News:
The trade deadline came and went and the only other move by the Red Sox was getting Brayan Villarreal from the Tigers, who's heading straight to Pawtucket. Other than that, the Sox are what they are for the remainder of the season. They never addressed the bat situation although they managed to get Jake Peavy as their starter. They needed an arm in the bullpen that's tough on right-handers but they figure that can be cleaned up in house, maybe so. Still, barring injury, call-ups and unexpected waiver pickups this is who they are for the rest of the season. MLB as a whole didn't do any jawdropping deals as they've done in years past. Thanks to the second wild card, teams on the bubble still think they have a shot that they wouldn't have in years past so they're holding on to their best players in order to go for that second slot. A team like Philly that looks hopelessly out of playoff contention can suddenly get Roy Halladay back healthy in September, then go on a run that takes them to the play-in game, where they start Cliff Lee and win. The Rays trade deadline gamble was getting all-star reliever Jessie Crain from the White Sox (who asked for prospects for Jake Peavy) for...absolutely nothing. "Cash consideriations was the official reason but for a team that's notoriously cheap, that's hard to believe. Still, wasn't like the Yankees traded to get Felix Hernandez so you can pretty much wipe them off the contenders list.
As for the game, what a win. The Sox bullpen tossed 7 innings of shut out ball and came out on top for their 10th walkoff of the season. Here's how it happened:
Dustin Pedroia worked a walk to leadoff the bottom of the 15th against Luke Luetge. David Ortiz grounded out but Pedroia moved to second. The Mariners had Mike Napoli intentionally walked as Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out. Mr. Walkoff Jonny Gomes walked to load the bases and Stephen "No longer PU" Drew hit a ground rule single to end the game.
THE GOOD:
Hero of the night should be Hero's of the Knights as the Sox bullpen (sans Junichi Tazawa) held the M's off the board for 7 innings. Still, Hero goes to Stephen Drew who supplied the 10th walkoff win of the season for the Sox.
John Lackey did the best he could, tossing 7 innings of 3 run ball and leaving the game with a 4-3 lead. Shane Victorino was 2 for 6 with a walk and a run scored. Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 6 with a walk and a huge 2 run home run that gave the Sox a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 7th, 3 rbi's total. Jonny Gomes pinch hit for Daniel Nava and walked twice. Brandon Snyder pinch hit for Brock Holt and doubled. Koji Uehara struck out 3 of the 6 batters he faced. Matt Thornton pitched a scoreless 11th inning. Craig Breslow threw 2 scoreless innings. Drake Britton earned his first major league win by tossing the final 2 scoreless innings.
THE BAD:
Mike Carp was 0 for 3 with a strikeout before being pinch hit for by Daniel Nava...who was 0 for 2 with a strikeout. Junichi Tazawa coughed up the lead in the 8th inning, continuing to struggle the last few months of the season. It may be time to shut him down until his velocity returns.
THE UGLY:
Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 6 but made it count by scoring a run. David Ortiz was just 1 for 7. Mike Napoli was 0 for 5 but walked twice, including an intentional one that set up the winning hit. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was just 2 for 7. Brock Holt was 1 for 5 with a run scored before Brandon Snyder pinch hit for him.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox refuse to give up and die this season. After just 3 walkoffs total last year this year's team has 10 already. Not only that but last year's team won 69 games total, they improved to 65-44 this year at the end of July, a half game in first. Tomorrow the Rays have an offday but the Sox run smack into King Felix Hernandez and counter with Ryan Dempster...uh oh.
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