In his Major League debut, Michael Bowden picked up the win and did a mighty fine job. Ozzie Guillen, who in his own way has something to say about everything, said that Bowden didn’t impress him. That’s okay by me. Maybe Bowden didn’t impress Guillen, but he impressed Guillen’s lineup. He pitched five solid innings, giving up just two runs on seven hits with a walk and three K’s. And the relief was on, too: Lopez, Delcarmen, Masterson, and Okie pitched four perfect innings. The final score was 8-2. The White Sox had nine hits; we had fifteen.
Three RBIs for Kotsay, two each for Bay and Lowrie, and one for Bailey. Kotsay went three for five. He’s gotten a little lost in the shuffle I think, but he’s another guy who didn’t have much going in the way of a postseason appearance and then suddenly found himself in the middle of a pennant race. His adjustment is going very well, and like Jason Bay he’s already had a positive impact on the team. Score another one for Theo; acquiring Kotsay was definitely a good move. Ellsbury also went three for five and scored his fair share of runs, but the offensive story again centers on Dustin Pedroia, possibly the best second baseman in the league. Dustin Pedroia went four for four again last night, walked once, scored twice, and made an outstanding jumping catch in the seventh inning. He’s now hitting .327 and slugging .490. The dude is unstoppable. Opposing pitchers just don’t know what to do with him. He really is, as he says, the “strongest 160-pound man in baseball.” By the way, did I mention he did all of that from the clean-up spot? Youk is sick and Lowell and Drew are still out, so look who got to bat behind David Ortiz. Apparently Tito called Pedey to Ortiz’s locker before the game to show Ortiz who’d be hitting behind him. Pedey said it was about time; Ortiz said he was retiring. He’s a real character. The team razzes him and he razzes back, but he always gets the job done. I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again: Rookie of the Year to starting All-Star to MVP.
In other news, Robinson Cano’s throwing error pretty much lost last night’s game with the Jays for the Yankees. They’re now seven games behind us. Julio Lugo has been moved from the fifteen-day to the sixty-day DL, and I think I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I say that that is definitely a good thing, and Sean Casey’s been put on the fifteen-day DL with a neck strain. That doesn’t bother me, because we have Jeff Bailey to pick up the slack. This afternoon it’s Wakefield against Gavin Floyd for the sweep. I have to say, so far I’m liking August.
