SB Nation Boston - Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 4: Andrew Miller's Short Start Sinks Red Sox

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 4: Andrew Miller's Short Start Sinks Red Sox

2011-09-09T02:39:44Z

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 4

The Red Sox have dropped their third straight series and fallen to 3-7 over their last 10 games after falling 7-4 to the Blue Jays Thursday night behind another terrible start from Andrew Miller.

While Miller survived the first inning unscathed largely thanks to Marco Scutaro's stellar defensive effort, he would not prove so fortunate in the second. Three straight hits to lead off the inning put the Sox in a 1-0 hole, but it was the fourth batter who really put an exclamation mark on things. Facing a 3-2 count, Andrew Miller threw a low changeup to J.P. Arencibia, who put a good uppercut swing on the pitch, hooking it so high and far that it bounced off the wall above the luxury booths. With another homer coming in the third inning from Edwin Encarnacion, the Sox found the game blown open on them.

They would not fight back, ultimately, until it was too late. A Jacoby Ellsbury double and Marco Scutaro single would lead to three runs in the seventh, with Michael Bowden providing a reasonably stabilizing presence out of the bullpen to cut the Jays' lead to 6-3. But another homer in the bottom of the eighth off of Felix Doubront built the lead back to four runs. While the Sox would get a homer from Jason Varitek in the ninth, and bring the tying run to the plate in Dustin Pedroia, the slumping second baseman struck out on four straight fastballs to end the game.

The composite score of the series ends, amazingly, at 28-20 in favor of the Red Sox, but at the end of the day that's not what matters. By dropping seven of their last ten games, the Sox have suddenly given some meaning to the upcoming series against the Rays. With a sweep--which doesn't seem entirely unlikely given the way the Sox are playing right now--the Rays would suddenly be within a reasonable striking distance of the Sox and their Wild Card spot.

The heat is on, it's time for the Sox to respond.

Three For The Road

Slumping Second Baseman

It's been a bad week for Dustin Pedroia, who finds himself in a 3-for-30 slump in his last seven games. What's more, it's come with six strikeouts in his last four games. All-together, Pedroia is looking not like his MVP-contender self that Sox fans had gotten used to over the past few months, but the off-balance hacker who caused them so much pain back in April. Perhaps this is caused by the fact that Pedroia has played in every game since June 9. It's not exactly an ideal time to give the second baseman a night off, but it might be very much necessary.

Scutaro Does It All

If Marco Scutaro hasn't won back his job as a starter by now, he should have. A 3-for-4 night has his OBP up to .352 on the year, and that wasn't even the most impressive part of his night, as the first couple of innings saw him put up highlight play after highlight play. If only the rest of the team were running hot right now, the Sox could be at a level of productivity that they didn't even see in June.

The Surprising Catching Duo

With tonight's homer, the duo of Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia now have 26 homers on the year, trailing only the Rangers and Braes at the position. Before Thursday's loss, their .332 wOBA was good for fifth best in the Majors. Somehow one of the biggest offensive holes on the team ended up being one of the biggest advantages the Sox have over other teams.

Red Sox MVP -- Marco Scutaro

For everything listed up there and just the fact that he and Jacoby Ellsbury seem to be the only consistent players on the team right about now. Scutaro is still no All-Star, but he's finally starting to find his groove this year, just in time for a playoff run that everyone else seems to be gearing...down for.

Up Next -- Friday, 7:10 p.m. at Tampa Bay Rays | John Lackey (12-11, 6.11 ERA) vs. Wade Davis (9-8, 4.50 ERA)

If ever the Sox have needed John Lackey to get it together for one clutch start, now is the time. His last start wasn't too far off from the sort of stuff the Sox had seen from him of late, but it crossed that line between acceptable and not. If he can draw it back in, and provide a reasonable outing, then Wade Davis isn't the type of guy to shut out the Sox.

Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 6, End 7: Red Sox Fight Back In Seventh

2011-09-09T01:40:01Z

The Red Sox have closed the gap to just three runs after the seventh inning, scoring a trio of runs in the frame.

While Michael Bowden has helped stabilize things on the mound, he did give up a solo home run to Eric Thames in the seventh, wasting some of the gains the Sox had made in the first half.

Those came thanks to the extreme ends of the lineup. Jason Varitek walked and Darnell McDonald singled to give Jacoby Ellsbury an RBI opportunity that the MVP candidate would not waste, doubling down the line in left to bring Jason Varitek home. Marco Scutaro would take a ball on the first pitch of his at bat, and then follow Ellsbury up with a single through the hole between second and third, bringing around two more runs to score to make it, at the time, 5-3.

