Things had been going so well for Andrew Miller. Having escaped a leadoff triple unscathed in the fourth, he even had Sox fans wondering just who would get the boot from the rotation once Clay Buchholz made his inevitable return.
But, with Chase Headley singling and Ryan Ludwick walking, it took just one swing of the bat for Orlando Hudson to tie the game at three-all, taking an inside fastball and shooting it into the Monster seats.
The Red Sox haven’t had nearly as much luck against Cory Luebke as they had been having against Wade LeBlanc. Right now Bud Black is looking like the smartest guy in the park for electing to go to Luebke to keep the game close. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the fourth, it must have been tempting to just throw in the towel. Instead, the Padres gave up only the one run, and now find themselves in a tie game.
The Sox will enter the seventh inning with Matt Albers on the mound, and hoping desperately that Luebke will not return.