Strong Pitching Carries Red Sox To 3-1 & 4-0 Victories Over The Reeling Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays, losers of nine (now 11) straight games, didn't stand a chance Sunday afternoon and evening as the Boston Red Sox took two from the Florida club. Clay Buchholz pitched the Sox to a 3-1 victory with a little help from a two run Dustin Pedroia tater in the bottom of the eighth inning in the noon game. And in the nightcap, Jon Lester continued his string of strong starts, leading his club to a 4-0 triumph. He allowed only two hits in eight wonderful innings and has established himself as one of the primiere lefthanders in all of baseball. Combined with Josh Beckett's terrific Friday night effort and Buchholz' Sunday matinee, the "Terrible Trio" held the Rays to a combined 2 runs, 11 hits and 16 strikeouts. What a combination seemingly made for October play. Their wild card lead over the Texas Rangers stands at a sturdy 4 games. Let's hear Big Papi David Ortiz talk, albeit briefly, about the twin wins...

“It was good to pull out these two games, especially the way we’re being chased in this wild card thing,” said designated hitter David Ortiz.

And Terry "Tito" Francona had this to say about Clay Buchholz...

“It’s exciting,” Francona said. “When he pitches well, it’s hard not to think about the future. I know we’re in the present, but he’s a young pitcher who's trying to establish himself as a winner. When he does that, it certainly makes the future appear a lot brighter. You can’t find pitching. We all talk about it, and you’ve got a guy right in your own backyard. We know he’s gone through all the ups and downs, but now it seems he’s understanding it, and that’s exciting.”

It's exciting to be a Boston Red Sox fan in the first place right now. They enjoy a day off today, the last one of the regular season, before beginning a three game Fenway set with the LA Angels. I'll have the pitching matchups early tomorrow morning. A four game AL wild card lead seems fairly comfortable right now, so relax and enjoy the day off! You can click on this post's title for more Red Sox coverage and as always, BE WELL. I hope your weekend was a great one. It sure was for the Sox.