Ross crushes Chicago

After my last post, the White Sox went on to beat Jon Lester and Boston 7-5. However, the Red Sox were ready for revenge on Wednesday. Cody Ross smashed not one, but two three-run homers while Adrian Gonzalez homered and drove in four. Felix Doubront held the White Sox to one run on four hits to earn his tenth win of the season, 10-1. I'm sure that was a nice win for Boston, as they just crushed Chicago. Then they faced off again last night.

To me, it was clear that both starters were at their best last night, with Carlos Quintana facing off against Clay Buchholz, recently returned from the DL. Buchholz struck out four in the first three innings, all looking, while Quintana held the Red Sox scoreless. Unfortunately, in the fourth the White Sox strung together two singles and a sacrifice fly to score the first run of the game. The game stayed 1-0, with Clay Buchholz finishing off his eight innings with just six hits allowed and six strikeouts. Meanwhile, Quintana finished his eight innings, scattering five hits and striking out two. 

In the ninth, Alfredo Aceves gave up two hits but shut out the White Sox in their half, and Matt Thornton started the ninth for the ChiSox. He gave up a leadoff single to Carl Crawford, who was then erased on a force out. With Dustin Pedroia now on first, Adrian Gonzalez singled through the right side. I thought, after this, that Boston had a chance at winning. That was it for Thornton, who gave way to the White Sox closer, Addison Reed. Reed faced Cody Ross, who took two fastballs. With the count 1-1, Reed threw one on the inside corner to Ross, who crushed the ball. It carried all the way into the Monster seats for Ross's third three-run blast in two days and a 3-1 BoSox win. I was so excited when Ross hit his bomb! I just knew that the Sox could come back, and Ross just destroyed the White Sox.

Tonight, the Sox look to keep their momentum going against Toronto. Josh Beckett goes, and hopefully he can pitch well for Boston. Thank goodness Buchholz is back from the DL, as he has been the most reliable Boston starter of late. Also, I am so happy that the full Boston outfield is playing, since Ells and Crawford have been hitting well and Ross has been smashing the ball.

Worth Noting

Boston has now won five of its last seven games. They are just two games back in the wild-card race.

A-Gone has big day in Youk's return

Kevin Youkilis returned to Fenway last night for the Chicago White Sox and was greeted with a standing ovation before his first at-bat. He singled up the middle in his first at-bat. He then proceeded to score when Adam Dunn grounded to second base. The ball was thrown over to first for the out, but Youk, in one of the great baserunning plays that endeared him to Boston fans, noticed that nobody was covering third and raced to the bag. Then Adrian Gonzalez threw the ball past Will Middlebrooks and down the left-field line, allowing Youk to score. However, Boston came back in the bottom of the inning, with Carl Crawford starting his season off with a base hit and A-Gone knocked him in with a single. 

The game stayed 1-1 for seven more innings, with Aaron Cook finishing his seven innings with only five hits allowed and an unearned run, while Dylan Axelrod threw 6 and 2/3 innings of 7-hit, 1-run ball. In the eighth, two consecutive walks by Leyson Septimo set the stage once more for Gonzalez, who drove a three-run bomb for a 4-1 lead. Mike Aviles added another, but I was ecstatic that A-Gone finally produced the way he should this year. The BoSox finished off the ChiSox 5-1. I was also extremely happy that Boston had another good pitching performance. And in fact, Aaron Cook is now the first Red Sox pitcher since 1925 to throw two starts in one season with 5+ innings and no walks or strikeouts. 

Hopefully the Sox can keep their momentum going tonight, when ace Jon Lester faces Philip Humber, who threw a perfect game this season but is making his first start since being injured. I think that Lester should be able to bear down and throw a solid game against Chicago. Also, good for Crawford and Ellsbury, who since coming back have been playing pretty well and given a much-needed boost of speed at the top of the order.

Red Sox Recap

I am not impressed by the way the Sox have been playing of late, although they did manage to take two of three from the Rays coming out of the All-Star break. Yesterday, Will Middlebrooks and finally healthy Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits apiece to back a quality start by Josh Beckett and win 7-3. It is nice to see that Ells can still hit, although it is another player who is turning heads so far this season. After being called up to Boston, second baseman Pedro Ciriaco is batting .417. He was first called up for the doubleheader against the Yankees, and ended up going 7-for-13 in three games versus New York. He has already stolen three bases and has been a valuable asset for Boston. The other new Boston pickup who has been helping the Sox is Will Middlebrooks, who has knocked in 41 runs in 51 games so far this season. And of course, the lone Boston All-Star, David Ortiz, is still hitting consistently for Boston, far and away their best player this year.

Tonight, the Chicago White Sox visit Fenway Park in Kevin Youkilis's return against Boston. Dylan Axelrod goes for the ChiSox against Aaron Cook, who has been 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA since coming off his elbow injury. Hopefully Boston can gain some ground on the Yankees, who are still 9.5 games ahead of them. However, Boston is only 1.5 games behind in the wild-card race, so they just need to win some games. Lets go Sox!!!

Trivia
Ciriaco had played in a handful of games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in previous seasons before coming to Boston.