Monday, May 20, 2013
Yes it is true that Jon Lester could not make good on a 5-0 lead, and that Daniel Bard is not ready to be the closer.
And even before Boston's ugly 8-7 loss at Cleveland on Thursday, the news was not good as more rib problems for Jacoby Ellsbury were discovered, and he is weeks away from playing. (How many weeks? Good question).
Boston (35-27) officially has 100 games to go. Know what the Red Sox need to do? Win 3 out of every 5 games. If Boston does that, it will win 60 more games and finish 95-67 - the same record that the Red Sox finished with in the past two years, making the playoffs both times.
Before the past five games, I would say that with Lester, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey, Boston has a good chance to win 3 of 5 games. But in the past five days, the Red Sox lost all three games started by those three (and won the games started by Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield; go figure).
The AL East leaders are Tampa Bay (39-21), New York (37-23) and the Red Sox five games behind the Rays.
In the minors, Michael Bowden pitched only 4 2/3 innings for Pawtucket (6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K) ... Daniel Nava (.282) had a double.
Luis Exposito's RBI single in the first inning was not only his team-leading 45th RBI, it gave the Sea Dogs a 1-0 win at Erie ... Jeremy Kehrt, who appeared to be up here for only a brief time as a spot starter. may be blossoming with Thursday's performance (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB)
Salem infielder Oscar Tejeda (.332) was 3-for-4.
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Kevin Thomas covers baseball and basketball for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He wisely moved to Maine in 1994 after working for the St. Petersburg Times. He is married to Nancy and they have nine children.
Follow his thoughts on the Boston Red Sox and Portland Sea Dogs on Clearing the Bases
Follow his thoughts on the Boston Celtics and Maine Red Claws on Holding Court
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