“I don’t care who you are,’’ backup outfielder Darnell McDonald said, “you lose three All-Stars and that’s a big deal.’’
But the Sox were resilient, stitching together a somewhat unconventional 6-1 victory yesterday to take the series.
Jason Varitek drove in a run with a triple, his first since 2007. McDonald, whose batting average hadn’t been over .182 all season, had three hits, including a home run. Rookie Ryan Lavarnway added two hits, one an RBI double.
Another struggling hitter, Carl Crawford, also homered as the Sox left for Texas with a sense of satisfaction.
“That was a big series for us,’’ Varitek said. “This team needed to play well and we did.’’
Sox starter Jon Lester (13-6) was working on a one-hit shutout going into the seventh inning. Impressive as that sounds, the lefthander was not particularly sharp. He had walked three and was at 100 pitches to that point.
“My stuff at times was good, other times it was a matter of trying to do too much,’’ Lester said. “I didn’t really have that putaway pitch I’ve had in past games.’’
The Sox had taken a 3-0 lead on Varitek’s RBI triple in the fifth and solo home runs by McDonald and Crawford in the sixth and seventh, respectively.
But Lester almost let the lead slip away. Rookie Johnny Giavotella started the seventh with a triple. Another rookie, catcher Salvador Perez, drew a walk before Mike Moustakas pounded an RBI single into right field.
Manager Terry Francona took no chances, turning to Daniel Bard. It was the earliest his setup man had been in a game since April 20.
“Don’t want to give up runs with him sitting out there,’’ Francona said. “He’s our best trying to get out of innings.’’
The Royals wanted Alcides Escobar to bunt. But he fouled off two attempts before striking out on a slider. Bard tamped out the rally easily from there, getting a fly ball and a force at second.
Bard has inherited 29 runners this season and just three have scored. The first batter, he said, is the key to stopping rallies.
