| 27 August 2009
Tim Wakefield returned to the rotation and picked up where he left off before hitting the DL.
Wake pitched seven solid innings, allowing one earned run on six hits and one walk, but lost the chance for his 12th win when Ramon Ramirez coughed up a solo home run in the 8th.
But David Ortiz, who had tied the game at 1-1 ealier that night, knew that the Sox needed this win after getting such a strong outing from their starter.
And so, the return of "Big Papi"occured in the bottom of the 9th when Ortiz blasted a shot around Pesky's Pole for the walk off win.
Ortiz is still hitting a dismal .212 since July 31st, but he now has seven homers in each of the last three months and the addition of Victor Martinez seems to have rejuvenated Big Papi.
"Victor, man, he just pushed me for every at-bat," Ortiz said after curling his second homer of the game around the Pesky Pole to break a ninth-inning tie and give the Boston Red Sox a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. "He got in my face and started screaming at me. I liked it. It got me in the mood."
After scoring 65 runs in their past seven games (9 RPG) the Sox had to to get scrappy in the last two games, but they've managed to earn the win in both instances, and in turn, have started to build some confidence heading into September.
Bottom Line: These are the types of games you need to win down the stretch. The Sox have proven that they are never out of a game and that will be key in the playoffs.
Side Note: Since Theo and the Red Sox refused to trade Brad Penny at the break, and then denied a waiver claim for him in July, I assumed that we would be subjected to his mediocrity for the rest of the season and someone else would be dropped to make room for Billy Wagner.
But the Sox did the right thing and finally cut ties with Brad Penny last night...
"I asked for my release and I got it," Penny said.
Speaking after last night's 3-2 victory over the White Sox, Penny thanked the Red Sox for taking a chance on him.
"I enjoyed playing with all of the guys," he said. "I played for a great manager on a great team. I had a great time. I enjoyed it. I wish things had worked out better, but that happens."
I don't hate Penny, but I am glad to see him go. Penny started 24 games this season and pitched into the 7th inning just 4 times. He also got bounced in the 5th or earlier 11 times due to .299 opponent batting average. Buchholz and Tazawa will have their ups and downs, but I'll take the upside that both of those guys offer over Penny any day.
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