Beckett Sharp...Varitek, Bay & Bailey Provide The Power As The Red Sox Knock Off The Mariners

“It’s nice to win tonight,” Pedroia said. “We’ve got to do a better job of putting the game out of reach. Teams are going to come back. It’s hard to keep them down. I know our bullpen’s great, but we need to extend, get that two-run lead to four.”

***************
Those were prophetic words from the 2008 AL MVP Dustin "Pedey" Pedroia and they were dead on accurate Saturday night in Seattle. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners by a score of 5-3. Josh Beckett was spectacular for seven innings. He threw 120 pitches in the game, every one of 'em needed. It was the first time since Opening Day that Beckett allowed fewer than three earned runs in a start. It's SO nice to know that our number one rotation guy is back, at least for a night. I have a feeling it will be far longer than that. Every guy in the starting rotation knows that their staff ERA is the highest in all of the Major Leagues. Not for long...I guarantee it.

The Red Sox zipped out to a 4-0 lead after one and a half innings but the Mariners scored three quickly. THAT WAS IT! It was all Josh "Baseball" Beckett and the amazing Red Sox bullpen. Boston tacked on another run in the fifth to nail down the victory. Josh ended up going full seven innings while giving up three runs, striking out five Mariner batters. He threw 120 pitches. The bullpen came on in the eighth and Okie, Ramirez (he's been SO tremendous with an ERA right now of 0.44!) and Jonathon Papelbon made the victory official for all of us. It was Papelbon's league-leading tenth save. He hasn't made it look easy but he gets the job done. Every time. EVERY TIME.

That's it for now on this very early Sunday morning. The Sox and the Mariners tangle one more time today...that game will end Boston's left coast road trips for the entire season (I think). It'll be Masterson versus Vargas at 4:10pm EDT. Let's take this three game set and then, then, it's back east to Friendly Fenway after a day off on Monday, a much-needed one.

Please click on the title of this post for more Red Sox stuff from Sports Illustrated. and as aways, BE WELL. I appeciate every one of your comments. Have a terrific Sunday. See ya...soon. Enjoy the 4:10pm EDT game on NESN and the usual radio broadcast suspects. GO SOX.