Two out of Three and We're on Our Way - Jenn

That's right, in the final game of the series the Sox bats woke up and took the rubber neck, giving our boys in red a 2-1 lead in what will be an 18 game series by season's end. Good thing our pitching staff didn't screw it up.

Dice-K was on the mound again. But unlike his last two starts where he went 6 2/3 innings, last night he'd only make it through 5 throwing the most pitches so far at 116. Over those 116, Matsuzaka gave up 6 walks, 5 hits, and 4 runs. He did have 2 strike outs, but that's nothing compared to what he usually has. Since the Sox got 7 of their 8 runs over the first three innings Dice-K would end up with the win. It got a little hairy in the 4th, though when he gave up three runs. But thanks to most of the bullpen, the Yanks would never catch up.

I say most of the bullpen because the man who tried real hard to give up our lead was none other than Mike Timlin. In his two outings the man has not retired a single batter. Not one. And his ERA is 81. That's not a misprint. I said 81. I didn't even know an earned run average could get up that high. Kyle Snyder, who was designated for assignment a couple weeks ago, only had an ERA of 21.6. Timlin's is almost 4 times that. What the hell is Theo waiting for? I'm happy to see that Dad has finally seen the light. But unlike my father who's willing to give Timlin another shot, I say trade him. Now. DO NOT, under any circumstances, let that man pitch again. Unless of course the score is something like 60-0 in the Sox's favor. Even he couldn't screw that up.

And try as Timlin might, he didn't screw up last night's score either. Yes, Giambi got his 2nd homerun off him, but Lopez stopped the bleeding and ended the inning when he got Damon to ground into a double play and Cano to ground out to 2nd. Two batters, three outs. That's what relief pitching's supposed to be. Hey Mikey, you taking notes?

Lopez was doing such a great job, I don't know why they pulled him for the last 2/3 of the 9th. But pull him they did and Manny Delcarmen finished the job Lopez started. He got the next two outs and the game was over. Incendentally, one of those outs was a strike out from former American League MVP, Alex Rodriguez. The amazing hitter of last season didn't get one hit last night. He didn't even get a walk. It was kinda nice.

Another man without a hit for the evening was David Ortiz. But not because he continued having trouble swinging the bat. No our Big Papi was hitless because he didn't play. As sad as it was having Papi on the bench last night, Francona felt he needed a day off. As I've said before, Papi's frustrated by this slump and when someone gets that beaten up, it's good to have a day off. My mom used to call them mental health days. And that's what it was. And who knows, maybe that's all he'll need to get back, excuse the pun, into the swing of things.

So, with the first of six series behind us, it's onto Cleveland and the Indians. But don't worry, if it's the best rivalry in sports you crave, you won't have to wait long for another battle. The Sox will be seeing the Yanks again starting this Wednesday. And this time we'll be the visitors, as the two game series will be at the House that Ruth built.