Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz prove once again why they are the best combination of hitters in baseball. They're now at 60 combined homers and 171 combined RBI.
The Sox gave Beckett a 4 run lead in the early innings and that was enough.
The Sox maintain their 2.5 game lead over New York in the AL East. The Sox also have a game lead on the Wild Card leading White Sox.
SOX THAT DESERVE REWARDS
There's only 64 games left for the Sox this season. Looking at the numbers, there are a few Sox players that could be up for individual accolades.
David Ortiz should win the MVP. He's got 95 RBI. The next highest in the AL is Travis Hafner with 83. Of course, some fools will not vote for him because he's a DH and not a "full-time" player. However, take Ortiz off the Red Sox and we're looking at a 3rd place team.
Papelbon should win the Rolaids Relief Award. He has the lowest ERA of every player in baseball who has pitched a significant amount of innings. 29 Saves in 32 opportunities. His WHIP is a ludicrous 0.71 and his 0.53 ERA speaks for itself. He's got 52 Ks in 51 innings with a strikeout to walk ratio of 5.78 to 1.
Since Papelbon pitched less than 50 innings last season, he is eligible for the Rookie of the Year Award. Frankly, I don't see how he couldn't get it. There are some out there who feel that Jared Weaver of the Angels is a contender. Weaver is 7-0 in 7 starts and if he remains perfect for the remainder of the year, he probably will get it. However, there are still a great deal of ballgames left to play and at the moment, Papelbon is the front runner for the award.
WELLS LOOKS "GOOD"
David Wells threw a 5 inning simulated game yesterday in Oakland. Manager Terry Francona said that Wells seemed like he got tired pitching in the heat, but looked "good." If all goes well, Wells could be pitching a minor league rehab start at the end of the week.
Schilling looks for win #13 against righty Jason Windsor.
