Red Sox Pounce On Halladay-less Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays may be regretting their decision to remove their ace, Roy Halladay, from the game Thursday afternoon. The Boston Red Sox quickly scored 2 in the eighth to tie it on Manny's first home run and 2 more on an Alex Cora triple and a Coco sacrifice fly. Paps came in and pitched a 26 pitch 9th for his second straight save. But it was Alex Cora who was the hero, pulling off a double play on a bad feed from Mike Timlin in the 8th and hurrying his throw to first just in time to end the inning with the score tied. From the Courant.....

"He had just made the defensive play of the game in the eighth inning, converting a poor throw from pitcher Mike Timlin into an inning-ending double play that prevented the go-ahead run from scoring.
But while his teammates were relieved to be tied, Cora was fit to be tied. He had made the play despite taking a body block from Toronto's Lyle Overbay at second base.
"I don't mind if you go hard, but not with your arms up, and you can't reach the bag," Cora said. "For me personally, it wasn't a clean slide. That's something that I really don't like in the game. That part really bothers me sometimes."
For Cora, revenge was best served to left-center.
Batting with a runner at first and one out in the ninth, Cora ripped a triple into the gap to break the tie, then scored on a Coco Crisp sacrifice fly as the Red Sox rallied for a 5-3 victory before 33,297 Thursday afternoon at the Rogers Centre.
Cora started for Julio Lugo at shortstop. It was Lugo, running for Dustin Pedroia in the ninth, who scored on Cora's triple. Cora went for three, he said, figuring he'd give himself up with one out to ensure Lugo scored. Instead, Cora beat the throw at third, then scored on Crisp's sacrifice fly to center.
"He plays the game, is what he does," manager Terry Francona said." (To read the entire article, click on the title).

He sure does play the game...his team is playing the game too. Right now the pitching from top to bottom has been first rate. The bats could perk up a little, but the defense looks good. That's why they're in first place. A nice place to be with the New York Yankees coming to town. A Yankee team with a hurting rotation but with a lineup top to bottom that does one thing really well. Score runs. The Sox have their top three starters going tonight, Saturday and Sunday night, which is the ESPN national primetime game. So buckle up, wear those lucky shirts, hats or anything else that comes to mind. Tonight, Pettitte versus Curt Schilling. Bring dem bums on!