Game 1 of the mini-series between the Rays and the Red Sox is in the Sox' column. Lackey gave the team 7 strong innings of one-run ball. He allowed baserunners in all but one inning, but made the pitches he had to make to limit the Rays offense to a single run in the 7th inning. Meanwhile, the Sox got to James Shields for 5 runs--3 in the 5th inning with Big Papi's big fly and 2 in the 6th on RBI singles by Tek and Nava, the latter of which I thought would be scored as an error on Reid Brignac.
Tek added a sac fly in the 7th inning and Bill Hall went yard with 4-for-4 Beltre on board for 2 more runs. It's good to see production like that out of Tek and Hall because the Sox will be relying on them in the weeks to come.
The pen and some sloppy defense made the game a lot closer than it should have been after Lackey's 7-inning, 1-run effort. Still, the Sox won 8-5 and will come out of the series ahead of the Rays regardless of what happens tomorrow. Cliff Lee gave the Sox a hand by pitching a complete game victory against the Yankees, pulling the Sox within a game of first place. Not bad after the way they started the season and the ever-expanding DL.
Tomorrow night, Dice-K faces the Rays for the first time this season. The Sox face Gargamel--er, Garza. Last time out, they got the best of him, with Beltre proving to be his kryptonite. Let's hope our third baseman is ready to get down on one knee and go yard! Oh, and Mariners, feel free to beat the Yanks again.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
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