Beltre With The Broom

Adrian Beltre had a career night tonight, going 4 for 5 with a single, a triple, and two dingers, knocking 6 runs in addition to making some awesome plays in the field as the Sox pulled off what was thought of as highly improbable going into this series: they swept the Tampa Bay Rays at the Trop. Such a feat hadn't been accomplished by the Red Sox in 8 years. What happened over the course of the three-game sweep looked like the exact opposite of how it went last month at Fenway, when the Rays swept the Red Sox in a four-gamer. It almost seemed like a bizarro world if you've followed the Red Sox/Rays rivalry over the past three seasons: Longoria was held to two singles and a walk and the Sox got Garza/"Gargamel" for six runs over 5 innings. The Sox outscored the Rays 19-4 in the series and it was the Sox pitchers who were in control, though the pitch counts topped out early for all three starters. Buchholz, Lester and Lackey worked a combined 18.1 innings and allowed only 3 runs among them. Joe Nelson allowed the only bullpen run tonight in the ninth inning, when the game was already well out of reach for the Rays.

Lackey, like Lester and Buchholz in the first two games, worked his way in and out of trouble all night, but held the Rays to 2 runs in 6.1 innings, earning his 5th victory of the season. It was a quality start for him after a string of poor outings, and a step in the right direction. He ended up getting plenty of run support, led by Beltre, with contributions from Papi (2-run homer), McDonald (2-run double) and Hermida (RBI single), with the final score being 11-3, a laugher to complete the sweep.

After a very rocky start to the season, the Sox passed the "tough stretch test" with flying colors, going 9-4 against the Tigers, Yanks, Twins, Phillies, and Rays. They are now 6 games over .500 and they moved up to third place in the division, thanks to some help from the Angels in taking care of the Jays. They're now 5.5 games behind the Rays and 2 behind the Yanks (the Twins weren't quite as helpful as the Angels). Sweeping the Rays has to be a huge confidence-booster for the Red Sox. Now, they need to keep that roll going. Just because they're playing the Royals at home, it's no time to let up. It would be great for Dice-K to follow last outing up with another strong start. It certainly doesn't have to be a one-hitter, but a solid start without the "bad inning" would go a long way in establishing some consistency. Let's home V-Mart's toe is better by Friday--Tek catching Wake would be an adventure and a half!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! CONGRATS ON THE SWEEP!!!!