Everyone should beat the Mariners, but at least there were no slip-ups. You have to win the winnable games and that's what the Sox were able to do. Finally. They had struggled against bad teams most of the year.
My apologies earlier for saying that Ryan Kalish and Victor Martinez both had RBI doubles in the seventh when V-Mart drove in both runs with his. I was getting a glass of water when it all went down and came back to a scenario I misread.
The water was a must to quench a thirst for playoff drama. Several readers seem to think it's over and I'm paid to sound optimistic, but I'm simply doing what I've done since the first game of the season, giving the club's situation as it relates to its rivals. And with the deficit between the Yankees and Red Sox being reduced from 10 games to six in just over a week, there's no need to not pay attention, even if Terry Francona has committed to getting a look at the youngsters.
Heck, even if he played minor leaguers at every position, every start will be taken up by a rotation the club banked on getting it to the playoffs. There are no call-ups taking those spots. That includes John Lackey, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, the three starters in the upcoming series against Toronto at home.
The set begins Friday night at 7:10 p.m. and we will again be following the action for you right here. Our glass of water will be half full.
Final, Red Sox 5-1: Well, that was easy. The Sox sweep the series by a combined score of 19-8 and head home with a four-game winning streak in tow.
The Yankees have taken the lead in Tampa Bay. Regardless of what transpires there the Sox will gain another game on someone and remain hopeful that a dominant homestand can get them a bit closer.
Clay Buchholz is the star of this one. He bounced back from a stinker in Oakland to throw seven solid. Buchholz, on his fourth try, picks up his 16th win of the season.
Back with a final thought a little later on.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 5-1: It seemed to take forever for not much to happen in the top half of the ninth. Essentially, the Sox did nothing with a leadoff walk and will send out Scott Atchison to try to get the last three outs.
End 8th, Red Sox 5-1: Hideki Okajima attempted to make things interesting in the eighth by putting two on with one out. He gets Russell Branyan to ground into a 1-6-3 double play and all is right with the world.
Okajima has thrown 6 1/3 scoreless innings since returning from the DL at the end of August.
Tampa Bay leads New York in the seventh down in Florida. If these scores hold the Sox would be six behind the Yankees in the race for the wild card with 16 games to play.
They were 10 behind New York just over a week ago, just to give you all some perspective. And not that you need to be reminded, but the Yanks and Sox meet six more times.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 5-1: The RBIs just keep coming for Ryan Kalish, as does the feeling that he will be in the Opening Day lineup in 2011. He just hasn't given any reason to suggest otherwise.
Kalish drives in a run with a triple into the corner in right. It is his 14th RBI of the month.
Hideki Okajima has taken over for Clay Buchholz, who allows a solo homer in the first and then nothing else.
End 7th, Red Sox 4-1: Clay Buchholz is through seven innings for the 12th time this year after a 1-2-3 effort. He is likely done after 109 pitches.
Daniel Bard has thrown an inning in both games of the series so Scott Atchison may be your bridge to Jonathan Papelbon.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-1: The Red Sox were given the gift of a Chone Figgins error for a run in the sixth. They were given the gift of a Ryan Rowland-Smith appearance in the seventh.
The big Aussie, who entered with a 6.88 ERA, gave up three straight hits to Marco Scutaro, Ryan Kalish and Victor Martinez, the last one driving in two runs.
Rowland-Smith settled down but two runs in this game are huge.
End 6th, Red Sox 2-1: That had all the makings of a disaster. Clay Buchholz walked two straight batters with two outs and threw three straight balls to Casey Kotchman, who was 6-for-8 lifetime vs. Buchholz.
Given the green light on 3-0 Kotchman rocketed one into the gap in right-center field and it looked as though the M's might have the lead again. Turns out it had plenty of hang time for Ryan Kalish to track it down on the track, getting the Sox to the seventh up one.
Buchholz labored through 27 pitches in the inning.
Former starter Ryan Rowland-Smith has relieved David Pauley for Seattle.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 2-1: We can all thank Chone Figgins for the Red Sox' latest run. With two outs and a David Ortiz on third Figgins allows a weak roller to go right through his legs.
The error seemed to unnerve David Pauley for a moment. He gave up a single and a walk to load the bases before striking out Yamaico Navarro to end it.
Navarro just looks overmatched at times.
In any event, Clay Buchholz has his lead and a pitch count of 67.
