Boston Red Sox on a Run

Red Sox 6 Tampa Bay 1. Buchholz with another strong outing, striking out eight in 6 innings. TB starter Wade Davis struggled a bit. Ortiz and Youkilis each homered while Pedroia and Beltre notched 3 hits apiece.

Red Sox 2 Tampa Bay 0. A one-hitter: Lester with the win. Delcarman and Bard with holds. Papelbon with the save. Ortiz delivers a two-run double for all the scoring. James Shields pitched very well for TB, but was the tough-luck loser.

This has been a pleasant, and somewhat unexpected, run for the Red Sox. We all knew that the pitching wasn’t as bad as it showed in the first 5 weeks of the season, but the starters (and relievers for that matter) have really stepped it up in a stretch where the Red Sox have faced four consecutive over .500 teams (New York, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay), and three of those teams lead their divisions. The Sox are 7-2 in that stretch (6-1 against the league leaders).

Together, Buchholz and Lester beat Minnesota and Tampa Bay one time each for a 4-0 collective record in the past week. Lester: 15 IP, 18 K, 1 ER. Buchholz: 14 IP, 15 K, 3 ER. Add Matsuzaka’s and Wakefield’s matching shutouts against Philadelphia, each with 8 IP.

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Mudge is a Jabberhead and a contributing author at Sports Jabber.

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