Gronkiewicz Implodes, Shipped to SF After Sox Lose 5th Straight
Anaheim 8, Boston 3
With a 2-1 lead off John Lackey, the Red Sox were confident that their bullpen could hold onto the lead handed over by Clay Buchholz. One of these days, they were bound to shake off their struggles and secure a win for the team, right?
Well, Lee Gronkiewicz made sure last night wasn't that night and it ultimately cost him his roster spot. Shipped to San Francisco after the game, Gronkiewicz surrendered six runs in the sixth inning to blow open a tight game for the Sox as Boston dropped their fifth straight game.
Gary Matthews, Jr. lead off the inning with a base on balls and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Torri Hunter. With a 1-2 count, Mike Napoli put the Angels ahead with a two-run home run to deep left-center that landed in the visitor's bullpen for Gronkiewicz's second blown save of the season. Josh Fields followed with a single, and moved to second on a ground out by Chone Figgins. Howie Kendrick reached based on a passed ball on strike three. The wheels really fell off when Vladimir Guerrero loaded the bases with a first pitch HPB. Casey Kotchman hit a two-run single and Garret Anderson and Mattews each added RBI singles to put the Angels ahead 7-2.
After starting the season with a 0.48 ERA in 10 appearances in April, Lee has seen his ERA jump to 2.19 in May, 3.52 in June and 13.5 in July. After the game, Theo Epstein pulled the trigger on a deal to bolster the bullpen, acquiring Brian Wilson from the Giants
for Gronkiewicz and four minor leaguers (SP Jaymie Russ, MR Jaime Farias, 3B Ryan Khoury, and LF Reid Engel).
The Sox added a run in the bottom of the ninth on a RBI-double by Mike Lowell before Scott Shields shut the door for Anaheim.
W: John Lackey (8-5) L: Lee Gronkiewicz (4-2)
Player of the Game: Casey Kotchman (4-5, 2B, 2 Rs, 2 RBIs)
Around the League:
...New York RF Bobby Abreu (.297, 4 HRs, 28 RBIs) will miss 7 months with a ruptured MCL...Washington traded 2B Ronnie Belliard to the Colorado Rockies for MR Brian Fuentes...Tampa Bay traded SP JP Howell to the Texas Rangers for minor league SP Matt Harrison...Philadelphia traded RF Geoff Jenkins to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for MR Dan Wheeler and minor league 3B Chase Fontaine...