Behind David Ortiz’s Big Night, Sox Remain in Wild Card Chase
One thing is for certain, the Sox are teetering on the edge of no return. At the start of last night’s game in LA, the Sox had seen the New York Yankees pull off a come-from-behind victory on the Cleveland Indians and watch Matt Garza pitch the 1st no-hitter in Tampa Bay Rays history. With the Sox sitting 8.5 back in the AL East and 5.5 back in the AL Wild Card, this game took on a must-win feel, but luckily for the Sox, they got another big offensive piece of their lineup back from injury. Victor Martinez went 1-4 in his return with an RBI, but it was his presence that motivated his team to a 6-3 victory.
The stagnant Red Sox offense was electric again on Monday night, with David Ortiz channeling his 2010 Home Run Derby victory to the tune of 2 home runs. V-Mart made a big contribution early, hitting the first pitch he saw for an RBI single into right-center field. Although he only had 1 hit, his presence in the lineup elevated the offense and forced the newly acquired Dan Haren to be more careful when pitching to the 1-6 hitters. While V-Mart was on the DL, the combination of Jason Varitek, Gustavo Molina, Dusty Brown and Kevin Cash were atrocious at the plate, turning the Sox lineup into an NL 1-9, with a guaranteed out in the 9 hole. The group of 4 catchers went 12 for 73 (.164 average) and provided little to no spark for the injured Sox lineup.
As we inch towards August, the Sox now have just 2 starting position players on the DL, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury. Jacoby Ellsbury is beginning to make his way back towards normal baseball activities, but the way his rehab has gone, I’m not holding my breath. His return would likely have a positive impact, but may hurt the team chemistry, given his critique of the Sox training staff several weeks ago. The bigger of the 2 is definitely Dustin Pedroia, who was having an incredible year before going down with his foot injury. He is apparently just a week or 2 away from returning to action, which will only further strengthen the Sox lineup and make them an offensive force down the stretch.
With all the talk of wait and see when this team gets healthy, now is the time they need to show they are back (almost). The offense needs to elevate their game like they did Monday night and the pitchers returning from injuries need to get back into the swing of things and begin to put up consistent solid outings. Sitting at 5 games back in the AL Wild Card, the Sox need to win nearly every series from here on out to catch-up and if the team can be within 3 games of the Rays when they play a 3-game set on August 27th, the post season will still be within grasp. Between now and October, the Sox play the Yankees 10 times and the Rays 6 times, giving them ample opportunities to gain ground, assuming they can keep within reach.
Almost as important as the head-to-head match-ups are the series against sub-.500 teams that the Sox must win. They struggled in Oakland losing 2 out of 3, but need to win both 3-game sets with the Baltimore Orioles and their remaining 4-game set with the Cleveland Indians if they expect to even be within reach in September. Hopefully LA will be the vaulting point for success for this Sox team that is beginning to finally be healthy and needs to make a serious push through August and September. If they lose another game or 2 to the Rays and/or Yankees, you can kiss this season goodbye.