Rays take their sunshine with them - and the series as they beat the Sox 4-3

Wednesdays loss was a frustrating one.  Yesterday’s wasn’t as bad.

The Sox put up a good fight yesterday.  Yes, they could have taken advantage over some opportunities (Lowrie in the 8^th with runners on second and third…ugh).  But it was different from  Wednesday night where they just couldn’t seem to get anything going.

Dice-K clearly wasn’t his MVP self that he was in the classic, as he gave up 9 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks over 5.1 innings.  Frustrating, but the Sox bullpen really came through from there on out.  Delcarmen, Ramirez, Okajima, and Masterson combined for the final 3.2 innings, allowing only 1 hit and two walks – actually, take out Okajima from the equation and you have no hits and no walks from the remaining three pitchers.  This tells us two things:  1) That Oki isn’t himself yet…that’s okay.  He’ll get there.  And, 2) that we really don’t miss Coco.  Love the guy, best of luck to him, and I speak on behalf of all of Red Sox Nation when I say “Thank You” to him.  But considering what Ramirez has done so far (I know I know, it’s only been 3 games) and seeing Jacoby make that great catch in center to keep the score 4-2, we gotta like our end of the deal. 

Now let’s talk some offense: Three runs may not seem like a lot, but when you’re starting to make a comeback after being down 4-0, I’m not upset after looking at the final score.  Lowell got an RBI in the 8^th, and Varitek continued to make Boston glad that he’s back with a solo shot in the 9^th.  And how about Kevin Youkilis? Not only was he about 10 feet away from giving us the victory with a homer yesterday, but he also went 3-4 with a walk and 2 runs.  I said in the off season that the next t-shirt I get will be a Youk shirt.  If he keeps up these numbers I might find myself paying a few extra bucks for one.

Now we’re off to the West Coast.  Whoever made the schedule this year is really considering the fans and our sleep schedule.  I mean we’ve had two day games already and the first late game is on a Friday.  They must have felt bad for us waking up at 5:00AM last year and then watching the opening games on the West Coast.  I’m getting sleepy just thinking about it.

Keep the Faith.