New Guys Save the Day for the Red Sox

The Red Sox finally win a home game and snap a 5 game losing streak in dramatic fashion.  And it was the new guys who provided the sparks.  Jeremy Hermida (HR in the 4th), Josh Reddick (2 RBI) and Superhero Darnell McDonald up from the minors for his first Red Sox appearance.  McDonald hit a 2 run homer in the 8th to tie the game and drove in the game winning run in the 9th.

For every bit of good news, there’s always some bad.  And for David Ortiz and J.D. the bad news seems to get worse every night.  Both struggled again last night.  Both struck out twice.  Drew is now batting a dismal .133; Ortiz .146.  Big Papi has been a Big Disappointment so far.  He can’t get around on a fastball and when he makes contact, he hits a grounder to first.  The only pop in his bat came after he popped up in the 6th and broke his bat over his leg, as if it were a pencil.  Papi struggled early last year too and finally picked it up in the second half of the season, but I don’t think Francona has the patience to wait until July for Papi to heat up.  We saw some of that last night when Francona pinch hit Mike Lowell for Ortiz in the 7th.  Ortiz was none to happy – Francona called him “prideful”.  He did high five Lowell when he came back in from the bases at the end of the inning, but I didn’t see him rush the field when McDonald hit the game winner.  And he was unavailable for comment after the game.