The past three days, the Red Sox have locked horns with three of the best pitchers the American League has to offer in Felix Hernandez, Jered Weaver, and Dan Haren.  For a team that was in the midst of a stretch of baseball that saw them lose four of five to inferior opponents in Baltimore and then Seattle, it seemed a daunting task to even win one of the three games (let alone two or three).  However, in a three game stretch that many hope says more about this team then the miserable April start, Boston won all three games in scintillating fashion.  If there is a textbook for how to beat strong starting pitching, it would contain the following items:

1.Match the opposition with strong starting pitching of your own
2.Take advantage of scoring opportunities when they arise, because they won't come often
3.Be aggressive on the base paths, but don't make silly mistakes
4.Show discipline at the plate, because you won't see many good pitches to hit.  When you get them, take advantage of them
5.Drive up pitch count whenever possible



Sunday May 1st:  Seattle at Boston (Felix Hernandez vs Tim Wakefield)

This one felt like it had sweep written all over it.  Boston has just lost two straight to Seattle in mega-frustrating fashion, leaving the bases loaded over the two days aprroximately one kajillion times, and exhibiting what most politely can be called sub-par relief pitching.  To make matters worse on this day, Clay Buchholz comes down with the flu, which prompts his start to be pushed back a day.  This leaves 68 year old Tim Wakefiled to battle the 2010 Cy Young winner in Hernandez.  Lock for Seattle, no?  But you never know Suzyn, THAT'S BASEBALL! (on a side note, I highly recommend the Twitter site FakeJSterling for some quality John Sterling impersonation.  A recent post:  "And so the pilot landed the plane safely in the Hudson...you too can be safe and secure with the gift of NY Life")

Key Moment Early:  Boston has been one of the worst teams all season with runners in scoring position.  Today, they already experienced a first inning squander against King Felix as they left the bases loaded.  They finally strike for a run scoring blow in with one out in the bottom of the third when David Ortiz hits a wall ball double to score two, giving Boston an early 2-0 lead.

Unexpected Dominance:  Tim Wakefield had pulled off a rare coup for most of this year, as he sported a WHIP under 1.000 and ERA over 6.00 coming into the game.  This seems almost impossible to pull off.  However, he dominates today going 5.2 innings givining up three hits and only walking one as he matched Hernandez pitch for pitch


Head Scratching Decision that Almost Ruined Everthing: Wakefield had been abolutely cruising, and got the first two outs of the sixth before yielding a single to Ryan Langerhans.  Terry Francona, perhaps feeling like he did not want to push his luck, came out of the dugout with the quick hook.  Bobby Jenks came in to face Miguel Olivo and hopefully close out the inning.  A funny thing happened though, Jenks sucked.  His line was single, wild pitch, walk, walk.  It was reminiscent of the days of Derek Lowe as closer (Lowe was a fine closer, but when he blew lead, it was typically in rapid fire fashion with every hitter jumping on the first pitch, resulting in the lead being whiped out in mileseconds).  Suddenly, the game was tied at 2 with the bases still loaded.  Somehow, Jenks got a lineout to left to end the frame, and left the field to cascading boos.

Key Moment Late:  Late afternoon baseball at Fenway means an awful and low sun to deal with for the right fielder.  Jed Lowrie hit a ball pretty well, but seemingly right at Ichiro in right.  At the last moment, Ichiro lost the ball in the center of the sun and it glanced off of him.  Lowrie ended up at third with a gift triple.  It felt like yet another squander would come until Carl Crawford lined a solid single up the middle to plate Lowrie.  Crawford had the biggest smile in Boston while his teammates mobbed him.

Monday May 2nd: LA Angels of Anaheim at Boston (Jered Weaver vs Clay Buchholz)

Having back to back games that feel like locks for the opposition is never a nice feeling.  Clay Buchholz is still trying to figure it out this season for Boston, as he came into this night with an ERA in the mid 5's, and  WHIP of around 1.8000.  He has produced a deadly double being both wild and immenently hittable.  The polar opposite of that has been Weaver.  As he takes the mound, he sports an ERA under 1, and a whip and of about 0.7000.  This is not exactly the elixir a struggling offense is looking for.

Dancing Through Rain Drops:  Buchholz gets shelled early.  Maicer Izturis leads off the game with a shot to right field that he tries to stretch into a double.  He is safe but then over slides the bag.  Jed Lowrie, who had been slow to get the initial tag down, alertly tags him again and Izturis is out.  The Angels prompty get back to back base hits and have runners at first and second with one out. Buchholz bares down and gets a double play ball from Torii Hunter to escape the inning without a run for the Angels.


Taking What is Given:  Jacoby Ellsbury (really heating up this past week) leads off the game with a solid base hit to right, and promptly steals second after Pedroia K's.   However, Adrian Gonzalez is completely fooled on a 2-1 curveball and weakly pops up.  It feels like squander number 1,722 for the season is on the horizon until Kevin Youkilis rips a base hit between third and short.  There is no doubt Ellsbury will be sent and he scores ahead of an awful throw from Vernon Wells.

