By Maureen Mullen
CSNNE.comFollow @maureenamullen
PITTSBURGHThe Red Sox dropped their first Interleague road game of the season, 3-1, in front of 39,330 at PNC Park Friday night.
Jon Lester, despite throwing his 11th quality start in 16 outings this season, labored through much of his outing. He went six innigs, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits, a walk, and a hit batter with five strikeouts. His record fell to 9-4 with 3.66 ERA.
The Sox scored their lone run in the first inning as Jacoby Ellsbury lead off with a walk, scoring on Kevin Youkilis ground out.
Lesters record fell to 9-4, while Paul Maholm improved to 4-8. Joel Hanrahan got his 21stsave in as many opportunities for the Pirates.
The Sox have now lost three straight -- to two National League teams with a combined winning percentage of .453 at the start of the each seriesfor the first time since losing four in a row May 29June 1.
PITTSBURGHThe Red Sox dropped their first Interleague road game of the season, 3-1, in front of 39,330 at PNC Park Friday night.
Jon Lester, despite throwing his 11th quality start in 16 outings this season, labored through much of his outing. He went six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits, a walk, and a hit batter with five strikeouts. His record fell to 9-4 with 3.66 ERA.
Boston Red Sox
The Sox scored their lone run in the first inning as Jacoby Ellsbury lead off with a walk, scoring on Kevin Youkilis ground out.
Lesters record fell to 9-4, while Paul Maholm improved to 4-8. Joel Hanrahan got his 20th save in as many opportunities for the Pirates.
The Sox have now lost three straight -- to two National League teams with a combined winning percentage of .453 at the start of the each seriesfor the first time since losing four in a row May 29June 1.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Paul Maholm
Facing the Red Sox -- who entered the game with the most potent offense in baseball, batting .279 as a teamfor the first time, Maholm held the Sox to one run on six hits, three walks, and a hit batter, with two strikeouts over 5 13 innings.
The lone run he allowed came in the first inning. He walked lead-off batter Jacoby Ellsbury, who went to third on Adrian Gonzalezs single and scored on Kevin Youkilis groundout.
Maholm pitched out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the third, getting Darnell McDonald to ground into a fielders choice. He also got McDonald to end the fifth with runners on first and second by flying out to center.
HONORABLE MENTION: Lyle Overbay
Overbay entered the game hitting just .226. But in his career against Lester he was 7-for-22, batting .318, with two home runs and seven RBI. He went 2-for-4 in the game, including 2-for-3 with an RBI, for the Pirates third run, against Lester. He is now batting .375 against the Sox lefty.
THE GOAT: Kevin Youkilis
Neil Walker started off the sixth inning with a hard-hit ball to Youkilis, who couldnt field it cleanly. On the next batter, Youkilis committed his 5th error of the season. Lyle Overbay, the third batter of the inning for the Pirates, singled to right for the Pirates third run of the game. Youkilis also struck out with runners on first and second in the seventh.
THE TURNING POINT
With two outs and the tying runs on second and third, David Ortiz, who was not in the starting lineup, went to the plate to pinch hit against Jose Veras. Ortiz had faced Veras just twice before in his career, going 0-for-1 with an intentional walk. This time, though, the right-handed Veras pitched to Ortiz. With the count 1-2 (with two called strikes), Ortiz fouled off three straight curveballs. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, a 94-mph two-seamer, Ortiz grounded out to shortstop Ronny Cedeno, ending the Sox last best chance to score.
STAT OF THE DAY: .453
The Sox have lost three straight games to the Padres, in last place in the National League West, and the Pirates, who entered the game at .500. The Padres were at 30-44, a .405 winning percentage, at the start of the Sox skid. Combined, the Sox have lost three straight to two teams with combined a combined winning percentage of .453. It is the first time the Sox have lost three in a row since losing four straight from May 29June 1.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
First of all, whats wrong with Mother Nature? I just walk into the play and it starts pouring. Whats up with that?--David Ortiz on his eighth-inning, pinch-hit appearance. It started raining when he went out on deck and continued through his at-bat, letting up when he hit into an inning-ending groundout.
Maureen Mullen is on Twitter at http:twitter.commaureenamullen