Thug Life Prevails

Felix Hernandez may have left the mound in total thug fashion tonight, with his hat crooked and his clothes baggy with an angry swagger about him. But all that mattered was that he dominated the Red Sox in the night cap of today's doubleheader and handcuffed them to a split.

Hernandez dealt 7.1 innings and yielded just 2 runs -- 1 earned -- while striking out 9. He was fabulous as usual, and the Seattle bullpen was able to escape the jams they got into for the 4-2 win and a split in the doubleheader. JD Drew homered for the Red Sox, who still picked up a half-game overall on both New York and Tampa. Both teams lost their games today.

In a last minute change, Jon Lester was given the night off and Tim Wakefield pitched in his place. The scratch was reportedly brought about because Daisuke Matsuzaka cannot make his start on Friday. Lester is expected to go on that day instead as the Red Sox kick off a very crucial series with the Tampa Bay Rays from Tropicana field. If Boston loses the series, they can all but kiss their chances goodbye. A sweep, though, would throw them right back into the fire. This will be the biggest series of the season. Hopefully the Sox are up to the task.