The Boston Red Sox snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and ended their losing streak with a Memorial Day win over the Atlanta Braves. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz got the bats moving and broke the team's longest losing streak in 20 years. The Atlanta Braves collapsed in Monday's game and hope to not make that a habit as the two teams meet up again on Tuesday.
The Red Sox trailed 6-1 through four innings and looked poised for another loss as the team sits at the bottom of the AL East standings. However, Pedroia put together a two-run single and Ortiz hit a three-run home run in the fifth. Ortiz also added an RBI in the seventh innings as Boston got the 8-6 win. Prior to the game, Pedroia had gone 8 for 41 during the losing streak while Ortiz was 4 for 34. The team as a whole was batting just .197 which accumulated into 10 losses.
Atlanta will send Aaron Harang to the mound to get the team back on track. He has struggled in his last five stars with a 6.11 ERA after starting the season 3-1 with an 0.85 ERA. In his last start he gave up four runs and nine hits. In his career against Boston, the pitcher is 2-2 with a 5.64 ERA in four starts. Ortiz has a home run and is 5 for 9 against Harang.
The Red Sox will counter with Jon Lester who is 4-6 with a 3.36 ERA on the season. He needs to bounce back after giving seven earned runs and 10 hits in six innings. He is 1-1 against Atlanta in his career, but is 9-2 in 14 career interleague starts on the road. The Braves have a couple of hot batters in Justin Upton who is .419 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in his last nine games.
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