Sox Still Second

After falling behind Tampa Bay by three games, the Red Sox were hopeful going into Saturday’s match against the third-place Yankees. Francona put his faith into the young rookie pitcher, Masterson, even after his loss June 30 against Tampa Bay, and gave him the start, leaving Buchholz in the minors. Justin Masterson gave up two walks and two runs through six innings. Two walks aren’t bad for six innings, but there were more bases given off hit batters; in fact, between the two teams, the game tied the record for hit batters with seven. Manny Ramirez received three of those missed pitches, and even Yankees catcher, Molina, was hit by a foul tip off Pedroia’s bat.  Maybe Pedroia was just taking out his frustration over the poor call on what would have been at least a double having blatantly bounced over the bag at third, but the umpire saw it as foul.

Regardless of poor calls, Boston still had plenty of opportunities to come back and take a win. 

 I was personally frustrated to watch the Sox score a run in the ninth, cutting the 2-0 lead in half, load the bases, and then blow it with three quick outs to end the game. When Julio Lugo was up in the ninth, one strike on the count, the home plate umpire called a strike on a ball that was clearly outside. Even if all calls had been fair, I still don’t think the sox would have taken it. When it’s bases loaded, nobody out, and you still can’t cash in, then you’re just playing a poor offensive game, which is what it was, because Masterson only gave up two runs. 

Varitek contributed to the loss going 0-4 at bat, with a passed ball and allowing Alex Rodriguez to steal second and third in one inning. Dustin Pedroia and J.D Drew, however, were offensively on-target Saturday; Pedroia went 2-4 and Drew went 2-3, scoring a run.  After taking a loss by New York on Saturday, the Sox failed again on Sunday losing 5-4, fans know there are only six more opportunities to get a W before the All-Star break. Down 5 games to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Sox need to either win three of their next games, with the Rays losing their next six, but this will just even up the wins. The Sox still be in second place seeing as they currently have seven more losses than the Rays. It is highly unlikely that Tampa will lose many of their next games, with a series against the Yankees and a series against the Kansas City Royals, who are down 12.5 games in the Central division.  

Let’s just hope the Sox offense can pick up the slack and pull out a few wins before August. There’s still plenty of time in the season to chip into the 5-game lead, and if Boston can’t pull themselves into first place, they’re still four games ahead of New York for the Wildcard. They need to continue overcoming the injuries and trials they’ve faced this season to finish out strong and be prepared for the postseason.