Everything just seemed to come together in this one.
Clay Buchholz was solid, the offense did just enough, the bullpen was very effective and that thing we call "run prevention" was it its best in the Red Sox's 2-0 win over the Dodgers Sunday night. The win completed the sweep for the Red Sox, who are now 43-28 on the season.
Buchholz allowed no runs, three hits, walked three and struck out four in 6.2 innings of work. The win marks Buchholz's 10th on the season, which puts him at the top of the AL.
The offense wasn't spectacular, but it got the job done. Kevin Youkilis scored Dustin Pedroia on a weak little dribbler that third baseman Casey Blake decided to let go hoping it'd go foul, but it stayed fair giving the Sox a 1-0 lead. David Ortiz brought in the Red Sox's second run when he hit a sac fly to score Marco Scutaro.
Pedroia finished 3 for 4 with a run and two stolen bases. Pedroia, who was in that bad slump just a few weeks ago, is all of a sudden hitting .284 and is back to MVP-like form. His run was also aided thanks to a heads up play when he stole second base and then took third when no one was covering the bag on the shift.
The bullpen was fantastic. Daniel Bard allowed just one hit over 1.1 innings and he struck out one. Jonathan Papelbon earned his 16th save of the season when he went 1-2-3 with a strikeout to finish the game.
Your mandatory Manny Ramirez update: Manny went 2 for 3. His two hits accounted for exactly half of the Dodgers' hit total.
Monday is an offday, Red Sox fans. Savor this win and this sweep because it was big. The Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 and have won six in a row. Tonight's win gives Boston 26 wins at home this season -- the most in baseball.