It was a good night for the Japanese players on the Red Sox last night. Hideki “Darkman” Okajima found out he had overtaken Jeremy Bonderman in the final vote for the All-Star Game (voting goes until 6 PM ET on Thursday). Daisuke Matsuzaka was masterful on the mound again out nine and most importantly giving the bullpen, sans Papelbon, a nice night off. But that wasn’t the big story. The big story was Julio Lugo’s bat. Lugo’s bat decided it missed hitting balls in a game as it gave Lugo two hits last night and 2 RBI. Red Sox Faithful responded in a nice way to Lugo. Normally we would throw him under the bus but this still has the makings of a special season. So before you go off to your cookouts and eat your Fenway Franks or drink your American beer on this glorious birthday of America, take a look at the headlines about the game and happenings from the Boston and Tampa area media outlets.
The unknown (Matsuzaka) and the familiar (Lugo) lift Boston past the Rays. [St. Petersburg Times]
Hot stuff. [Boston Globe]
Rays Fall To Red Sox 4-1. [Tampa Tribune]
Dice-K keeps on dazzling: Matsuzaka gets 10th win in beating Rays. [Boston Herald]
Crawford part of order revamp. [St. Petersburg Times]
Lugo (2 Hits) Ends Skid At 33. [Hartford Courant]
Crawford Still Struggling At Plate. [Tampa Tribune]
Rays drop shift vs. Ortiz, with similar results. [Pro Jo]
Lugo breaking through? Oh-fer goodness’ sake! [Boston Globe]
Hell no, he shouldn’t go: Let Ortiz skip Star trip. [Boston Herald]
Ortiz trying to find himself. [Pro Jo]
Runs for his run. [Hartford Courant]
For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune websites.
