The bottom of the lineup came through for the Sox last night, which was a big reason behind the 7-3 victory. The 7-8-9 hitters (Crisp, Bailey, Cash) combined to go 7 for 13 with 3 RBI. All three of those runs came with 2 outs in the 5th, turning a 3-2 squeaker into a comfortable 6-2 lead.
The middle of the lineup also did their part. The 3-4-5 combo of Ortiz, Youkilis, and Bay was 5 for 9 with 5 walks, 3 doubles, and 3 runs scored. Youkilis added his 90th RBI of the season.
Wakefield was only able to go 5 innings, allowing 3 runs off 8 hits. This led to the inevitable: someone struggling out of the bullpen. Last night it was Manny Delcarmen's turn to make things unneccesarily dramatic. He allowed 2 walks and a hit in his 0.1 inning. Thankfully, he was saved by Masterson, who induced A-Rod into an inning ending double play.
Jed Lowrie made an error in the 9th. It was the first error of his Major League career. That's 1 error in 155 chances. Julio Lugo averaged 9 errors every 155 chances this season.
With Tampa Bay and Minnesota losing, the Sox are now 3.5 games out of the divisional lead, and 2.5 games ahead of the Twins for the wild card.
With 31 games remaining, the Yankees are now 6 games out of a playoff spot. If the Sox win the next two games, they can all but close the door on New York.
Josh Beckett had a 50 pitch side session yesterday, and reportedly felt strong. He's scheduled to start on Friday against the White Sox. Francona said Beckett is "excited" to go on Friday.
But the news out of the Bronx wasn't 100% positive. JD Drew was placed on the 15 day DL with a back strain. No official word yet on what the exact problem is, or when Drew will be back. Bartolo Colon was transferred from the 15 to the 60 day DL.
But hearing Yankee fans boo A-Rod is music to my ears.
In the battle of the 4.6 ERAs, Paul Byrd takes on Sidney Ponson tonight.
Sources:
ESPN.com
Baseball-Reference.com
Associated Press
Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
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