In 3 of their last 4 games, the Red Sox' starter had gone 8 or more innings. Clay Buchholz went 8 against the Twins, giving up 2 runs, while Jon Lester allowed them only 1 earned while going the distance. And, of course, last night Daisuke Matsuzaka flirted with history, allowing just 1 hit in 8 scoreless. Today, Tim Wakefield kept the magic going, pitching his own 8 shutout innings, allowing only 7 baserunners.
On some days, that might no be enough against Roy Halladay. That was not the case today, as the Red Sox got to the Philadelphia ace early and often. The Sox scored an unassuming run in the 2nd when a J.D. Drew groundout plated Kevin Youkilis, who had reached third on a triple, and 2 more in the 4th when an error at 3rd allowed both Victor Martinez and Youkilis to score.
It was in the 6th inning when they really legitimately got to Halladay. Kevin Youkilis homered to left field to leadoff the inning. J.D. Drew followed it up with a double, and singles by Beltre, Scutaro, and Ellsbury combined for 3 more runs.
The Sox added an 8th run in the 9th inning, and Ramon Ramirez pitched an awful, messy 9th. But with as big a lead as the Red Sox had, it hardly mattered.
Winners of 5-of-their-last-6, the Red Sox head to Tampa tomorrow to try and gain some ground in the AL East.