Game 47: Sox 2 Tribe 3

I'll take the blame for this loss. When I got home it was a 0-0 game in the third (due to a 1 hour rain delay). I was watching the game just in time to see Crawford hit a single and Pedroia drive him in three batters later to take the 1-0 lead. I stepped outside to do some lawn work and came back inside to find the score tied at 1 in the 5th. Fortunately Crawford was the first batter I saw and he hit a solo blast to give the Sox the 2-1 lead. I kept the game on through the 7th inning before leaving for frisbee. When I came back, the Sox had lost giving up 2 runs in the 8th. So clearly, my viewing the game had a direct correlation to the Sox's success and I let everyone down by only watching the entire game after it was over. My bad.

But really, the Sox lost this game in the top of the 8th for two reasons you won't necessarily see in the box score:

1. Ellsbury gets caught stealing with one out. As a premier base stealer, that was a situation in which Ellsbury has to get to second base. Shoot, he could have done nothing and gotten there once Pedroia walks. Because he gets caught the inning is over when Youkilis flies out. If he's safe on the play, he either scores on Gonzalez's single the play before or else scores on the sac fly by Youkilis.

2. Pedroia comes up lame rounding second on Gonzalez's single and is replaced by Drew Sutton. This impacted the outcome of the game not because Sutton was on the basepaths but because in the bottom of the 8th, Sutton misses a ball Pedroia absolutely would have had. That single ends up chasing Buchholz out of the game, extends the inning, and was the run that tied the game up.

Tough loss to take. I don't understand why we can't beat these guys. Or why Masterson is throwing 96 mph now after being mediocre when he pitched for us. Shoot, even Bard was topping out at 97. Beckett - Carmona tomorrow so it's not going to get any easier.