Up & Down-Like An Elevator!!--Peter

Well, tonight's game was interesting--in the same way that watching a fly's reaction as you pull off its wings and legs, one at a time is. There's a certain fascination there,but underneath it all, you feel a bit disturbed and once all is said and done, quite unsatisfied at the outcome. Speaking of which, so does the fly. But I digress.

So far as the season has progressed, whenever Jon Lester's been on the mound for the Hose, things have gone pretty well. Tonight started that way as well, but once the Sox hung a big 4 on the board in the 3d, Lester started getting a bit out of character. Before you knew it, the 'Stros had responded to the Sox four spot with a fin of their own, all in the very same 3d inning. To make matters worse, in what was to be Lester's last inning, the 5th, they picked up another run: 6-4, Astros. One of the worst parts of this Houston onslaught was a 3 run shot by former Sox second sacker Mark Loretta that initially put the Houstons ahead.

However, as with any elevator, once the car reaches bottom, it goes back up again. So, in the 6th the Hub Hose tacked on a fiver of their own, punctuated by a run-scoring triple by Jake and a ribbie two-bagger by Youk--Sox up 9-6. This lasted an inning. The elevator then began its descent--6th floor, small appliances, 4th floor, lingerie, 3d floor--well, you get the picture. So, the Astros scored a pair in the 7th followed quickly by a trey in the 8th--'Stros 11-9. This last burst was compliments of The Other Manny-Delcarmen. TOM's been doing fairly well of late, but not tonight--2d floor, men's haberdashery; 1st floor, cosmetics and jewelry--3 runs for Houston. Give the man a Blown Save and the L for the night. Unless the elevator can rise far enough again.

Time for the good old elevator to rise again. And rise it did--just not far enough. Mike Lowell, who was just a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-4, drove his 12th homer into the seats to narrow the deficit to 11-10. Unfortunately, the store closed at that point. Sorry, folks, elevator's closed for the evening. Come back tomorrow and maybe we can get the elevator as high as your hopes this time.