2013 Boston Red Sox: Young and Old

2013 Boston Red Sox: Young and Old

2013 Boston Red Sox: Young and Old

The Boston Red Sox went 97-65 in 2013, finishing 5.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays to win the American League East division. The Red Sox went 12-7 against the Rays in head-to-head play. The Red Sox went 53-28 at home and 44-37 on the road. Unlike the 2004 and 2007 editions of the club, this Red Sox team featured a strong blend of both younger and older players.

The veteran of the offense was still the man known as “Big Papi”, as designated hitter David Ortiz batted .309 with 30 home runs and 103 RBI’s off 160 hits and 38 doubles. Outfielder Daniel Nava batted .303 with 12 home runs, 139 hits and 29 doubles. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia batted .301 with 84 RBI’s, 193 hits, 42 doubles and 17 stolen bases. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury batted .298 with 172 hits, 31 doubles, 8 triples and an amazing 52 stolen bases. Right fielder Shane Victorino batted .294 with 15 home runs, 140 hits, 26 doubles and 21 stolen bases.

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, also known as “Salty”, batted .273 with 14 home runs, 116 hits and 40 doubles. First baseman Mike Napoli had 23 home runs and 92 RBI’s off 129 hits and 38 doubles. Shortstop Stephen Drew had 13 home runs, 112 hits, 29 doubles and 8 triples. Left fielder Johnny Gomes had 13 home runs, 77 hits and 17 doubles. Third baseman Will Middlebrooks had 17 home runs, 79 hits and 18 doubles in 94 games. Utility player Mike Carp batted .296 with 9 home runs, 64 hits and 18 doubles in 86 games.

Starting pitcher Jon Lester went 15-8 with 177 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. John Lackey had 161 strikeouts, a 3.52 ERA and 2 complete games despite going 10-13. Ryan Dempster had 157 strikeouts despite going 8-9. Felix Doubront went 11-6 with 139 strikeouts. Clay Buchholz went 12-1 with 96 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA, recording 1 complete game and 1 shutout. Closer Koji Uehara went 4-1 with 21 saves, 101 strikeouts and a 1.09 ERA. Relief pitcher Junichi Tazawa went 5-4 with a 3.16 ERA. Craig Breslow went 5-2 with a 1.81 ERA. Andrew Miller had a 2.64 ERA despite going 1-2. Andrew Bailey went 3-1 with 8 saves and a 3.77 ERA.

The Red Sox faced the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series, and in Game 1 on October 4 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox pounded the Rays 12-2. Most of the damage was done in the 4th and 5th innings. In the bottom of the 4th Johnny Gomes had a 2-run double, Stephen Drew had an RBI single, Will Middlebrooks had an RBI double, and Shane Victorino had an RBI single. In the bottom of the 5th “Salty” had a 2-run double, and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with an infield RBI single.

In Game 2 on October 5 the Red Sox won 7-4. In the bottom of the 1st inning Dustin Pedroia had a sacrifice fly, and David Ortiz followed by hitting a solo home run. In the bottom of the 3rd Ellsbury had an RBI double, and then Pedroia grounded into a forceout at second base to score Ellsbury. In the bottom of the 4th Drew had an RBI triple, and in the bottom of the 5th Pedroia had an RBI double. Ortiz would hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th.

The only setback for the Red Sox was a 5-4 Game 3 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field on October 7, but they came back to win Game 4 on October 8 by the score of 3-1. Down 1-0 in the top of the 7th, Ellsbury stole second base, and a wild pitch allowed shortstop Xander Bogaerts to score, and Victorino then had an RBI single. In the top of the 9th Pedroia had a sacrifice fly.

The Red Sox advanced to the American League Championship Series to face the Detroit Tigers, and in Game 1 on October 12 at Fenway Park, the Tigers shut out the Red Sox 1-0. Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez pitched 6 innings, giving up 0 hits and 6 walks while recording 12 strikeouts. All that Detroit needed was an RBI single by shortstop Jhonny Peralta in the top of the 6th inning.

In Game 2 On October 13 the Red Sox won 6-5. In the top of the 2nd inning catcher Alex Avila had an RBI single, and in the top of the 6th third baseman Miguel Cabrera hit a solo home run, designated hitter Victor Martinez had an RBI double, and Avila followed by smashing a 2-run home run. The Red Sox roared back with an RBI double by Pedoria in the bottom of the 6th, a gigantic grand slam shot by Ortiz in the bottom of the 8th, and a walk-off RBI single by Salty in the bottom of the 9th.

