Red Sox beat up on Romero
Blue Jays lefthander, Ricky Romero has been good this year, his second season in the Majors. He’s been very good in fact, as long as he’s not playing the Red Sox. Since the All-Star Break, the sophomore has gone 3-1 with an ERA of 2.05 and last week he two-hit the mighty Yankees in a complete game win.
Against the Red Sox, it’s been a different matter. Before Tuesday night’s game, his record against the Red Sox the past two years was 1-4 with an 8.76 ERA. Boston was batting .376 against him and drawing close to a walk per inning. Still, things had to change, right? The law of averages. Romero is too good a pitcher.
No, actually. Romero lasted six innings and gave up eight hits, two walks and five runs, all earned. He gave up four doubles and a home run amongst those hits. Despite awful pitching, he avoided the loss due to some timely hitting by the Blue Jays.
Boston needed the win more than the Blue Jays. The Jays are finished for the season, out of the American League East race and out of the Wildcard race, whereas Boston still has a chance in both races, especially since they have three games against division rivals Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and six games left against their all-time rivals, the New York Yankees.
They are also 8-2 against the Blue Jays, who they play eight more times before their season is over. That’s as good a reason as any to lay a beating on the Jays, although Tuesday night’s affair was more of the grit it out variety.
Up 4-1 in the third, the Red Sox succumbed to the Jays offense and gave up a couple of walks that brought Travis Snider to the plate. The young outfielder smashed a pitch from Matsuzaka off the second deck in right field to tie the game with his ninth home run of the season and the Blue Jays Major League leading 176th of the year.
In the top of the eighth, JD Drew hit back with one of his own, also to right field to give Boston the lead back.
Bautistsa felt like getting in on the home run action, hitting his league leading 35th of the year in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game again, but the loudness didn’t end there. Red Sox Mike Lowell came to bat in the eighth inning and broke the tie with a solo home run off Shawn Camp that put Boston in the lead for good.
“We’ve kind of been relentless the whole year with injuries and trying to piece things together,” Lowell said. “That was a really nice win. Winning the first game of the series is always pretty good but the way we did it tonight was extra satisfying.”
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