Home Runs Power Red Sox Victory...Boston Red Sox 6 Toronto Blue Jays 5

This was an exciting game! Sunday afternoon in Toronto, the Red Sox and the Blue Jays played the final game of their three game set, and Boston emerged victorious by a score of 6-5. Five of their runs came from the long ball, with Pedy Pedroia hitting a crucial three run bomb to left in the third inning off a neck high pitch from starter AJ Burnett. They scored four runs that inning, but the Blue Jays went ahead 5-4 after six. It was time for some heroics, as this game was viewed as a big one by every Sox player. And Coco Crisp delivered in the seventh with a solo home run to tie that all important score. It stayed tied as the beleagered Boston bullpen came through with five scoreless innings. Now that's priceless! And then came the eleventh, and Jed Lowrie promptly hit the game winning home run to right center. Little Manny Delcarmen relieved Jonathon Papelbon, who had breezed through the ninth and tenth innings, needing only 16 pitches. And Manny came through and the Red Sox, battered, bruised and bloody (Jacoby Ellsbury), won another road series, something which simply did not happen earlier in the season. They are 4-0-1 in their last five series away from Fenway. How big was this game? Here's what manager Terry Francona and leftfielder Jason Bay, who made a tremendous catch in left that, along with Jacoby Ellsbury's wall-banging bloodying catch in right center, were the defensive highlights of the game, had to say after the game...

"It seemed important," manager Terry Francona said. "I'm not downplaying the importance of it. Any time you have a day off, you're going to handle your pitching a little bit different anyway, but we've gotten to a point in the season where every game is important. We've come out of this place with some tough losses. I don't think we would have quit or hung our heads, that doesn't worry me. But it was a great win."

"I think it's huge," Bay said. "A few of us were talking, it's probably a lot bigger than just a regular-season win. Given the way these guys are playing, they're trying to catch up to us, and they've got the pitching to do it. Those guys right now, they're hitting. To get down early the way AJ Burnett's been pitching, it could have been a long day. But Pedey comes out, boom."

Peter here, and yes, Pedey got around on a high pitch and forced it into the stands. Coupled with a Tampa Bay loss, the Sox are now only 4 1/2 games behind the frontrunners and they have a one game Wild Card lead over the Minnesota Twins, who have lost two straight. It was a great Sunday all around, and I'm so glad I was able to watch the entire game. I had to juggle my schedule a little bit, but I knew that something special was brewing. Boy, was I right! Brew it did!!

Today is an off day for the club, a day to rest the pitching arms and heal all the bruises. And then it's on to Yankee Stadium for the last time. I'll have the full pitching matchups and anything else of interest in my next post, which will be up tomorrow early morning at the latest. Until then, I'd love to read your comments. I appreciate every one of you stopping in, as my readership is down bigtime. But I do this because I enjoy it. Pure and simple. Click on this post's title for more on yesterday's thrills and chills, and as always, BE WELL. Forever.