Thursday night in Anaheim, the Boston Red Sox turned a night of missed opportunities into a 4-2 victory, thanks to Josh Beckett's eight strong innings, sterling relief work and Adrian Gonzalez's RBI double in the 11th inning.
Angels Vs. Red Sox: Boston Scores Twice In 11th To Win, 4-2
Tyler Chatwood, the Angels' rookie starting pitcher, got into occasional trouble during the first five innings, but held the Red Sox scoreless until the sixth, when Jacoby Ellsbury capped a two-run rally with a single that plated David Ortiz and Jed Lowrie.
Meanwhile, Beckett held the Angels hitless until the sixth inning. Trouble came in the seventh, though, when Bobby Abreu worked a leadoff walk and Torii Hunter turned a fastball down the middle into a two-run, game-tying home run.
The Red Sox caught a break in the bottom of the eighth. Erick Aybar, just off the Disabled List, led off with a drive down the right-field line and tried for a triple, but a perfect relay throw by Dustin Pedroia was just in time for Lowrie -- playing third base because Kevin Youkilis had earlier left the game after fouling a pitch off his shin -- to apply the tag and retire Aybar.
For most of the game, the running theme was wasted chances for the Red Sox, who left 15 runners on base and went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Most painful was the eighth, when ex-closer Fernando Rodney loaded the bases with a couple of walks and a hit batter, but escaped by getting J.D. Drew on a strikeout and Dustin Pedroia on a pop-up.
After the eventful eighth inning, things were relatively quiet until the top of the 11th. Drew led off with a walk against Rich Thompson (who had struck out all three Red Sox he faced in the 10th). Pedroia then drove an 0-and-2 pitch into right field, with Drew scooting to third base. Next, Adrian Gonzalez pulled Thompson’s first pitch down the right-field line for a double, with Drew scoring and Pedroia stopping at third. Moments later, following a controversial play that could have resulted in Pedroia being called out for going out of the baseline while avoiding a tag, he scored an insurance run on Jed Lowrie’s sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the 11th, Jonathan Papelbon worked around Peter Bourjos' bunt single to earn his fourth save of the season, finishing the game with a hard-fought strikeout of Howie Kendrick.
For more about the Red Sox and Angels, please visit Over the Monster and Halos Heaven.
See More:
