‘08 Game 24: Masterson Debuts Well, Sox Still Lose
The surprise of surprises came today in a last minute ticket offer to my wife and we got to see the major league debut of young Justin Masterson. The sinkerballer pitched well, going six innings and giving up only 1 earned run, a homer by Mike Napoli in the fifth. He allowed only 2 hits and walked 4. A solid outing for a rookie, we’ll give him a B+.
Interesting personal fact – the last time a Sox starter made his big league debut at Fenway was Clay Buchholz last August. This start was also against the LAA. And my wife and I were also in attendance. Pretty cool.
The bullpen gets an F! The rotation produces a quality start, and the bullpen just squandered it away. Four relievers allowed 6 runs in 3 innings. Yikes. That was ugly. The Sox lost, even though a majestic bomb by Big Papi in the ninth did make the final score interesting, 7-5 Halos. And as we feared, the Sox lose their first home series of the season.
The End Result:
Sox lose for the second night in a row and now have to head to the Trop to face the Devil Rays. They have not lost two straight games since Toronto on April 5 and 6, 17 games ago. Short losing streaks certainly are a good sign. During those 17 games, the Sox starters produced 7 quality starts, not an outstanding number. You would have to say it has been the offense carrying the load during this stretch of 12-5 baseball, scoring 105 runs (6.2 per game).
| Red Sox Record: | 15-9 |
| Total Quality Starts: | 10 |
| Record in QS games: | 8-3 |
A Look Ahead:
Down in the Trop, Matt Garza will face Wake in the opener, followed by Buchholz v. Edwin Jackson. Not 100% sure who will start on Sunday for the Sox, it could be Beckett, and he would face James Shields. Sox can increase their lead in the East with a series win on the road.
