Sox fall into slide; only bright spot is Middlebrooks

The last time I spoke to you, the Sox were winning and at 11-11 after defeating Oakland in the first of a three-game set. Unfortunately, they then lost the next two to Oakland due to poor pitching and a lack of clutch hitting, especially from Adrian Gonzalez. After an off day, they faced the Orioles, who beat them easily in the first two games 6-4 and 8-2. Then in the finale, Boston was down 5-1 in the fifth inning when third-base prospect Will Middlebrooks came up and nailed a long grand slam for the tie. After each team scored again in the eighth, things settled down and the score stayed that way. And stayed that way. And then in the sixteenth inning, DH Chris Davis entered the game for the Orioles as their pitcher. The Sox couldn't score off him, with Marlon Byrd being thrown out at home on a double by Mike Aviles. Then Bobby Valentine made the most stupid move of the game, without question. He brought in Darnell McDonald, usually an outfielder, to pitch. McDonald rewarded Bobby V's stupidity by giving up a three-run homer to Robert Andino. But wait! All is not lost yet. There is still the bottom of the inning, where Adrian Gonzalez is facing the DH again. And strikes out on three pitches to lose the game. Next, the Sox faced off against the Kansas City Royals in KC and took out their frustration on the poor Royals pitching staff, crushing them in an 11-6 slugfest. However, last night they did not do as well, as Matt Albers made some bad pitches. In the eighth, with Dan Bard in trouble with two on and none out, Albers came in, and promptly surrendered a three-run blast to Billy Butler. End result? 6-4 loss for Boston, making them 1-6 in their last 7 games. This year just ain't their year, I guess. But the one bright spot? Middlebrooks nailed two home runs in the 11-6 win, and David Ortiz hit his seventh of the year out. Worth noting Last night, Josh Hamilton tied a major league record with four home runs in one game and set a record with 18 total bases in the game, adding a double to his four bombs.