The Sox are on the board now, but running low on chances. The game is winnable, but it hardly seems likely to happen.

Red Sox 0, Blue Jays 5, End 4: Going Through The Motions

2011-09-09T00:32:26Z

The Blue Jays have added a run in the third inning, and now lead the Sox by a score of 5-0 after four innings.

If the lead seems untouchable, it’s because Ricky Romero has been just that since the first inning, allowing just a pair of walks since giving up a leadoff double to start the first.

The same cannot be said for Andrew Miller. While the last pair of frames haven’t been nearly so disastrous for the left-hander, a homer to Edwin Encarnacion made it 5-0 in the third, and the Jays added another pair of runners in the fourth, though neither would score.

At the moment, the Sox just seem to be going through the motions en route to what would be their seventh loss in ten games. Not much fun to be had here.

Red Sox 0, Blue Jays 4, End 2: Andrew Miller Is Still Terrible

2011-09-09T00:00:31Z

That call for a miracle? It seems to have been ignored. Through the first two innings, things have gone about as well as the eighth inning did Wednesday.

But for Marco Scutaro, the Sox might have found themselves blown out in the first. But the shortstop’s terrific catch over his shoulder and a long-ranging play nearly behind third base helped keep the Jays off the board following a leadoff double.

More strong defensive play at short couldn’t save Miller again in the second, however. With three straight hits to lead off the the frame, the Jays took a quick 1-0 lead, and then had J.P. Arencibia hook a low breaking ball up and out of the park to left field to build the lead to 4-0.

This is gonna be a long one…

Red Sox Vs. Blue Jays Lineups: Sox Hope For Miracle To Help Pick Up The Pieces

2011-09-08T20:42:52Z

The Red Sox are in a dark place right now. 3-6 in their last nine games, coming off one of their worst losses of the season, with questions throughout the pitching staff. While their seven game lead in the wild card race still seems solid, and the Sox almost certainly will not continue to play sub-.400 baseball over the next few weeks, the playoffs are suddenly appearing that much more frightening.

While this may not actually effect the team all that much--they have their fair share of playoff veterans who could just be biding their time--it does make it a stressful time to be a fan. And after last night's debacle, the fans could really use a pick-me-up.

Unfortunately, they'll have to rely on Andrew Miller and a patchwork lineup with multiple players getting the day off. In other words, they seem to need a miracle.

Boston Red Sox (85-57)

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Jed Lowrie, 3B
Josh Reddick, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Darnell McDonald, LF

The Jays will once again be without Adam Lind, but otherwise won't let up much on the Sox.

Toronto Blue Jays (71-72)

Yunel Escobar, SS
Eric Thames, LF
Jose Bautista, RF
Edwin Encarnacion, DH
Kelly Johnson, 2B
Brett Lawrie, 3B
David Cooper, 1B
J.P. Arencibia, C
Mike McCoy, CF

Pitching Matchup: Andrew Miller (6-2, 5.27 ERA) vs. Ricky Romero (13-10, 2.97 ERA)

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...No matter what happens tonight, Red Sox fans will not be putting any great faith back in Andrew Miller. His two decent outings on the Sox' last road trip are all-but-forgotten after his terrible start against Texas last weekend. Still, it wouldn't be too unreasonable to suggest that Andrew Miller is capable of certain heights on any given night--it's only crazy to expect them from him. So the Sox aren't entirely without hope tonight. It's just that the chances for a good start aren't, perhaps, what they would want them to be.

For Ricky Romero, there's no doubt that he's good, and when any team goes up against him they have to expect a serious challenge. So far this year, though, he's been helpless against the Red Sox, pitching just 8.2 total innings in his two starts and allowing 11 earned runs in the process. He's been struggling a bit in his last few outings, too, and with the Sox' offense on a two-game roll, it could be the wrong team at the wrong time for Romero.

Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 10: Tim Wakefield Has Win 200 Snatched Away By Daniel Bard's Implosion

2011-09-08T03:21:03Z

Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 10

Wednesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays was a baseball tragedy of the highest order.

The Red Sox lost the game 11-10 after Mike Aviles was thrown out trying to steal second even though the Sox had already put up two of the three runs they would have need for a comeback against Frank Francisco. But nothing that happened in the ninth inning really mattered aside from in a win-loss column that seems all-too-unimportant as the year winds down.

