Red Sox Weekly Recap 4/20 - 4/26
4/20 vs. Texas Rangers (6-5 W)
The Sox continued their offensive ways as they piled up 15 hits in their 6-5 win on Sunday. Tim Wakefield went 8 innings and gave up 5 earned runs as the Sox came back from a 5 run deficit. The Sox started late as they didn't kick off the scoring until the 7th. After rallying in the 8th to the tune of 4 runs off of Wes Littleton and C.J. Wilson, Pap closed it out in the 9th. Jerry Remy alert: for all those out there who believe Jerry Remy has an affinity for slipping a little something special in his 8 PM coffee, he missed work on Marathon Monday due to "over-medication." Discuss...
4/21 vs. Texas Rangers (8-3 W)
Manny Ramirez and Sean Casey watched from the bench as the Sox completed the four-game sweep of the Rangers on good old Marathon Monday. Clay Buchholz pitched six shut out innings and David Ortiz had three RBI's. But the player of the game was Julio Lugo, who went 4-for-4 with an RBI.
4/22 vs. Los Angeles Angels (7-6 W)
Tuesday marked the beginning of a string of little injuries that unfortunately effected the Sox's ability to win over the next several days. Josh Beckett didn't get the nod (pun intended) after he was scratched due to a stiff neck. Many of my Yankees fan friends viewed Beckett as a wimp because to them, a stiff neck doesn't sound so bad, at least not for a guy making upwards of $10 million per year. Some even questioned his sexual orientation... can you imagine something like that from a classy Yanks fan? Anyway, a neck injury can significantly change a pitcher's delivery, which, in turn, can develop bad long term tendencies and may even lead to a trip to the DL. So back off! Moving on, David Pauley was called up and did an admirable job. The big play in this one came from the little guy Dustin Pedroia, who delivered a tie-breaking double in the 8th. Pap closed it out in the 9th again, what else is new? NESN had Pap hitting 99 and 100 MPH on several occasions, but we think there's at least a slim chance they borrowed Fox's juiced up radar guns.
4/23 vs. Los Angeles Angels (6-4 L)
Once again, injuries and illnesses pestered the Sox as Daisuke Matsuzaka missed his start due to the flu. Jon Lester was moved up a day and pitched decent enough over 5 innings. David Ortiz tied it up 4-4 in the 5th with a 2-run bomb, but Craig Hansen let up a run in the 6th to give the Angels the lead for good. Hansen looked pretty good and featured a wicked breaking ball in his short appearance, but Casey Kotchman caught up to a fastball and deposited it in the bullpen to seal the Angels win.
4/24 vs. Los Angeles Angels (7-5 L)
Thursday's day game was highly anticipated due to the call-up of rising prospect Justin Masterson. He went 6 STRONG innings, giving up just a home run, and certainly pitched well enough to get the win. Good sign for the future. However, the bullpen was suspect as Javy Lopez and Manny Delcarmen gave up two runs apiece. On the positive side, Manny continued his punishing ways and finished 3-for-5.
4/25 at Tampa Bay Rays (5-4 L)
I don't care if they wear cute little baby blue lettering now, the Tampa Bay Rays are still the Devil Rays. They were the Devil Rays when Wade Boggs got his 3,000th hit and they're still the Devil Rays now. This one went into extra innings as the DEVIL Rays stole one with a single in the 11th. Anyone know who let up the run? Mike Timlin. What a surprise. This is getting to be a pretty crappy story line for the 2008 season. On a good note, Dusty extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Also, Eric Hinske, who's apparently rediscovered his 2002 Rookie of the Year form, was given his World Series ring before the game.
4/26 at Tampa Bay Rays (2-1 L)
This game was hard to take. Clay Buchholz pitched absolutely out of his mind. Remy said he thought Buchholz pitched better in this game than he did when he tossed the no-hitter last season. Clay went 8 innings, giving up only a 2-run long ball to big shot Akinori Iwamura in the 8th. Well, at least in his own mind he's a big shot. Iwamura, who was bumped from his 2007 position of third base in favor of prospect Evan Longoria, hits his first home run of the year and tosses the bat like he's Manny Ramirez in the 2007 postseason... anything wrong with this picture? At least Jason Varitek was back in the lineup after battling the flue for the past week or so. Also, reports say that Mill City Mikey Lowell could be back with the big boys as early as Tuesday. There's hope, after all, Sox fans.
