A similar situation arose on Saturday only the O's and Sox reversed roles. Josh Beckett, who had been sharp, gave up four runs in the fifth allowing the Orioles to close a 6-0 deficit to 6-4. However, instead of caving as Baltimore did the day before, Boston held on. Again the bullpen came through and saved the starter's behind by shutting out Baltimore for the rest of the game. Papelbon came up with a save for the second straight day.
After extensively using the bullpen two days in a row, the Sox needed Jon Lester to have a solid outing to save their arms. He made amends for a his previous subpar start by pitching seven shut out innings while striking out nine. What is most encouraging is the fact that the Red Sox were able to win three straight tough games under some adverse circumstances against a team whose offense was as hot as anyone's in baseball. The Sox can complete the sweep on Monday.
1 comment:
The Orioles have a very good line-up, and they are going to give some teams trouble. The pitching staff is terrible, but it is kind of like going to play the Rockies in a 4 game series in Colorado. You are going to win a few games, but your pitching staff will come out of it in shambles.
The Red Sox did well in getting the sweep, but now that Masterson is in the rotation, it will be interesting to see how the bullpen is affected.
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