Revivify
| Game 111: August 2, 2008 | |||
| Athletics | 2 | L: Dana Eveland (7-8) | 53-56, 5 game losing streak |
 Red Sox |
12 | W: Jon Lester (10-3) | 63-48, 2 game winning streak |
| Highlights: After an unsteady beginning Lester found his bearings to secure a series win. The southpaw allowed a two-run homer by his personal nemesis Emil Brown with one out in the first, but those would be the only runs the visitors would put on the board. Lester whiffed five batters, walked a lone hitter, and permitted seven hits over seven innings. | |||
Just a few days ago a two-run deficit seemed insurmountable to the Red Sox’s deficient offense. Last night, Kevin Youkilis alone generated four RBIs on his pair of two-run homers. Just as the clubhouse composition has radically changed, so did the course of last night’s game with a revivified lineup.
Catalyst Dustin Pedroia led off with a humpback to left that caught Emil Brown in between playing on a hop and charging. Kevin Youkilis made fielding simple for Brown by lofting it over his head into the Monster seats to tie the game.
David Ortiz and Mike Lowell singled to center consecutively, demonstrating that Dana Eveland’s offerings were no mystery to the Boston hitters.
In his first game, Jason Bay showed that he could navigate the idiosyncrasies of Fenway’s left field. Last night, Bay proved that he could take to AL pitching quickly; he catapulted his first home run as a member of a the junior circuit with two on and none out on a 3-1 fastball that was numbers-high and slightly away. In the instant it took Bay’s lightning-fast swing to complete its circle his new team found itself with a comfortable lead.
The reinvigorated Red Sox tacked on more runs in the third, led by Lowell’s hustle double to the right field. Despite his balky hip, Lowell hurtled himself at second base while simultaneously evading Mark Ellis’s tag. Bay walked on five pitches, deftly taking sliders that are known to be his weakness. A single by J.D. Drew deflected off Daric Barton into right to load the bases for Jed Lowrie.
Perhaps lost in the hubbub around the shifting outfield is the solidity of Lowrie up the middle. Error-free in 132 innings at short, Lowrie has also been productive at the dish. The shortstop scorched a double up the first base line to clear the bases. It could have been a triple if right fielder Ryan Sweeney did not spontaneously develop a novel way of stopping the ball from eluding him and following the curve: like a goaltender Sweeney stood in the path of the ball and let his shins block the ball and then gathered the ball for a throw back to the diamond.
Based on last night’s results sending Craig Hansen to Pittsburgh was a positive move as well. The revamped Justin Masterson and the recalled Chris Smith combined for two perfect innings of relief.
Not only was the majority of the infield comprised of talent developed by the Red Sox, but so were all the pitchers used last night.
