After falling behind 2-0 after four innings, the Red Sox scored 12 unanswered runs in support of Jon Lester to emerge victorious in Game 1 of the ALDS. Lester had surrendered two solo home runs, one in the second inning to Sean Rodriguez and one in the fourth inning to Ben Zobrist. But the Red Sox, who led the American League in on-base and slugging percentage, would quickly get to Rays starter Matt Moore.
In the bottom half of the fourth, the Sox pushed across five runs on six hits. The big blows included a two-run double by Jonny Gomes and a two-run double by Will Middlebrooks. It turned out Lester wouldn’t need any additional run support, but that didn’t stop the Red Sox from piling on.
Moore took the hill to start the fifth, which turned out to be a mistake. Jarrod Saltalamacchia pushed across two runs with a one-out double. Finally, manager Joe Maddon took Moore out for reliever Wesley Wright, but Saltalamacchia eventually came around to score on a Jacoby Ellsbury single, the run charged to Moore. Moore finished the day having allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts in four and one-third innings.
The Rays bullpen held the Red Sox at eight runs, giving their offense a slim chance of staging a comeback, but when Jamey Wright came in for the eighth inning, the game was put out of reach. Wright allowed the first five batters he faced to reach base on three consecutive singles followed by two walks, pushing across two runs in the process. Two more would score on a Jonny Gomes 6-4-3 double play and Saltalamacchia’s RBI single, putting the Red Sox up 12-2.
Aside from the two solo shots, Lester was solid, holding the Rays to just the two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out seven. Junichi Tazawa relieved him in the eighth, recording the final out before giving way to Ryan Dempster, who struck out two in the final frame.
Now leading the series 1-0, the Red Sox will look to extend their lead tomorrow at 5:30 PM EDT as John Lackey opposes David Price, who helped pitch the Rays into the Wild Card playoff game by defeating the Rangers in Game 163 of the regular season.