And get it done last night we did! Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to your first-place Boston Red Sox! The Braves destroyed the Jays, we destroyed the Mets, and just like that, order was restored. I’m telling you, it just feels right. It feels like the universe has suddenly fallen into place. It feels like we’ve come home. Just in time to go on the road again for a four-game series against the Twins. But I’m not worried. We’re in first place. Shouldn’t be a problem.
Things were looking pretty bleak into the fifth inning. We were down, 3-5, and the score felt like it could potentially be a final. That did not happen. We scored three more runs in the fifth, two in the sixth, and four in the seventh. The final was 12-5. We had twice as many hits as they did and scored more than twice as many runs. Yeah. That’s destruction. In the second inning with men on second and third, Mikey Lowell started everything with a three-run shot into the Green Monster. It was an 0-1 changeup that wasn’t going anywhere except out of the park. That’s his eighth of the season. And that was some smart hitting, because it can be tough to stay with those at the plate. Lowell had a really great day; he finished five for three with those three RBIs and scored twice. Youk hit an absolutely ridiculous three-run homer in the seventh. There was a man on first, a man on second, two men out, a ball and no strikes, and a very pathetic Gary Sheffield just watching it clear the Green Monster completely. And that’s what happens when you leave a 95 mile-per-hour fastball over the middle when Youk is at the plate. That was his seventh of the year, and he deserved that one. Earlier, in the fifth, Youk hit a ball directly over the left field foul pole. It went out of the park, over Lansdowne Street, and actually hit the Cask ‘N’ Flagon. Joe West was working third base yesterday and called it a foul ball. Tito of course came out to argue it was a home run, and for the second day in a row the umpires used instant replay. The camera angles were inconclusive so they did not reverse the call, and ruled that the ball was indeed foul, although personally I disagree. The ball was out; it could only have hit the Cask ‘N’ Flagon where it did if it were slightly to the right of the pole and therefore fair. But putting that aside, what are the odds a ball would fly directly over the foul pole? Ridiculous. But I still say it was fair.
Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to nineteen games and scored a run. Pedroia and Bay each batted one in. Drew had a phenomenal day, going four for five with two runs and an RBI. It was a double down the right field line to score Youk from third with two outs in the sixth. And this is just about the time Drew got hot last year. Everyone remembers his epic June. Looks like he might be about to have another one. Kottaras went three for five with a run and an RBI. And Green got in on the action, going two for five with a run and two RBIs.
I’ve seen better from Wakefield, but I’ve also seen worse, and last night’s outing was luckily closer to the better than the worse. Six innings, five runs on seven hits, four walks, three K’s, and a solo shot for Ramon Castro in the second. Delcarmen and Saito pitched perfectly. So Wake with the win, and Delcarmen with a hold. By the way, Dlecarmen’s ERA is 0.86.
So there you have it. The definitive game that put us in our place. First. First in the AL East. It’s got a nice ring to it. I have full confidence we’ll stay there. The Blue Jays will have to be content with fighting it out with New York for second. Meanwhile, it’ll be a rematch of Penny at Liriano in Minnesota. And as is always the case with Penny’s starts, if he holds it together, keeps his pitch count down, and consistently locates his fastball, we’ll be in a good position to win. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to go for another slugfest just to dig ourselves out of whatever hole he got us into. But either is possible. It’s a four-game series. Perfect time to cushion ourselves in the standings.