Offense continues to sputter as Sox get shut out again

Toronto 3, Sox 0
WP: Burnett (3-2)
LP: Wakefield (2-1)
SV: Ryan (3)
HRs: TOR- Rios (3)

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox offense has become as scarce as panties on a celebutard as Boston was shut out for the second time in four games. AJ Burnett, who had an ERA over 6.00 coming in, blanked the Sox for 7 2/3, and although Tim Wakefield didn't pitch that poorly, it's tough to get a win when your team doesn't score.

SUPERSTAR: Burnett 7.2IP, 3H, 5BB, 5K
The underachieving and perennially injured righty had his best outing of the season against the sputtering Sox, limiting the damage of all his walks and most importantly, keeping them off the scoreboard.

Seems to be a lot of that going around lately.

THE BIGGEST LOSER(s): Sox hitters 4H, 6BB, 7K, 0R
This is getting downright ridiculous. I know guys are banged up and what not, but this non-scoring shit is starting to become a trend and not just a blip. They'd better get it figured out fast, too, with the 1st place Rays coming to town tomorrow.

RECAP:
Either the Boston offense has gone south to escape the never ending winter in the Northeast, or the team has just run into a slew of excellent starting pitching over the past week or so.

And since some of the starters who have handcuffed them are named Garland, Saunders, McGowan and Burnett, I'm gonna have to go with the former.

For the fifth consecutive game Boston was held to two runs or less, and the Sox were shutout for the second time in four games, the last time coming Sunday in St. Pete against the Rays' James Shields.

In between those blankings, Boston did get back on the winning track with a pair of walk off wins, but they scoring a whopping total of 3 runs combined in the two games.

Overall the Sox have scored a measly 8 runs in the last 6 games, and just 17 in their last 8 contests, and that combined with the fact that haven't faced any aces, save for Roy Halladay, means it could be time to panic in Beantown.

Not that there's much they can do. They already got two valuable pieces of the offense back when Mike Lowell came off the DL and Jason Varitek returned after a week's absence, and all of the top prospects from Pawtucket are already here.

The team is suffering from the recent losses of Sean Casey (.346), JR Drew (.376OBP) and Jacoby Ellsbury (.396OBP), and David Ortiz' sore knee is certainly hampering his swing, but c'mon - this team is loaded with offensive talent, and the guys that are still here and healthy should be capable of scoring more than two friggin runs a game against weak-ass hurlers like Dustin McGowan and Matt Garza.

Tonight it was like deja vu all over again. Burnett, who has been awful for the better half of three years since joining the Jays, put the clamps on the Sox batters, surrendering a mere 3 hits while issuing 5 free passes, none of which amounted to any kind of real threat.

Oh sure Boston had its chances to score some runs, like when both Ortiz (2-4) and Manny (0-2, 2BB) reached to start the 4th inning and again with one out in the 6th. But Papi got doubled off second on a liner by Brandon Moss to end the 4th, and Burnett retired Lowell and Moss to end the 6th, and the opportunities dried up quicker than Katie Holmes' acting career.

Toronto got all the scoring it would need in the 3rd inning, when Alex Rios (3-5, 2R, BI) singled with one out, stole second and came around to score one out later on a single by Scott Rolen.

After that it didn't even matter that the Jays left the bases loaded in the 4th, or that they botched a potential big inning in the 5th on an embarrassing, little League-esque play that resulted in only one run being scored instead of two or three.

David Eckstein got the inning started with a bloop double down the right field line, and then Wake (7IP, 6H, 3ER, 4BB, 0K, HR, 2HBP) hit Rolen with a pitch to set up a 1st & 2nd, no out situation. When Matt Stairs crushed a 1-2 offering from Wakefield off the top of the scoreboard, it looked as if at least Eckstein would score and the Jays would have two on and no outs still.

But for some reason the gnome tagged up at second, and by the time he got his little legs running, Rolen was breathing down his neck, and Eckstein got in a rundown and was finally tagged out at third.

Still the Jays had 2 runners in scoring position, and when Vernon Wells hit a sac fly to make the score 2-0, it felt like the sickly Sox had just been 10-run-ruled.

Just for good measure Rios tagged a hanging Wakefield knuckler into the Monster seats for an insurance run in the 7th, and even though the Sox got the tying run to the plate thanks to a curious balk call when the game appeared to be over, there would be no walk-off magic on this chilly evening at Fenway.

Instead the team is left searching for answers. Answers to where the offense went and how they are going to get it back, and when will these low-scoring, weak-hitting affairs come to an end.

With the Rays coming in tomorrow, one would usually say "tomorrow"

But these are the new, improved, first place Rays, and if the Sox don't find some answers quick, there could be a new beast in the East by the time they leave town on Sunday.

And if that isn't enough to light a fire under their asses, I don't know what is.

RECORD: 17-13
AL EAST: T-1st (pctge pts behing TB)
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Fri vs TB 705 Jackson vs. Buchholz