Lost in the nine-game winning streak the Boston Red Sox have after their sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays is the fact the starters have gotten the decisions in the last seven games. Sure the offense has been rolling over the length of this streak but it’s hard to overlook the starters.
Of course when the starters are staked to big leads, it is a lot easier for them to pitch. It allows them to pound the zone and let the defense do the work.
After a dominant April, Jon Lester had his struggles in the month of May. But he’s started to turn it back around again, especially after a dominant performance on Sunday.
The only mistake he made was to the probably the best home run hitter in baseball right now in Jose Bautista. Other than that, Lester was pretty much unhittable. He had great life and command of his fastball and used his cutter effectively. The greatest part of his outing was his efficiency.
Lester needed just 102 pitches to get through eight innings. He allowed just two hits, one walk and struck out eight while lowering his ERA to 3.73. With the win, he now has nine on the season which is tops in the American League and is also tied with Roy Halladay for the most in all of MLB.
The Red Sox offense put up 16 runs on Saturday afternoon and followed that up with 14 on Sunday.
Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz led the way for the visiting nine with four RBIs each. They each hit a home run with Big Papi hitting a three-run jack off of Jays starter Kyle Drabek. The three-run homer for Ortiz was his second in as many days. Youk’s home run was a two-run shot in the 9th off of Jon Rauch.
Adrian Gonzalez continues to light up AL pitching as he had two more hits and two RBIs. The two RBIs gives Gonzalez a MLB-leading 60. The amazing part of that is the fact that he’s done that in just 65 games. Dustin Pedroia continues to get out of his slump since missing the game on Thursday night as he added a two-run homer.
The earlier maligned Jarrod Saltalamacchia added three hits and an RBI while Jacoby Ellsbury and Marco Scutaro both had two hits. The only member of the starting nine who went without a hit was J.D. Drew who picked up the golden sombrero of the day with four straight strikeouts.
The Red Sox ended up outscoring the Jays 35-6 over the course of the three-game set. During the nine-game winning streak, the Red Sox have outscored the Oakland A’s, New York Yankees and Jays by a margin of 83-36.
At 39-26, the Red Sox have the best record in the AL and the second best overall record in MLB, just a ½ behind the Philadelphia Phillies who are 40-26. They hold a two-game lead over the Yankees and four-game lead over their next opponent, the Tampa Bay Rays, who took two games from the Red Sox in April at Fenway Park.
But this is a different Red Sox team than in April. This is the team we expected to see all season long. So now it’s on to Tropicana Field where the Red Sox have struggled as of late. Hopefully those struggles are a thing of the past during the upcoming three-game set that starts on Tuesday at Tropicana Field.
With the Red Sox being off today we’ll be back later with the pitching matchups for the series with the Rays. But for now, enjoy the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Business booming for red-hot Red Sox [Boston Globe]
Thinking ahead aids Gonzalez on RBIs [Boston Globe]
Lester appreciates support [Boston Globe]
Red Sox bats keep making noise to cap sweep [Boston Herald]
David Ortiz locked, loaded [Boston Herald]
Lester on top of game [Boston Herald]
Crawford a big hit in sixth spot [Boston Herald]
Red Sox crush Blue Jays, 14-1 [CSNNE.com]
Sox looking like the cream of the A.L. [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Gonzalez driving in runs at record pace [CSNNE.com]
Red Sox trade catcher McKenry to Pirates [CSNNE.com]
Crawford preps for return to Tampa [ESPN Boston]
Rapid reaction: Sox 14, Jays 1 [ESPN Boston]
Pedey power: Hits longest HR of career [ESPN Boston]
No need to worry about Pedroia [ESPN Boston]
Hard-hitting Red Sox get to take it easy [ESPN Boston]
Rampage on the road for Red Sox [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox overpower Jays to win ninth straight [Full Count]
Dustin Pedroia: Just keeping his eyes on the ball [Inside Track]
Video: Mike Cameron Shares His Baseball Secrets With North Reading Twins, Astros Little League Teams [NESN.com]
Red Sox Finish Sweep in Toronto, Maintain Marvelous Run Away From Home [NESN.com]
Sutton optioned to Pawtucket; McDonald likely to be recalled [Projo Sox Blog]
Red Sox deal catcher McKenry to Pirates [Projo Sox Blog]
All-out assault continues [Providence Journal]
Sox stuck to plan in keeping Bautista quiet [Providence Journal]
Red Sox journal: Crawford hopes fans know he had to go [Providence Journal]
High-powered offense clicking on all cylinders [RedSox.com]
Adrian continues torrid tear in Sox’s win streak [RedSox.com]
Bruised left shoulder keeps Lowrie on bench [RedSox.com]
Morales makes first rehab stint for PawSox [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy papers, head oGetty Imagesver to the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun and the Globe and Mail websites.
Photo credits: Getty Images
