By Jeff Louderback
Over the course of John Lackey‘s 11-year Major League career, the now 34-year-old right-hander has a history of showing his displeasure on the mound when he has felt that a teammate did not make a defensive play. On Thursday, Lackey’s inability to turn a potential inning-ending double play transformed a 2-1 Red Sox lead into a 5-2 deficit in a game Boston lost to Minnesota, 5-3.
The Red Sox have lost six out of seven after dropping the final three games of a four-game set against the Twins.
Lackey, who fell to 1-3, was charged with just one earned run, though he was responsible for all five runs that Minnesota scored.
With runners at the corners and one out in the top of the sixth, Trevor Plouffe hit a grounder back to Lackey, whose throw to second sailed far right of Dustin Pedroia, allowing one run to score. Moments later, Ryan Doumit lifted a sacrifice fly and Oswaldo Arcia belted a two-run home run to account for Minnesota’s 5-2 cushion.
Daniel Nava laced an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to trim the deficit to 5-3, but the Red Sox were unable to score in the final three frames.
Lackey’s pitching line was five runs (one earned), six hits, eight strikeouts and one walk over seven innings.
