If you play for the Red Sox, and your name begins with a "J" then you probably had a pretty good game last night. Jason Bay was 2 for 4 with a 2 run homer. Jed Lowrie was 1 for 3 with a run scored. Jason Varitek had his first SAC bunt since 2005. Justin Masterson navigated around trouble in the 8th (thanks to some nifty defense). Jonathan Papelbon closed it out.
But the best two J's were Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury. Lester had one of his best starts of the season, going 7, striking out 7, and getting 10 groundball outs. He allowed an unearned run in the 3rd, and that was it. He walked 1 batter.
Jacoby was everywhere last night. He was 3 for 5 at the plate (he also reached on a 3 base error), with a run and an RBI. He stole 2 bases. He robbed Teixeira of a leadoff single in the 8th with a diving snare.
With Ellsbury's multi-tasking, he wins the Man of the Game Award for Game 1 of the ALDS.
The Sox could have had a few more runs in this one. They left 9 men on. And until the 8th, they struggled with runners on base. Ortiz came up short in a few potentially big situations, until the 9th when he knocked in Ellsbury. The fact that he has a 12 game ALDS hitting streak is simply absurd.
How about Jason Bay? Everyone was worried about how he'd react to the postseason. The pathetic Manny lovers still out there predicted an October collapse of Alex Rodriguez proportions. Those Manny lovers must have been hard after watching him hit a solo homer for the Dodgers today. But Bay one-upped him with a two run shot. Mannywood? Nope, all of California can now be called the Jason Bay Area.
Off day today, then Game 2 Friday night at 9:30. Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Ervin Santana.
Source:
ESPN.com
Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Mark Terrill
AP Photo/Mark Avery
AP Photo/Chris Carlson
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