Game 24: Come Back to Where You Once Belong

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 9, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6

We are back baby

It was the 9th inning, behind 5 to 6 and looking at a 4 game losing streak. How did we get here again? DiNards was the starter and gave up 4 runs early. The bullpen faltered with both Tavares and Foulke giving up a run and it looked like another loss due to anemic batting. Back to the 9th inning. That is the first and only time when the Red Sox had the lead. In the 6th inning Dr. Frankenstein held his electrodes to the offence collective chest and screamed “IT’S ALIVE!” and suddenly 4 runs scored. Manny hit a solo shot (and the weirdest triple ever), Youk kept his fugly ass on base and Pena hit some RBI’s (yes the Wily Mo hate-wagon is leaving town). Now in the 9th the lead is taken on some bases loaded walks, hits and sac fly’s. Clearing base runners? That’s like the OLD Red Sox! The ones we knew from last year and the year before. Surely they won’t be doing that again, will they?

Well they better. The starting pitching (especially out of the 4th and 5th spots) isn’t as WORLD CLASS as we were all lead to believe, so some extra runs now and again are going to be essential. The 6th inning of this game really did look like a turning point. The offence finally said “hell, lets hit when it matters” for the first time in the road trip. This nearly washed away some of the vomit stained dreams left from the last 3 late inning colonoscopies. I almost forgot how fun it is to watch timely hitting.

After all the runs were scored, it was left in the capable hands of his holiness: Papelbon. Three batters, three strikeouts and one league leading (and rookie record breaking) save later and that’s all she wrote for the Rays. This Papelbon guy is huge. If he beats the Yankees next week (like he did on XBOX) he might get the whole “one name” treatment. Then you can have great conversations like this:

“I remember when he was called ‘Jonathon’ Papelbon.”

“Really? I thought his name was Sam.”

“Nope. He was born ‘Jonathon’. Like Jon Stewart or Lil’ Jon.”

“Whoa that’s awesome.”

“I know. It IS awesome.”

Anyway, it’s Schilling vs Kazmir (ugh) in the rubber match before the Sox head home and take on the Yankees. Let’s end the road trip on a good note. GO SOX!