The Boston Red Sox came into the four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim having been swept by the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels came into it after being swept by the Detroit Tigers. And given the way the Red Sox season had gone, you really had no idea how it was going to turn out.
Now how many of you out there thought the Red Sox would take all four games. I’m sure there’s not many but that’s exactly what happened. On Monday night, it was the offense, Tuesday and Wednesday the Sox got great pitching and defense and on Thursday, it was back to offense.
Things weren’t exactly looking kosher for the Red Sox on Thursday though.
Before they even got to the plate, they were already trailing 4-0 with Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound. Dice-K had severe command issues as the Angels didn’t lift the bat off their shoulders for the first 14 pitches of the game. The 15th pitch of the game for Dice-K was stroked for a 2-run single by Torii Hunter. 24 pitches later, it was 4-0 Angels.
The Red Sox showed fight though as they chipped away at the lead. Victor Martinez got them to within two runs with a 2-run homer and then he tied it up in the 5th with a 2-run double. Jeremy Hermida gave the Red Sox the lead with a 2-run single and they never looked back from there.
It’s a little concerning that Dice-K struggled again. But to his credit, he was a totally different pitcher the rest of the way as he settled down and made his pitches. But if he continues to struggle, how much longer will Terry Francona continue to pencil him in every five days. If Dice-K can shake the one bad inning plague, we all know he can pitch.
What’s amazing to me is how dominant he was in the WBC last year. We’ve seen flashes of that Dice-K but never have gotten the full deal. The Red Sox have over $100 million invested him so we know Tito will be patient. Now if they can just get him to pitch like WBC Dice-K, there’d be less stress in Red Sox Nation when he pitches.
The World Champion New York Yankees come to town now for a three-game weekend set at the Fens and another sweep would be nice to close the gap on the 2nd place Yankees and the first place Tampa Bay Rays.
We’ll be back later with the lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and afternoon links.
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 read the enemy paper, head over to the LA Times, LA Daily News and Orange County Register websites.
