The Red Sox split their two games Saturday afternoon, winning 4-1 against the Marlins in Jupiter, and falling 10-5 at home against the Phillies.
The results of each game were largely decided by the starting pitching. In Ft. Myers, this was to Boston's disadvantage, as Alfredo Aceves found himself brutalized by Philadelphia's lineup. With runners on 2nd-and-3rd in the first, a wild pitch would allow the first run of the game to come across. And while a good throw from Adrian Gonzalez would leave Juan Pierre out at home, a John Mayberry single would bring home another run before the inning was over.
If the first inning had been difficult for Aceves, the second was far worse. Pete Orr and Freddy Galvis would hit back-to-back long balls in the first two at bats to double Philadelphia's lead to 4-0, and two more hits combined with a hit batsman gave the Phillies a fifth and sixth run.
Though the Sox would manage to fight back some in the bottom half of the second, scoring twice on a wind-aided Jacoby Ellsbury triple, Aceves would again be victimized by a leadoff homer before allowing another pair of runs on a triple and two singles. By the time his short night was done, Aceves had given up nine runs on ten hits, a walk, and a hit batter. While the Sox would recoup some of their losses, they would never come close to catching up on the scoreboard.
Things went rather better in Jupiter with Felix Doubront on the mound. Spotted a three-run lead after the top of the first on hits by Pedro Ciriaco, Cody Ross, Ryan Lavarnway, and Jason Repko, he would work around a double in the first before being taken deep by Austin Kearns in the second. The lefty starter would escape the second after allowing another pair of batters to reach base.
From there, however, Doubront was strong. Throwing a clean third and fourth, the Marlins would only reach base again in the fifth, and then find themselves victims of the double play. Doubront finished his day with six innings of one-run ball, giving up just five hits and a walk.
The Sox would tack on a fourth run in the top of the sixth on singles from David Ortiz, Ryan Lavarnway, and Ryan Sweeney, but it would prove unnecessary thanks to three innings of relief from Clay Mortensen, Doug Mathis, and Justin Thomas holding the Marlins without another run through the end of the game.