This is what we have been expecting from Daisuke Matsuzaka all season. Total domination. Dice-K went 9 innings and scattered 6 hits over his 124 pitches as the Red Sox defeated the Tigers 7-1.
The Tigers got on the board first in the third inning when Curtis Granderson took a low pitch and put it into the bleachers. That would be the only mistake Dice-K would make.
The Sox struck with 2 outs in the third inning when Kevin Youkilis doubled and David “Big Papi” Ortiz hit a single driving home Youk to tie the game at 1.
Again in the 4th inning, the Sox got another two out run in similar fashion. This time it was Jason Varitek who hit the double, a pitch that was probably 6 inches out of the strike zone that he drove to right. Covelli “Coco” Crisp followed Tek and drove him in on a single making it 2-1 good guys.
Big Papi and Manny combined to bring in another run for the Sox in the 5th inning. In similar fashion to the past two innings, Big Papi hit a double and was driven in by Manny on a single, making the score 3-1.
Jonathan Papelbon was up throwing in the bottom half of the 8th inning but the Red Sox bats made him sit back down. The Sox got to Tigers reliever Bobby Seay for 4 more runs.
Seay got Mike Lowell to line out but then walked Varitek. Coco then hit a single and Dustin Pedroia followed with a single of his own loading up the bases for yesterday’s hero, Julio Lugo. Lugo hit a triple to deep centerfield, clearing the bases and giving the Sox a 6-1 lead. Youk then drove in Lugo with a single of his own, completing the damage and giving the Red Sox a 7-1 lead.
Dice-K was brillant tonight. He showed total command of all his pitches. This was evident by the fact that he didn’t walk anyone. Of the 27 outs Dice-K and the Sox recorded, 5 came via the strikeout, 6 were flyballs and 16 came on the ground. He threw 86 of his 124 pitches for strikes to 33 Tiger batters. Dice-K’s ERA dropped from 4.80 to 4.17 in the outing.
Every Red Sox batter had a hit tonight except J.D. Drew, who was 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts. Lugo, Youk, Big Papi, Lowell, Varitek, Crisp, and Pedroia all had 2 hits. Manny had 1 hit.
Notes: Dice-K’s complete game was the first of his career in the United States and also the first by a Red Sox pitcher this season. It was also the first complete game by a Red Sox rookie pitcher since 1994 when Tim VanEgmund threw one.
Manny was back in the lineup and after leaving yesterday’s game with hamstring tightness.
Josh Beckett played a little soft catch today before the game and it looks like the Red Sox will take a “wait and see” approach about his start on Friday night. Odds are that he will miss one start and maybe another. If he was going to miss two starts, I would think the Sox would be inclined to put him on the DL.
