After dropping game 1 of a 4-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Red Sox started to catch fire, finally. In the final 3 games of the series, the Red Sox pitching staff allowed a total of 3 runs (1 per game) and managed to get the bats going with an astounding 21 runs of offense. Now this is the Red Sox team fans have been waiting to see since April 1st. With 3 straight victories in hand, the Red Sox are beginning to find their rhythm in all aspects of the game and have seen a hero emerge from the bench in Jed Lowrie. In the final 3 games of the series, Lowrie went 8-14 with 6 runs scored, 7 RBI, and 2 home runs. Not too shabby.
On the other side of the field, the Red Sox starting pitching was great. In the 4-game set, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka allowed a total of 5 runs. They all pitched well in their respective games, giving the team a chance to win. With the exception of Jenks’ bad 0.1 inning (4 earned runs) and a solo home run allowed by Tim Wakefield in a mop-up role in the 9th inning on Monday, the Red Sox bullpen was dominant, not allowing a run. With the offense beginning to roll and the pitching staff at the top of their game, the team is hitting its stride in a big way.
One of the best sights of the series was late in the final game on Monday night, when the struggling Carl Crawford finally got a big hit and put a double off the monster to drive in a run. He has looked awful at the plate, clearly not comfortable and trying to press and get a big hit every pitch. Now that the team is hitting its stride, hopefully he can begin to look like the player we all expect in the batter’s box.
Series Monstah’
There is no question that once again Jed Lowrie takes home this honor. In 14 at-bats in the series, Lowrie went 9-15, scoring 7 runs and driving in 8 RBIs. He capped off the series with just a monster game on Monday, going 4-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. If he was trying to prove his worth and get more playing time, he has been successful, because there is no way Terry Francona can keep his bat out of the lineup with the hot streak he is on. The Red Sox needed a spark plug and got one in an unlikely place.
The Last Word:
Prior to the Blue Jays series, the Red Sox sat at 2-9 and didn’t appear to have any momentum or real team unity. Now, just 4 games later, the team sits at 5-10, just 4.5 games out of 1st place in the division with 147 games to go, with momentum at their back. Although they are not where they want to be, they are feeling more confident and are beginning to click on all cylinders. This team has not even begun to reach it’s true potential yet and is still starting to turn some heads. If these past 3 days are any indication, there are great things on the horizon.
On Deck:
The Red Sox head to the west coast, beginning a brief 2-game set with the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, before heading to face the Angels in a 4-game set Thursday-Sunday.
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