I’m so glad it’s over: Red Sox 4, Phillies 3 (12)

Complaining that this 4-3 loss was boring is probably unfair. A few weeks ago, I would have paid someone for a boring game. And in this case, the game was boring because both teams scored three runs and then didn’t want to score any more. They didn’t want to score so much that the game lasted 12 innings and involved two scoreless innings from Jeanmar Gomez. I know! It was unbelievable and yet exceedingly boring.

Let’s hit some highlights.

• Ben Lively, oh Ben Lively. He put in seven innings of pretty great pitching, which is amazing considering he threw 28 in the first inning.
• Aaron Altherr hit a grown-up home run over the Green Monster.

• Maikel Franco is on fire.

• This is one of the most interesting things to happen tonight.

• The other interesting thing in this game: in the 11th inning, the Red Sox had a serious bases loaded threat going against the Phillies. Dustin Pedroia was running for third, and then his cleat caught in the dirt and he just — plop! — fell down a few feet from third base and was tagged out. You don’t see that every day.

But if there are highlights, there must also be lowlights.

• Freddy Galvis came to bat two different times with the bases loaded and two outs. Both time he ended the inning.
• Juan Samuel had to be tripping, because that’s the only thing that explains his insane send of Howie Kendrick in the eighth inning. Maikel Franco hit a double that was almost a homer and Sammy sent Kendrick from first, and he was absolutely 100% out at home.
• In the tenth inning, Phillies had runners on first and third with one out and — say it with me — DIDN’T SCORE. Why? See my next bullet point for one of the reasons.
• Michael Saunders sucks. He sucks out loud. He sucks so bad and so deep that scientists are going to study it.
• Seriously. Michael Saunders. Woof.

There were elevendy billion baserunners tonight, but neither side could take advantage. Luis Garcia gave up the winning run (and the hits that went with it) in the 12th. Before him, the bullpen had been running on all cylinders.

Twelve innings of boring baseball. I’m so glad it’s over.

Half of this home and home series is over. Maybe the Phillies can find a win in the other half.