Grinding:  Through the first four innings, Boston's offense had made Weaver work to get through the order.  As he took the mound for the fifth, he was 71 pitches in with the bottom of the Sox order coming.  Jed Lowrie worked a six pitch at-bat before lining out to third.  Carl Crawford then jumped on a 1-1 tepid slider and slapped it down the left field line for a one out double.  Jason Varitek, typically over matched by anyone throwing over 80 at this point in his career, stepped in for the first crucial at bat of the inning.  Varitek worked Weaver over in an eight pitch at bat, fouling off four two strike pitches before drawing a walk.  Jacoby Ellsbury then worked yet another full count on Weaver, forcing him to throw seven pitches before grounding into a fielder's choice.  This put runners at the corners with two outs for the scuffling Dustin Pedroia (5 for his previous 38 coming into this at bat).  Pedroia promptly put on an at bat for the ages.  Had it occurred in the 1920's, Grantland Rice would have written a poem about it.  It was certainly the best at bat of the 2011 season, and hopefully will be the symbol of what this team is about.  Words will not do it justice.  Pedroia worked Weaver for 13 pitches, fouling nine balls off total, including the last seven with a 3-2 count.  He looked completely overmatched in the process.  In the midst of this, Jacoby Ellsbury stole second.  On the last pitch of the AB, Pedroia lined a shot back up the middle to plate two for Boston.  This sent Fenway into a frenzy and prompted a fist pump from Pedroia as he motored up the line.  I don't think it's ovestating it to say that this was bigger than when man first walked on the moon.

Gonzalez Saves:  The 2011 version of Clay Buchholz is never one to recognize good fortune and run with it, so he promptly gave up a lead off double in the sixth to Torii Hunter.  Only a dive from Ellsbury saved the ball from heading into the triangle.  This ended up being crucial, as the next hitter (Alberto Collapso) hit a one hot smash to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.  99 times out of one hundred, you will see the first baseman step on the bag and let the runner advance in an instance like this.  Gonzalez made the agressive play and gunned down a stunned Hunter at third, prompting bedlam moment number two at Fenway Park.

Just Like the Old Days:  When the Red Sox offense was at its peak in the mid 2000's, its trademark was to drive starters out of the game with high pitch counts, and then feast on the mediocre relief pitching that is prevalent across the league.  In 2011, Boston has not been nearly as productive as in years past.  That changed on this night.  Adrian Gonzalez took advantage of a baes loaded opportunity by drilling a ball to the center field wall to score three and break the game open at 6-2.  Two batters later (after a Kevin Youkilis double scored Gonzalez), David Ortiz lauched one into the Monster Seats.  A tight pitcher's duel was suddenly changed into a blowout at 9-2, and Boston cruised home from there.


Tuesday May 3rd:  LA Angels of Anaheim at Boston (Dan Haren vs Jon Lester)

On paper, of the the three games, this was the one Boston had the best chance to win.  The Sox had their own ace going at home in Jon Lester, and at least could go into the game feeling confident from having beaten Dan Haren two weeks earlier in Anaheim.  However, with good pitchers,  it is very rare to beat them two starts in a row.

Waste One:  In this case, it was the hitter Mark Trumbo wasting a nice and meaty belt high fastball from Jon Lester.  He crushed an 0-2 offering over the Monster Seats in left for what felt like an early insurmountable 1-0 lead, because Haren was absolutely dealing.  In the future, Lester might want to consider something of the offspeed variety off the plate when faced with this circumstance.  Save the 0-2 gopher balls for Casey Fossum.

Breaking Through:  Haren and Lester were dueling in the way you would draw it up when picturing two elite pithers battling one another.  Haren in particular was throwing whatever pitch he wanted in whatever count he wanted, and throwing strikes.  It was not a night that he could be waited out, so Boston hitters became more aggressive earlier in counts.  In the bottom of the sixth, Jacoby Ellsbury pulled a 1-1 offering to right, with the ball fortuitously hugging the line as it bounded into the corner.  Ellsbury motored into second, and Boston had its first real threat of the night.  The threat seemed to be fading when Dustin Pedroia whiffed on four pitches, but then Adrian Gonzalez jumped on a first pitch fastball and lined it to left.  Ellsbury scored, and Boston somehow tied a game it felt like they would not score in even if it went 100 innings.  Haren began to unravel here, as Ortiz ripped a 1-1 offering into right (sending Gonzalez to third) and then Jed Lowrie pulled a 1-0 fastball to right to give Boston the lead.

Redemption:  The symbolism in how Boston got its two run cushion was not lost on anyone, as Carl Crawford lined a one out single and then scored all the way from first on a laser shot from Saltalamacchia that dented the wall in left center.  

Just Like the Old Days, Part 2:  Super Genius Mike Scioscia inexplicably brought Haren out to start the eighth with a left warming and Adrian Gonzalez leading off the inning, and paid the price like he should have.  Gonzalez hit his first Fenway homer with a no doubt blast over the visiting bullpen.  David Ortiz then rocketed one deep into the right field stands off of lefty Hisanori Takahashi (on a pitch referred to as a "spinning do nothing piece of junk" by Dennis Eckersly).  Two hitters later, Marco Scutaro finished the Angels off with two run shot to left.

Three games, three different ways, but the blueprint was executed to perfection in the most enjoyable stretch of the season so for Boston. All of this, and STILL a game under .500.   However, it finally feels like baseball has started.

-Dan