After inclement weather postponed the first game of the Red Sox-Angels series last night, I looked forward to the day-night doubleheader today. It's always fun to be able to spend an entire day watching baseball; there aren't many things that indicate SUMMER IS HERE louder than that.
Unfortunately, despite a ninth inning two-out rally, the Red Sox came out of today's first game with a loss. Felix Doubront just couldn't find the strike zone, but he did manage to get through six innings and give up three runs, earning a quality start and a loss. His Angels counterpart was Tommy Hanson, who got the win despite making it through the minimum number of innings to qualify as the pitcher of record.
Both bullpens were taxed rather more than the respective managers would have liked with another game to play this evening, as the Sox used Franklin Morales, Clayton Mortensen, and Andrew Miller, while the Halos needed four bullpen arms to make it through the final four innings.
It didn't look as if Angels closer Ernesto Frieri would be needed heading into the bottom of the ninth inning as the Sox were trailing by seven runs. Garrett Richards managed to record two quick outs, but then the Red Sox began to rally. Mike Napoli, Jarrod Salalamacchia, and Mike Carp all hit singles, then Stephen Drew doubled, and Jose Iglesias singled to bring the score to 9-5. Frieri came in and struck out Ellsbury to end the game, but the momentum certainly had started to turn.
Clay Buchholz and CJ Wilson will face off in the nightcap. Buchholz is still undefeated in 2013, and will be trying for his ninth win and attempting to preserve his sub-2 ERA, while Wilson's season record is 4-4 with a 3.93 ERA. Buchholz's presence on the mound is even better for the state of the bullpen, as he's likely to be able to go for a lot of innings.
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