Like A Bolt From the Blue!

Tonight's game was actually three games in one. First, the Sox, backing a solid five innings by Dempster, took a three zip lead. Then, while Dempster was still on the hill, they began giving the runs back. Dempster gave up the first in the 3d inning, but then left with the score still at 3-1, Sox. In the 7th, Longoria drove home Zobrist with his second double of the night, and things started getting a bit uncomfortable. However, up to that point, whenever the Hose got themselves into a jam, they produced an unbelievable fielding play in their infield, topped off by a 4-6-3 classic started with a great move by Pedey. Finally, Workman, having allowed the Rays second run, in the 7th, was looking good, and it appeared that barring a mistake, he'd hand the ball to Uehara to slam the door again. Unfortunately, in the 8th, he made a mistake. He left a curve hanging out over the middle of the plate, about belt high, with no speed or break to speak of, for Loney. Knowing a gift when he saw one, Loney promptly 'unwrapped' it--over the fence to tie the score. The shot was on a laser like line and definitely a no-doubter from the moment it left his bat.
The Rays got no further, but the damage had been done.  The Sox were unable to do anything at all against the Rays fireballer, Rodney, and the call went to Uehara to at least get the Hose into extras. As always, he did what was expected. While it took a few extra pitches tonight, 17 in all, than he normally needs, it was another Uehara classic three up, three down inning. Included were a pair of K's. By eliminating the three hitters tonight without exception, he extended his perfect string of batters to 34. That's as in how many consecutive batters have been unable to reach base against him, no matter how they tried. The last time a reliever had a string like this, according to the announcers on ESPN, it was 1907. I'm skeptical about the year as the game was played differently then and relievers were an almost unheard of fixture back then. But, no matter the date. Whenever it was, it wasn't any time in the recent few years.  It's like he's pitched his own perfect game and started on the first two and a third innings of the next. But, when he left the mound at the end of regulation, the score was still tied at three.
Peralta came on to pitch the 10th for the Rays. He used eleven throws to walk two of the only three batters he faced. The third batter, Vic, sacrificed Pedey to second. Enter Hernandez, the eighth and final Rays hurler of the evening. He got the final two Sox outs, BUT--and it's a major BUT, not before he walked another pair, Papi intentionally, and faced Sox extra Carp. Carp, who is hitting over .300 on the season always seems to get his cuts when someone needs a rest or in pinch hit situations. With anyone else, he'd be starting. Well, he may not have started tonight, but he sure finished--the inning, the game and the Rays, in that order! Not waiting for anything, he swung at the first offering from Hernandez. The title above tells you all you have to know.  A nice fat pitch out over the center of the plate and belt high, Carp swung. The ball looked like a launch from Cape Canaveral, not coming to rest until it "splashed" down beyond the wall in dead center field. Grand slam, four runs and a 7-3 Sox lead. The next two Sox batters were quickly retired and Tazawa came in to give Uehara a rest. No sense wasting his talents with a four run lead. Other than a four pitch walk, Tazawa shut down the Rays with nothing, and the Sox lead over them grew to 9.5 games--with fifteen to play.
Pedey went 2-4 and Nap, keeping on his recent tear, had a run scoring two bagger, picking up a pair of ribbies.
By winning tonight's game, the Sox won their seventh consecutive series. The run began in San Francisco, and continued from there to now.