Undermanned Sox Rally to Defeat Indians (8/3/10)

After losing Kevin Youkilis to what appears to be a season ending torn thumb muscle, the Sox now have to band together for the fight of their lives. However they've been keeping afloat with 3 unlikely heroes.

Hero number 1 - Outfielder Ryan Kalish. When the bench play of Darnell McDonald, Bill Hall and Jeremy Hermida faltered, the Sox turned to 22 year old rookie Kalish to jump-start the team. Kalish has been sensational hitting .538 so far and getting on base when needed. Kalish started the season in the minors and didn't appear to be in the picture at all. Now he's an integral part of the team if they hope to survive the rest of the season.

Hero number 2 - Infielder Jed Lowrie. When the infield play of Ryan Shealy, Neuman Romero, Gil Velkasquez faltered the Sox looked to have no options left other than to play Eric Patterson and Bill Hall at second base. In came Jed Lowrie who hasn't been seen since the beginning of the 2009 season. Finally healthy, Jed has given stablity to the lineup and has been holding the fort nicely until Dustin Pedroia gets back.

Hero number 3 - Infielder Mike Lowell. Mike has had as bad a season as it could possibly get. He's been trade bait all year, radio call in stations called for his dismissal and even he publicly let his feelings known he was unhappy. Now, he's back and on the attack as the starting 1st basemen after spending the whole year as trade bait.

Tonight's game proved these heroes along with the rest of the gang still have some fight left in them. Josh Beckett (3-1, 5.74 ERA) was brilliant, allowing 5 baserunners in 3 innings while striking out 8. The 2007 ALCS MVP looked every bit as sharp as his vintage prime and if it wasn't for his 8th inning ejection, probably was headed for the complete game. His only hiccup was a solo home run to catcher Lou Marson in the top of the third inning.

While the 2007 ALCS MVP dominated on the pitching side, the 2007 World Series MVP made a triumphant return to back the offense. After a thunderous standing ovation in the bottom of the second, Mike Lowell hit the first pitch he saw since he went on the DL last month into the monster seats for a 2 run home run. It was a storybook moment as both Beckett and Lowell returned to past form to lead the way.

Things got a little scary in the 8th. After what looked to be Beckett plunking Sin Soo Choo in the knee intentionally in the top of the 8th, Indians pitcher Jensen Lewis threw at Adrian Beltre in the bottom of the 8th. The benches cleared and 3 were ejected including Beckett, Lewis and Indians 3rd base coach Steve Smith. When tempers cooled off, Jonathan Papelbon (2.98 ERA) closed out the 9th without a problem to earn his 25th save of the year.

With Youkilis out, the addition of Lowell at least briefly keeps the team afloat. With 2 more games until the big showdown in the Bronx, the Sox could still gain ground as they've done tonight (5.5 games behind) to make the series a make or break for the team.