellsbury struck out four times in Sunday’s loss, marking the first time in his career that he struck out four times in a game.
Shane Victorino doubled into the left-center field gap with one out, but Lincecum retired both Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz to escape the inning.
Pedroia struck out looking on a pitch located on the inside corner, and Ortiz yanked a routine ground ball down to first base.
10:17 p.m.: Tim Lincecum’s first pitch is a strike. We’re underway.
9:49 p.m.: One thing working in the Red Sox’ favor out west is that they’ve played well in interleague games.
The Red Sox are 9-3 in interleague play this season, which is the best mark in the majors. The Sox have won 18 of their last 23 games against the National League, and they have the best interleague mark in baseball since 2003 (125-67).
9:23 p.m.: It’ll be interesting to see how big of a role Xander Bogaerts has in his first major league call-up.
One has to think that Bogaerts will receive regular at-bats, otherwise it’s tough to justify bringing him up before Sept. 1. They could certainly use his right-handed pop, though, especially with John Farrell looking to give Stephen Drew some rest at some point.
The Red Sox have struggled a bit against left-handers, so Bogaerts should help in that department. The 20-year-old was hitting .298 with a .452 on-base percentage against lefties at the time of his call-up.
8:09 p.m.: The Red Sox have made a flurry of roster moves.
The headline grabber is top prospect Xander Bogaerts getting called up to the major league club. To make room for Bogaerts on the active roster, the Red Sox have optioned Brock Holt to Triple-A Pawtucket. To make room for Bogaerts on the 40-man roster, Clay Buchholz, who has been out since June 8, has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
David Ross, meanwhile, has been activated from the 60-day disabled list. To make room for Ross on the active roster, the Red Sox optioned Ryan Lavarnway back to Pawtucket. To make room for Ross on the 40-man roster, Andrew Miller was transferred to the 60-day DL.
The Red Sox also sent Rubby De La Rosa to Triple-A while calling up reliever Brayan Villarreal, who was acquired from the Tigers as part of the Jake Peavy trade.
6:55 p.m.: The Red Sox appear to be making some roster moves before Monday’s game, but their lineup is pretty standard.
Monday’s lineups are below.
Red Sox (73-53)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Daniel Nava, LF
Stephen Drew, SS
Will Middlebrooks, 3B
Jon Lester, LHP (10-7, 4.31 ERA)
Giants (55-68)
Andres Torres, CF
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Brandon Belt, 1B
Buster Posey, C
Hunter Pence, RF
Pablo Sandoval, 3B
Jeff Francoeur, LF
Brandon Crawford, SS
Tim Lincecum, RHP (6-12, 4.38 ERA)
8 a.m. ET: Things aren’t exactly going swimmingly for the Red Sox, and their schedule is only going to get more difficult.
The Red Sox have lost seven of their last 10 games after dropping two of three to the Yankees over the weekend. Now, they must travel out west for a six-game road trip against the Giants and Dodgers.
Sunday’s game, which Boston lost 9-6, didn’t end until after midnight, yet the Red Sox are scheduled to board a plane at 10 a.m. ET to head out to San Francisco for a game at 10:15 p.m. ET. It’s a brutal travel schedule, although the Red Sox must overcome the lack of sleep, because they’re in need of a win.
Sunday’s game against the Yankees will be remembered for the fireworks between Ryan Dempster and Alex Rodriguez, but the loss is what really stings the Sox. The Rays are hot on their heels in the AL East, and Boston can’t afford to get caught up in any extracurriculars, or else its division lead could slip away.
Monday’s first pitch is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET, and Jon Lester will go up against Tim Lincecum. Be sure to tune in on NESN, and keep it right here with NESN.com’s live blog.