Instead, the tragedy came in the eighth, when Tim Wakefield, making his seventh attempt at his 200th win, had his elusive prize violently snatched away from him.

The Red Sox' offense had completely pulled its weight, putting up three runs in the first and chasing Brandon Morrow after homers from Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz in the fourth and fifth innings made it 8-5 in favor of Boston. Those five runs were, yes, off of Wakefield, but the knuckleballer was finally in a situation where #200 was within his grasp, regardless of how well or poorly he had thrown the ball.

The middle innings were the minefield looming on the horizon. The Sox' bullpen has all of three reliable arms in it, and one of those--Alfredo Aceves--had pitched nearly four innings just two days prior. So it fell to Franklin Morales and Dan Wheeler to do the job. The former could not, allowing two baserunners while recording just one out. But Wheeler came in, put up a couple of outs, and then another couple in the seventh. He gave up one run, but that's acceptable given the situation. Daniel Bard comes out and closes the inning on three pitches. All is well.

Then came the eighth, and things fell apart.

With a 1-2 pitch, Daniel Bard hit Brett Lawrie to start the frame. The next pitch found its way into right field for a single, and after getting up 0-2, Bard threw four straight balls and walked Adam Loewen. Just like that, and the bases were loaded with zero outs.

Terry Francona's response? To start warming Matt Albers.

To Daniel Bard's credit, he bounced back, striking out DeWayne Wise, and coming back from a 3-1 count to get Yunel Elscobar on a nasty front-door slider. But his control problems were not gone, and an 0-2 count to Eric Thames of all people turned into an RBI walk.

Jonathan Papeblon was still nowhere to be seen. And Jose Bautista was up. If anyone held any sort of faith that the Red Sox were leaving that inning with a lead, they had more faith than I. They were also wrong. Jose Bautista walked, and Tim Wakefields win vanished into thin air. From there, the Jays were just a Matt Albers double away from salting the wound.

The events of the ninth were disappointing in their own right, and in some way made things even worse with Adrian Gonzalez' leadoff homer going for naught. But tonight was all about Tim Wakefield. About the end to a long Red Sox nightmare. About kicking a developing curse and being reassured that the longest tenured current Red Sox player would not end his career just short.

Now we'll have to wait and see, all the while with this loss stewing, smoldering, festering.

Red Sox 8, Blue Jay 6, End 7: Sox Hand 2-Run Lead Off To Back End Of Pen

2011-09-08T01:54:43Z

Tim Wakefield is in line for his 200th win, and now all that separates him from that elusive milestone is a pair of strong outings from Daniel Bard.

That shouldn’t be too much to ask.

The Sox managed to work their way through the middle innings with the help of Dan Wheeler, who cleaned up Franklin Morales’ sixth-inning mess and provided the first two outs of the seventh before he gave up the sixth run of the night for the Blue Jays. This prompted Terry Francona to go get Daniel Bard a bit early, and the move has so far paid off, with the Boston setup man requiring just three pitches to induce an inning-ending groundout.

Six outs to go, and we can put this long baseball nightmare behind us.

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 5, Mid 5: Jacoby Ellsbury Reclaims Red Sox' Lead

2011-09-08T00:58:36Z

The Red Sox have reclaimed their lead from the Blue Jays, and head into the bottom of the fifth up 8-5.

The Blue Jays would only need one hit to build a lead in the third inning thanks to a hit batsman, a walk, and a delayed double steal that Jarrod Saltalamacchia bit on, allowing a second run to come in after Jose Bautista’s ground rule double scored one.

Much like Boston’s early lead, however, the Blue Jays’ wouldn’t hold up, as the bottom of the order jumped all over Brandon Morrow. After Kevin Youkilis’ long line drive out, Carl Crawford dropped a double into the corner in right field, and then scored when Josh Reddick hit a perfectly placed flair for a double.

With Marco Scutaro walking in between the two doubles and Jarrod Saltalamacchia striking out afterwards, Jacoby Elsbury stepped to the plate with two men on and two outs. The first pitch he saw in the at bat was a 93-MPH fastball down the pipe, and Ellsbury didn’t waste it, knocking a no-doubter to right to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 lead.

A surprising 1-2-3 inning from Wakefield in the bottom half of the fourth was quickly rewarded when David Ortiz launched a monster shot to right field that ended up in the second deck. With the Sox up 8-5, Tim Wakefield needs just one more inning.