Piecing Together A Win

The lineup had a different look this afternoon, with Pedey batting cleanup while Youk rested his ankle, foot, and other various aching body parts. D-Mac occupied Pedey's usual spot in the 2-hole, Tek batted 5th, Reddick 6th, Sutton 7th, Scoots 8th and Lester 9th. The cobbled-together lineup worked, however, partly because Gonzo lined a comebacker off Cole Hamels' wrist and cut the Phillies' starter's outing short after 4 innings. Fortunately for Hamels and the Phils, the x-rays were negative and he's not expected to miss his next start.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, a guy who has owned them was off the mound and they could take some hacks off the weakened Phillies bullpen for the ensuing 5 innings. Rakin' Reddick started the rally off with a 1-out triple. Sutton, playing third for Youk, promptly knocked him in with a single and the Sox had themselves their first lead of the entire series. After Scoots and Sutton played a little hit-and-run, with Scoots singling to right and Sutton taking third, Lester tried to bunt Scoots into scoring position, but struck out. Ells let him off the hook with an RBI single for the second run of the game. An inning later, Tek went yard to extend the lead to 3 runs. He would hit another big fly in the 8th, following Pedey's dinger and the Sox had a 5-0 lead.

All the while, Lester was looking like his usual dominant self, keeping the Phillies off balance and throwing 7 shutout innings, fanning 5 and only allowing 2 hits. He couldn't replicate Lackey's performance at the plate, but when he was mowing down the team with the best record in baseball, it didn't matter. Just as Hamels has owned the Red Sox, Lester has owned the Phillies over his career, with 2 wins, no losses and an ERA well under 1.

Earlier in the day, the Red Sox DFA'ed Mike Cameron. Cameron, by all accounts, was a great teammate and a terrific guy to have around the clubhouse, but the platoon role just did not suit him at all. He is more successful when he gets consistent at-bats as an everyday player. Some baseball players thrive off in bench or platoon roles while others need to face live pitching almost every day or their timing gets thrown off. Coming off of major abdominal surgery late last season to repair a sports hernia didn't help Cameron either. I wish him the very best in whatever comes next in his career, whether he signs on with another team or decides to retire.

The last stop on the Red Sox interleague tour is Houston, where the Astros currently own the worst record in baseball. The Sox should not take them for granted, however. They have some talented players like outfielders Michael Bourn (Major League steals leader), Hunter Pence, and pitcher Bud Norris, among others. The Red Sox should be able to take at least 2 out of 3, but I thought that about their series against the Padres and the Pirates too. If all goes well, Crawford comes off the DL on Sunday. His average may be down this year, but his presence in the lineup was definitely missed.