Lowell and Lowrie Out

Francona came out today and said that Mike Lowell and Jed Lowrie would be out of tonight's lineup. The news is not as bad as I first thought. Francona wants to make sure that Lowell is as healthy as he can be against lefty Joe Saunders, who will be pitching in game 3. With Lowell out Youk will be playing 3rd and Mark Kotsay will play 1st. Not a bad move considering Kotsay is a very solid hitter, and Youk is more than capable of playing 3rd.

Lowrie is out of the game, and Francona said that it was the way he planned it all the way. Sorry I don't believe this one. I don't believe Francona ever had plans to play Cora, and I think it has a lot to do with Lowrie looking shaky in the field. That error last night could have cost the Sox the game, and I think Francona wants him to get his head on straight. I'll say right now I don't like this move, but Francona has two World Series rings, and I write for a blog...

Here is tonight's lineup:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF
2. Dustin Pedroia 2nd
3. David Ortiz DH
4. Kevin Youkilis 3rd
5. J.D. Drew RF
6. Jason Bay LF
7. Mark Kotsay 1B
8. Jason Varitek C
9. Alex Cora SS

Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP


-BMack

Red Sox Bunt To Beat Orioles 5-4

This was one of the sillier games I had ever seen in my life. The Sox were down 4-2 in the 8th then Mark Kotsay (was has just been amazing in a Sox uniform) hit a game tying 2-run triple. Masterson (who got the win) shutdown the Orioles in the top of the 9th, then the silliness ensued. It started with an Alex Cora single, then Coco came up and bunted. This was no normal bunt as it looked to be going foul, but then (for some reason unknown) did a 180 and stayed fair. So, there was a man on 1st and 2nd with no outs, and Ellsbury at the plate. So what does Ellsbury do??? Well, of course bunt, and the Orioles try to get Cora out at third, but it is a wild throw and Cora walks home to win the game...ridiculous.

What a win for the Sox. Dice-K had a solid inning going 6 innings allowing 4 hits, 4 walks, 3 runs with 7 Ks. You would like to see the walk total go down, but we have been saying that all season. Dice-K didn't get the win and was actually on the hook for the loss until Kotsay's game tying triple. Dustin Pedrioa continues to make his case for AL MVP by going 3-4 with a solo HR. For a guy who is listed at 5-9 180lbs (but it more like 5-7) the kid can hit he is now hitting .333 on the season with 17 HRs, 76 RBI, and 17 SBs. You have to hope he can continue this as the Sox try to get healthy.