Crisp and Papelbon For Texy

On the birth of our Nation yesterday, the Red Sox provided some happiness to everyone before they headed down to the Charles River for the fireworks show. The fireworks show was excellent by the way in HD. Tim Wakefield pitched really well and Coco Crisp got the Sox going right out of the gate. Javier Lopez stunk it up but Manny Delcarmen came in and put the ship back in the right direction. Jonathan Papelbon came in and finished off another Sox victory.

Speaking of Delcarmen, is it me or may we have found our right-handed setup man? Could it be Delcarmen, Hideki “Vote for Me” Okajima and then Papelbon. I have been throughly impressed with Delcarmen in his past few outings. Terry Francona has stuck him in some key spots and Delcarmen has gotten the job done.

The Red Sox will now go for the sweep of the Devil Rays tonight with their ace on the mound, Josh Beckett. He will also be looking to join the Indians’ C.C. Sabbathia as the only 12- game winners in MLB. But before they get onto the field tonight, check out these headlines about the game and happenings from the Boston and Tampa Bay area media. And when your done reading the headlines, go vote for Okie.

Safety first on 4th: Cora bunt sets tone. [Boston Herald]

Maddon won’t let losing get him down. [St. Pete Times]

Bench mark: No substitute for reserves in victory [Boston Globe]

Rally Falls Short As Rays’ Slide Hits 10. [Tampa Tribune]

Delcarmen Becoming The Go-To Guy. [Hartford Courant]

Shoulder pain lands [Devil Rays] closer on DL. [St. Pete Times]

Schilling won’t be back soon. [Pro Jo]

Upton ill, unlikely to return before break. [Rays Report]

Papelbon cuts loose: Closes out Rays with new pitch. [Boston Herald]

Nothing left to chance by Ellsbury. [Boston Globe]

Nifty play by Drew made damage by Crawford minimal. [Pro Jo]

Batboy brings relief. [Boston Herald]