Tim Wakefield entered the 2010 season just 17 wins behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young (192) for most wins in a Boston Red Sox uniform. He also hadn’t won a game since July 8th of last year. And on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, he would be squaring off with Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay, who has been dominating the National League.
But with a knuckleball that was fluttering all over the strike zone, good defense behind him and Kevin Youkilis at the plate, Wakefield was finally able to pick up his first win of the 2010 campaign. It hasn’t been easy for him this year as he started out the season in the rotation only to be bumped to the bullpen when Daisuke Matsuzaka was activated from the DL.
He had made four appearances out of the bullpen with mixed results but he’s now filled in twice for an injured Josh Beckett and thrown the ball well. Yesterday, he had the good knuckleball going as he was able to throw 68 of his 102 pitches for strikes. He retired all eight leadoff hitters he faced threw 18 first pitch strikes to the 31 batters he faced. When you can do this, good things are going to happen.
Besides his one strikeout, he got 17 fly ball outs letting his defense do their jobs as well as getting six ground ball outs.
Throughout all of this, Wake has been a model teammate, not throwing Terry Francona or anyone else under the bus. He just goes out and takes care of his business when he’s called upon. But if he continues to pitch like this, he’s definitely going to make Francona’s decision-making on the starting rotation a little harder.
The Red Sox have now gotten four great starts in their last five with John Lackey being the lone exception. And with the Yankees losing five of their last six and the Red Sox winning five of their last six, the gap between the two teams is now just 2½ games. Of course their opponent for the next three games, the Tampa Bay Rays, are showing no signs of letting up as they lead the Red Sox by 8½ games, the Toronto Blue Jays by seven games and the Yankees by six games.
While a sweep of the Rays would go a long way, taking two of three from the Rays would be just as nice. And with Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester on the mound the first two nights, this could happen. But the Red Sox will definitely be out for a little revenge as the Rays swept four games from the local nine back in mid-April.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, news and links from the day but for now enjoy the overnight linkage.
Things We Learned: Red Sox proving resilient amidst key stretch [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Phillies fooled by fill-in [Boston Globe]
Pedroia has yet to hit on a solution [Boston Globe]
Youkilis locked in, and hard to get out [Boston Globe]
Wakefield takes a Halladay [Boston Herald]
Kevin Youkilis causing May-hem [Boston Herald]
Tim Wakefield oldest since ’92 to go deep with shutout [Boston Herald]
Sox have right formula for Doc [Boston Herald]
Beltre on Jose Lima: ‘It’s devastating’ [Clubhouse Insider]
Inside the Youkilis-Halladay battle [Clubhouse Insider]
Cameron to rejoin Sox soon [CSN New England]
Sox rout Halladay for fifth win in six games [CSN New England]
Sox getting healthy [ESPN Boston]
Youk’s going, Pedroia’s coming [ESPN Boston]
Ortiz: Lima ‘was like a brother to me’ [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox ready for the Rays [ESPN Boston]
Closing Time: Red Sox 8, Phillies 3 [Full Count]
Tampa on Deck [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]
Kevin Youkilis Has Eventful Day as Tim Wakefield Pitches Sox to Victory [NESN.com]
Life Magazine Ranks Josh Beckett Among 17 Best Playoff Pitchers [NESN.com]
Tim Wakefield’s Solid Outing Keeps String of Good Starts Intact for Red Sox Hurlers [NESN.com]
Can Red Sox Catch Rays in AL East? [NESN.com]
Wakefield keeps Boston pitchers on a roll [Providence Journal]
Rays, with everything going their way, can make Red Sox an A.L. East afterthought this week [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Youkilis is Halladay’s nemesis, but that’s not all [Providence Journal]
Cameron inching toward return to Red Sox [RedSox.com]
Tek won’t be Dice-K’s permanent catcher [RedSox.com]
Keeping it clean: Youkilis riding hot streak [RedSox.com]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer websites.
