Series Recap: Sox @ Detroit

GAME	SCORE	WP	LP
GM1	DET 9-2	Miller	Julie
GM2	DET 3-2	Grilli	Paps
GM3	DET 6-5	Robertson	Dice

Series Stats:

STATS	BOS	DET
WINS	0	3
HITS	23	32
RUNS	9	18
HRs	4	5
AVG	.207	.288
ERA	5.65	2.32

Batter's Composite Box:

PLAYER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Coco	3-12, R,RBI, 2B, 2BB, K, SB	add 3 awesome catches, too
Pedroia	3-12, R, 2B, 3B, BB, K	2B & 3B in GM2
Papi	2-5, R, 3BI, 5BB, K, 2B, HR	first homer in 15 games
Manny	1-9, 2B, 2BB, 3K	U-G-L-Y series
Lowell	2-13, 2B, BB, K, BI	joined the slump club...
Drew	1-11, 3BB, 3K	...of which he's a charter member
Tek	3-13, BB, 4K	threw out 2 runners in GM3
Lugo	3-8, 3R, 2BI, 2BB, 2SB, 2B, HR	finally a big game from the $36 mil man
Hinske	0-5, 2K	played solid D at 1B
Pena	1-7, 3B, BB, 5K	did not play solid D in LF
Bailey	1-9, R, RBI, HR	1st ML hit is a HR--kudos!
Belli	1-1, HR, R, RBI	PH HR in GM1
Cora	1-5, K	played in GM2
Youk	0-1	PH in GM2

Pitcher's Composite Box:

PITCHER	SERIES STATS	COMMENTS
Tavarez	4.2IP, 10H, 8ER, BB, 4K, 2HR, L	reverting back to bad habits
Gabbard	6.1IP,3H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K	best start of the three
Dice-K	5IP, 10H, 6ER, BB, 4K, 3HRs, L	not a good way to close the half
Lopez	3IP, 2H, BB, 2K	he's been shaky lately
Manny D	2IP, 1H, 2K	he's been nails lately
Snyder	1IP, 2H, 1ER, BB, K	rough 9th in GM1
Timlin	3.1IP, 1H, 2BB	strong GM2 & 3
Oki	2.1IP, 2H, 2BB	not good in GM2
Paps	2/3IP, 1H, 1ER, 1K, L	blew GM2 in the 13th

Recap:

Basking in the glow of a sweep of the Devil Rays and riding high on a four game winning streak when they came into town, the Sox got humiliated by the suddenly surging Tigers, putting a damper on the feel-good experiences from the last week.

The sweep was more damaging because the Tigers beat the Sox in every way possible--a blowout victory in Game 1, an extra-innings heartbreaker in the second game, and a hard-fought battle in the finale yesterday in which they torched Boston's hottest starter, Dice-K, then hung on for a satisfying win.

Three games, three different styles, all adding up to three depressing losses for the Sox and RSN as they hit the All Star Break.

Despite the putrid performances and anemic numbers put up by most of the entire team in this series, there were a few highlights:

• Jeff Bailey hit a home run for his major league hit after spending 11 seasons in the minors
• Julio Lugo continued to break out of his slump with a nice 3-3 game yesterday, including a homer
• Papi hit his first homer in weeks and was walked four times, including three intentionally, in Game 2
• Kason Gabbard continued to put his horrible outing in Seattle behind him, turning in his third straight decent start in the second game
• Coco made at least three stellar catches and probably more, but he makes them look so routine now that it's hard to keep track
• ....I guess that's it.

Like I said, there were a few positives, but all in all it was about as shitty a way to end the first half of what has been a superb season--losing to a team that was in the World Series last year and by the looks of it has every intention of making it back to the Fall Classic this year.

So the Sox players who aren't on the All Star squad will head to their various corners of the country to enjoy a three day respite from slumps, losing streaks, and sweeps, and hopefully they will come back on Thursday relaxed, refreshed, and ready to tackle the always tough dog days of summer, a time when pennants are made or broken, and sweeps like this take on a much more serious meaning.

A certain Boston Massacre II comes to mind...

Enjoy the break, Bosox, and let's come out swinging in the second half.