Andrew Miller hadn’t made a start with the Sox since July 31st when Erik Bedard came to town and became our shiny new toy. He pitched some innings of relief out of the pen, but not an official start. I was crossing my fingers for Miller, but wasn’t expecting a heck of a lot.
Photo Credit: Ed Zurga/Getty Images
Andrew Miller not only wasn’t rusty, but pitched pretty gosh darn well. He looked like that guy we hoped he would be when he was called up from Pawtucket. He had good command, which meant he was throwing strikes and not walking people. I was pretty proud of the kiddo. Miller only gave up one run which was in the bottom of the 3rd on a sac fly to Alex Gordon. That sac fly was almost an extra bases hit, but Jacoby Ellsbury continued his season of greatness and got to the ball and made a great, great catch. That is all the damage the Royals could get against Miller. He just looked in control and dominant on the mound. Miller’s pitching line for the night was 5.1 IP, 83 pitches, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BBs and 3 Ks. Alfredo Aceves came out in relief of Miller and was his usual awesome self. Aceves pitched 3.2 innings to close out the game. Because Aceves pitched at least 3 innings he also gets credit for the save. His line for the night was 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB and 3 Ks. He’s once again been just the guy we needed. His versatility is such a gift to the Red Sox.
Now let’s talk about that Red Sox offense. Before the game, there was a lot of talk about Adrian Gonzalez and his slump. Gonzo said he wasn’t concerned about it and showed us exactly why. Gonzo was 3 for 4 for the night. At least for last night, slump OVER. Lowrie was also 3 for 4 on the night, which was real nice to see. The Sox scored two runs to take the lead in the 4th inning with an RBI triple by Darnell McDonald (you heard me, I said DARNELL MCDONALD) and then an RBI sac fly by Jacoby Ellsbury. In the 5th, Ryan Lavarnway got his first major league hit with a single. The Sox essentially put the game away in the 5th when Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a 3 run homerun. In the 8th, the Sox added on two more runs with a sac fly from Gonzo and then another run on a fielding error from the Royals that plated Mike Aviles. The Red Sox offense is starting to look like the Red Sox offense again…and this is without Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz.
Red Sox 7 Royals 1 BOXSCORE
WP: Miller (5-1)
LP: Francis (4-14)
SV: Aceves(2)
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