That’s more like it.
It took two batters for the Sox to take the lead in the fourth inning after three innings of frustration against A.J. Burnett.
After Jon Lester endured another 20+ pitch inning, the Sox came out and immediately hit Burnett. Adrian Gonzalez got it started with a ground rule double to right field, and Dustin Pedroia quickly finished it, taking an A.J. Burnett fastball which caught way too much of the plate to dead center field to make it a career-high 18 homers on the year and give Boston the 2-1 lead.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Burnett has quite gotten unhinged, as he recorded the next three outs in rapid and relatively easy fashion. With Lester’s pitch count very high, some insurance runs would be very helpful.