Batting Around and Then Some!

Well, after losing yesterday, based entirely on Milwaukee's 1st inning, a game that Lester's post-1st pitching gave them a chance to win, the Sox came back with a vengeance! Starting in the 1st inning, they shot out of the gate like a scalded dog. The first six batters reached base, topped by Yooouuukkk's 3 run blast into the Monster seats, and by the end of the inning eleven men had gone to the plate and the Hose led six zip. Wake, meanwhile, was Wake. Over eight innings, he allowed just three hits and a single freebie, resulting in a game WHIP of 0.5. Although two of the three hits were solo shots, overall, he was in total command, even getting his season high in K's at six. When you're used to swinging at breaking balls in the mid to upper 80's and heat at somewhere north of 90, suddenly dealing with a diet of stuff that just about never exceeds 75, and often may be in the lower reaches of the 60's, is a task that's not something most hitters care to deal with. That's because, assuming the floater is moving and tumbling like it can, it's damn near impossible to hit. When you do, to make things worse, it's not often likely to get very far.

On the offensive side, the Hose bats started hot and continued there for most of the game. IN addition to Yoouukk's blast, Pedroia and Scutaro both drove the ball deep into the cheaps and the Hose tacked on a total of four doubles and a trey. Every Sox starter had at least one hit, and Jake, JD, Gonzo and The Dustman all had multi-hit games, Pedey getting three hits on the day. The hitting performance didn't hurt the stats races either. Gonzo added a pair of ribbies to his AL-leading total and Yoouukk picked up three to vault over 50 RBI's and move closer to the leaders in the league.