SOX TAKE RUBBER GAME

The last time the Red Sox won a series in Seattle was July 31st through August 2nd of 2000. That was the series which featured the 19 inning game (the only game the Sox lost), and then Pedro's brilliant complete game the night after that (Petey went 9, allowed 2, and his ERA went up!).

We won yesterday's game 9-2, but we didn't really run away with it until the 7th. We had plenty of opportunities to run away with it before then. It was one of the worst played games I've ever seen the Mariners play. Then again, I don't typically see many Mariners games.

We got 2 runs in the 1st, but we should have gotten a few more. We just lacked that big hit. We had the bases loaded with 1 out thanks to a 2 base error by the center-fielder. And for some reason Seattle intentionally walked the struggling JD Drew. Lowell popped out, Varitek walked in a run (it was the 18th run walked in for the Sox this season, which leads MLB), then Cora lined out to end the inning.

In the 2nd, we loaded the bases again with 1 out. But Manny grounded into a double play that ended the inning. In the first 2 innings, we had 8 baserunners, 3 of whom got to 3rd base, 5 got into scoring position, and only 2 got to home plate.

But Beckett was pitching very well. He didn't need much offensive support. He scattered, and I do mean scattered, 8 hits over 6.2 innings. He walked 2, struck out 9, and allowed only 1 run. None of the hits he allowed were of the extra base variety.

We came close to sealing it in the 7th when we put up 2 runs to make it 5-1. In the 8th, we closed the deal, putting up 3 runs. We then cruised to victory, and got on flights down the coast to Anaheim.

Tonight, Schilling returns from the DL. He's up against Jered Weaver.

SOX WIN 1 RUN GAME IN SEATTLE

The Red Sox broke a 9 game losing streak in the Pacific Northwest with a narrow 4-3 victory. Give credit to Daisuke for this win. He pitched into and out of trouble, and only allowed 2 runs. He yielded both runs off of solo homers, but what matters is that they were solo homers. Matsuzaka also had 10 strikeouts, which really helped him escape some jams.

David Ortiz is a man on fire. He went 2 for 4 with a pair of runs. He's 10 for his last 21 with 3 homers and 6 RBI in that stretch.

Manny nearly cost us a run with his meandering around the basepaths. This team is a bad baserunning team. Not only are they slow, but there are some stupid baserunners on this team. Did Jeff Suppan become our baserunning coach?

Can we expect some adjustment difficulties with Gagne as he gets used to the set-up role? Set-up has one major difference from closing: Set-up pitchers don't know which inning they're pitching until a few moments before they're in the game. Closers know that they'll probably pitch the 9th if they pitch at all. Set-up pitchers can be called on for the 6th, 7th, 8th, any inning. Will this be a problem for Gagne? Time will tell.

Beckett against Batista this afternoon.

In other news, Alex Rodriguez hit homerun #500. YES announcer Michael Kay commented that ever since A-Rod hit 499, every time he's stepped to the plate it's been like the World Series. I don't know if Kay was referring to the atmosphere at Yankee Stadium, or the fact that A-Rod had something like 3 hits in 27 at-bats since he hit 499.