Last night, Papelbon earned his first six-out save of the season in Boston’s 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, extricating the Sox from a bases-loaded quandary in the eighth inning and then slamming the door in a dominating ninth. He struck out three, pumping fastballs for strikes and never straying from his standard operation.
Paps is having an unreal season, even when seemingly taking the "bend, don't break" approach to closing games. But watching last night you saw why the guy has never given up an ER in the playoffs (and let me tell you, Francona is treating this like a playoff series). Baseball is a beautiful game, especially when the majority of the cogs seemingly come together at the same time.
6.5 games back with 31 to play, 3 of them at home against the Yanks. Take a look at the schedule:
- 13 of the Sox games are against Cleveland, Kansas City and Baltimore;
- 15 of the Sox games are at home;
- The Yanks still have a West Coast trip to play LAA and SEA, with a day off on September 24th in Boston;
- Boston has days off on the 10th and 14th, so they will play NYY in their 11th straight game without an off day, but having been at home;
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3 comments:
Love your optimism, Kyle, and it's hard to overstate the importance the effort Paps delivered on Tuesday night ... but I don't think the Sox are catching the Yanks.
Our Local Nine had won 11 of 14 before last night and still didn't make up ground against the Bombers.
While I'm not officially waving the white flag, what's really important is getting into the playoffs. Oh, and getting Beckett back to his mid-season self.
Kyle - great food for thought. And your right, Paps 2 inning save the other night with the bases loaded was $$. Don't forget Wagner's contribution in 7th which could also prove to be huge down the stretch.
Regarding your prediction, I'm 1/2 way between you and Bryan. I would LOVE to catch the Yanks and still think there's a chance. They don't seem to be letting up though so short of a 3 game sweep of them (could happen) and a little luck, this will be tricky. With that said, I say, let's go for it!
Feast on the weak, sweep the Yanks, and we're there.
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