| 16 September 2009
I have to admit, I was trying very hard to be optomistic yesterday.
Matsuzaka was making his frst start since June 19 and then we found out that Youk (back) and V-Mart (personal, knee) weren't in the lineup.
But Dice-K stepped up and held the league's 2nd best offense hitless through four innings and scoreless through six. He went toe-to-toe with Lackey, fanning five and walking three, but the defining moment was in the 5th when the Halos had men on first and third with one out. Dice-K buckled down and whiffed Mathis and Figgins to end the threat.
The Red Sox took advantage of poor defense by Lackey and the Angels, scoring two runs in the 6th and added two runs in the 8th thanks to a JD drew triple, a Jason Bay RBI and Big Papi's 24th ding dong of the year.
Bottom Line: This game had a playoff atmosphere and Dice-K and the Red Sox had to fight hard for the win... a good sign with October just 2 1/2 weeks away.
I also want to point of Matsuzaka's post-game comments. I think RSN had mixed feelings about Dice-K yesterday, but it's always great to see the Fenway Faithful applaud a player for his efforts:
"I've been a burden on my teammates. I feel that I owe them," he said. "There's not much left in the season. In the limited opportunity I do have, I want to show my appreciation to my teammates and the fans."
"In the last start, I left amid some boos," he said. "So to be able to experience that I am very grateful for the fans response today."
ps. The Rangers lost and we now have a 5.5 game lead in the widl card race.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
