SLUGGED!

Yes, that's right! The Boston Red Sox ended their four game series in Cleveland against the Indians by slugging 17 hits and scoring 14 runs, a far cry from the previous twin 1-0 games. And it turned out that they needed most of those runs. After going 4 innings and allowing only one runner to reach base, Kason Gabbard fell apart in the fifth. He said this, from the Courant.....

"I was just trying to be too perfect there," Gabbard said. "To me, it's kind of embarrassing to have that 9-1 lead and then have all that happen and not finish the inning. It was just one of those things."

Peter here, and he picked a good game to lose his tempo. He'll be fine for his next start. Manny and Wily Mo were among the batting stars. Manny had two home runs, the first of which was the 3rd longest home run EVER hit at the Jake (481 feet!!), and WMP had four hits and was a triple away from hitting for the cycle. All in all, the night, a humid and still one, belonged to the hitters. Okie and Lopez finished things up with hitless 11 pitch 8th and 9th innings. Okajima continues to be just about the best left handed reliever in all of baseball. Even though the nickname didn't stick, he's still MY Darkman.

So now it's on to Tampa Bay for three games with the Devil Rays. Winning two of three is a must....a sweep even better. Here are the pitching matchups......

Tim Wakefield (11-9, 4.74 ERA) vs. Jason Hammel (1-0, 5.82) tonight.
Jon Lester (1-0, 3.00) vs. James Shields (8-6, 4.44) Saturday.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (12-7, 3.79) vs. Scott Kazmir (7-7, 4.02) Sunday.

And lastly, Curt Schilling continued to impress for Pawtucket, going 5 innings and allowing NO runs on 2 hits while striking out 8. He was expected to pitch five innings or throw 60-65 pitches. He went into the fifth inning with a no-hitter. Impressive stuff, and he said he felt stronger as the innings went by. I can't imagine hearing any better news, and we'll see him, ready to start for our Red Sox, on or about August 5th. What a shot in the arm he will be for the club, and a death blow to the rest of the AL East.

With the Yankees' loss last night, the lead is back up to 7 1/2 games, and things are sweet. And that's the way I hope your weekend will be. SWEET! Click on the title of this post for all the details of Curt Schilling's thunderous rebirth, and be well. Happy weekend!!