Red Sox Snap Phillies' 6-Game Win Streak Thanks To 4 Homers

The Red Sox survived some shaky pitching to outlast the Phillies 7-5 tonight at Citizens Bank Park in the middle game of the interleague series.

Jon Lester (3-3) gutted out six innings for Boston (19-21, 10-10 away) which is much more than Joe Blanton (4-4) gave Philadelphia (21-20, 10-10 home). The Red Sox snapped the Phillies' six-game win streak and recovered nicely from Friday night's 6-4 loss.

Lester allowed four earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Blanton has pitched well this season for the Phillies but in my eyes, he's still the same soft-tossing fat toad that used to play in Oakland. In 4.1 innings, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with four strikeouts.

The ball kept going out of the park at an alarming rate but luckily, Boston hit four of the five home runs-all off Blanton. Three of the four Red Sox bombs were solo shots, something that they need to work on (hitting them with runners on base).

Bobby Valentine mixed and matched his bullpen once again but it worked. Vicente Padilla was charged with a run but Rich Hill got his one out and Alfredo Aceves notched four outs for his ninth save of the season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3 hits, 2 runs) showed no ill-effects from the 12 stitches he received on his left ear Friday night. David Ortiz (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Will Middlebrooks (2 hits) also had multiple hits for Boston.

Philadelphia amassed 15 hits but they were only 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position. John Mayberry Jr. (3 hits, run, walk), Shane Victorino (3 hits, RBI) and Hector Luna (3 hits, run, RBI) all had three hits while Ty Wigginton (2 hits, run) and Freddy Galvis (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run) put up a pair of hits.

Mike Aviles led off the game with his seventh home run of the season. Boston added a pair of runs in the second inning. Victorino got the Phillies on the board in the third with an RBI double before Salty (6th of the season) and Middlebrooks (5th of the season) hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth.

Luna had an RBI single in the fourth and Galvis (3rd of the season) hit his second homer in as many nights, a two-run shot that cut it to 5-4.

Ortiz's (9th of the season) two-run homer in the fifth were the insurance runs the Red Sox needed as the Phillies scored once more in the eighth on Jimmy Rollins's infield single.

Josh Beckett (3-4) faces Cliff Lee (0-1) tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) in the series finale. I'd be shocked if Lee doesn't pick up his first win of the 2012 season; there's no chance Beckett doesn't allow at least two or three homers.

UPDATE 5/20: The Red Sox recalled outfielder Che-Hsaun Lin and optioned first baseman Mauro Gomez to Pawtucket.

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To Nobody's Surprise, Daniel Bard Sure Is A Mediocre Starting Pitcher

When will the Red Sox give up on the Daniel Bard as a starter experiment? It has been clear since day one that he's nothing more than average in this new role and he's maddeningly inconsistent to top it all off.

Boston (18-21, 9-10 away) spotted Philadelphia (21-19, 10-9 home) a 4-0 lead in the first inning and with Cole Hamels (6-1) on the mound, it's no wonder that the Phillies held on for a 6-4 win in the series and interleague opener tonight at Citizens Bank Park.

It was the sixth straight win for the Phillies and Hamels as well who improved to 4-0 against the Red Sox in five career starts.

Hamels went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and a walk. Bard (3-5) lasted five innings, allowing five earned runs on three hits with three strikeouts and five walks.

The Red Sox hit three home runs but unfortunately they were all of the solo variety. The Phillies hit two homers but they also did a better job of hitting with guys on base.

Of course Jonathan Papelbon had to get the easiest save opportunity possible in his first game back against his former club. In pinning down his MLB-leading 12th save of the season, Papelbon faced the murderer's row of Kelly Shoppach, Daniel Nava, Marlon Byrd and Nick Punto. Shoppach singled but Papelbon retired Nava and Byrd before striking out the overmatched Punto (why is he here?) to end it.

There was some controversy in the ninth on Byrd's ground out which seemed to be a bang bang play at first base. He was called out and this caused Bobby Valentine to run out of the dugout and freak out (complete with hopping and the umpire accidentally spitting his gum at him). Bobby received the first ejection of his Red Sox career (that looks destined to be one year or less).

Bard's nightmare first inning included a two-run single by Carlos Ruiz (2 hits, run, stolen base), a sacrifice fly from Ty Wigginton and John Mayberry Jr's RBI double.

Boston chipped away at the 4-0 hole with a solo homer by Mike Aviles (6th of the season) in the third and Nava's sacrifice fly in the fourth.

Hunter Pence (10th of the season) hit a solo home run in the fifth for the Phillies but Cody Ross (2 hits, 2 runs) responded with his own solo blast in the sixth and Adrian Gonzalez broke his month-long homerless drought with a solo home run of his own in the eighth.

Citizens Bank Park is still a Little League Park, aka Wiliamsport, as evidenced by light-hitting Freddy Galvis's (2nd of the season) solo shot in the eighth against Franklin Morales that gave Philly an insurance run.

In addition to the loss, Boston suffered two freak injuries as Jarrod Saltalamacchia was cut on his ear by the baseball when it deflected off Ty Wiggington. Salty had to leave the game in the fifth inning and go to the hospital to check for a concussion. Ross fouled the ball off his foot in the eighth and he had to be replaced. Their status is up in the air for Saturday's game.

Speaking of that contest (7:15 p.m., FOX) Jon Lester (2-3) takes on Joe Blanton (4-3). This is the one pitching matchup in the three-game series that at least on paper favors the Red Sox so they need to find a way to beat Blanton and the Phils.

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