Sports Redux: Found Their Legs

AP Photo/Winslow Townson

The day after a historically bad pitching performance overwhelmed a more-than-adequate offense, the Red Sox pitching and hitting came together for a rout of their own as they dominated the Yankees, 14-1, in an important win for the team.

Junichi Tazawa was everything Brad Penny wasn't. In other words, he was able to actually get major-league batters out. He pitched six shutout innings and allowed eight hits. He wasn't perfect, far from it, but he worked out of any jams, notably the first two innings, he got into. He even exacted a bit of revenge on A-Rod with a strikeout featuring four straight curveballs in the third. Daniel Bard and Enrique Gonzalez pitched well in relief, with Bard allowing the lone run.

Boston's batters delivered ample support for Tazawa. They wasted no time, either, with a three-run barrage in the first. David Ortiz doubled to score Victor Martinez and Dustin Pedroia, Jason Bay scored Ortiz on a single. Alex Gonzalez hit a home run in the second for a 4-0 lead. Kevin Youkilis went deep in the third for a 7-0 lead. And, the rout was on. Victor Martinez, Casey Kotchman, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz, the Sox 3-4-5 spots in the order, went 8-13 with 11 RBI.

The once vaunted Red Sox pitching staff has shown some flaws recently. With that in mind, the Red Sox .claimed Billy Wagner, a lefthander with the Mets, off of waivers. The Sox could work a trade out with the Mets, or the Mets could simply let him go. He could be pulled off waivers, too. The Globe reported Wagner threw a perfect inning, with two strikeouts, on Thursday, and reached 96 with his fastball, just a year after having Tommy John surgery. Wagner is 38 and has 385 saves in 15 seasons. In other pitching news, Tim Wakefield is back and will start Wednesday. Penny is still here, for some reason.

Former Globe scribe Gordon Edes described what looks like the beginning of a slow transition away from Jason Varitek to Victor Martinez at catcher.

The Globe talked to Bob Kraft about the past and present of the New England Patriots.

Bostonist loves Gillette Stadium. It looks great, and the Patriots usually put on a good show. Seeing the travesty that took place at the Dallas Cowboys new $1.2 billion stadium makes us love it more. Two punters for the Tennessee Titans hit one of the 2,100-inch video screens that hang above the field. Jerry Jones blamed the punters. He apparently didn't question the functionality of such an enormous screen. Jerry, look up "compensate" in the dictionary.