WP: Gabbard (3-0)
LP: Bannister (5-6)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (4), Manny (13), Papi (16)
Gabbard closed the win in style, with this strikeout of Mark Teahan
SUMMARY
Boston used the power of three home runs and a stellar pitching performance from the emerging Kason Gabbard to erase the memories of yesterday's painful loss and gave the Nation something to smile about--a sweet shutout victory.
Who cares if it was against the Royals?
#1 STUNNER Gabbard 9IP, 3H, 1BB, 8K
Wow, where the fuck did this come from? I mean I know the kid has been improving since his debacle in Seattle, but this effort was downright Beckett-esque.
PAN's FAUN Bannister 6IP, 5H, 4ER, 0BB, 3K, 3HRs
Not a bad performance, per se, but when you only allow five hits and three of them are longballs, well you got some problems there.
RECAP
Thank you, schedule makers.
Coming off a tough loss, saddled with some nagging injuries and riding a mediocre 5-7 stretch sandwiched around the All Star break, Boston was in desperate need of playing a team it can just bash around for a few games, kinda like a self help book for an MLB team; you know, a patsy.
Enter the Kansas City Royals.
Nothing like a visit from the perennial doormats of the AL Central to help a sick team cure what ails 'em.
The Sox got healthy in a hurry tonight in more ways than one, turning in a solid offensive showing coupled with a lights-out pitching performance from one of its promising young starters against the Royals.
Perhaps it was because Boston finally had its regular starting nine in the lineup for the first time in quite a while, and although they only managed seven hits on the night, they maximized their potential by scoring all four runs on homers.
But the most exciting aspect of the game (other than the brisk sub-2 1/2 hour run time) had to be the coming out party of young lefty Kason Gabbard.
The 25-year-old was making just his ninth career start, fifth this season, and had been steadily improving since a horrendous 6-hit, 4-run, 6-walk meltdown against the Mariners in late June. Over his last two starts since then he had allowed just 6 hits, 5 earned runs and 6 walks in 12 innings pitched while lowering his ERA from 6.48 to 4.87.
Even with that modest turnaround, and considering the quality of competition across the field tonight, I don't think anyone saw this kind of dominating performance coming from the youngster so soon.
As it turned out KC got a pretty solid effort from its rookie starter, 26-year-old Brian Bannister, as well. Both kids stymied the opposing hitters for the first 3 1/2 innings, the only baserunners coming on a single by Julio Lugo in the third and when Gabbard hit David DeJesus with a pitch to start the fourth.
DeJesus would quickly be erased on a double play, though, and through the first four innings Gabbard had faced the minimum amount of batters and had struck out five of them. Nice.
He would get all the run support he would need in the bottom of the frame when struggling Dustin Pedroia stepped in to face Bannister for the second time ever. Francona had admitted recently that Pedroia had been sick around the All Star break and he had intended to rest him for a game or two, but he couldn't because Cora was sick also.
The skipper followed through on his promise yesterday, as Tito gave Dustin the day off except for a pinch hit appearance in the windfest, and it looks like the brief, belated blow really paid off.
Pedroia worked the count to 3-2, then unloaded his mini-man swing and shot the ball halfway up the Monster seats for his first homer since June 15th, and the Sox smallest player did something none of the big boppers could do yesterday--put a ball out of the freaking yard.
After Papi (1-4, R, 2BI) grounded out, apparently inspired by Pedroia's effort, Manny (1-4, R, BI) decided to best his teammate. Ramirez took Bannister's fourth pitch and deposited it halfway up the light tower, where it ricocheted off and nearly hit a Monster spectator in the skull before landing as a souvenir in the back row.
2-0 Boston.
Ballgame.
Gabbard got into his only trouble of the night in the fifth inning when he allowed a single to Emil Brown (2-3), a walk to Esteban German and then hit Sox nemesis John Buck to load the bases with two outs.
But secondary hero of the night Pedroia (2-4, 2R, BI) bailed him out when he made a gorgeous sidearm throw on a slow roller by Tony Pena to get the speedy shortstop by a hair at first, saving the shutout and effectively ending any hopes KC had of making a game of this one.
Just in case they had some crazy thoughts of a comeback though, Papi squashed them when he followed a one-out single by Pedroia with a Pesky Pole job in the sixth, wrapping the ball just around the wall near the marker for his 16th homer of the season and second in five days.
From there it was all Gabbard's game to drive home, and he cruised through the last three innings, facing the minimum amount of batters again (thanks to another DP) and adding his final two strikeouts of the night to end the ninth and put the seal on his first major league masterpiece.
Like I said, who cares if it was against the Royals?
NOTES
- More Gabby--the complete game shutout was the first by a rookie in the majors this season and the first by a Boston starter since the immortal Paul Quantrill pulled the feat in 1993
- The win was Boston's first shutout since the back-to-back 4-0 and 11-0 pastings of the Braves on June 19th & 20th in the A-T-L
- Julio Lugo extended his hitting streak to six games (11-22) with another infield hit in the third, but the joy was diluted when he was subsequently picked off--by a wide margin--just a few moments later to end the inning
- Dynamic Duo--tonight marked the 45th time Manny & Papi have gone yard in the same game in thier careers, third most among active players
- J. D. Drew returned to the lineup after a two game absence and went 1-4 from the leadoff spot; no word yet on if he'll be out tomorrow
- Pedroia had been in a 3-18 slump before his two big knocks tonight
- The game clocked in at a mind-boggling, National League-esque 2 hours and 18 minutes. Now that's sweet.
"Your adrenaline takes over, but you have to kind of settle yourself down." Gabbard, on the rush of a pitching a CG shutout
"The kid has had a lot of roadblocks coming through the minor leagues. He has very good stuff."--Tito, on the injury-filled minor league travails of Gabbard
"Butter fingers in the 2nd level there. Too much popcorn, too much butter on the popcorn."--RSN President Remy, calling out a fan who failed to catch a foul ball. How can anyone not love Rem Dog?
RECORD: 56-36
AL EAST: Up
STREAK: W-1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Tue vs. KC 705
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment