Bring On The Yankees by Jared Carrabis
Sox complete sweep of the Jays, bring momentum to Fenway


Raise your hand if you can't wait for this weekend series...

I'm guessing that if you're reading this blog that you are also raising your hand. Mark Teixeira and company are sure glad that they'll be missing Jon Lester in the upcoming three-game set at Fenway Park this weekend, because he was straight dealing. Lester played a practical joke on Red Sox Nation when in the bottom of the first, the left-hander allowed a single, a double, a walk and an earned run.

However, the joke was on the Jays, because after that, it was lights out time. After Lester had allowed a single my Marco Scutaro to lead off the game and a double by Aaron Hill in the next at bat, the left-hander went on to dominate Toronto the rest of the way. After giving up two hits in the first, Lester gave up just one hit the rest of the way, as he tossed eight innings of one-run ball. Among the league leaders in strikeouts, I guess you could call a five-strikeout night an "off-night" for Lester.

"He's a good pitcher -- he's got good stuff," said Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston of Jon Lester. "I'm just a little surprised at his record. Overall, he's one of the better left-handers in this league."

The Sox' offense was rolling again, but early on they had some help. With the game tied at one in the top of the fourth after a solo shot off the bat of JD Drew, David Ortiz came to the plate with Jason Bay on first. When Jays' catcher, Rod Barajas, tossed the ball back to starter Brett Cecil, the ball deflected off of his glove and got away for a brief moment. On his walk back to the rubber, Cecil took a look at the ball and tossed it into the Blue Jays' dugout.

Immediately, the home plate umpire awarded Jason Bay two bases after Cecil tossed a ball out of play that was still in play. Later in the inning, Mike Lowell slapped a base hit back up the middle to score Bay from third, who otherwise would not have scored on that hit, had it not been for Cecil's mental error.

In the very next at bat, up came JD Drew once again. In his second plate appearance, Drew hammered a 92 MPH fastball with a full count deep over the wall in right field for his second long ball of the night. The two-run blast made it 4-1 in favor of the Red Sox.

"It seems like when one guy gets hot, a lot of guys get hot," Drew said. "The key is to try and keep going as a team, get quality at-bats, getting guys in in key situations."

In the top of the fifth with two men aboard for Jason Bay, the Boston outfielder hit a dribbler down the third baseline that John McDonald airmailed past the glove of old friend, Kevin Millar, which allowed Dustin Pedroia to come in to score. The Sox would add on another run in the same inning on a David Ortiz ground out to up Boston's lead to 6-1 late in the game.

In the top of the seventh, up came the red-hot Victor Martinez. With no men on, Martinez absolutely bombed a 2-2 sinker into the second deck out in right field. The home run for Martinez is his 20th of the season, tying him for second most on the team behind Jason Bay (27).

The Sox tagged on another run in the eighth and went on to win this one by a seven-run deficit. All signs are pointing up for Boston, as they head into a crucial three-game set at Fenway Park against their divisional rivals, the New York Yankees.

"That's big for us -- I think more mentally than anything -- to prove to ourselves that we can swing the bats," Lester said. "I don't think our slump, or whatever you want to call it, was going to last forever. We've got too many guys on this team that can swing the bat too good to hold us down too long."

Final Score: Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 1

Things you'll need to know to impress your friends:

Victor Martinez entered Thursday night's series finale with a .333 batting average since joining the Red Sox. The Sox' catcher clubbed his fifth home run since joining the team and has driven in 14 runs in his 17 games in a Red Sox uniform.

Since making his major league debut as a 23-year-old in 2003, Martinez has now hit 20 home runs or more in four seasons. ('04, '05, '07, '09).

After tossing eight innings, Jon Lester earned his first win in four starts after previously receiving a no decision in his past three outings. It was the fourth time that Lester pitched into the eighth inning or further, including two complete games.

JD Drew was 4-for-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI on Thursday night. It was the 13th time in his career that the left-handed hitter went deep more than once in the same game.

Friday's pitching match-up:

Brad Penny will have the daunting task of keeping the Yankees from scoring less than five runs. Penny's main problem in his performance has been keeping his pitch count down in the early innings. If he can pace himself and get outs early and often while mixing his pitches well, he should be able to get at least six innings under his belt. In two career starts against the Bronx Bombers, Penny is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Penny also holds a 5-2 record this season at Fenway Park. His opponent, Andy Pettitte, has pitched well at Fenway Park, too. In his career, he's 6-3 with a 3.60 ERA.

Eye on the scoreboard:

Orioles 8, Rays 7
Twins 1, Rangers 11
Yankees - off

Result: The Tampa Bay Rays saw their four-game win streak come to an end on Thursday, as Joe Maddon's squad dropped to 10.5 games back in the AL East and 4 games back of Boston in the Wild Card. The Texas Rangers kept pace with Boston with their win and remain one game back in the Wild Card. The Sox picked up a half-game heading into their weekend series with the Yankees and currently sit 6.5 games back in the division.

Book update (in case you missed it):

For those of you who have been following the process of the book that I have written called One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, it is with pride and excitement that I can finally unveil the release date! My book will finally be ready to ship on August 28, 2009. The 352 page book is complete with a foreword generously written by none other than Jerry Remy himself. I'd just like to thank everyone that has pushed me throughout the 21-month long process that has been the production of my debut book, I couldn't have made this announcement without any of you. I'll be planning a release party in Boston in the next few days and will be hosting a book signing at the Barnes and Noble in Saugus, MA at a date to be named later. I'd love for you all to be there! I will post more info as soon as it becomes available to me. For more information on my book, click here!

The RemDawg returns Friday night!
-Jared Carrabis





Published on August 21, 2009

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