Carl Crawford does it again! For the second time on this homestand, number 13 drives in the winning run in walk-off fashion. Both times came with 2 outs in the inning, although this one was in extras with a maxed-out bullpen that forced Oki to throw 2 innings. Oki did his job, despite home plate ump Joe "Look at me!" West and his fresh-squeezed strike zone. That set the stage for Crawford, who came to the plate with a runner on first--Jose Iglesias, who pinch-ran for Lowrie, who worked a walk--to hit one off the wall to score "Iggy". What a way to score your first run in the bigs!
The Sox had their opportunities early in the game, but were only able to cash in once: in the 5th, when Adrian Gonzalez plated Tek, who doubled for his first of 2 hits tonight. Yes, Tek had a multi-hit game for the first time this season. Beckett, who tossed 7 shutout innings was denied the win when Pap came in with 2 outs in the 8h and a runner on second (who reached second on a balk by Aceves) and Jason Kubel singled in the tying run. With squandered scoring opportunities left and right, it looked to be one of those infuriating losses waiting to happen, especially when pinch-runner Darnell McDonald, the Tim Bogar of baserunning, got caught in a rundown in the 10th while trying to steal. Fortunately, Crawford still had some business to take care of: keeping his hitting streak alive while creating some more walk-off magic in the process.
With tonight's win, the Sox are once again at the precipice of .500. So far this season, that's been a dangerous place to be--they've been there twice before and lost the game that would have evened their record. Let the third time be a charm, boys! Who better to lead the way than Jon Lester?
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