The bat of Big Papi and the arm of Josh Beckett were good enough for the Sox today as they defeated the Evil Empire again, this time by a 7-5 score.
Beckett wasn’t the same Beckett we have been used to so far in this young season but he was just good enough to get it to the bullpen with a lead. For Beckett, he threw 6 2/3 innings, gave up 5 runs, 4 of them were earned, and 9 hits. He struck out 7 while walking 2. The key stat for Beckett, no home runs allowed.
Big Papi was outstanding in the game. He was 2 for 5 with 4 RBI’s. Both of those hits hurt the Yankees, as his 2 run double in the first tied the game and his 2 run homer in the fourth inning gave the Red Sox the lead for good at 7-4. The Yankees would add another run in the seventh inning for the final margin.
The bullpen was outstanding again. Hideki Okajima, who could be the most underrated off-season pickup in all of baseball, came in with runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs in the seventh inning. He struck out the Giambino on a splitter and then got Robinson Cano to ground out. Mike Timlin came in and got the next two batters. Papelboner came in for the ninth inning and as usual was outstanding, saving yet another game for the beloved.
Notes: Coco Crisp seems to be finding his groove right now as he had another two hits, raising his average to .214. Considering what it had been, that’s pretty good right now. Coco, Big Papi and 3B coach DeMarlo Hale will be donning the #42 tomorrow night as the Red Sox will pay tribute to Jackie Robinson. Their game last Sunday had gotten rained out so they were not able to honor the legend.
