Just when you thought a nice close 1-0 loss would be a decent change of pace from double-digit beatdowns, the Blue Jays made this one hurt. In more ways than one.
First is the issue that is not so much the Blue Jays' fault. While delivering a 1-2 pitch to Brett Lawrie, who seems to make bad things happen with his mere presence, Josh Beckett landed, took a step forward, and then shook his right foot in an unusual manner. Within half a minute, the Sox ace was surrounded by coaches and training staff, and before too much longer he was gone from the game with a sprained ankle.
The injury doesn't seem so serious as it perhaps could have been, but it is...unsettling. With Erik Bedard already set to miss his next start, the last thing the Sox need is to have the health of their ace in question. Until we know for sure that Josh Beckett will be ready to go at 100% come the playoffs, there's cause for concern that we simply didn't need.
Meanwhile, though, the game continued, and Alfredo Aceves kept the Sox alive. While Boston stranded baserunner after baserunner--10 in all--Aceves fired off 3.2 scoreless innings, only running out of steam come the eighth, at which point Daniel Bard lent a hand and then finished off the ninth for good measure. While Jonathan Papelbon would end up loading the bases in the tenth, he too would keep the game going into the eleventh.
Eventually, though, something had to give, and this time it was Dan Wheeler. He recorded two reasonably quick outs, and then left a 1-1 pitch too far up in the zone. Brett Lawrie did not miss his opportunity, and blasted a no-doubt walkoff homer into center field.
Bad things happen when Brett Lawrie is at the plate. And the Sox are now 16-15 over the last month.
The Sox need to wake up.