Following that 13-12 softball game in Toronto on Monday night, Boston put the finishing touches on a three game sweep of the Blue Jays with a pair of well-played, close victories on Tuesday and Wednesday, running its current win streak to 7-2.
And although the final two games were tight nailbiters, one thing set them apart from most of the other white-knuckle wins in this streak: good pitching.
After combining for 25 runs and 34 hits in the opener, the two teams managed 24 hits and just 5 runs over the final two contests. The main reason for that abrupt turnaround? The starters.
First Clay Buchholz tosed an 8-inning, 7-hit gem in Tuesday’s 2-1 thriller, a clutch effort that was much-needed after Tito had exhausted nearly the entire bullpen the previous night. Then Wednesday, antsy Sox fans were finally treated to the real Jon Lester in Boston’s 2-0 series sweeper, as the lefty held Toronto to one hit in seven innings, walked a pair and struck out 11 befuddled Blue Jays, slicing his ERA from 6.23 to 4.71 in the process.
This must mean the old adage is true: good pitching beats good hitting every time, especially when the teams are tuckered out from circling the bases like roaches on Red Bull the day before.
I think it’s safe to say that more than winning all these close contests (which is better than losing a ton of one run games – take it from a Little League coach who knows), the return of the reliable Red Sox pitching staff is the main reason the Nation can feel good about its team’s playoff hopes again.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, we knew Lester and Beckett weren’t going to pitch as poorly as they had been for an entire season. But the longer they went before turning the corner, the harder it would be for the Sox to catch the red-hot Rays and Stanks and capture a playoff spot this year.
With Buchholz settling down (2.19 ERA), Lester returning to form and John Lackey pitching well, Beckett has a little leeway before his poor start drags the whole team down. And since the Sox have cut down on errors committed and stolen bases allowed the past few series, the improved pitching is just one reason to believe the AL East could become a three team race once again.
Now if they could just solve that Big Papi problem…
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