october has arrived ... major league baseball's postseason is underway ... first team to win 11 games wins the 2008 world series ... and early this morning ... 1:21 am to be exact ... the boston red sox got win #1game 1 <> american league division series (alds)
winning pitcher <> jon lester (1-0) ... losing pitcher <> john lackey (0-1)
#1 star of the game <> starting pitcher jon lester
7 innings pitched <> 6 hits <> 1 run (unearned) <> 1 walk <> 7 strikeouts <> 117 pitches
jon lester won the final game of the 2007 postseason ... and he wins the first game of the red sox 2008 postseason ... once again, lester was simply magnificant
#2 star of the game <> left fielder jason bay
4 at bats <> 2 hits <> 1 run scored <> 2 runs batted in <> 1 home run
playing in his first ever postseason game ... remember he came to the red sox from the pittsburgh pirates who haven't played october baseball since the reagan years ... jason bay turned a 6th inning 1-0 angels lead into a 2-1 red sox advantage with one swing of the bat ... the game winning hit ... a two run home run
#3 star of the game <> center fielder jacoby ellsbury
5 at bats <> 5 times on base <> 3 hits <> 1 run scored <> 1 run batted in <> 1 double <> 2 stolen bases
jacoby was an offensive threat all evening ... with his bat and with his speed ... but his diving catch of a mark teixeira pop up to shallow center field in the 8th inning was the defensive play of the night ... the commercial says "owater" put the "o" in jacby ... i'm thinking more along the lines of jacoby putting the "o" in october
honorable mention #1 <> closer jonathan papelbon
1 inning pitched <> 1 hit <> 0 runs <> 0 walks <> 3 strikeouts <> 13 pitches
honorable mention #2 <> relief pitcher justin masterson
1 inning pitched <> 2 hits <> 0 runs <> 0 walks <> 0 strikeouts
it could have been hideki okajima or manny delcarmen ... but tonite it was 23 year old rookie justin masterson who got the call to pitch the 8th inning ... to be the critical bridge between jon lester the starter and jonathan papelbon the closer ... and in his first ever postseason game ... justin masterson held what was then a 2-1 red sox lead 
blunder of the game <> designated hitter vladimir guerrero
vladi, what were you thinking ... bottom of the 8th inning ... angels trail the red sox 2-1 ... jacoby ellsbury has just made a diving catch of a mark teixeira pop fly for the inning's first out ... vladi singles to center ... tori hunter follows with a pop fly down the right field foul line ... the ball falls just beyond the reach of gold glove first baseman kevin youkilis and lands just inside the 1st base foul line ... vladi, who at first has to hold up to see if youkilis will catch the ball ... takes off for 2nd and then 3rd base once the ball hits the ground ... problem is youkilis fields the ball cleanly off the first bounce and throws a strike to mike lowell at 3rd ... vladi is out by 10 feet ... so, instead of runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out ... the angels are left with hunter at 1st with 2 outs
No comments:
Post a Comment