This Is More Like It!--Wake Gets 200th!

Well, tonight's game was fittingly a confluence of good things for the guys from the Fens. Entering under the weight of a five game losing streak and the Rays only three to the rear, the Hose put everything together (well, almost everything) and erupted. That's the only way to describe it. After trading the lead back and forth through three, the Sox finally took control for good in the 4th, at 6-5 and just kept adding on after that, topped off by a seven run, 11 batter 8th, to crush the Jays 18-6. This is the Hose biggest run total this year and it came with 18 hits, nine of them for extra bases, three of those for the cheaps. All of this without Papi, but I'll get to that in more detail later. Both Jake and The Dustman had four hits apiece, with Pedey having a pair of homers and a pair of doubles, reaching 20 HR's on the year and equalling his career best five RBI's in a game.Gonzo added an RBI to his total, remaining in striking distance of Granderson for regaining the league lead, and also maintaining his batting lead.Speaking of ribbies, Jake now has 94 and only needs a half dozen for the century and has 15 games to go. Good chance. If Papi gets back in quickly, the Hose have a good shot at three players with over 100 for the year.Out of all of this, the Sox gained a game on the Rays, who lost to Baltimore.
The other big news was that Wake finally, in his eighth try, became the 109th pitcher in MLB history to get 200 wins. Thought he had it a week ago against these same Jays, but the pen let him down then. Tonight the team had too many runs for that to be anything more than a remote possibility, and Aceves held the margin. Congrats, Wake, for a well deserved W. Many more to come.
Now, on the negative side of things, injuries, there was good and bad news. The good: Yoouuk came back into the lineup, in spite of everything that's been hurting, and, although no hits, the fact that he's playing with both bursitis and a hernia is just amazing--and just Yoouukk--true guts! Also, there's news that JB did a pen session and is expected back in the rotation by the weekend. Hopefully, that will work out. To the negative, Papi started the game, but had to be pulled even before he got a chance to hit, due to back spasms. Prognosis: have to wait overnight and see.