Yesterday afternoon, Jason Verlander did what great pitchers do. He's throwing 98 M.P.H. on the first pitch and 100 M.P.H. on his 123rd, strike after strike just defiling Boston's hitters. David Ortiz, who came into the game with a lifetime batting average over .400 against the Tiger's ace, looked like a blindfolded old lady trying to kill a fly with a hammer. Thankfully, the Sox managed to take the series and this loss was a reasonable one to deal with. Just a great pitcher doing what he's paid to do in a must win situation.
On a postive note, Clay Buchholz continues to improve, pitching well enough for a win had he not been going up against Verlander.
Looking ahead to the pivotal three game series against Texas this weekend, the Red Sox have The Left-Handed Terminator on the hill tonight with the Wild Card lead in the balance.
The Dallas Morning News had a pretty good Q&A with Red Sox blogger Randy Booth from Over The Monster and USA Today has a piece on the Ranger's confidence heading into the stretch run of the pennant race. Unfamiliar territory for the ball club that hasn't seen post-season play in years.
It looks like Theo Epstein is counting on one time Red Sox shortstop Alex Gonzalez to make a triumphant return and shore up the left side of the infield. He's tremendous defensively but not much of an improvement over the incumbent Nick Green with a bat in his hand. Regardless of that, Green's glove has cost Boston one too many runs and any sort of replacement with major league experience couldn't hurt.
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