Manny Ortez is a co-creator and senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
The Sox continued their offensive ways as they piled up 15 hits in their 6-5 win on Sunday. Tim Wakefield went 8 innings and gave up 5 earned runs as the Sox came back from a 5 run deficit. The Sox started late as they didn't kick off the scoring until the 7th. After rallying in the 8th to the tune of 4 runs off of Wes Littleton and C.J. Wilson, Pap closed it out in the 9th. Jerry Remy alert: for all those out there who believe Jerry Remy has an affinity for slipping a little something special in his 8 PM coffee, he missed work on Marathon Monday due to "over-medication." Discuss...
4/21 vs. Texas Rangers (8-3 W)
Manny Ramirez and Sean Casey watched from the bench as the Sox completed the four-game sweep of the Rangers on good old Marathon Monday. Clay Buchholz pitched six shut out innings and David Ortiz had three RBI's. But the player of the game was Julio Lugo, who went 4-for-4 with an RBI.
4/22 vs. Los Angeles Angels (7-6 W)
Tuesday marked the beginning of a string of little injuries that unfortunately effected the Sox's ability to win over the next several days. Josh Beckett didn't get the nod (pun intended) after he was scratched due to a stiff neck. Many of my Yankees fan friends viewed Beckett as a wimp because to them, a stiff neck doesn't sound so bad, at least not for a guy making upwards of $10 million per year. Some even questioned his sexual orientation... can you imagine something like that from a classy Yanks fan? Anyway, a neck injury can significantly change a pitcher's delivery, which, in turn, can develop bad long term tendencies and may even lead to a trip to the DL. So back off! Moving on, David Pauley was called up and did an admirable job. The big play in this one came from the little guy Dustin Pedroia, who delivered a tie-breaking double in the 8th. Pap closed it out in the 9th again, what else is new? NESN had Pap hitting 99 and 100 MPH on several occasions, but we think there's at least a slim chance they borrowed Fox's juiced up radar guns.
4/23 vs. Los Angeles Angels (6-4 L)
Once again, injuries and illnesses pestered the Sox as Daisuke Matsuzaka missed his start due to the flu. Jon Lester was moved up a day and pitched decent enough over 5 innings. David Ortiz tied it up 4-4 in the 5th with a 2-run bomb, but Craig Hansen let up a run in the 6th to give the Angels the lead for good. Hansen looked pretty good and featured a wicked breaking ball in his short appearance, but Casey Kotchman caught up to a fastball and deposited it in the bullpen to seal the Angels win.
4/24 vs. Los Angeles Angels (7-5 L)
Thursday's day game was highly anticipated due to the call-up of rising prospect Justin Masterson. He went 6 STRONG innings, giving up just a home run, and certainly pitched well enough to get the win. Good sign for the future. However, the bullpen was suspect as Javy Lopez and Manny Delcarmen gave up two runs apiece. On the positive side, Manny continued his punishing ways and finished 3-for-5.
4/25 at Tampa Bay Rays (5-4 L)
I don't care if they wear cute little baby blue lettering now, the Tampa Bay Rays are still the Devil Rays. They were the Devil Rays when Wade Boggs got his 3,000th hit and they're still the Devil Rays now. This one went into extra innings as the DEVIL Rays stole one with a single in the 11th. Anyone know who let up the run? Mike Timlin. What a surprise. This is getting to be a pretty crappy story line for the 2008 season. On a good note, Dusty extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Also, Eric Hinske, who's apparently rediscovered his 2002 Rookie of the Year form, was given his World Series ring before the game.
4/26 at Tampa Bay Rays (2-1 L)
This game was hard to take. Clay Buchholz pitched absolutely out of his mind. Remy said he thought Buchholz pitched better in this game than he did when he tossed the no-hitter last season. Clay went 8 innings, giving up only a 2-run long ball to big shot Akinori Iwamura in the 8th. Well, at least in his own mind he's a big shot. Iwamura, who was bumped from his 2007 position of third base in favor of prospect Evan Longoria, hits his first home run of the year and tosses the bat like he's Manny Ramirez in the 2007 postseason... anything wrong with this picture? At least Jason Varitek was back in the lineup after battling the flue for the past week or so. Also, reports say that Mill City Mikey Lowell could be back with the big boys as early as Tuesday. There's hope, after all, Sox fans.
Manny Ortez is a co-creator and senior writer for Boston Sports Buzz.
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