The Red Sox Defeat The Texas Rangers At Fenway. Manny And Papi Are Hot...Together!

In front of 37,598 frenzied fans, the largest post-WWII crowd in Fenway Park history, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers by a score of 5-3. The Sox are running on all cylinders, and Big Papi David Ortiz is getting hot, but not as hot as the man who bats behind him. Manny Ramirez continued his white-hot torrid hitting with a tie-breaking two run home run in the 8th that cemented the Sox' 7th victory in their last 8 games. His swings are things of wonder and beauty these days. Take it from a teammate, Dustin Pedroia...

"All of Manny's swings look like some of the best swings I've ever seen," said Pedroia. "Every at-bat is a quality at-bat."

Peter here, and well said, Dustin. Jon Lester started the game and lasted until one out in the 7th inning, his longest outing of the season. Although the last place Rangers bashed 10 base hits, he only allowed 3 earned runs and his walk total was a manageable 2. He struck out 5. Little Manny Delcarmen, Mike Timlin, winner Javier Lopez and Jonathon Papelbon provided excellent relief with Paps picking up save number 6. Here are the Sox pitching lines...

IP H R ER BB K HR ERA
J. Lester 6.1 10 3 3 2 5 1 5.06
M. Delcarmen 0.2 0 0 0 1 2 0 2.79
M. Timlin 0.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 15.75
J. Lopez (W, 1-0) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.05
J. Papelbon (S, 6) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.00

Not bad, huh? If (BIG IF) the Red Sox can find a dependable fifth starter (think Bartolo Colon, when he's ready, and that's only a matter of a couple weeks) and continue to get a 7 inning performance like last night from Jon Lester, this team is going FAR. The Yankees lost again to the Baltimore Orioles as their young and "valuable" starters, both of 'em, continue to remain winless. Gee, I'm SO sad. I'm kidding and you know it! But I like where our team is going and I like how they're getting there. Sean Casey continues to prove he might have been the best off-season acqusition of all, and Jed Lowrie impresses us all. This Boston team is DEEP, as all World Series contenders must be. I know it's early, but so far, so good. I like what I see. Don't you? Leave me a comment and I'll be sure to respond to you.

And so, Constant Readers, if you have time, click on the title of this post to be linked to the great Boston Herald Sox homepage...take your pick of many great articles. And remember, today's (Sunday) game starts at 1:05pm EDT, with Tim Wakefield, who has been a rock of the rotation, ready to face the always tough Kevin Millwood. But as Bruce Springsteen wrote and sang in a 1987 song (was it THAT long ago? I must be getting old........nah!), we're "tougher than the rest." I believe that to be true. Add a healthy and effective Bartolo Colon to the Sox mix and you get a monsterously huge game-winning team. But that's in the future, and it hasn't happened yet. BUT IT WILL!

Don't forget to click on this post's title, and please don't forget to leave a comment or three, and most of all, thank you for popping in yet again. I don't know what I'd do without you. I don't even want to THINK about it. As always, BE WELL. That's the most important thing of all. HAVE A GREAT SUNDAY, and happy Passover. Fried matzoh for all...just come on over! Fried matzoh is matzoh, which is unleavened and crispy thin bread, soaked in whole scrambled eggs, with a dash of milk or cream and some fresh cracked pepper and a pinch of salt mixed in. Soak the matzoh slices and egg mixture overnight in the fridge, ala French Toast, and then pan fry in butter or Pam spray (buttah is betta) until golden brown and unbelievably aromatic. You'll have a delicious breakfast treat. I made MYSELF hungry!

I wish every one of you the best, and enjoy afternoon Red Sox baseball. It'll be another weather-perfect day. Go Timmy. Go Sox. And KEEP going Manny, who is, right now, the best hitter in ALL of baseball. And I love it. I hope you do, too.