Peds Powered Sox Take One Away From The Angels

Finally, a victory in Anaheim, although it wasn't easy. A 7th inning home run by Dustion Pedroia put the Sox ahead to stay, and the bullpen, much a factor because of Jon Lester's horrid and brief start, cemented the win. Here's a little bit about the stallar pitching from the 'pen, from the Courant.

"Starter Jon Lester lasted just 31/3 innings and allowed eight hits and five runs. Julian Tavarez allowed one run, and the rest of the bullpen provided 42/3 shutout innings - Mike Timlin (11/3), Hideki Okajima (11/3), Eric Gagne (one) and Jonathan Papelbon (one). Papelbon earned his 26th save.
Five of the first seven Angels batters had hits. Sixteen of Lester's first 36 pitches were balls."

Peter here, and that doesn't bode well for Jon. He threw 98 pitches in his 3 1/3 inning outing, and that just will NOT do. He isn't ready....not yet. I wish him well, but with the Yankees inching closer, it's tough to lose one game in every five with this kind of pitching. By the way, the Yankees were clobbered last night by Halladay and his Jays, so the lead is back to six games on this off day Thursday.

In other news, Big Papi was unable to play yesterday because of a painful shoulder. He said this......

"My [left] shoulder hurts," he said. "It really grabs in there when I extend my swing. My whole hitting game, where the power comes from, is with my extension."

Peter here, and we wish him the best and hope he'll be in the lineup tomorrow night in Baltimore. Click on the title of this post for all the details of our slugger's pain, and enjoy your Thursday. The humidity of yesterday is gone, and so is the sting of losing the first two games in La La land. Your comments on Jon Lester are welcome, and they will be answered. I Promise!