Sox Force Game 7

The Sox overcame yet another homerun by BlowJ Upton to defeat the Rays 4-2 in last night's contest. Let's break this down by topic.

Josh Beckett
Beckett did not look fantastic in the victory, but he was effective. He did not have the giddy-up on his fastball, so instead he pulled a Schilling-esque performance by mixing his pitches, locating his fastball, and changing location on the Rays hitters. The announcers said Beckett had to "pitch to contact." Well I disagree with that, but he surely wasn't trying to overpower guys, just tried to keep them off balance, and except for the two bombs hit by Bartlett and Upton, Beckett was successful.

It was weird being nervous when Beckett took the mound every inning. Usually staking Beckett out to a one run lead is enough to instill confidence in the Sox Fan Base, but this time it was not. However, as the game went on and Beckett started cruising it started to feel better and better. It was surprising to see him come out after only 5 innings and 78 pitches, but that's an indication that he is still not 100% from that oblique strain.

James Shields
Shields leaned far too heavily on his change-up and could not locate it well enough to be effective. He only allowed 3 earned runs in 5.2 innings (oh Dan, you had the wrong starter's line), but did so by allowing 9 hits and 3 walks. He could have easily allowed 8 runs during his start but snaked his way out of trouble a few times. It would never be enough though, as he allowed two solo homeruns as well, including one to Jason "Rally Killer" Varitek, and he couldn't quell the rush in the 6th.


Boston Bullpen
The occasionally shaky Boston Bullpen held fast. After getting 5 innings from Beckett, the Sox turned to Okie for two innings and Masterson and Papelbon for one each. All three guys looked fantastic, combining to allow only one baserunner (an Okajima walk) in 4 innings of work. Even Masterson, who I have been pretty hard on as a reliever, looked phenomenal in his inning of work.

It was fantastic to watch the Boston bullpen put in a solid, shut down, game over performance. It will be interesting to see how they play out tonight, having thrown 4 innings last night. Then again, it's the playoffs, everyone's available.

Papelbon's playoff scoreless streak was extended to 25 innings. In those 25 scoreless innings he has surrendered only 10 hits, 6 walks, and struck out 22. It cannot be overstated how important it is to have someone so dominant in the bullpen during the playoffs. When we need a shut down inning, we have Pap-smear.

TBS
In a disgusting turn of events, TBS lost power in Atlanta so we missed the entire first inning. It is sad that one company is allowed to have a monopoly on broadcasting games, so when it blacks out everyone is S.O.L. Absolutely unbelievable. And in another turn of events, the Buffalo-San Diego game is also out, completely unrelated issue, but same result. Pathetic.

Rays' Fans
When the camera scanned the crowd during the Rays loss, there was the familiar sight of "I can't believe this is happening" faces. For Rays fans, this is the first time they've had this experience. It took these guys until September to realize their team was actually talented and going to make the playoffs, and now they're feeling their first inevitable disappointment. Not saying the Sox are a lock to win, but the Rays fans have that look. So I have a few works for Rays fans.

Welcome to the MLB. Get used to this feeling, only one team wins their last game. Next year, take the entire 7 month journey - the highs get higher, the lows are lower, but it's a fun ride. In the words of Dan "[The Rays fans] don't deserve to win this year."

What's On Tap?
The Sox turn to young ace Jon Lester who opposes the equally young Matt Garza. Lester will look to bounce back from his first playoff start allowing any runs (he allowed 4). What should we look for from Lester? See if his fastball has that extra pop and is hitting the mid-90's. If he's got the good fastball and can locate it, he'll be able to work in that nasty cutter and mix in his curve. I'll be surprised if he gets handled the same way he was last time out. Big game 7 tonight - buckle up.


Written by Kyle "Spank Me Hard And Call Me" Baxter