Series Wrap-up: Red Sox Take 3 of 4
A four game series and four different headlines; fourth straight no decision for Beckett, three balks against Red Sox pitching, two heroic performances and one more long rain delay.
After a four game series against the Minnesota Twins that saw the Red Sox take three of four, it won’t be the Twins that the Sox will be happy to see leave town. Rather it’ll be the umpire crew, namely Angel Hernandez as he called three balks on the Red Sox this series. The latest one coming on Monday night against reliever Alfredo Aceves that ended up scoring the tying run for the Twins in the 8th inning and costing Josh Beckett the win. Beckett was brilliant again not allowing a run over seven innings, despite giving up 6 hits. A game that saw Jonathan Papelbon blow his first save opportunity of the season, the Red Sox were saved by the heroics of none other than Carl Crawford, who delivered the walk-off double off the Green Monster in the bottom of the 11th. Who scored the winning run from first base? None other than the phenom to be, Jose Iglesias. What a site it was, Red Sox win 2-1.
To open the series, the Red Sox would drop their third in a row at the time and second straight walloping by a 9-2 count. The Twins took advantage of a messy performance from Tim Wakefield who was getting his second spot start of the year. Wake’ struggled with his knuckler and it looked like batting practice for the Twins as they hammered Wakefield for 6 runs on 9 hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Then the rains came on Saturday….again. Only this time, it provided an opportunity for a hero. And that hero was Clay Buchholz. After cruising through the first two innings, Buchholz was put on hold for a 2 hour rain delay. With the bullpen tattered and torn, Buchholz decided to go back to the mound and give his club the start they so desperately needed. He would go 5 strong innings while only giving up 2 hits and striking out a season high six batters, all en route to his third win of the season. The Sox would also see the offense on the verge of breaking through after collecting 12 hits but only scoring 4 runs in what turned out to be a 4-0 final.
Daisuke Matsuzaka got the nod on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park and if you turned the game after the Twins half of the first, you missed a lot. Dice-K spotted the Twins to an early 3-0 lead, but the Red Sox would score one in the 2nd and 4 more in the 3rd for a 5-3 lead. It was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish as the Sox won 9-5. It was the birthday boy, Adrian Gonzalez who led the attack, going 3-5 with 2 RBI and a homer. In all, the Sox would pound out 14 hits on the Twins starters, with all Sox batters getting a hit except for Jason Varitek (0-4).
Series Monstah’
I’m torn as to who to give this to for the series. Jacoby Ellsbury deserves a lot of credit and recognition for what he’s done lately, both at the plate and on the base paths. But the Series Monstah’ goes to Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez showed everyone why the Red Sox signed him as a free agent. His smooth swing driving balls the other way resulted in Gonzalez playing some wall ball as he rang a few balls off the Monster and even managed to hit two blasts over the Monster. For the series he went 7 -18 while driving in 4 RBI with 2 home runs and is now batting .317 on the season. He’s looked as good lately as he has all year at the plate and his defense should not be forgotten. He’s scooped his fair share of balls from the dirt to record key outs and has been instrumental in turning pivotal double plays.
The Last Word:
It was an excellent final three games of this series. They got solid pitching from Buchholz and Beckett and even Dice-K settled down after the first inning and gave the club a decent start. The bullpen was so so which included Jonathan Papelbon blowing his first save of the season. The offense continues to be a puzzle with many missing pieces. For two nights straight they get all kinds of hits and drive in runs like it’s going out of style, only to fail to repeat for a third straight game. Just when you think they’re going to bust out for good, it’s back to the same old frustrations.
The Buchholz heroics appeared to have rallied this team. Since his return from the rain delay, this ball club has looked like a determined bunch of yahoos, still trying to find their identity and on some nights, the offense. None the less they played well and now hit the road for the next five games. On a side note, Dustin Pedroia is in his worst slump of his career and you know it won’t last forever. When he does snap out of it and starts hitting again, look out, this team will be a lot of fun to watch.
On Deck:
It’s off to the North for the Red Sox as they head to Toronto for a quick 2 game series before an off day on Thursday. For more on the Jays series watch for my Series Snapshot post.
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