Castro and Campana desperately try to get their belts unstuck from one another. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
After the Sox erupted for 10 runs against the Marlins on Wednesday, folks hoped that the Sox offense was finally coming together. Not so much. The Sox were held scoreless, and amassed only 5 hits against Ryan Dempster and the Cubs on their way to a 3-0 loss.
If you want to get excited about something on the offensive side of the ball, Scott Podsednik is your man. He was the only batter to get multiple hits and swiped 2nd base two times. He even added a walk for good measure. The only other Sox batters to get a hit were Papi, Sweeney and Aviles. None for extra bases. The game started promising enough. Podsednik got on first then Pedroia walked. Men on first and second with no outs? With Gonzalez, Papi and Youk coming up? Seemed like we'd at least get one run across the plate. But then Gonzo struck out (wasn't he supposed to be some sort of Cubs killer?), Papi grounded to first and Pedroia was out at 2nd. Then Youk lined out to right on a solidly hit ball. Just like that, threat over.
Dice-K had a classic Dice-K game. He came out of the gates looking downright awful. He walked the first batter of the game, and spent the first two innings nibbling. The Cubs scored two runs in the first, and one in the second thanks to a Ryan Dempster triple (he was driven in by DeJesus). After he got through those two innings, it was pretty much smooth sailing. He lasted 6 innings, allowed just 4 hits but walked 3 more batters. He also had 3 K's. Atchison pitched a hitless 7th and Melancon had a hitless 8th (with a walk).
Tomorrow we get Lester versus decorated Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija in what should be an interesting matchup. Assuming the Sox bats show up.
