El Duque Takes His Turn

The Sox lost again as El Duque was hammered, lasting only 2 2/3 innings giving up one run in the 1st, two in the 2nd, and three in the 3rd before getting the hook with the Sox down 6-4. This was the third straight game that the Sox failed to put up a quality start, and not surprisingly, their 3rd consecutive loss.
The bullpen came on to hold the Rangers scoreless through the 8th inning, with Vizcaino, Politte, and Shingo all getting work. Politte looked the best out of them all, working 2 scoreless innings while relying less on his 95mph fastball and more on his off-speed and breaking stuff than he has recently. Shingo gave up a lead-off double, but left the runner on 3rd escaping the 7th without any damage.
The offense once again gave us a chance, with AJ hitting a grand slam in the 1st after the Sox loaded up the bases with 2 out to put the Sox up 4-1. After falling back behind in the 3rd and trailing for almost the rest of the game, Rowand hit an RBI double to cut the lead down to 1 before Iguchi supplied a pinch hit home run in the 8th to tie the game up at 6. He took a good pitch on the outer half and drove it to right, barely clearing the fence into the Bullpen Bar. This was the first time Tadahito displayed any solid power to right field since coming over from Japan.
Marte would give that run from Iguchi right back though, surrendering a home run himself in the top of the 9th to Mench, his second HR of the game. Damaso fell behind in the count, and Mench was more than ready to pulverize the weak fastball that Marte put right down the middle of the plate. Sox lose 7-6, and just to throw a little salt on the wound, showcased this terrible pitching performance from Marte and El Duque on ESPN. At least it wasn't a blowout and our bullpen kept us in the game so we'd have a chance to come back. I'm just saying, it could have been alot worse.

Due up: Garland and his 1-4 6+ ERA career numbers vs. Texas will start for the Sox tonight and try to prevent the SouthSiders from losing 4 straight for the first time this season. I don't think Garland has had career numbers this bad against anyone he's faced so far this season. This is a good test for him, having an undefeated record at stake and to have to be the stopper against a team he historically hasn't done well against. The Rangers will send Astacio (1-4 5.82 ERA) to the bump to face the Sox for the first time in his career.