Kalish’s Bomb Brings Sox Within 5 Games

There has been lots of talk about this weekend’s series with the New York Yankees and Friday night’s battle did not disappoint. David Ortiz crushed a solo home run in the 1st to set the tone that was matched by Mark Teixiera, who hit a 2-run jack in the bottom of the 1st. Then after an error by Fransisco Cervelli, the Sox blew the game open with 3 runs in the 2nd inning. When the Yankees scored in the bottom of the 5th to crawl back within 1, Ryan Kalish put the game away with his 1st career home run, a 2-run jack to make the score 6-3 and give the Sox some breathing room. It was a huge hit at a crucial time for the future star and the victory and a Yankees and Rays loss moved the Sox to with 5 games of the AL East lead and just 4.5 games behind in the AL Wild Card.

The best storyline of the game was not that the Sox beat the Yankees, although that is a close close second, it is young Ryan Kalish’s monster hit. Kalish is sure to be a star in this league for years to come and has done nothing but make plays and throws from the outfield and hit the ball all around the ball park. Kalish is now hitting .429 in 7 games with the Sox and is a key piece to the Sox lineup and if he continues to hit, will attract a lot of attention from opposing pitchers, making it easier on the everyone. If this division race gets tight, it will at very least be extremely valuable experience for this young star.

The game also featured another bomb from David Ortiz and contributions from everyone in the lineup except Jacoby Ellsbury, who was 0-5 and is now 0-12 since returning from DL. It’s not all about the bats however, because Clay Buchholz pitched well, going 7.1 innings and allowing 3 earned runs on 9 hits and striking out 4. According to Alex Speier of WEEI.com’s twitter account, Buchholz became the 1st starting pitcher all season to get into the 7th inning against the Yankees with under 100 pitches. It seems like an odd stat, but tell you that Buchholz was around the plate and pounded the strike zone effectively.

There is a glimmer of hope in Red Sox nation after tonight’s win and it only adds momentum and confidence to the players and fans. Momentum is crucial down the stretch, but the Sox still have 3 tough games against one of the best teams in baseball right now. As long as the starting pitching remains solid and Jacoby Ellsbury joins in the hit parade, this team can make their move and put pressure on both the Rays and Yankees. If the Rays lose and the Sox can win the head-to-head match-ups with the Yankees, this division could get real close, real fast.