End 5th, 1-1: Nice to see Clay Buchholz settling in after a rough first couple of innings. Safe to say he has moved on from the disaster at Oakland.
Then again, and this is no knock on Buchholz, it's almost as if every good start against Seattle comes with an asterisk, simply for the fact that the M's are that bad. Haven't seen an offense this putrid in some time.
Mid 5th, 1-1: The last time we saw David Pauley in Fenway Park last month he was dominating the Red Sox over the early portions of the game. A colleague who had covered him extensively in the minors warned me that it wouldn't last. Sure enough, Pauley was reached for four runs in the sixth inning of that one.
He has been pretty dominant so far Wednesday night but the sixth inning looms. The righty is up to 75 pitches.
For those of you looking forward to the Bruins' upcoming season, get a look at Doug Flynn's Live Blog of the rookies game at the Garden.
End 4th, 1-1: We mentioned it two nights ago and then Terry Francona backed us up with a comment the following afternoon and now we are saying it again. Lars Anderson looks very good with the glove at first base.
So much attention has been paid to Anderson's production as fans are ever-eager for the next big bopper. But he has spent 2010 becoming a well-rounded player and a big part of that is his improved defensive game.
Anderson caught a liner to end the first. That's why I even bring it up.
Mid 4th, 1-1: Adrian Beltre gets his head rubbed by teammates for the 28th time this year after turning around a hanging off-speed pitch for a solo shot to left.
It's remarkable how consistent Beltre has been. He had the tiniest dip in production at the end of August and into September, but it was miniscule, and he has more than made up for it.
Beltre is 16-for-34 (.471) with three homers in his last 10 games.
OK, so that seems to indicate he has been inconsistent of late. What I really meant is that he has never had a real slump to speak of this season. Just keeps raking.
End 3rd, Mariners 1-0: Chone Figgins is 7-for-9 in this series and had a pair of stolen bases early on, but has now been thrown out trying to steal three straight times. Jason Varitek got him Tuesday night and Victor Martinez guns him down to end the third.
Mid 3rd, Mariners 1-0: It's been a rough go for Yamaico Navarro. He is now 2-for-24 after grounding to short in the top of the third.
Hey No Mess, the comment on getting a break is simply a nod to Felix Hernandez, who dominates the Sox. Had he pitched in this series we probably wouldn't be looking at a potential sweep and would be that much closer to completely closing the door on the 2010 season.
Sorry if it confused you. I can read the writing on the wall as well as the next guy but I also have seen enough crazy things to know that a break or two here and there might change the final two weeks.
Missing Hernandez twice in two trips to Seattle is one such break. That's all.
End 2nd, Mariners 1-0: For the second time on this road trip that I can recall the Red Sox pick off a runner at third base to help spoil a rally. It was Jack Cust in Oakland and Casey Kotchman in this one.
Kotchman may have been fortunate to be on anyway. He was ruled safe on a close play at first with Clay Buchholz covering. A double by Jose Lopez followed to put Buchholz in a boatload of trouble.
The pickoff from Victor Martinez to Adrian Beltre was huge.
Following a walk Buchholz got a pair of ground outs to survive the inning.
Kotchman is now 6-for-7 lifetime vs. Buchholz.
Mid 2nd, Mariners 1-0: The Red Sox have had the leadoff man on in both innings and have yet to get a runner to second. After Adrian Beltre walks to start the second three of the Pawtucket boys are retired in order by David Pauley, a former Pawtucket boy.
End 1st, Mariners 1-0: One thing we have rarely seen from Clay Buchholz is him serving up a gopher ball. He entered the night ranked third in the American League in fewest home runs per nine innings, having given up just eight all season.
But Russell Branyan stepped into the box sitting on a fastball and got one belt-high and right over the plate. He easily deposited it into the seats in right to start the scoring.
So rare to see Buchholz miss his mark by that much.
Mid 1st, 0-0: The Red Sox got into a few in the top of the first inning but didn't have much to show for it. Ryan Kalish's liner was hit right to second and Victor Martinez's fly to right was hauled in just before the track. Marco Scutaro led things off with a single.
6:30 p.m.: When we see a lineup like the one the Red Sox are putting out there in this one there is a general sense that they are intent on going with the youngsters for the remainder of the season and giving up on making the playoffs.
