Friday night’s game was supposed to be a Red Sox loss: they just finished a three-game sweep of the Yankees at home and were starting a roadtrip without a day off. The Phillies are leading their division, leading in all sorts of statistics, and playing at home against a team designed for designated hitting. The more likely outcome should have been a loss. But no, they went thirteen innings to win, 5-2, even after allowing a momentum-crushing game-tieing home-run in the bottom of the ninth. Sox pitcher John Lester was excellent with a six-straight strike-out run and allowing only two hits in seven innings of work. He didn’t even earn the win, however.
Last night’s game was a strange one. The Sox got 5 runs in the first using three Philly errors (this from a team with only 19 errors in total so far this year). Then it rained for an hour and thirty-five minutes. After the Phils got 4 runs back, the Sox proceeded to dismantle the Philly pitching in several hunks. Sox pitcher Matsuzaka continued his mediocre performance and was lifted after four innings in what I consider a brilliant but unusual move by manager Francona. The final score was 11-6 and they played only the regulation nine innings.
The Red Sox have now played 11 consecutive games against major league baseball division leaders and have won 9 of them (Detroit (3-0), Texas (1-2), Yankees (3-0), Philadelphia (2-0)).
