And just like that, we’re moving on. ALCS, baby! On the backs of Lester, Lowrie, and Bay, we’re going to the ALCS for the fourth time since 2003! I’m telling you, to see celebration at home and that clubhouse covered in plastic sheets with champagne spraying everywhere felt great. What a game. It was a nailbiter, that’s for sure. But Lester. 24 years old, survived cancer, started Game 4 of the World Series, pitched a no-hitter, and starts and ends the ALDS. Let it be stated here that Jon Lester is the ace on the Boston Red Sox’ 2008 pitching staff. He pitched a gem. Seven shutout innings allowing only four hits, thereby sustaining his postseason ERA of 0.00. After throwing 98 mph in the first inning, he ended it in less than ten minutes. What a kid we have here.
The relief, not so much. Between Okajima and Masterson, the Angels collected two hits and scored two runs to tie it up. Masterson is really having trouble here. He’ll throw strikes and work an 0-2 count and then blow it with balls and hitter’s pitches. I said it before and I’ll say it again. This type of thing should not be happening in October. We’re playing top-level teams here, and if you make a mistake they’ll walk all over you. So Masterson really needs to find that control he had during the regular season and start using it. Delcarmen was perfect, and he’s been perfect during the whole series. I have to say, he looks really comfortable on the October stage, which is always good for a power pitcher.
As for Lackey, he’s now lost all of his last four postseason starts. And even though Vlad Guerrero has been doing better offensively this October than he has in a very long time, possibly in his career, the Angels were no match for us. No, sir.
Offensively, I’ve got two words: Jason Bay. Jason Bay went two for three with a walk and a run. And that run was the game-winner, batted in by Jed Lowrie, who finished his night two for four. Jason Bay has been outstanding this series. Absolutely outstanding. And it’s only his first postseason. Ellsbury also collected an RBI and was outstanding with runners in scoring position through the series; he batted in the game’s first run with a groundout. And guess who batted in the third run? Dustin Pedroia the Destroyah. Snapped his hitless streak like a twig with a monstrous double off the wall after leading the Majors in hits this year.
The defense was stellar, too. Jason Bay was gettin’ it done with the bat and the glove; in the sixth he made a catch leaning on the Green Monster. That was a close call. And Kevin Youkilis was absolutely outstanding at third base, almost as good as he is at first. Tek’s running tag in the ninth saved us a run. And JD Drew looks like he’s in tip-top shape, which is definitely good news considering how great he was last October.
Now that’s way more than I can say for the Angels. The Halos’ defense has been abysmal. They finished the regular season with a .985 fielding percentage, but if this series was any indication of their usual defensive ability I don’t know how they managed to achieve that. There were bobbles and snafus left and right. I felt like I was watching a blooper reel.
The only missing piece here is Mikey Lowell. After playing in excruciating pain and grimacing after every play, Tito had to sit him through the ALCS. We’re going to miss his glove and bat, that’s for sure, but all’s not lost. Youk’ll be at third, and Kotsay’ll be in there. Kotsay batted around .375 for the series. Not bad. Not bad at all.
So we can get some rest and congratulate ourselves that we’ve made it to round two. But we’ve still got a lot of work to do. October is for celebrating, sure, but also for the best baseball you’ve got. We’ll be starting things off on Friday at the Trop. A win on Friday is key. It’ll swing the momentum our way and give us the confidence we’ll need to win on the road, something that’s challenged us all season. And Beckett and the relief need to pull it together. We can’t have leaks in the bullpen, because the offense might not always be there to clean it up later. And speaking of offense, they’ve got to get their party on and get on the board early.
We can do it, though. There’s no question about that. We haven’t necessarily played well against the Rays during the regular season, but the regular season is over. This is the second season. Let’s own it. Smile, Red Sox Nation! It’s October and we’re going deep!
