Sox Answer to Father Time--Wake Rolls On!

Well, he may be the oldest active player in MLB (45 in a few weeks), but Wake just keeps throwing those 60-70 mph pitches and setting down the opposition. Tonight he went seven innings and, after surrendering an early lead, stabilized, if that's the proper word here, finishing with a very satisfactory three runs allowed in those seven innings. He gave up 9 hits, but carefully neutralized most of them and allowed just a single freebie to go along. Add in seven K's, and his performance was excellent, particularly after the Jays had their three early runs. As the game wore on, he got better and better. In fact, only three of those nine hits came after the 3d inning.Bard came on in the 8th and got the first two hitters, followed by a rain delay. That led to Wheeler closing out the inning when play resumed and The Laser closing out the game with three more K's. True, he did allow a run on a single hit, but he was thoroughly in control, and got his 19th save. Pap might have avoided the run if he ever considered baserunners, but he is so focused on the task at hand--getting batters out, that he regularly allows advances by baserunners on 'defensive indifference'. Tonight he had two of those, one of whom, a hit batsman, later scored on the only hit of the inning. Does this mean that he's not effective? I think not. He's just as effective as he's been over the past three or four years, much better than last year, but the ERA is misleading because of things like these 'indifferented' runners.
Offensively, both Yooouuukkk and Jake had 3-5 evenings, each with a pair of doubles and a homer. Jake also picked up his league leading 28th swipe of the year. Net result after the 'W' finds the Hose just a half game astern of the Stripes, who lost to the Tribe tonight.
Gonzo had the night off with a stiff neck, but is expected to be back tomorrow. On the negative side of things, MRI's revealed that Lester, who left last night with a no-hitter going after four, showed a strained latissimus (so much easier to just say "lat") muscle in his back. The Hose put him on the 15 day DL, joining his rotation-mate, Bucky. Hopefully, this isn't the start of a run like last year in terms of injuries.