A lot has happened in the AL East over the past 2 days, so I decided to combine it all into one gigantic Red Sox report. First, the Red Sox. They played the Blue Jays yesterday and then had a double header against the Jays today, with all three games being played in Boston. The Blue Jays had been red hot coming into the four game series, which wraps up tomorrow, but the Red Sox, if they could win 3 in 2 days, could build some serious momentum and gain some ground on the division leading Rays. Winning all 3 games would at least mean the Red Sox would gain a half game on the Rays. I'll start with Friday night's game.
Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield took the mound for the Red Sox on Friday. He had been roughed up pretty badly in his last start against Texas, but if there is anyone that can rebound, it's Wakefield. He was going good in the early innings and just needed some run support. The Red Sox got him that in the 2nd and 4th innings, both coming off of the bat of Jed Lowrie. Rookie Lowrie had been a run producing machine driving in 42 in 66 games, while batting .305 with runners in scoring position.
Those runs would be all Wakey would need as he had his good knuckleballer going throwing 8 shutout. Manny Delcarmen finished the team 3 hit shutout in the 9th and the Red Sox would tack on 5 more in the late innings to complete a 7-0 victory. Wakefield has definetely been inconsistent this year as one start he'll be the worst pitcher in the world and the next he'll throw a shutout. A lot of that depends on the weather, because his knuckleball can do some crazy things if the weather is a certain. This is why I think the Red Sox should always make Wakefield questionable. If the conditions are right for a good knuckler, start him, if not, use a spot starter like Bartolo Colon.
Game of the Saturday doubleheader would be the opposite. Red Sox starter Paul Byrd, who has pitched well since coming over from Cleveland, was roughed up by the Jays offense, lead by Jays rookie phenom Travis Synder, who had 5 RBIs. The Red Sox offense was stopped by AJ Burnett, who has very quietly won 18 games and leads the AL in strikeouts. He has showed, especially in the second half of the season, what he can do when healthy. The final score was 8-1, as Paul Byrd (whose father's name is actaully Larry Byrd) dropped to 11-12.
The good thing about day-night doubleheaders is even when you have an awful start to the day, you have a game again in a few years to make it up. After the first two games of this series were blowouts, this game was a little closer and more exciting. The Sox took an early 2-0 lead, but that was erased as the Jays got 5 in the 2nd against recently activated Red Sox started Bartolo Colon, although only 2 were earned. The other 3 were a result of an error by 3rd baseman Jed Lowrie. Lowrie has only committed 2 errors in 68 games despite moving positions almost nightly.
The Red Sox would crawl their way back into it with single runs in the 5th and 6th, but the big blow came in the 8th off of Blue Jays reliever Scott Downs. That 3 run inning allowed them to take a 7-5 lead in the game which they would not give up, as Jonathan Papelbon nailed the door shut for the 37th time this season. Bartolo Colon was good in his first start since June, because of injury, giving up 2 earned in 6 innings, but the bullpen was what won it for the Sox. They pitched 3 scoreless innings, a combination of Javy Lopez, Justin Masterson, and Papelbon, to keep the Sox in the game and give them a chance to win.
The Rays were scheduled to play the Yankees this weekend in a series starting Friday, but that game was rained out so they too would play a Saturday day-night doubleheader. That ended in a split which means, in total, the Red Sox moved from 2.5 back to 2 of the Rays over the past 2 days. The Rays and Yankees will finish up tomorrow, as will the Sox and Jays, before the Rays and Red Sox play 3 in Tampa, where the Sox have not won this season, in a series that may decide who wins the division and who is stuck as the Wild Card playing the league leading Angels (91-57.)
