Now THAT'S the road game we've been waiting for!

What a great game for the Sox!  Last night was another one of those nights where I couldn’t wait to fall asleep (not until after the game ended, of course) but I can honestly say that I went to bed happy. 

Where to start….

Well the Sox missed a couple of early opportunities, but that didn’t stop them from breaking out later in the game.  They took the lead after getting a double by none other than Jason Bay (don’t worry, he didn’t stop there) driving in a limping Mike Lowell all the way from first base.  The next inning the Sox picked up another run after Jacoby Ellsbury scored on a Dustin Pedroia single.  Ellbury had previously stolen second base, getting his first steal in over a month.  The Red Sox recorded another pair of runs in the 6^th, and then had a three-run 7^th inning. 

The highlight of the 7^th was a double by, again, Mr. Jason Bay.  But what made this double so interesting was that it was inches away from being a homerun.  If it weren’t for Mitch Maier’s leap, that ball would have more than likely sailed over the fence.  But Maier still couldn’t pull the ball in – it bounced off his glove and proceeded to roll along the top of the fence until left fielder Ross Gload jumped up and brought the ball down.  It ended up being an RBI double for Bay, who would later score (along with Lowell on third) on a triple by Jed Lowrie. 

This brought the total up to 8 total runs for the Sox, which would be all they would get.  It worked out more than fine, with Beckett only surrendering one more run, at which point Beckett was already out of the game.  Beckett overall had a great night (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K), reminding us of his winning ways a year ago.  This must have been a huge confidence boost, given his last outing (5.1 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). 

It’s hard to pick just one MVP of the night, but since Bay has been Mr. Popular since coming to Boston, let’s take a look at his stats of the night:  He went 4-5 (2 singles, 2 doubles), scored 2 runs and drove in 2.  I’d also like to point out that in the 5^th inning, fans started chanting “You’re not Manny,” which was right before he got his second single of the night.  The Kansas City fans really didn’t have a lot to cheer for that night, but really now.  Lay off Bay.  It was great to see him get a hit right after that. 

Game three tonight.  Let’s see if we can take the series 2-1, just like I predicted. 

Post game notes: 

-Jacoby Ellsbury: I was a little worried after seeing his interview with the beautiful Heidi Watney.  She was really pressing on the fact that he was having some struggles, to which Jacoby would acknowledge, but still making it clear that he was making improvements and he was going to get past them.  Honestly, the last thing this kid needs is media attention about how he goes 0-4 on most nights.  Leave him alone and let him focus on his game.  No need to remind him of his .260 average.  But then again, if he keeps playing offensively like he did last night (2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB), maybe we should remind him.  That was really great to see Jacoby finally come through.  Let’s see if he can keep this up.  (Oh and Heidi, don’t take any of that personally.  We can still get married)

-Lowell and Ortiz:  The sluggers went 1-8 combined last night (Ortiz with an RBI single) but that’s not what’s important.  Ortiz hit a couple of long balls for outs, and Lowell was swinging the bat better than usual.  I, for one, was very happy to see Lowell making outs that weren’t pop ups to the infield, like he had been doing for a good while.  Even though he was limping (which may have been due to a foul ball hit off his foot in the first), his swing sure looked healthy.

-Bartolo Colon:  Colon made a rehab start for Pawtuckett but it wasn’t a good one.  In 2/3^rd of an inning, he gave up 4 hits and 3 runs (also recording a walk and a strikeout).  After the beautiful Hedi Watney (are we still on for Thursday, Heidi?) gave this update during last night’s game, Remy said that this was nothing to worry about.  He pointed out how Colon hadn’t pitched in quite some time, so this is normal.  I personally cannot wait to see Colon back in Boston.