The Red Sox offense appears to be waking up; slamming 15 hits, 12 runs, and a season’s-best seven doubles, with each of the nine starters producing at least one hit. The three main contributors to forcing Shields into surrendering runs in each of the first four innings were the top three hitters in the lineup: Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and David Ortiz. The trio combined to go 8-for-14 with six runs. Ellsbury has either scored a run or collected an RBI in 11 of his last 13 games. The Red Sox improved to 6-1 when the rookie gets on base to lead off the first inning and 13-2 when he scores at least one run. The night also marked Pedroia’s second straight three-hit outing. Ortiz’ three hits represented the DH’s season high.
Josh Beckett did his job, using 100 pitches to get through eight innings. While he did surrender a two-run homer to Gabe Gross and a solo shot in the eighth to Akinori Iwamura, the four-run, seven-hit, five-strikeout outing was another step in the right direction for the ace.
