This was a BIG win. To think three weeks ago Buchholz and Halladay could have been traded for each other, and these starters could have been going for the opposite teams tonight. That's neither here nor there at this point though. Bottom line is, Buchholz got the best of the Jays tonight and was able to take down an ace after battling CC and Verlander his last two times out. Clay cut down on his walks (one) and struck out four in six innings of one-run ball and dropped his season ERA to 3.99. Oki, Ramirez, and Saito combined to shut the Jays down for the final three innings. On the other side, Halladay only lasted five innings (he had gone seven or more innings since June 7th).
The Sox lineup did a good job of seeing a lot of pitches and making good contact on the Jays' ace. Don't look now but the order may be starting to click. Bay, Ortiz, and V-Mart all went yard in tonight's victory. Papi is leading the AL in HRs since June 1st and has homered in four of his last five games. Newly acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez is playing smooth D as expected, and chipped in with two hits tonight too. Victor is really adding some stability and length to the lineup since his acquisition.
Lester goes tonight for a potential big sweep before this weekend's tilt with the Bombers.
More:
-Varitek (continued neck soreness) and Pedroia (birth of child) each missed their second consecutive games. Lowell also sat this one out with Francona citing a desire to keep his legs fresh with the team playing on an artificial surface.
-I know Beckett struggled with Martinez catching him last night, but he may still have to do most of the catching from here on out. While he is not known for his defense, V-Mart did catch consecutive Cy Young winners in Cleveland (Sabathia and Lee). Putting him at catcher also allows the Sox to put their best offensive lineup out there with something along the lines of: Jacoby, Pedroia, V-Mart, Youkilis, Ortiz, Bay, Lowell, JD, Gonzalez; that's a deep order.
-Paul Byrd rehabbed tonight in Pawtucket allowing three runs in four innings. He allowed six hits, struck out three, and walked one. The Sox need to keep sending him out there to see if the 38-year old still has the stuff to help this team in its pennant race.
-Dice-K is reported going to start pitching for the Gulf Coast League Sox affiliate before he pitches in Portland and then Pawtucket over the next two weeks. What if this team, that really didn't expect or even really want him back this season, gets a healthy Dice-K back? This starting rotation may need him down the stretch.
-In even more news about Sox SPs in the minor leagues, Tim Wakefield will pitch again for the PawSox on Friday before joining the Sox rotation after that. He would most certainly bump Junichi Tazawa from the starting five.
-Chris Woodward cleared waivers and was assigned to the PawSox. Not surprising no one wanted him.
-The Yankees won again leaving the Sox seven games back and six in the all important loss column. Texas lost allowing the Red Sox to take control of the Wild Card again.
-Jerry Remy will be back in the booth on Friday. He says he will 'ease' back into things and may not go on road trips at first.
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