Jon Lester ran into trouble in the first inning but that’s all the problems the lefty would have en route to his 10th victory of the season.
After the Jays scored on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice in the first, right fielder J.D. Drew ignited a wildfire of offense. Down 1-0 in the third inning, Drew tied things up with his 14th homer of the season — a high blast that just cleared the fence in right. As if the solo blast wasn’t enough, Drew followed it with a two-run bomb in the fourth inning to put the Red Sox up 4-1. The homers were Drew’s second and third in his last four games and numbers 44 and 45 as a member of the Red Sox.
The Sox were able to add a pair of runs in the fifth as third baseman John MacDonald charged and fielded a slow roller by Jason Bay down the line and fired it over Kevin Millar’s head at first to allow Dustin Pedroia to score. Kevin Youkilis would also score on a fielder’s choice when David Ortiz grounded out to third.
Victor Martinez added salt to the wound with a solo homer in the seventh, his second long ball in as many games and third in his last five contests.
Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 1
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
August 20, 2009
Headliner: Lefty Jon Lester wrapped up the sweep by going eight innings and holding the Blue Jays to one run on three hits and two walks while striking out five Jays batters. Although it was Lester’s first win in his last five starts, the southpaw improved his record to 10-7 on the year and lowered his ERA from 3.71 to 3.58.
After giving up a walk, a single and a double in the first frame, Lester allowed just one hit (a single in the sixth by Aaron Hill) and one walk the rest of the way, retiring the last seven batters he faced. He needed just 105 pitches (60 strikes) en route to his fifth road win of the year.
Dirt dog: J.D. Drew's bat woke up north of the border as he launched a pair of homers over the tall blue wall in right. The first home run was of the solo varitey to tie things up at one, and he followed that up with a two-run blast in the fourth to give the Sox a 4-1 advantage.
It was Drew’s first multihomer game of 2009 and his first since June of 2007. The right fielder ended up going 4-for-4 with two homers, two singles, three RBIs and two runs scored before being taken out of the game for a pinch runner in the eighth. Thursday marked the second four-hit game of the season for Drew, who now has four multihit contests in 14 games this month.
Better luck next time: Rookie starter Brett Cecil went just 4 1/3 and was pulled from this contest after allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out just two Sox batters. Cecil’s problems weren’t just keeping the ball in the yard, either. After Jason Bay walked to start off the fourth inning, Cecil, who thought a time out was called, mistakenly threw the ball into the Blue Jays dugout. Because he threw it out of play, Bay was awarded two bases on the error and ended up a third base. Two batters later, Mike Lowell slapped one up the middle to plate Bay with Boston’s second run of the evening.
The Jays’ defense was ugly as a whole, making three errors on the evening.
Key moment: With the bases juiced and no one out in the bottom of the first inning, Jon Lester got Rod Barajas to bounce one to the hole in short. Alex Gonzalez was able to dart to his right and grab it to start the 6-4-3 double play. The Jays scored on the fielder’s choice, but it got Lester out of a big jam as he got Kevin Millar to strike out swinging to end what could have been a huge first inning for the Jays.
On deck: Red Sox fans have had this upcoming weekend series marked on their calendars all season long. Yankees, Red Sox, Fenway Park, late August — does it get any better than this? Kicking off the crucial three-game set between the top two AL East teams will be Brad Penny and Andy Pettitte.
Penny (7-7, 5.22 ERA) is winless in his last four starts, allowing 19 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings. The big righty faced the Yankees once this season, picking up a no-decision in six innings of shutout ball. Boston would go on to win that June 11 game 4-3.
Pettitte is 9-6 with a 4.09 ERA and has captured just one win in his last four starts. The veteran lefty is 16-9 with a 3.63 ERA in 32 career starts against Boston and is 6-3 in his career at Fenway Park.
The Yankees have captured the last four head-to-head matchups thanks to a four-game sweep two weeks ago in the Bronx. However, the Red Sox hold an 8-4 advantage on the season, including a 6-0 record against New York at Fenway.
