Sweep Success!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
While all eyes were glued on ESPN and game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and the Magic, about 100 miles to the west of Orlando something special was happening with another Boston sports team. The Red Sox completed the sweep of the first place Tampa Bay Rays and, in the process, pulled to within 5 ½ games of the AL East leaders.
There’s no secret to the sudden turnaround by the Sox. The starting pitching has been nothing short of outstanding! Last night, John Lackey picked up the win giving up 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings of work. It wasn’t easy for Lackey but his solid performance follows up outstanding efforts by Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka making it one spectacular trip through the Boston rotation.
When this team was assembled during the offseason, the thought was that the starting pitching would be its strength. However a shaky start to the season by Josh Beckett and John Lackey in particular made Sox fans wonder if this rotation wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.
Now, without the man who is supposed to be their ace – Josh Beckett, the Boston starters are dominating the opposition. And they’re not just beating mediocre teams. The Sox grabbed 2 of 3 at NL East-leading Philadelphia before sweeping their own division leaders in Tampa.
It’s also no coincidence that Boston’s resurgence has coincided with the emergence of David Ortiz. Mired in a miserable slump to start the season, Ortiz has been sizzling hot as of late. After hitting just .143 with 1 HR and 4 RBI in April, Ortiz has hit at a .368 with 9 HR and 23 RBI in the month of May.
And Ortiz has done things over the past few weeks that we haven’t seen from him in a couple of years. From turning on two inside fastballs and driving them out of Comerica Park in Detroit to hitting the ball the opposite way against the shift last night in Tampa, Big Papi has been on his game.
Adrian Beltre was the offensive hero for the Sox last night going 4-5 with 2 HR, a triple and 6 RBI. Even without the power numbers, Beltre has hit well all season with runners in scoring position batting .395.
But the big picture for the Red Sox is that they may have discovered their identity over the past six games. They appear to be a team now with tremendous confidence which is a far cry from the first six weeks of the season.
They have made it through a grueling 13-game stretch against Detroit, the Yankees, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay at 9-4. You would like to think that they can keep the ball rolling as the schedule lightens up significantly with a 14-game stretch that features doormats such as Kansas City, Oakland, Baltimore and Cleveland on tap.
If the pitching continues to excel, there’s no reason to think that it won’t.
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