Rain Halts Any Chance Of Red Sox Comeback...Florida 2 Boston 1

The rains came once again to Fenway Park in the sixth inning with the Florida Marlins holding a slim 2-1 lead on the strength of two solo home runs served up by starter Jon Lester in the sixth inning. The Boston Red Sox could only muster one hit, a first inning tater hit by Kevin Youkilis, against Marlins starter Rickey Nolasco. That was it. Sox starter Jon Lester was servicably good except for two pitches in the second inning which resulted in the tying and winning runs crossing the plate. Boston manager Terry Francona was more succinct...

“I didn’t think he commanded very well,” said Francona. “Saying that, he left two pitches, one he tried to go in, one he tried to go away. They hit them out of the ballpark and other than that he found a way to still give us a chance to win. I think that says a lot. I think it was a tough night. It was a difficult night. Their guy was fantastic."

In all, Lester gave up eight hits, walked none and struck out five in his losing effort but some of the Red Sox players were miffed that the game was started at all. Lester barely had time to get ready and the radar screen before the game began showed a bleak picture. The home team can call a game before it begins but after the first pitch, it's in the hands of the umpires. Rain giveth and rain taketh away and Boston has, in the past, been the beneficiary of similiar situations but last night did not sit well with the Sox players. Here's what Mikey Lowell said after the game was cut short...

“There was still a lot of game left,” said Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. “I’m not saying Nolasco wouldn’t have pitched well, but I think I like our chances with four innings left to score. I think a lot of guys are f*cking pissed off right now. Absolutely, without a doubt,” said Lowell.

His comments were uttered in the heat of the moment. I'm sure he's calmed down quite a bit. On the brighter side, the Yankees lost yet again to the woeful Nationals so the lead in the AL East is still three games. Everything is OK and we'll see how Daisuke does tonight against the visiting Altanta Braves. Here are the three game pitching matchups...

Matsuzaka (1-4) vs. Kawakami (3-6) 7:10pm EDT
Beckett (7-3) vs. Lowe (7-4) 7:10pm EDT
Wakefield (9-3) vs. Jurrjens (5-5) 1:35pm EDT

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