But, realistically, the options aren't very plentiful, even with all the new imports. Ryan Kalish is your center fielder, whether you are in first or third. J.D. Drew is banged up so out of the Bill Hall-Daniel Nava-Darnell McDonald-Josh Reddick group two have to start and with a righty on the mound it makes sense to throw the young lefties out there once in a while.
Mike Lowell's current condition, as well as his long slump, makes Lars Anderson the best choice at first whenever Victor Martinez is catching.
Frankly this just might be the best lineup the Sox can put out there on a night like this. We will see in a few moments how it plays out.
5:40 p.m.: It might be obvious to say this, but the Red Sox will need to catch several breaks to remain a relevant team in the final days of the regular season. They've had a big one in this series.
For the second straight time in a visit to Seattle, Boston has avoided the wrath of Felix Hernandez. He was the odd man out in the M's rotation during a four-game set in Safeco Field in July and is not scheduled to pitch until Friday against Texas.
Such fortune runs out a bit when the Sox head home to host Toronto. The Jays will throw Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero and Shaun Marcum, their three team leaders in wins (12 apiece).
But at least the avoidance of Hernandez has helped Boston go 4-2 in Seattle this year and win its season series in Safeco for the first time in five years.
Hernandez and Clay Buchholz were scheduled to square off at Fenway Park a few weeks ago before the Sox altered their rotation. Instead we got Hernandez dominating the Sox and Tim Wakefield and now Buchholz against David Pauley.
4:28 p.m.: The current Red Sox may not make the playoffs, but some future ones are already knee deep in their postseason and it's become a pretty testy event.
The Greenville Drive of the Single-A South Atlantic League threw down with Lakeland BlueClaws in a pretty good brawl behind home plate.
Speaking of future Red Sox, CNNSE.com's Sean McAdam is reporting that Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier would welcome a trade to Boston this offseason.
I spoke with Ethier in June when the Dodgers were in town and he beamed when asked about playing in Fenway Park. His desire to come here may also have something to do with the tumultuous situation in Los Angeles.
In any event, it gives us a chance to speculate. Ethier is still young (28) and productive, despite marginal dips this year. He would be a nice addition to any team, but how would he fit in in the Red Sox outfield?
Veterans Mike Cameron and J.D. Drew are both back for another year. If the club does not move Jacoby Ellsbury, an unlikely scenario, then he will be around and presumably healthy. And there is every indication that Ryan Kalish will break camp with the Sox next spring.
Cameron is likely a fourth outfielder anyway so that's not a big issue except for the roster spot he takes up. But if Ethier was to be brought on board that would leave four left-handed outfielders, three young and talented and one (Drew) on his way out, vying for the three starting spots. Something would have to be shuffled to allow for it to work, perhaps that Ellsbury trade or a scenario that sees David Ortiz and Victor Martinez both let go (Adrian Beltre resigned, presumably) and that DH spot utilized on a rotating basis with Drew and others.
Food for thought.
3:39 p.m.: It is doubtful that the Rays and Yankees will be watching the scoreboard much — everything they have to worry about is right in front of them. But the Red Sox' effort to keep any sort of pressure on them can build with a sweep and a fourth straight win Wednesday night.
Actually, it's Wednesday afternoon in Seattle. But we know nobody is really watching in the Jet City so for all those concerned on the East Coast this is an early evening game.
Tampa Bay and New York play a night game in Florida.
Here are the starting lineups for the Sox-M's series finale:
Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, 2B
Ryan Kalish, CF
Victor Martinez, C
David Ortiz, DH
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Daniel Nava, LF
Josh Reddick, RF
Lars Anderson, 1B
Yamaico Navarro, SS
Mariners
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Chone Figgins, 2B
Russell Branyan, DH
Franklin Gutierrez, CF
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Jose Lopez, 3B
Michael Saunders, LF
Adam Moore, C
Chris Woodward, SS
8 a.m.: The Boston Red Sox have not swept a series since July 26-28, a three-game series in Anaheim. That could change on Wednesday night, when the Sox send Clay Buchholz to the hill in Seattle.
The Sox had chances to sweep twice in August. The first came against the Angels at Fenway Park, but the Sox lost 7-2 in the finale. A week later, the Red Sox dropped the nightcap in a day-night doubleheader against the Mariners.
This time out, Buchholz will be opposed by former Red Sox David Pauley. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m., a much more manageable time for Red Sox fans on the East Coast.
