Game 32: Twinkies 9 Sox 2

So much for that. Twins came into this game averaging 3 runs per game for the season. So wouldn't you know it, they triple that and drop 9 on the Sox. Some of that just comes with the territory when you send Wakefield out to the mound. But of the 8 runs Wakefield gave up, many of them could have been prevented. In the 2nd inning, Lowrie misses a backhand grab which would have been a double play. Instead three runs score in the inning, including one on a balk pickoff throw to first that got Francona ejected for arguing (I think he's now 2 for 2 on getting thrown out because of arguing a balk call).

In the 5th, Hale just left Wakefield in too long as he was obviously tiring. Bringing in Aceves (who was back in Boston after Atchison got sent back down to the minors) may have ended the inning. However the Twins did score two more runs that inning on a Lowrie error. He had two errors on the game; the second was on what should have been a caught stealing that he mishandled into short left field. That runner ended up scoring on Aceves' record. I guess we're finally seeing the defensive sacrifice we have to make to get Lowrie's bat in the lineup (although it wasn't much help today).

Speaking of the lineup, Baker silenced that bats for eight innings. The book on him is that he gives up a lot of fly balls so the Sox did get two solo shots off of him (Drew in the 2nd and Gonzalez in the 4th). But that was all they got. Pedroia still looks lost at the plate, swinging at pitches out of the zone and not making contact when you would expect him to.

Two day games coming up and the bullpen should finally be rested with the Pawtucket Express taking over duties the last two nights.