Red Sox fans, though spending the entire month of August being tossed around in the Dryer of Emotion, could at least pretty much count on a win when Josh Beckett pitches. Even, apparently, when Josh Beckett pitches lousy.
The normally unflappable Beckett was flapped by the break in his routine caused by Jason Varitek's neck problems and pitching coach John Farrell's absence. Josh said he was fine pitching to Victor Martinez - "The guy’s caught two Cy Youngs...he’s obviously doing something right" - but still had his worst outing in like forever, coughing up seven Toronto runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Which probably meant the Red Sox lost, like 19-3, right? Surprisingly, no. The Sox pounded out 12 hits and took advantage of two Blue Jay errors to eventually scratch out a 10-9 win. Every Sox player hit, with Jacoby Ellsbury (single, 2 sac flies) and Ortiz (2-run double, solo HR) driving in three runs apiece. And Papi wasn't even supposed to be in the starting lineup. Sometimes things work out.
The Sox squandered leads of 4-1 and 7-3 before Toronto tied it in the sixth, as a Rod Barajas home run sent Beckett to the showers. The eighth inning saw an Alex Gonzalez sac-bunt attempt turn into a free-for-all, as pitcher Casey Janssen mishandled the bunt and then flung the ball away, allowing one run. Ellsbury sacrificed in another, and Martinez doubled in a third.
No problem, right? Well, kind of - Daniel Bard let two Jays get on, then Papelbon came in, walked the bases loaded, and gave up a two-run single to Marco Scutaro. Then walked another guy. New England reached for the Maalox, but Papelbon induced a fly ball to get out of the eighth, then only let two guys on in the ninth before slamming the door. So a 33-pitch outing for the closer. Good times.
Clay Buchholz will once again be sacrificed to the gods of the rotation, as he follows matchups with NY's CC Sabathia and Detroit's Justin Verlander with a duel with Toronto ace Roy Halladay. He'll get Sabathia again this weekend unless the Yankees can find a way to get Whitey Ford ready by then.
Things have been pretty quiet in Foxborough as the Patriots get ready for Preseason Game Two against Cincinnati. Not so quiet in Minnesota, where Brett Favre's summerlong Hamlet act came to an end when he decided to sign with the Vikings, possibly the least surprising announcement in the history of announcements. With Favre flinging passes in Minnesota and the emotionally fragile Jay Cutler trying to lead the Bears, is it crazy to think that Detroit can go from 0-16 to a division title? (Well...probably. Yeah.)
Photo by Darren Calabrese/AP/Canadian Press.
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