Seven sterling innings could not undo the wrongs of the first inning, as the Red Sox lose the second game of a four game series to the Kansas City Royals, 5-1.
Red Sox starter Paul Byrd gave up five earned runs in the first inning, a deficit from which the Red Sox could not recover. To his credit, Byrd composed himself and ended up maintaining those five earned runs over 6.2 strong innings… well, only 5.2 were actually strong.
The frustration of the evening was amplified by a lights out performance by Royals Ace Zack Greinke, who allowed for only two hits in his six innings on the hill.
The Royals’ pitching was so effective that the only Red Sox tally of the night came off the bat of Victor Martinez, who grounded out to Billy Butler in order to bring Jacoby Ellsbury home in the top of the eighth.
The Royals offense was much more verbose, particularly early on in the game. After walking Mike Jacobs on four straight balls to score David DeJesus, Alberto Collaspo, Mark Teahan, and Alex Gordon all took a piece of what Byrd was serving up, and the Red Sox simply could not get up off the mat.
Tonight’s “I Might Lay a Golden Egg, But Then I’ll Scramble It For You and Serve It To You With a Side of Bacon” Award goes to Paul Byrd, who was able to shake off that first inning and keep the Red Sox in the game… not really.
Next game: 9/23 – BOS @ KC – Beckett / Hochevar
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In a long season, where even the best teams lose 40% of their games, there are plenty of nights like that one: the pitching matchup almost assured a Royals win, so my expectations were very low.
I give Byrd a whole lot of credit for sucking it up and saving the bullpen. It would’ve been easy for him to give up after the first inning. Instead, with virtually no chance for personal accomplishment, he stayed in the game and ate some innings. He’s not much of a pitcher, but he’s a real pro.