John Lackey hopefully has shaken his recurring bouts of Zitosis* for good. He went 8 full innings, allowing only 6 hits, 2 walks (1 IBB), 3 runs (2 ER), and struck out 10 Seamen, as the Sox beat Seattle 6-3 in Boston tonight. Interestingly enough, his total of 16 quality starts moves him ahead of Lester and Buchholz in that department.
It was a bit of a pitcher's duel for a while as Doug Fister carried a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th inning when the Sox offense got busy. Beltre singled, Lowrie reached on an error and Nava drew a walk to load the bases. Singles by Scutaro and Drew put 3 up on the board for the Sox. The Mariners weren't done yet, though. They put up 2 more runs in the top of the 6th on 3 singles and an error (by Lackey), to tie up the game again. The Sox bats started to get restless again in the 7th inning scoring 3 more times on 5 singles, a sac fly and a sac bunt. Seven of nine starters got hits, with Scutaro, Drew, and Beltre each getting 2 hits, for a total of 10 hits.
It was a bit of a pitcher's duel for a while as Doug Fister carried a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 5th inning when the Sox offense got busy. Beltre singled, Lowrie reached on an error and Nava drew a walk to load the bases. Singles by Scutaro and Drew put 3 up on the board for the Sox. The Mariners weren't done yet, though. They put up 2 more runs in the top of the 6th on 3 singles and an error (by Lackey), to tie up the game again. The Sox bats started to get restless again in the 7th inning scoring 3 more times on 5 singles, a sac fly and a sac bunt. Seven of nine starters got hits, with Scutaro, Drew, and Beltre each getting 2 hits, for a total of 10 hits.
The Yankees lost to Toronto, and the Rays won, their 8th in their last 10 games, leaving the Sox 5.5 GB both of them, as they are now tied for 1st place. The Sox are on a pace to win 92 games this year, which would be good enough for 1st place in almost every other division in the Major Leagues, but this is the 3 headed monster called the AL East. If the Sox had lost half as many player days to the DL than this surreal season has yielded so far, and if Pap had half as many blown saves.... If, if, if, ain't gonna cut it, guys! You've persevered this long! Time to put in overdrive! Let's go Red Sox! Time's a-wastin'!
Sox 6 Mariners 3 BOX SCORE
* Zitosis: a condition that free agents are most susceptible to after signing huge, abominable contracts. The most common symptom is a drastic decline of the player's performance in the first 1 to 3 or 4 years after signing the contract. Other symptoms may include apathy for the new team's performance; moodiness; callous attitude for the player's own poor performance; and disruptive behavior in the dugout, clubhouse and in public.
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