Already I like Jason Bay. I know it’s too early to make that claim, but from what I’ve seen I like his attitude and I like the fact that within hours of his arrival in Boston he’s immediately started to help the team. As for his adjustment to the American League, it’s off to a great start. He’s even learned to take his helmet off when entering the dugout after scoring a run, because if you don’t do that you’ll get pounded. Hard. He had another great night yesterday, going one for four with a walk. The “one” was a three-run shot he smoked off Eveland in the first, following the two-run shot by Youk. Together, those two swings gave us the first five of our twelve runs. We buried the A’s, 12-2, and it was good to see the offense finally waking up because thus far this homestand had been seriously lacking in that department. So in total that’s four RBIs for Youk (who hit another home run in the eighth), three each for Bay and Lowrie (who’s been on fire lately), and one each for Crisp and Varitek (who went two for three and seems to be coming out of his slump).
Mikey Lowell also had a great night, going two for four and scoring twice. But that isn’t even the best part. He was busy in the field all night, making every kind of catch he could possibly make: reaching catches, backhand catches, you name it. He really put that sore hip to the test, and it came through, which is a great sign.
Lester allowed a two-run homer in the first and that was it for the A’s. He pitched seven innings and gave up seven hits while issuing a walk and five strikeouts. Masterson finally had himself another good relief outing, and Smith, who was called up to take Craig Hansen’s place, took care of the ninth while lowering his ERA to 2.45. I’m telling you, if Chris Smith is Hansen’s replacement, we’re in good shape; Smith doesn’t give you something to be scared about, while inconsistency was Hansen’s middle name. So Lester improves to 10-3, and I think I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I say that it was a good thing Theo and Tito saw what the minor league coaches saw and decided not to trade him for Santana.
Dallas Braden at Dice-K this afternoon. I’m psyched.
