Pedey, Byrd, Red Sox Fly...Boston 7 Baltimore 4

The Boston Red Sox got back to their winning ways Labor Day evening at Fenway Park with a 7-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Their wild card lead over the Twins stayed at three games in the loss column. They finished August with the second best record in the American League at 18-9, bested only by the Tampa Bay Rays' astounding 21-7. The Rays were off yesterday so their lead is five games in the AL East.

Paul Byrd was good enough to secure a win for his club, going 7 innings and giving up 4 runs and 7 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4. He was followed by the bullpen's Javie Jopez and Jonathon Papelbon, who earned his 35th save. And it was second baseman Dustin Pedroia who had the BIG hit, a sixth inning single that plated two runners. Quite simply, our Pedey is amazing. Paul Byrd had something to say about that little guy who plays behind him, and Pedey had a resonse. Read on...

"I can't say enough about my second baseman," Byrd said. "This guy, in my opinion, is the MVP of the league. He's unbelievable. I didn't know he was that good when I came over here."
"He said that," Pedroia said, breaking into a smile, when informed of Byrd's MVP comment. "That's a great compliment coming from him. I definitely love playing behind him."

And a couple days ago, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had this to say about the pint-sized wonder guy...

"A lot of people talk about Manny Ramirez leaving. I wish Pedroia was leaving," Guillen said.

Peter here, and sorry, Ozzie, you're stuck with him in the American League. He'll be the Red Sox starting second baseman for a decade or more (God willing). As for the MVP, who can argue? He had another multi-hit night with two base hits. In all, the Sox collected only 8 base hits, but that was enough to score 7 runs, more than enough to offset the four runs that Byrd will give up in most of his starts. But he went 7 innings and gave the bullpen a relative day of rest.

And so September has arrived, seemingly at supersonic speed, and the Sox only have 25 games remaining. It's safe to say that if they win 17 of 'em, their playoff hopes will be realized. Mikey Lowell took a few gentle swings yesterday, and I expect him back within ten days maximum...if all goes well.

Just click on the title of this post for more Soxiness. As always, be well.