Seven Run Second Inning Calms Beckett...Boston 11 Cleveland 6...Delcarmen's Car Crash

Victor Martinez slammed a second inning grand slam home run to help fuel a seven run second inning for the Boston Red Sox Saturday night. The home team beat the Cleveland Indians by a score of 11-6. Josh Beckett started out emotionally unfocused, giving up four runs in the first two innings. After that Boston crooked number second frame, he goose egged the Tribe for his last three innings of work in what was his final start until the American League Division Championship begins. Red Sox Nation learned that he needed three (!!) cortisone shots in his ailing back last week, far more treatment than I had imagined. Once he settled down, he found his rythym and breezed. He said this to the assembled media after his seventeenth 2009 victory...

“I definitely needed to get some emotions in check,’’ said Beckett. “Every pitch I tried to throw harder than the one before that. It caused me to miss location. want to do whatever helps us win,’’ Beckett said. “That’s the key to the whole postseason is to put yourself in the best possible position to win, whether it be a five-game series or seven-game series.

In all, he allowed seven hits and four earned runs while walking three and striking out five. Byrd followed him and pitched through the eighth inning, giving up a pair of earned runs. Richardson mopped up with a clean ninth inning as Boston won its third contest in a row. They finish the 2009 regular season this afternoon with Buchholz ready to face Ohka. The Red Sox then start the postseason against the Los Angeles Angels, probably on Thursday. The start date of that is determined by the team with the better record, in this case the Halos. GO SOX.

Boston dodged yet another bullet when reliever Manny Delcarmen lost his Hummer's left front tire in an I-93 blowout/crash while doing a left to right three lane swerve. The car (truck) was severly damaged but thanks to the Big Guy upstairs, he emerged unscathed. That's what seat belts will do for you... always wear 'em. There are NO excuses. Little Manny said this after arriving at the ballpark, still mentally shaken up...

“I was going like 55, 60 in the fast lane,” said Delcarmen. “The car in the middle, I saw him brush to the right a little bit and spook the guy in the slow lane - the guy in the slow lane lost control, swerved across two lanes and was coming towards to me at an angle. The only thing I could do was go straight at him and hit him or slam on the brakes, which I did, and go left-right into the median, which ended up clipping his car. There’s no breakdown lane but there was nobody behind me and nobody in front of me. What was funny was that his car spun out and went back into the slow lane and no other cars hit him. My back was a little banged up with a little stiff neck but no biggie,” said Delcarmen. “We’ll see how I wake up today.”

We all hope he'll wake up feeling just fine. Since the Red Sox won't be playing competively until Thursday, he has time to heal any bumps or bruises, thank goodness.

Well, my Constant Readers, I hope you have a great Sunday. It's the final game of the season and it feels great to know that the team we love will keep on playing, one of only eight teams permitted to do so. I'll be back first thing in the morning with the final game wrapup of this 2009 regular season. Click on the title of this post for more Sox news and as always, BE WELL.

It's been fun, hasn't it? The fun has JUST begun.