Jacoby Ellsbury is having himself quite the week with the Boston Red Sox.
On Tuesday night, he delivered a walkoff single to give the Red Sox a win over the Cleveland Indians. He followed that up on Wednesday night with a walkoff home run to give the Red Sox another win over the Indians. And on Saturday afternoon, he almost singlehandedly beat the New York Yankees with six RBIs in their 10-4 win.
Having missed almost the entire 2010 season, Ellsbury had only five RBIs. He beat the total in yesterday’s win. Ellsbury’s entire body of work in 2011 has gotten himself into the talk for the AL MVP joining his teammates Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia in that discussion.
His home run yesterday gives him 19 on the season which is one more than Gonzo (18) and two less than David Ortiz who has 21. Ellsbury came in to the season with 20 career home runs. He has 72 RBIs which is good for third on the team behind Gonzo and Kevin Youkilis. His RBI total is one more than Big Papi (71) although if Big Papi gets his way, they’ll be tied.
For all of those detractors in 2010 who said Ellsbury was soft and had basically written him off, how does the crow taste?
Terry Francona has always said that how Ellsbury goes helps the Red Sox win ballgames. And from win totals of this season along with Ellsbury’s numbers, you can see what Tito means when he says it.
Yesterday’s Yankees starter CC Sabathia has pretty much owned every team this year. He entered yesterday’s game with a 16-5 record. But three of those losses have come against the Red Sox and we now can make it a fourth.
In four starts against the Red Sox, Sabathia is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA (20 ER/25 IP). Taking out those four losses against the Red Sox, Sabathia is 16-2 with a 1.42 ERA against the other teams he’s faced this season.
John Lackey wasn’t spectacular but he wasn’t bad either in picking up his 10th win of 2011. And just to show you how much of a meaningless stat wins are, Lackey now has one more win than tonight’s starter Josh Beckett. You tell me who the better pitcher’s been all season. Lackey with 10 wins or Beckett with nine? That’s what I thought.
Statistically speaking, the 4th inning has been Lackey’s worst all season long. In 17 4th innings, this season, he’s allowed 22 earned runs on 27 hits. And after the Red Sox had given him a 2-run lead in the bottom half of the third, he gave it right back to them in the top half of the fourth.
But a big five-run inning in the bottom half of the inning led by Ellsbury’s three-run johnson off of Sabathia, gave him some breathing room the rest of the way.
Carl Crawford also had himself a nice afternoon at the plate as he was 4-for-4 with three runs scored and his 13th stolen base of 2011.
The win for the Red Sox gets them back into a tie for first. A win tonight from the team in Beckett’s start would get them back into first by themselves before they hit the road. Of course they’ll have to give Beckett some run support for that to happen, something he’s not getting much of this season.
We’ll be back later with this evening’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now enjoy the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
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Timely delivery: At a time when Sox need him, Lackey steps up [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Lackey met his ‘mismatch’ [Boston Globe]
Crawford has hit on something [Boston Globe]
Beckett is back in control [Boston Globe]
Sabathia’s struggles are a recurring theme [Boston Globe]
No need to wait any longer [Boston Globe]
Swift response [Boston Globe]
Is Papelbon now a save situation for the Red Sox? [Boston Globe]
Red Sox beat CC, tie Yankees [Boston Herald]
Carl Crawford’s time is now [Boston Herald]
Jacoby Ellsbury adds to breakout year with 6-RBI game [Boston Herald]
John Lackey comes through [Boston Herald]
Starters turn it around [Boston Herald]
Clay-less Red Sox have the stuff to survive [Boston Herald]
Catch and release: Red Sox did well to pick Salty over Martin [Clubhouse Insider]
Sox bash the Yanks, 10-4 [CSNNE.com]
Lackey steps up in win over Yankees [CSNNE.com]
Sox continue to get the best of Sabathia [CSNNE.com]
Confident Ellsbury continues to punish pitchers [CSNNE.com]
Sources: Millwood leaves Red Sox organization [CSNNE.com]
Report: Ortiz upset over lack of contract talks [CSNNE.com]
Notes: Crawford’s bat heats up vs. Sabathia [CSNNE.com]
Rapid reaction: Red Sox 10, Yankees 4 [ESPN Boston]
Lackey grinds out an important win [ESPN Boston]
Just another winning moment [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis reflects on his ups and downs in Boston [ESPN Boston]
David Ortiz upset with Boston Red Sox’s lack of contract talk, source says [ESPN Boston]
Red Sox release Kevin Millwood [Extra Bases]
Closing Time: Red Sox crush CC Sabathia as legend of Jacoby Ellsbury grows [Full Count]
CC Sabathia: ‘When I’m right, I can get anybody out’ despite struggles against Red Sox [Full Count]
How Carl Crawford turned around his fortunes against southpaws [Full Count]
The Mystery Of CC’s Sox Struggles [Hartford Courant]
Historic Red Sox-Yankees August Matchups [Hartford Courant]
Jarrod Saltalamacchia Continues to Impress With Play Behind the Plate [NESN.com]
John Lackey Grinds Out Win Against Yankees As Red Sox Knock Around CC Sabathia [NESN.com]
Jacoby Ellsbury Records Six RBIs in Red Sox Win, Continues to Showcase How Good He Is [NESN.com]
Jed Lowrie Impressive While Playing Complete Game for Pawtucket Saturday, Could Return to Red Sox on Monday [NESN.com]
Boston batters Sabathia, again [Providence Journal]
A surprise pitching mismatch [Providence Journal]
Against lefties, Sox are all right [Providence Journal]
Red Sox Journal: Aviles can do it all [Providence Journal]
Ever-positive Crawford breaking through [RedSox.com]
Red Sox developing into CC’s nemesis [RedSox.com]
Rockies asked for five players from Sox [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and The Journal News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, NYY Stadium Insider.
Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.
He played with San Francisco from 2001 through 2005 where he started as a defensive end and was moved to outside linebacker when they shifted to a 3-4 defense.
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