Pedey & Daisuke Fuel Sox Win...Boston 8 Chicago 0 ***BECKETT'S ELBOW OK***

Good news galore for Boston Red Sox fans the world over on this early Saturday morning. First up is last night's Fenway Park win, an 8-0 shellacking of the Chicago White Sox. Daisuke Matsuzka pitched his finest game of the season, going 8 innings and allowing only 2 hits while walking only 2 (that's way low for him!) and striking out 7. He was in command from first pitch to last. Mike Timlin pitched a clean and meaningless ninth. I've said many times so far this year that if Daisuke can begin a game with his control, which sometimes is so lacking, and maintain that ability to put the ball in the zone, he would have an amazing start. And that's just what he did. Great job, Daisuke.

Now on to the Red Sox offense. Dustin Pedroia continued his unbelievable 2008 season by going 4-4, Big Papi had a 3 hit game and Jason Bay had a bases-clearing double. The Sox banged out 15 hits in all, and they controlled the ebbs and flows of this one. Dustin Pedroia is getting respect from all around the league for his batting average (.328, .388 in his last 15 games) and his unmatched second base defense. Here's what White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had to say about our All Star...

"I worry more about Pedroia than I do about Big Papi right now," he said. "Right now that kid is the key to the ballclub."

Peter here, and well said, Ozzie. He IS a key, a table setter who can smash the ball all over the park and vacuum up anything hit his way in the field. We are so lucky to have him. The Sox lead the wild card chase by 3 full games (in the loss column) over Minnesota and 6 over the Yankees. They also have a better record than the first place White Sox. And that brings me to the OTHER piece of good news...

Josh Beckett's elbow is fine. Dr. Andrews examined him yesterday and after all the testing, no damage or injury was found. PHEW! He will return to the club (fingers crossed) on September 5th. Hey, that's next week! Here's what he had to say after speaking with his Doctor...

“It was a big relief,” said Beckett, who flew with assistant trainer and former Andrews associate Mike Reinold. “We’re cleared off because everybody’s scared at some point in time, whether it be me or the organization.
“It’s something I needed to do just to clear my mind and to make sure that this wasn’t anything more serious than we thought it was."

To wrap up, Daisuke was tremendous, Pedey is the "key" and Josh "Baseball" Beckett is just fine. Not a bad Friday, eh? It's night baseball at Fenway tonight, with Michael Bowden, in his first big league start, ready to face the always tough and sometimes lethal Mark Buerhle. Remember, the White Sox are in a battle with the Minnesota Twins for a playoff berth WITH the Red Sox, so every game is as big for them as it is for us. So enjoy your Saturday night baseball and day one of the holiday weekend. Be safe, be sound. You can click on this post's title for more on Josh Beckett and even more on last night's Boston win. As always, BE WELL.