Two months ago, the Sox were stumbling and tumbling on their way to becoming the laughing stock of the American League East division. Today, here they are -- set to begin an interleague set with the Colorado Rockies and sitting just a half-game back of the New York Yankees for the AL East lead.
Thanks to the resurgence of Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and more -- all at the same time -- the Sox offense has come to life. They have become a run-scoring machine, and they lead the league in runs scored by a hearty 10 runs over the next best (NYY). Patchwork in the daily lineup thanks to the likes of Daniel Nava, Felix Doubront, Darnell McDonald, and others has been the key to success in helping Boston get back to the top. Having done all of this without Jacoby Ellsbury and Josh Beckett, there are very good reasons for optimism with this ball club.
As they head into their series with the Colorado Rockies, there are plenty of storylines to watch out for. In what makes for an exciting series, Jon Lester looks to continue his dominance in the opener tonight. Lester is 8-2 with a 3.13 ERA, posting all-star caliber numbers (much like his current co-ace, Clay Buchholz). In game two, Red Sox fans will get to be witnesses to a special streak. Ubaldo Jimenez will take the hill against Boston, riding his 13-1 start to the season out to the mound. Jimenez has been nearly untouchable, posting that phenomenal record along with a 1.15 ERA thus far. The lowest ERA by a starting pitcher for a season is 1.12.
Finally, in game three, we will see Daisuke Matsuzaka make his return from the disabled list to start against Colorado. Dice-K had been showing promising signs prior to his DL stint, and we can only hope that he continues to pitch the way we have seen he is capable of. After all, in his last fully healthy season with the Sox, Dice-K posted an 18-3 record with a 2.90 ERA.
With the Yankees playing average baseball lately and getting poor production out of a few select guys they rely on (AJ Burnett is 0-4 with a 10.35 ERA in his last 4 starts), and the Rays having struggles in the past couple of weeks, the Red Sox could very well find themselves atop the division very soon. That is, if they continue to play the brand of baseball we've seen them play in the last couple of weeks.
DRob, I think the obvious key is the pitching. They'll only be as good as the pitching. During this period of climbing the standings, the Sox have still been making many errors. The key ingredient is that they have out hit and outscored their opponents by a bunch, which is not what I expected after the tough start.
ReplyDeleteThey will be fine as long as the starting pitching continues to give them quality 6-7 inning starts and the offense can do their job. I don't expect the offense can keep this pace, but even just solid offense should be enough. They will be tested this week facing Jimenez and the 2 aces of San Fran, so this time next week will really give us an idea how good this team really is.
It's pretty impressive that they're doing this minus some key players for extended periods. Let's hope they get healthy, stay clear of LB Beltre, and maybe win the chess game at the deadline to improve the team down the stretch. Either way, it's going to be an exciting finish. Normally, it's the Sox and the Yanks, but this year there is potential for one of the 3 best teams in baseball to not even make the playoffs! Stay tuned