Lackey Fights, Nava to the Rescue

In Lackey’s 3rd start against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, it was a struggle from the get-go. Both Lackey and Angels starter Scott Kazmir were teetering on the edge all night on Wednesday, neither pitcher having their best stuff. Those are the types of games the Sox need to win down the stretch and thanks to Daniel Nava, the Sox were able to pull out a 7-5 victory, moving to 9-0 against the Angels in 2010. The Sox have 1 more left with the Angels Thursday night, the final game in their season series, and the Sox smell blood, looking for the season sweep of their West coast rivals.

Daniel Nava came in as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the 7th with the bases juiced and 1 out and took one for the team. Nava moved slightly when he saw a 95-mph fastball coming at him, as it nailed him in the back, right on his number 60. In a 5-5 game, that go-ahead run was huge for the Sox and also put Lackey in line for a victory, despite allowing 5 runs on 10 hits. Then, in the top of the 8th, Nava made an even more critical play with 2 on and 2 out. A sharp liner was hit to left, Nava took 1 step backwards, then went into a full-out sprint towards the diamond and made a spectacular face-first, all-out dive to end the inning. If the ball had dropped in, the game would certainly have been tied and maybe even an Angels lead depending on where it bounced.

"I did take the first step back, and then once I saw it, I said, ‘I’ve got to get moving.’ I just wanted to get a glove on the ball, and based off the situation in the game, you have to at least dive [and] do something, because the game’s on the line. But I went back initially, yeah, before I could cruise on in. – Daniel Nava on his diving catch"

Earlier in the game, Adrian Beltre had flashed some leather, making a beautiful stop from his knees, then throwing a strike to first base in the air. The Sox elevated their defensive game and saw the results, something the Sox management was hoping to see mroe of in 2010, after bringing in Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro primarily for their defense. Despite Beltre’s nice play, after the game he wanted to talk about Nava’s catch and it’s importance, a sign that sometimes a stellar defensive play can be as motivating as a strong pitching performance or big hit.

"It was huge. It gave me goosebumps right there. It was a huge turnaround, because it would have at least been a tie ballgame. We were able to score more, but that might have been the play of the game right there. – Adrian Beltre on Nava’s diving catch"

Nava’s success in the big leagues so far has been great to watch and now with Cameron and Ellsbury likely gone for the season, the Sox are going to need significant contributions from Darnell McDonald, Daniel Nava, Ryan Kalish and Bill Hall. In the last 3 games, the combination of McDonald, Nava, Kalish and Hall has gone 8-27 with 9 rbis and 3 runs scored, including 2 home runs for McDonald, 1 for Hall and a huge grand slam for Kalish. Without these contributions, the Sox would likely not be sitting 5.5 games behind the Rays and Yankees and would probably be planning their off-season family vacations as we speak. If the Sox fail to make the playoffs, it certainly won’t be because of the huge impact from their bench and role players.

If the Sox can pull of the Halo Sweep tonight, I dare say they will begin to build momentum going into a 3-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, who they have handled this year (9-2 against). Following the Blue Jays, the Sox face a struggling Seattle Mariners team to wrap-up the home stand. All signs are pointing up for the Sox, but how long will that last?