Victor Martinez was 5 for 5 with 4 doubles as the Sox' offense propelled them to their 30th win of the season. And yes, the Sox are still in 4th, but it's a strong 4th. They'd be leading the AL West, or be a very close second in every other division in baseball apart from the AL East.
John Lackey was as mediocre as ever allowing 12 freaking hits over 6 innings of hard work. He threw 116 pitches and allowed 4 earned runs. Declarmen and Bard were perfect when the game was tight. It was nice to see the Sox exploit Oakland's bullpen, pull away, and give Papelbon the night off.
Adrian Beltre was 3 for 5 with a huge 3 run homer. He's hitting .342 this season, but more impressively he's .367 with runners on and .423 with runners in scoring position. Screw run prevention, A-Bel is giving the Sox some much needed run production.
But as Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre soar, Dustin Pedroia struggles. He was 1 for 5 last night, but he's 10 for his last 68 (.147), and only two of those hits were for extra bases. He'll likely break out of it, but he's a cornerstone to a successful Sox offense. Without Pedroia, and with Ellsbury "injured," this team lacks table-setters.
Interesting game to watch tonight as Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Ben Sheets. Daisuke's only allowed 3 hits in his last two starts. But he's also surrendered 12 walks. And I do mean surrender.
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