Let the Partying Commence in Boston
After the Boston Bruins pull out the victory in an incredible 2 OT thriller, the Red Sox follow suit less than an hour later and walk-off with the victory against the Texas Rangers in the 12th inning. Being a big Sox and Bruins fan, my heart is racing and my mind is spinning after 2 gigantic victories. While the Bruins win places them up 3-1 in their playoff series with the Buffalo Sabres, the Red Sox win continues a positive trend that started Tuesday night. The Sox bullpen has been wonderful these past two days, and the offense is beginning to find it’s grove.
Early on in Wednesday’s contest, the Sox offense had some pep with a big home run from Darnell McDonald, his second in as many games with the Sox and an enormous grand slam from the player in the biggest offensive slump, J.D. Drew. A ton of the credit for these past 2 victories, however, needs to rest on the shoulders of the Red Sox bullpen. They have allowed 0 runs in 8 innings over the past 2 days, and have only allowed 2 hits over that span. Late inning guys, Daniel Bard, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon have been lights out and are beginning to gain confidence with each outing as well as earning the confidence of their manager.
Not all things were positive about tonight’s contest, including the poor performance by Josh Beckett and another error by the Sox defensively. If the Sox are going to be successful in 2010, they must have stronger starts from their rotation. Tonight, Beckett allowed 7 runs (6 earned), walked 5 and struck out 4 in his 7 inning outing today, which is poor. He was not happy in his post-game press conference, and I don’t blame him. He is the ace of the Sox staff and has now allowed 16 runs (14 earned) in his 4 starts, and has walked 10 batters.
As I begin to wind down after an exhilarating night, I can’t help but appreciate the impact Darnell McDonald has had on this club in just 2 days (2 home runs, double, 2 walks) and the sudden flip of the switch in the Sox bullpen. There is a long way to go this season and a lot of improvements and changes to be made, but it is wonderfully refreshing to see this group of players jumping up and down on the diamond after a big walk-off victory for the second straight night. Not every night will be this dramatic, but if the players play with heart and energy, there will be more happy moments than not over the remaining 147 games.