"My initial reaction was, right when [Pedroia] threw it to me, was to go get him and try and tag him before Cabrera scored," Lowrie said. "He was further away than I thought. I didn't even think to look home because I thought I was going to get him on the tag. It's just a play that I made a bad read on, and I cost us a run."
Though the Red Sox were already down by three runs as the White Sox batted in the bottom of the seventh, it looked much bigger minutes later. Because with the Red Sox relieved of having to face Mark Buehrle one batter into the top of the eighth, Pedroia brought Boston right back with a three-run homer into the Chicago bullpen.
The difference was one run. The run scored by Cabrera.
In the end, it was a 5-3 loss for the Red Sox in front of a sellout crowd of 38,621 at U.S. Cellular Field, ending a run of seven straight wins over the White Sox. It was also a virtuoso performance from Buehrle, a pitcher who had allowed 13 runs (12 earned) on 22 hits over his last 9 1/3 innings.
"He was great tonight," Pedroia said. "He was attacking the zone with like nine pitches, it seemed like."
Though the Red Sox had scored eight runs in each of their last two games, the lefthander shut them down early. It took until Coco Crisp (who entered 12 for 32, .375, off Buehrle), the Red Sox No. 9 batter, before they mustered a hit. And after that one, a double that could have been a triple had Crisp not slowed between first and second, it took another five batters for Boston to get on base again. The Red Sox managed just four hits off Buehrle in his seven innings. He gave up just one run (inherited by Octavio Dotel, when Pedroia homered) and struck out eight.
"He didn't struggle tonight," Francona said. "He used every pitch and he worked quick and he changed speeds. That was pitching - in, out, up, down, changed speeds, 3-2 changeup. He pitched well."
Francona's pitcher wasn't bad either, as Jon Lester allowed four runs on six hits in seven innings. But the Red Sox' scoring ended with Pedroia's home run. Carlos Quentin led off the bottom of the eighth with a 389-foot home run off Manny Delcarmen, which ended a run of 18 consecutive scoreless innings over six games for the Red Sox' bullpen.
