Sox blow two leads, lose sloppy game to Astros

Astros 11, Sox 10
WP: Brocail (3-3)
LP: Delcarmen (0-2)
SV: Valverde (20)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (12); HOU-Loretta (3), Lee (18), Wigginton (5)

SUMMARY:
On a night when Boston's offense returned in full force the pitching staff had trouble getting any Astros out as the Sox blew leads of 4-0 and 9-6 thanks to shitty performances from Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen.

Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell both notched 4 base hits apiece and Boston rapped 6 extra base hits, but it wasn't enough to overcome Houston's 14-hit, 3-homer attack.

#1 STUNNER(s - in a game like this there's gotta be more than one):
-Pedroia 4-5, 2R, BI the Little Big Man is as hot as it gets, batting .492 (30-61) in his last 14 games
-Lowell 4-4, 2R, 3BI, 2 2B batting .542 (13-24) during 6 game hitting streak
-Carlos Lee 3-5, 2R, 3BI, HR a big game for a big man
-Lance Berkman 2-5, 3BI, 3K the Big Puma took home the Silver Sombrero but still managed to get the game winning hit
-Mark Loretta 1-4, R, 3BI, HR you just knew the ex-Sox second baseman would factor into beating his old mates in one of these games

THE BIGGEST LOSER(s): ditto
-Lester 5IP, 9H, 6ER, 0BB, 3K, HBP, 2HR not a good outing for the lefty
-Delcarmen 1IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR not a good outing for the righty
-Brandon Backe 5.1IP, 9H, 6ER, 3BB, 5K, 108P 'Stros starter didn't fare much better
-Geoff Geary 2/3IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 0K neither did the first Houston reliever
-Jason Varitek 0-4, 3K, PB the Captain had a rare bad game at and behind home plate tonight

RECAP:
In case you couldn't get the drift of this wild, woeful game from the descriptions above I'm gonna try and sum it up in 1000 words or less right here.

Or, how 'bout two words: that. sucked.

It's funny because this was one of those games that would have been freakin' awesome if the Sox won.

Instead it was uglier than that chick on the Planters Peanuts commercials, way uglier than Ugly Betty and even fuglier than Nick Nolte's mug shot.

Yeah, it was that bad.

Boston jumped on Houston starter Brandon Backe for a four spot in the third inning, scoring all four runs with two out on a two-run double by Manny Ramirez (1-4, 2R, 2BI), a double by Mike Lowell and an RBI single by Kevin Youkilis.

Unfortunately Sox starter Jon Lester decided to repay the favor and then some when he allowed Houston to score five runs in the bottom of the third after two were out in what seemed like a sick game of "can you top that?"

Before the night was over the sickness of the game would reach new lows as Boston regained the lead only to blow it again, and the outcome wound up being decided on a seemingly innocuous play that prematurely ended the sixth inning.

The bottom of the third began on a bad note when Lester hit his mound opponent Brandon Backe with a pitch to start the frame. Speedster Michael Bourne followed with his second bunt single of the game, but then Lester got a ground out and a strikeout and it looked like he would escape the inning unscathed.

No such luck.

Carlos "El Caballo" Lee ripped a 2-2 pitch from Lester into right field to plate both runners and cut the Sox lead in half, and then things really fell apart when Miguel Tejada lined a single off Lester's leg to prolong the inning, and the agony, even further.

After shaking off the effects of the drilling, old friend Mark Loretta laced the first pitch he saw from Lester deep over the wall in left for a monumental three run homer, and just like that the Sox four run lead had turned into a one run deficit.

I told you it was ugly.

But it gets even worse.

Lee added a run to the lead when he absolutely annihilated a Lester breaking ball for a mammoth solo shot with one out in the fifth, but Boston would strike back with a five run sixth that should have put the game away but ended up falling one run short.

The Sox tied the game when Julio Lugo led off with a walk, Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5, R, BI) tripled him home and after Geoff Geary relieved Backe Dustin Pedroia stroked his fourth hit of the game, a single to right center, to score Ellsy and knot the game at six.

The rally didn't end there though as J.D. Drew (1-3, BB, 2R) dropped a single into center, Manny walked to load the bases and Lowell crushed a sac fly to right to give Boston the lead back at 7-6.

For good measure Youk doubled to deep center (man this stadium can be cavernous in places) to score both Drew and Manny, but the 'Stros alertly cut off the throw to the plate and nailed Youk trying to take third on the play, and it would be that base running blunder that would come back to bite Boston later in the game.

Still you would think a 9-6 lead with four innings to go would be enough to earn the win. But not in this fucked up Arena ball-like contest.

David Aardsma relieved Lester to open the sixth and continued his recent impressive stretch when he set the side down in order including the last two by strikeout. But after the Sox failed to do anything off Tim Byrdak in the top of the seventh, Aardsma ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the inning when he walked Bourne and gave up a single to Hunter Pence to open the frame.

In came Craig Hansen, who promptly surrendered an RBI single to Lance Berkman, who had struck out three times up to that point, and one pitch later Varitek failed to catch an inside fastball from Hansen that went for a passed ball and allowed Pence to score and cut the lead to 9-8.

Gulp.

Hansen got out of the inning when he retired Lee, Tejada and Loretta after that, but another 1-2-3 inning put the Sox back on defense quicker than you can say "blown save."

As soon as Manny Delcarmen came in that's just what happened.

No sooner did the Houston announcers declare that Delcarmen had tossed 13 2/3 scoreless innings over his last 11 appearances, the longest such streak by a Sox reliever this season, did Manny D surrender a laser beam home run to Ty Wigginton of all people to "tie" the game at nine.

And that was the beginning of the end.

Darrin Erstad sliced a pinch hit single to center, Brad Ausmus sacrificed him over, and after Bourne struck out Hunter Pence walked to bring Berkman to the plate in a game-deciding situation.

Wouldn't you know the new NL RBI leader did just that.

The Big Puma pounced on a Delcarmen curve ball and slapped it down the left field line over Lowell's head to score both Erstad and Pence and this topsy turvy contest had come full circle again, with the Sox on the wrong end of an 11-9 score and wondering how it all went so wrong.

Well that's not true, lousy pitching is how, but I meant that in a rhetorical sense.

To make matters worse Lowell hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth off Houston closer Jose Valverde to cut the deficit to 11-10, and if Youk had just stayed at second on that play in the sixth, who knows if he might have come around to score and give the Sox that extra run they needed to possibly win this one tonight.

Once again Boston will try to take 2 of 3 from an inferior National League squad when Josh Beckett takes the mound tomorrow afternoon and tries to find the form that made him a Cy Young contender last year.

If he pitches like these guys did tonight he'll look more like Cy Sperling though.

RECORD: 50-33
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sun @ HOU 2:05 Beckett vs. Mohler