WHERE'S YOUR MESSINA NOW?

Mike Mussina had nothing, Manny Ramirez had everything, and Josh Beckett had just enough for a 7-5 Red Sox win last night.

Manny got the scoring started early with a solo homer in the 2nd. Pedroia hit an RBI single in the 3rd, then Manny hit a towering 2 run bomb. In his last 4 at-bats against Mussina, Manny is 4 for 4 with 3 homers, a double, and 6 RBI. Varitek made it 5-0 with an RBI single. Drew added RBIs 11 and 12 with a 2 run double in the 5th.

Mussina got chased out after 3 innings of work. None of his pitches looked good. His fastball had no bite, his changeup was out over the plate, it was fun to watch.

Beckett struggled through the bottom of the inning, allowing 3 runs. But with a 4 run lead and the bullpen worn out from Wednesday's mess, he was kept out there, and it worked out. Beckett settled down in the 6th, and retired the last 10 men he faced. He threw a season high 105 pitches in 8 innings of work.

Papelbon struggled in a non-save 9th, allowing the first earned runs of his career in April and in Yankee Stadium. But it was a non-save situation, which closers sometimes struggle with.

A 2 for 5 night from Youkilis helped boost his average to .371, 3rd best in the AL.

Manny's two homeruns tie him for 2nd in the league with 5. He now has 495 in his career, which puts him 24th all-time. He also is tied for the AL lead in RBI with 18.



The Sox come back to Fenway for a 4 game wrap-around series against Texas. Daisuke goes against Luis Mendoza tonight. We'll also get to see former Sox farmhand Kason Gabbard pitch on Monday against Clay Buchholz in the Patriots Day game.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Jeff Zelevansky