The walking wounded do damage

by Randy Booth on Sep 6, 2008 1:39 PM EDT in News Comment 13 comments

It feels so good to see Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell back in action.

After injuries have sidelined both players, they made their return last night and looked fantastic. Beckett, who had numbness in his arm, pitched 5 innings of scoreless work against the best offense in baseball. And Lowell, making his debut off the disabled list, went 3 for 5 with four runs batted in to fuel the offense to a 8-1 win.

Beckett allowed just four hits, no walks and struck out seven Rangers. He would have definitely pitched a few more innings had his pitch count not been limited. Seven Ks against the best offense in baseball? That's money.

Lowell homered (2nd inning), singled and doubled to knock in the runs. The bottom of the order did most of the rest of the damage, as Jason Varitek went 2 for 4 with a run and Coco Crisp went 3 for 5 with three RBI.

The lineup was a little whacky yesterday: Mark Kotasy in the cleanup spot? Awkard. But I'm sure that was just to keep the pressure off of Lowell and Jason Bay, who seems to be doing fine in the 5-spot. If everyone gets healthy (that means Youuuk), this lineup is going to be killer.

Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson combined for three innings of scoreless work. Manny D has been great lately, dropping his ERA to 3.77. He hasn't allowed an earned run since Aug. 18. Hideki Okajima allowed a run in the 9th.

Oh, and Dustin Pedroia went 1 for 4. What a slouch.

I'm really excited for this team. They don't seem to be making up ground on the Rays, but they are still performing well. It's crunch time and it looks like the Red Sox are going to perform.

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They don't seem to be making up ground on the Rays?

Right now, the Sox are three back in the loss column. On August 31st, Tampa was 6 games up in the loss column. I’d say three games in a week is gaining ground fast.

Last night’s win was great because of Lowell’s and Beckett’s contributions. MDC looks great lately, and Youk should be back soon. If Drew comes back healthy soon, the Sox could finish with the top record in the AL. Currently, they are 3 back of Tampa and two behind LA. (BTW, Toronto is up 2-0 in the 3rd).

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Sep 6, 2008 1:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Looking at that, yes, they are making up ground. I just think I still can’t come to the realization that the Rays are in first place in Sept.

OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Sep 6, 2008 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Rays are down 3-0 in the 9th

The Sox may have a chance tonight to cut Tampa’s lead to 2 in the loss column.

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Sep 6, 2008 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tied now

BJ Ryan blew a 3-run lead in the 9th.

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Sep 6, 2008 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

second baseman's error

cost Ryan the save. Oh, well, hope the Jays recover. This would be a tough “loss” for us as it looked for sure like we were going to be only down two in the loss column.

by ccthemovieman on Sep 6, 2008 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are you kidding me??

Two-out double by Scott Rolen, who then got caught in a rundown on a single by the next guy……so it goes to the 10th.

by ccthemovieman on Sep 6, 2008 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Awful baserunning

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Sep 6, 2008 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Jays win anyway

A walk-off GS by Zaun. Percival is awful. Now the Sox have a chance to cut it to two. And an MFY loss would put them in 4th place.

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Sep 6, 2008 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In fairness

Pedroia had one hit and one walk in five plate appearances. He was 1 for 4 in at bats, not 1 for 5. Still, I’ll be the annoying parent and ask “Where were the other three hits?!”

by 0157H7 on Sep 6, 2008 2:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My bad. Read the boxscore wrong.

Yeah, he’s grounded for not going 4 for 4.

OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Sep 6, 2008 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, great to see Beckett and Lowell both do well

Especially Beckett – very encouraging!

by ccthemovieman on Sep 6, 2008 3:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

JAYS WIN!!!!

Grand slam with two outs in bottom of the 13th. Go get ’em, now Sox!!

by ccthemovieman on Sep 6, 2008 5:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Who's doing the GameThread tonight?

I will if no one else does. Kinda watching my Gators kill the Canes though. The order of the teams in my name is the order I watch them in.

Don't question my choice of teams, or I will have to go all troll on you./Education is the best defense against the media./The Lord's Prayer=66 words, the Gettysburg Address=286words, the Declaration of Independence=1,322 words, government regulations on the sale of cabbage=26,911 words

by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on Sep 6, 2008 7:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs