The Red Sox have taken the lead in the third inning of Thursday night’s game against the Orioles thanks to a three-run shot off the bat of Dustin Pedroia.
Things got off to a bad start for Boston, however, with Andrew Miller looking very much like the Andrew Miller of old. Falling behind the first three batters of the inning, Miller gave up a single to each one, though Adam Jones’ RBI came when the ball bounced off of Miller’s glove and deflected into right field as Pedroia moved towards second to field it. Vlad Guerrero obliged Miller in his wildness, however, grounding into a double play as the run came in the back door.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, spent the first two innings letting Jake Arrieta of the hook. After a leadoff walk to Dustin Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia went swinging at a high 2-0 pitch from a hurler struggling to find the zone for a fly out, and when Adrian Gonzalez lined one back up the middle for a single, Ellsbury ran into an easy out at third.
With Andrew MIller getting through the second and third unharmed despite some mediocre pitching, the Sox finally struck back in the third. Marco Scutaro and Jacoby Ellsbury drew back-to-back walks to leadoff the inning, setting up Dustin Pedroia, once again, with a wild Arrieta. This time, Pedroia took the first four pitches he saw, only swinging at the fifth after Arrieta proved he could put it in the zone. The pitch: a fastball up-and-in. The result: a three-run shot over the Monster that put the Sox up 3-2.