Five Swings: Complaint Department

The Sox seek to win their second straight in Detroit, with Jon Lester seeking another quality start.

1. #itch Selection. Jon Lester was more or less rolling along into the sixth and up 1-2 on Brennan Boesch. Lester had fanned Boesch twice and Boesch was late on the fastball. The Lester-Martinez battery sped up his bat with a curveball that got too much plate, leading to a two-run triple. Pitch selection!

2. Hall of Fame. Bill Hall went deep for the second consecutive game, with a very respectable 0PS of almost .800 for a reserve. Good acquisition.

3. Casey at the Mound. The Casey Kelly Watch continues with a marquis minor league matchup against Kyle Drabek. So far, it's Drabek, who's gone seven scoreless innings, while Kelly yielded one earned run in 4 2/3, presumably on a pitch count.

4. Give a guy a break. Dustin Pedroia got thrown out from second trying to score on a single to left by David Ortiz. Tim Bogar hasn't exactly distinguished himself so far, but with two outs and a rookie leftfielder (Casper Wells), maybe Tim deserves a pass on this one. Ortiz with another pair of hits has his average up to .226 and a seven game hit streak. Way to go...

5. Being There. The Sox definitely have played less painful baseball lately, although I'm happy to nitpick where I see fit. Adrian Beltre has been picking it down at third tonight and the defense in general seems better. The Globe said the Sox are the only team without an error from first or second base.