The Red Sox would blank the Tigers 1-0 in Game 3 on October 15 at Comerica Park. John Lackey pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 4 hits but recorded 8 strikeouts. All that Boston needed was a solo home run from Mike Napoli in the top of the 7th inning.

The Tigers would win Game 4 on October 16 by the score of 7-3. Center fielder Austin Jackson drew a bases loaded walk to score Martinez in the bottom of the 2nd, followed by shortstop Jose Iglesias grounding into a forceout at second base to score Peralta, right fielder Torii Hunter getting a 2-run double, and Cabrera getting an RBI single. Jackson and Cabrera would both have RBI singles in the bottom of the 4th. By the time Boston generated offense, it was too late. Salty had an RBI single in the top of the 6th, Victorino had an RBI double in the top of the 7th, and Ellsbury had an RBI triple in the top of the 9th.

The Red Sox won Game 5 by the score of 4-3 on October 17. In the top of the 2nd inning Napoli hit a solo home run, catcher David Ross had an RBI double, and Ellsbury had an infield RBI single. A wild pitch scored Napoli in the top of the 3rd. Detroit attempted to come back with an RBI single by Cabrera in the bottom of the 5th and an RBI single by pinch hitting catcher Brayan Pena in the bottom of the 6th. Cabrera then grounded into a double play to score Iglesias in the bottom of the 7th.

Back at Fenway Park for Game 6 on October 19, the Red Sox won the American League pennant with a 5-2 victory. Ellsbury had an RBI single in the bottom of the 5th inning, and after Martinez gave the Tigers a brief 2-1 lead with a 2-run single in the top of the 6th, Victorino launched a grand slam home run in the bottom of the 7th.

The 2013 World Series featured two evenly matched teams as the Boston Red Sox faced the National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals. In Game 1 on October 23 at Fenway Park the Red Sox beat the Cardinals 8-1. Jon Lester pitched 7.2 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 walk but recorded 8 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 1st inning Napoli had a 3-run double. In the bottom of the 2nd Pedroia had an RBI single, and Ortiz followed with a sacrifice fly. Ortiz came back in the bottom of the 7th to crush a 2-run home run. Xander Bogaerts had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 8th, and left fielder Matt Holliday’s solo home run in the top of the 9th didn’t spark anything for St. Louis.

In Game 2 on October 24 the Cardinals beat the Red Sox 4-2. In the top of the 4th inning catcher Yadier Molina had an RBI groundout. The Red Sox took a brief 2-1 lead when Ortiz smacked a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 6th, but St. Louis responded with a sacrifice fly by second baseman Matt Carpenter and an RBI single by right fielder Carlos Beltran in the top of the 7th.

In Game 3 on October 26 at Busch Stadium III, the Cardinals won 5-4. Holliday and Molina both had RBI singles in the bottom of the 1st inning. Mike Carp grounded into a forceout at second base to score Bogaerts in the top of the 5th, and Daniel Nava tied the game in the top of the 6th with an RBI single. Holliday then had a 2-run double in the bottom of the 7th, and then Boston tied the game again in the top of the 8th with Nava grounding into a forceout at second base to score Ellsbury, and an infield RBI single by Bogaerts. Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay had the last say as he had a walk-off fielder’s choice in the bottom of the 9th.

In Game 4 on October 27 the Red Sox rebounded to win 4-2. St. Louis struck first with an RBI single by Beltran in the bottom of the 3rd inning, but then in the top of the 5th Stephen Drew had a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Gomes then blasted a 3-run home run in the top of the 6th to put Boston ahead for good. Carpenter’s RBI single in the bottom of the 7th didn’t spark a St. Louis rally.

The Red Sox won Game 5 on October 28 by the score of 3-1. Lester pitched 7.2 innings and gave up 4 hits and 1 run but recorded 7 strikeouts. Ortiz had an RBI double in the top of the 1st inning, and though Holliday tied the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th, the Red Sox took control in the top of the 7th with an RBI ground rule double by David Ross and an RBI single by Ellsbury.

With a 6-1 win in Game 6 on October 30 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox won their 3rd World Series championship in 10 years. Shane Victorino had a 3-run double in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and Stephen Drew hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th, with Napoli and Victorino having RBI singles to follow. Carlos Beltran’s RBI single in the top of the 7th didn’t spark a St. Louis rally.

David Ortiz would be named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Ortiz had 11 hits, 6 RBI’s and drew 8 walks in his 16 World Series at-bats.