Another great start from Daisuke Matsuzaka, two hits by Carl Crawford and two stolen bases by Jacoby Ellsbury last night. Oh my!!! Now what are we going to complain about here in Red Sox Nation.
We could bitch about the fact that Dustin Pedroia had no hits last night but he made a great play on the final out of the game to secure a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels so that eliminates that thought. I’m sure we can find something to complain about but right now this team is playing like they should have out of the gates this season.
Whatever it might have been, the media and fans calling for his exile, the boo birds at Fenway Park, it appears Dice-K has really turned things around for himself. Every time he takes the mound for the Boston Red Sox, we really don’t know what we’re going to get. You can trace that back to his complete body of work since coming over from Japan.
Right now though, he looks the Dice-K who has led Japan to the last two WBC titles while being named the WBC MVP. This is the Dice-K, the Red Sox spent $103.1 million on.
The only hit he allowed almost killed him, literally. If he hadn’t gotten his glove up in time, he probably would have taken it off the head. But what got the job done for him was his fastball along with a his cutter, a nasty slider and his changeup which was effective due to the velocity of his fastball. And a long outing from him was needed since Jonathan Papelbon and Bobby Jenks had pitched in the last three games.
Good pitching is contagious right now for the Red Sox. Over the last eight starts (7-1), the Red Sox starters have gone 53.1 innings, with 44 strikeouts, 18 walks, two home runs allowed, 1.01 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. Not too shabby.
We’ll be back later today with the this afternoon’s starting lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. 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
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Sox get another fine start [Boston Globe]
Crawford won’t stay down [Boston Globe]
Pieces have all the fixin’s [Boston Globe]
Papelbon has applied the finish [Boston Globe]
That’s more like it, Red Sox [Boston Herald]
Daisuke Matsuzaka’s 1 to watch [Boston Herald]
Jonathan Papelbon returns to form [Boston Herald]
Catharsis for Carl Crawford [Boston Herald]
Cold as ice [Boston Herald]
How a rainout may have saved the Red Sox [Clubhouse Insider]
Matsuzaka impressive as Sox shut out Angels, 5-0 [CSNNE.com]
Dice-K stellar again, but totally different [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 5, Angels 0 [ESPN Boston]
Source: Surgery not yet option for Kalish [ESPN Boston]
Dice-K adds to the good times for Red Sox [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox 5, Angels 0 [Full Count]
Dan Shaughnessy Thinks Red Sox Could Soon Explore Other Options at Catcher [NESN.com]
Kevin Youkilis Says Key to Success is Not Worrying About the Past [NESN.com]
Which Red Sox Player Would You Like to See Leading Off Every Day? [NESN.com]
Dominant Matsuzaka pitches 1-hitter as Boston wins again in Anaheim [Providence Journal]
On offense and defense, Sox catchers come up short [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Papelbon’s offseason work paying off [Providence Journal]
For Pawtucket’s Pena, baseball is family business [Providence Journal]
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 news, head over to the LA Times, Orange County Register and LA Daily News websites.
Photo credit: Getty Images
