Final
Red Sox, Padres resume set at Fenway Park
Jun 21, 2011 - 3:08 PMVideo
Fresh off another huge performance by their league-leading offense, the Red Sox will try to keep the spiraling Padres winless in interleague play when the teams square off again tonight from Fenway Park.
Boston swung the bats with authority once again in last night's matchup, collecting 14 hits in a 14-5 trouncing of San Diego that extended the Padres' losing streak to six games. Most of the damage came in a tide-turning seventh inning in which the Red Sox scored 10 times and sent 14 men to the plate.
The contest had been tied at 3-3 until the seventh-inning outburst. Former Padre Adrian Gonzalez started the scoring with a go-ahead RBI double, and the standout first baseman added a two-run single later in the frame that put Boston ahead by a comfortable 11-3 margin.
Josh Reddick delivered a pinch-hit two-RBI single during the fateful seventh and Kevin Youkilis capped the uprising by knocking in a pair of runs with a double. The Red Sox also scored twice on batters hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, while Dustin Pedroia also drew a walk to force in a run before Gonzalez's second hit.
Boston racked up five hits and four walks in addition to the two hit batsmen against four San Diego relievers in the inning. Cory Luebke surrendered the first two runs and was charged with the loss after giving up Gonzalez's tie- breaking double.
"Our bullpen has been the best in baseball, top to bottom," Padres manager Bud Black told MLB.com afterward. "Tonight showed that these guys aren't invincible. Bad inning. That's the only way you can write it. You're trying to stop the bleeding."
Luebke threw 3 1/3 innings in relief of starter Wade LeBlanc, who lasted only three frames and permitted three runs on seven hits.
Gonzalez, acquired from the cash-strapped Padres in a blockbuster trade in December, finished 3-for-5 with three RBI in his first meeting against his old club. Youkilis and David Ortiz each contributed two hits and knocked in a pair of runs to help the red-hot Sox to their 14th victory in their last 16 games.
Boston tops the majors in both runs scored (395) and batting average (.277) and has put up double-digit scoring totals six times in its past 12 contests. The team entered this series off a 12-3 pounding of Milwaukee on Sunday.
San Diego, on the other hand, has produced the fewest runs in the big leagues and has been especially anemic during its current swoon. The Padres have managed a mere 25 runs in dropping nine of their 10 most recent games.
The Padres, who fell to 0-7 against the American League this season with Monday's setback, may have gotten a bit of a break in tonight's bout, however. The Red Sox were slated to throw ace Josh Beckett in this game, but the formidable right-hander has been scratched due to a stomach illness and will be replaced by swingman Alfredo Aceves.
Beckett currently leads the majors with a 1.86 earned run average and hurled a one-hit shutout to down Tampa Bay on Wednesday in his last start.
Aceves has been no slouch, though. The versatile righty is 3-1 with a solid 3.30 ERA in 18 appearances, three of which have been starts, for the season.
His last start wasn't a good one, however. Against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway on May 31, Aceves was rocked for eight runs (six earned) and eight in just five innings of a 10-7 Boston loss.
The native Mexican has pitched four times in relief since that game and gone 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 10 1/3 innings pitched. Aceves will be facing the Padres for the first time in his career tonight.
San Diego counters with the hard-throwing Mat Latos, whom like his team, has turned in a disappointing 2011 campaign thus far.
After winning 14 games and posting an impressive 2.92 ERA and 189 strikeouts during his first full major-league season in 2010, Latos missed the beginning of this year with shoulder soreness and has struggled to catch up, having gone just 4-8 with a 4.06 ERA in 13 overall starts.
Latos seemed to have turned the corner after winning four times in a five- start stretch from May 15-June 5, but has taken in a loss in two subsequent outings since that strong stretch. He was most recently in action on Wednesday, when the right-hander was touched for four runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings at Colorado.
The 23-year-old has never previously opposed the Red Sox and owns a 2-3 record with a 4.97 ERA in five road starts this season.
Boston moved to 7-3 in 10 all-time meetings with San Diego with Monday's result and took two of three games from the Friars in the Padres' only other visit to Fenway Park, which took place in 2004.
- SAN DIEGO: 5
BOSTON: 4
Final
Jun 21 10:53 PM - Anthony Rizzo ground out first to pitcher scored Chase Headley. On the play, Orlando Hudson advances to second and Jesus Guzman advances to third. Runners on second and third with two outs and Cameron Maybin due up.
Padres 5, Red Sox 4 Top 7, 2 OutsJun 21 9:58 PM - Adrian Gonzalez single to right scored Marco Scutaro. On the play, Dustin Pedroia advances to second. Runners on first and second with two outs and Kevin Youkilis due up.
Padres 4, Red Sox 4 Bot 6, 2 OutsJun 21 9:41 PM - Dustin Pedroia walked. Bases loaded with two outs and Adrian Gonzalez due up.
Padres 4, Red Sox 3 Bot 4, 2 OutsJun 21 8:56 PM - Jacoby Ellsbury single to center scored Josh Reddick. Runner on first with none out and Dustin Pedroia due up.
Padres 4, Red Sox 2 Bot 3, 0 OutsJun 21 8:20 PM - Josh Reddick tripled to right. Runner on third with none out and Jacoby Ellsbury due up.
Padres 4, Red Sox 1 Bot 3, 0 OutsJun 21 8:17 PM - Cameron Maybin single to center scored Anthony Rizzo. Runner on first with two outs and Nick Hundley due up.
Padres 3, Red Sox 1 Top 3, 2 OutsJun 21 8:10 PM - Jason Bartlett walk scored Cameron Maybin. Bases loaded with two outs and Chase Headley due up.
Padres 1, Red Sox 1 Top 2, 2 OutsJun 21 7:46 PM - Kevin Youkilis double to center scored Adrian Gonzalez. Runner on second with two outs and David Ortiz due up.
Padres 0, Red Sox 1 Bot 1, 2 OutsJun 21 7:28 PM - SAN DIEGO: 0
BOSTON: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Jun 21 7:11 PM
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