The Boston Red Sox got two stellar performances from Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester on their way to a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park on Sunday. They also got a strong rain-shortened strong start by Josh Beckett on Saturday night.
The Red Sox picked up a 1/2 game on the New York Yankees and are seven games behind them in the AL East standings with twenty games to go. The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners split their doubleheader last night which means the Red Sox picked up a game on each of them in the wild card standings. The Rangers are now four games behind while the Mariners are clinging on for dear life as they are eleven games out.
While Buchholz didn’t factor into the decision in a game one yesterday, a late run negated his chance at win, he was outstanding on the bump. He had good life on his fastball, excellent command and location of all of his pitches. His changeup was just downright nasty as it has been over his past five starts.
The Red Sox knew what they were doing when they left Buchholz in the minors to mature a little more. He’s making them look good now with his pitching. Unless Daisuke Matsuzaka is lights out in his final starts of the season, the Red Sox playoff pitching rotation, assuming they get there, would be Beckett, Lester and Buchholz. And if all three continue to pitch like they did this weekend, there’s no telling how far they can go.
Like Buchholz in game 1, Lester was dealing in game 2. He also had good command and location on his pitches plus some life on his fastball. His cutter kept the Rays hitters at bay all throughout the game. If it weren’t for Beckett, Lester would be the ace of this staff. He’s good enough to be a number one starter on just about any team in baseball.
Lester’s been one of, if not, the best pitchers in baseball since May 31st. He’s gone 10-2 with a 2.02 ERA. Had it not been for a slow start to the season, he would probably have more than the thirteen wins he has now.
The Red Sox will enjoy a nice day of rest before returning to Fenway Park tomorrow night. Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his first big league start since June 19th as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim come to town in a possible Division Series matchup.
Red Sox entering a Dicey stretch [Peter Gammons – ESPN Boston]
Red Sox pitching keys sweep [Amy K. Nelson – ESPN Boston]
Buchholz stays in control [Boston Globe]
Lester lowers broom [Boston Globe]
Papelbon sharp at this point in time [Boston Globe]
Going in right direction [Boston Globe]
Dice-K returns as Sox host tough foe [RedSox.com]
Welcome back Tampa Bay ‘Devil’ Rays; good-bye Rays of sunshine [Batter-up with Bruno]
Sox complete turnaround [Boston Herald]
Victor Martinez impenetrable [Boston Herald]
A year later, Clay Buchholz belongs in bigs [Boston Herald]
Ex-celling [Boston Herald]
Sox Sweep Rays [Hartford Courant]
Rays Regroup After Elimination From the Division Race [Full Count]
With his long pop up, Jason Bay gets an interesting ‘honor’ [Projo Sox Blog]
Reddick Ready [Projo Sox Blog]
Sox clean up against Tampa Bay [Providence Journal]
Red Sox journal: Ron Johnson flies to Houston to watch his son make his major-league debut [Providence Journal]
Once-struggling Papelbon has become a Cy of relief for Sox [Providence Journal]
Lester completes weekend shutdown of Rays [Providence Journal]
Red Sox postgame tidbits: Billy Wagner pitches the ninth inning for the first time, but, because of Jason Bay, it wasn’t a save situation [Providence Journal]
Five Things We Learned: The Red Sox Have Landed On Their Feet [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times websites.
