Atlanta Braves 3 Boston Red Sox 6 (May 20, 2007)
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0 commentsThe Boston Red Sox (30-13, 1st in AL East) became the first team in the majors to reach 30 wins this afternoon by taking the rubber game against the Atlanta Braves (26-18, 2nd in NL East) by a score of 6-3 after a 2 1/2 hour rain delay before the game. Boston scored 4 runs in the first inning off of Atlanta starter Tim Hudson (L, 5-2) and never looked back.
| W: | Kason Gabbard | (1-0, 3.60, 0.18 |
| L: | Tim Hudson | (5-2, 2.42, 1.78 |
| S: | N/A | N/A |
Hudson struggled early against the Red Sox offense, loading the bases and allowing a 3-run triple to captain Jason Varitek. Hudson ended up throwing only 4 2/3 innings, allowing 6 earned runs on 8 hits, walking two and striking out none. The Braves never had a lead in Win Probability during the entire game. Hudson was out-dueled by Red Sox callup Kason Gabbard (W, 1-0), who pitched 5+ innings, tying a career high with 7 strikeouts and walking one while allowing 2 runs.
The Red Sox offense was all about continuing. Kevin Youkilis continued his hot streak at the plate, going 3-3 with a home run, his 6th on the year. Alex Cora continued to regress to the mean, going 0-4, and Dustin Pedroia continued to heat up with his 7th double on the season, raising his average to .260.
Matt Diaz had a 4-5 day at the plate, while Jeff Francoeur went 3-5 in the cleanup spot. Andruw Jones had a horrific day at the plate, going 0-5 with 5 swinging strikeouts, including one against Jonathan Papelbon to end the game with two on and two out.
- Hudson: 6
- Gabbard: 41
Top Performers By WPA:
- Braves: Matt Diaz (.094), Macay McBride (.015)
- Red Sox: Jason Varitek (.222), Javier Lopez (.123)
Image courtesy of FanGraphs.
Coming Up Next: The Red Sox head to the Bronx to take on the floundering New York Yankees (18-23, 4th in AL East) for a three-game set. Tim Wakefield (4-4, 2.41, 0.93) faces Mike Mussina (2-2, 5.64, -0.35) in the first game.
The Braves have Monday off, then head home and welcome in the NL East-leading New York Mets (28-14, 1st in NL East) for three. Jorge Sosa (3-0, 2.25, 0.81) will meet Kyle Davies (1-2, 5.17, -0.85 to open things up.
Date
May 20, 2007
