Red Sox Report: Better Pitching For Starters
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
It’s amazing what some half decent starting pitching will do for a team.
The 2012 Boston Red Sox have pretty much been in shambles since the start of the season thanks to some very poor starting pitching. After last night’s win over the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park, Boston stretched its winning streak to 4 games thanks in large part to some good starting pitching.
Last night’s starter and winner was Jon Lester. Lester pitched a complete game allowing 8 hits and just 1 run over his 9 innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out 6. His solid performance follows up strong outings from Daniel Bard, Felix Doubront and Clay Buchholz. And that’s the main reason why the Sox have won 4 in a row.
In last night’s win, David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez had RBI doubles in the first and Daniel Nava and Kelly Shoppach belted homeruns in the fourth providing all the offense Lester would need.
The win lifted Boston’s record to (16-19) on the year and (8-11) at Fenway. Tuesday afternoon, weather permitting, the Sox send Josh Beckett (2-4) to the mound against Blake Beavan (1-3) and the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm.
NOTES:
-One of the big questions surrounding the team is the impending return of Kevin Youkilis from the disabled list. Will Middlebrooks has played very well since being called up from Pawtucket and many believe that he should not lose his job once Youkilis returns. Valentine addressed the issue Monday and was non-committal regarding the situation. "I think it’s a little premature, but we’ll do exactly what’s right,'' he said. "Those things usually play themselves out, but there’s no need to make a decision until it’s time to make a decision." Valentine did say that it would do Middlebrooks no good sitting on the Boston bench when Youkilis returns. That would likely mean that he would be returned to Pawtucket to play every day if Youkilis were to be given his starting job back at third base.
-Despite a rocky start to the season, Boston’s bullpen has been one of the best in baseball over the past few weeks. Vincente Padilla, Alfredo Aceves, Matt Albers and Scott Atchison have all settled into roles nicely turning what was once a weakness into a strength for the team.
-Like Will Middlebrooks, Daniel Nava has made a major impact in Boston since being called up from triple-A Pawtucket. Nava is batting .583 (7-12) with 1 homerun and 6 RBI.
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