Is it possible to pretend that the Red Sox' West Coast trip to Seattle and Oakland simply didn't happen? I wish that was the case although at least we can take heart in the fact that it is mercifully over at long last.
Boston (42-40, 21-19 away) might as well have walked home as they lost 3-2 this afternoon to the A's (41-42, 22-19 home) at O.co Coliseum. Happy 4th of July, Oakland swept all three games against Boston (for the first time since May 2008) which meant the Red Sox went 2-5 against the Mariners and A's-two of the worst teams in the American League.
Want more depressing stats? Sure why not. Boston was held to two runs or less for the fifth straight game and sixth time in its last seven contests. As a team, the Red Sox hit .200 in this lost week. Finally, Oakland improved to 5-1 against Boston this season.
Dustin Pedroia (thumb) and Will Middlebrooks (hamstring) sat on the bench today, since the Red Sox are too smart to put injured players on the DL. That would make sense, it's better to have them eat a roster space and not be able to use them at all or better yet to stick scrubs in their spots.
Former average or worse Red Sox Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick and Brandon Moss collectively had the best series of their careers going 12-for-29 with six runs, four homers, nine RBIs, triple and two walks. Moss was the star today as he went 3-for-4 with two runs, a double and solo homer. Crisp was 2-for-4 with a triple and run while Reddick was held to a single and walk.
Aaron Cook went 6+ innings and did his job, only allowing three earned runs on nine hits with one walk and no strikeouts. Of his 18 outs, Cook had 13 ground outs so his sinker was working for the most part.
One of the most shocking aspects of Boston's lack of offense on the West Coast was that they faced mostly average starters and rookies. Felix Hernandez was the only certified ace or even No. 2. Step right up Oakland rookie A.J. Griffin who had a nice outing in only his third MLB start. He went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks.
It was a shame that David Ortiz's 400th home run came in such a forgettable loss on a holiday when probably most fans weren't even paying attention. His 22nd of the season was a solo shot that was a no-doubter to right field. It tied the game at one in the fourth.
He became the 49th player in MLB history to hit 400, the eighth active guy to reach that mark (Paul Konerko did it earlier this season). Ortiz is the sixth player to reach it while he was a Red Sox (Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Andre Dawson and Manny Ramirez) and the first to do it since Manny in 2005.
Moss had given the A's a 1-0 lead in the second with his 10th homer of the season to center.
Adrian Gonzalez kept his 15-game hit streak intact with an RBI single in the sixth which made it 2-1 Red Sox. Unfortunately, Boston's only other hit was a double by Mauro Gomez (the 1st hit of his MLB career).
Brandon Inge (2 hits) tied it at two with an RBI double in the sixth and Jemile Weeks had the game-winning hit, an RBI single in the seventh which scored Crisp who had led off with a triple.
You think Boston wanted to get on the plane for the long flight home? It took 33 combined pitches to retire them in the 7th-9th innings since they didn't walk or get a hit against any A's relievers. Grant Balfour got five outs, Jerry Blevins struck out the one player he faced (Ortiz to end the eighth) then All-Star Ryan Cook only needed seven pitches to record his eighth save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The best news for the Red Sox is that they have tomorrow off before beginning their last series of the first half. They host the New York Yankees (49-32, 1st in AL East) with four games this weekend including a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The rivals have only played twice so far in 2012 with New York winning both (April 20-21) which culminated in the original rock bottom reference by Bobby Valentine. The third game was rained out, hence the makeup date now.
Since they trail the Yanks by 7.5 games and are tied with the Blue Jays for last-place in the AL East, it's not hyperbole to say that this could be a make or break series in terms of even dreaming of giving New York a scare in the second half. If the Yankees win the series, it's time to focus solely on the two Wild Cards. Ditto if the Red Sox win the series but at least they'll head into the All-Star break on a high note as opposed to this current down in the dumps feeling.
Josh Beckett (4-7) faces Hiroki Kuroda (8-7) on Friday night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Franklin Morales (1-1) pitched 1.1 innings of relief for shits and giggles today but he faces Phil Hughes (9-6) on Saturday afternoon before Felix Doubront (8-4) gets Freddy Garcia (2-2) on Saturday night (7:15 p.m., Fox). MLB's first half closes on Sunday night with Jon Lester (5-5) opposing Ivan Nova (9-3) on Sunday Night Baseball (8:05 p.m., ESPN).
Red Sox-Yankees games always take forever, let's hope that with four games packed into three days, maybe they can speed the pace up just a bit. Haha I'm sure the reverse will actually happen.
UPDATE 7/6: Looks like I got my wish (a month late) as ESPNBoston.com reported this evening that Pedroia will be placed on the DL with his new injury. If you want to believe the Red Sox, it is to the same right thumb as before which caused him to miss seven total games in June. Ugh, it never ends.
Pedro Ciriaco has been called up with Pedroia going on the DL and Rich Hill being moved to the 60-day DL since Ciriaco wasn't on the 40-man roster. Nick Punto will start at second base tonight in the series opener with the Yankees. Shoot me now please.
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