The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays for the second straight night on Friday as they opened up the second half of 2013, but not without seeing an early 5-0 lead disappear.
Allen Webster looked like he was on the road to his first MLB win, but ran out of gas by the sixth inning. He continues to impress, and will be a big time pitcher in the near future. Toronto scored three in the fifth, and another in the sixth. The Sox still had a 5-4 lead, and John farrell made a fateful decision: he brought in the much-maligned Andrew Bailey to start the 7th.
And he looked good to start the inning. Struck out Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista. Looked very much like the old All-Star closer. But then he gave up a bomb into the center field seats to Edwin Encarnacion, and was booed lustily as he exited the field, and Andrew Miller got the last out.
The Sox bailed him out by grabbing two in the bottom of the seventh, as Jonny Gomes' pinch-hit single with the bases loaded put the Sox in front to stay.
Koji Uehara got his third straight save, and they have all been 1-2-3 innings as well. Yep, the ninth has been Koji Time!
What about Bailey? The guy is simply snake bit. I can't see Farrell using him in another close game until he gets his head together. He's going to have to pitch in low pressure situations until he can be trusted again.
Everybody below the Sox lost except the Orioles lost (they beat the Yankees). The Sox still have a 3 1/2 game lead, with the best recortd in the AL at 49-33.
(With thanks to my friend Jeff, who referred to the top of 7th inning tonight as "The latest installment of Nightmare On Bailey Street.")
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