Blanton is shocked at how poor this pitch is before it even leaves his hand. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
The Red Sox took game two from the Phillies 7-5 powered by 4 home runs.
The offense is what propelled the Sox' victory tonight. Phillies starter, Joe Blanton, wasn't given a huge strike zone and the Sox took advantage. Aviles, Saltalamacchia and Middlebrooks each hit a solo shot off of Blanton, and Papi hit a two-run blast in the 5th which proved to be the winning runs. Not only did he swing a good bat (he had two hits on the night) but Ortiz also looked like a legitimate firstbaseman. Adrian wasn't too shabby in right, either, getting himself a highlight reel slighting catch in foul territory in right. Except, he went 0-4 at the plate.
Salty was the big surprise of the evening, playing (and playing well) after getting 12 stitches in his ear last night. He went 3-4 with a home run and two runs scored. And had a heck of a game behind the plate, stopping several well out of the zone pitches by Lester. For what it's worth, Tim McCarver was gushing about him all night. It was a bit disturbing to be honest.
Lester got his 3rd win of the season, but was fairly pedestrian. He threw 6 innings, allowed 8 hits, struck out 3 and gave up 4 runs. It could have been much worse, but he was bailed out by some nifty work by Pedroia at second, turning a couple of tough double plays.
Padilla pitched the 7th and into the 8th. He got himself into some trouble, but he was bailed out by an amazing diving catch by Ryan Sweeney in deep center that saved at least two runs. Hill retired the only batter he faced for the second out in the 8th, and Aceves was brought in to close it out. He earned the save, but gave up 3 hits and a walk over his 1.1 innings. Hunter Pence lead off the 9th with a nice bunt single that Aceves couldn't handle. But he also was on the receiving end of a nice defensive play. Ruiz hit a rocket right at short that Aviles caught right before it hit the ground. Pence was well on his way to second (it looked like it was going to be a grounder) and got doubled up at first. Aceves K'd Luna to end the game.
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May 21, 2012
