Red Sox on Fire as Limping Rays Come to Fenway

By Mike in Featured, Red Sox ⋅ September 8, 2008 at 6:53am ⋅ Post a comment

The Red Sox are as hot as they have been all season, winning five of six games this week, and the rest of the regulars are about to get healthy. Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Kevin Youkilis (Youk missed another three games with his back) returned in this week’s Texas series and J. D. Drew is targeting Monday’s game for his return. The Rays lost five of six this week and saw their lead trimmed by four(!!) to a mere 1-1/2 games, meaning the Red Sox could take first with a sweep.

The Rays will be with their best offensive presence and Rookie of the Year candidate, Evan Longoria, who made his return Sunday as well. The Twins and White Sox have struggled of late as well and the wild card lead has ballooned to a comfortable 6-1/2 for the Sox. The first game of the Rays series will be Fenway’s 456th consecutive sellout, breaking the tie with the 1990s Indians for the longest such streak in Major League History!

Red Sox vs. Orioles

The Orioles are the doormat in the East this season and the Red Sox treated them as such by taking the broom to them. The Red Sox wore down O’s starter Garrett Olson in the first game, getting four runs in the sixth to break open a tight game. The teams traded a pair of runs, but Paul Byrd got through seven to get the win, with Javier Lopez pitching a perfect eighth to set up Jonathan Papelbon‘s 35th save. Once again, Dustin Pedroia was the only Sox player with multiple hits, going 2-4, scoring one, and driving in two in the rally in the sixth.

The second game was all Red Sox as they won 14-2. They scored four in the third and six in the fourth, knocking around Oriole starter Radhames Liz, but no one was spared as each of the Orioles relievers gave up at least one run.

Jon Lester was the beneficiary of the support, though he was not at his sharpest, needing 99 pitches to get through the minimum five innings needed for the win. He gave up only a single run, but allowed six hits and four walks while punching out five. Pedroia, David Ortiz, and Coco Crisp each had three hits in the 20-hit barrage. Pedroia homered and drove in five while Big Papi plated four.

The Birds certainly did not lay down in the sweep attempt as the final game tested the Red Sox mettle. The O’s built up a 4-0 lead through the top of the seventh. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched six innings, striking out seven and allowing only four hits, but the walks continue to get him in trouble as he issued four more free passes.

Pedroia (who else, really?) got the Red Sox on the scoreboard with a solo home run and the Red Sox loaded the bases, but managed only one more run before Rocky Cherry could wriggle out of the jam. He would not be so lucky in the eighth as the Red Sox tied it on a Mark Kotsay two-run triple. September call-up Jim Miller threw away a Jacoby Ellsbury sacrifice bunt attempt, allowing Alex Cora to score. Pedroia, the home run included, grabbed three more hits, as did Cora.

The Sox had not swept a series for three weeks (since facing the Rangers) and picked a great time to put it together. Good teams always have to take advantage of the subpar ones when they have the opportunity. If the Red Sox are to win the division, these types of series are the reason.

Red Sox at Rangers

Boston’s only trip to Texas for the season constituted the entire road trip. Historically, the Sox never seem to fare well in Texas, but they did just fine on this trip, winning the series 2-1 (the Sox have only lost one of their last 13 series). Josh Beckett started the opener, coming off the disabled list with a limited pitch count.

He got through five scoreless innings on 80 pitches, allowing only four hits, striking out seven, and walking none, looking ready for October. Mike Lowell, also returning from the DL, opened the scoring for the Sox, hitting a home run in his first at bat. He went 3-5 and drove in four and Crisp added three hits as well to pace the offense in the 8-1 victory.

Tim Wakefield never got the knuckler going well in the second game, giving up seven in only 1.2 innings and putting the Red Sox in catch-up mode all game. Even Pedroia went hitless as the Sox seemed to have collective off-day. If they had to lose, at least everyone played poorly together.

In a game overshadowed by the Patriots season opener and Tom Brady‘s injury, Paul Byrd grabbed his second win of the week with 6.2 shutout innings. The Red Sox built up a 7-0 lead before he left, highlighted by home runs from Papi and Jason Bay. Manny Delcarmen allowed two late runs to reach the final of 7-2.

The Red Sox took the series here with another win over an inferior team, but more importantly started getting healthy. They have made up a lot of ground on the Rays in a short time by beating up teams they should, so it is finally time to bring on the Rays.

Red Sox vs. Rays

As if no one else were saying it, who would have thought this series would be between the first and second place teams? And, who would have thought the Rays would be any higher than third, let alone in first in September? In May, I did not think they could hang around this long if they did not address their hitting, specifically their ability to drive in runs.

Tampa made some effort at the deadline and came up empty handed, but their pitching is still carrying them. A Red Sox sweep will mean first place…and their rotation is set up to deliver their aces: Lester, Dice-K, and Beckett to face Edwin Jackson, Scott Kazmir, and Andy Sonnanstine, so the opportunity is there. Kazmir has given the Sox trouble in the past couple years and Dice-K’s control problems seem to point to Game 2 as the most likely to prevent the sweep.

I think the Sox will grab two games and narrow the gap to a half game. With the division at least temporarily hanging in the balance (the Red Sox repeat this week’s homestand on the road next week), how far away does that brawl seem? With only critical games remaining, there is no time for brawling.

Red Sox vs. Blue Jays

After what could prove to be a draining series with the Rays, the Red Sox have a day off to prepare for the Blue Jays, a team that has played the Red Sox well all season. The teams have a make-up date for an earlier rain out, so it will be four games in three days against a team seemingly bent on determining the playoff race.

Last week, the Jays swept the Twins and Rays and will be playing the White Sox before coming to Boston. They have passed the Yankees for third in the division and are now third in the Wild Card chase. Given all that, this series has the look of “just survive and advance the calendar.”

In what appears to be the undercard of the series, Wakefield and David Purcey tangle in the opener. Paul Byrd and A. J. Burnett will open the twinbill and Jon Lester will close it against an undetermined Jays pitcher. Dice-K matches up with Jesse Litsch in the series finale.

The Sox will avoid Roy Halladay, which bodes well for them, but Burnett and Litsch have only two losses apiece since the All-Star break. The series may hinge on Wakefield’s knuckleball in the opener. Purcey brings a 5.23 ERA and 1.43 WHIP with him, so the Red Sox should be able to score some runs and Wakefield does seem to have a hiccup just once every few starts, so maybe his last outing will continue that trend.

Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, View from the Monster