4.1.08 – Sox vs A’s

No April’s Fools joke today by the Sox, just a well played 2-1 victory over the A’s. Not much to complain about here (except for Varitek being robbed of a home run). A solid outing by Dice-K (despite still not throwing enough first pitch strikes) followed by the usual brilliant relief stint by Okajima and the hammer that is Papelbon.

Comments

• I love Youkilis. He just plays the game like it is supposed to be played. His defense is fantastic, he works pitchers hard, and he just gets on base. There is not much more you can ask for – okay, maybe a bit more power from your first sacker. I hope Tito keeps him fresh so that he does not wear down at the end of the season like he has the past two years.
• Youk tied the consecutive errorless game streak of 193 set by Steve Garvey in 1985 when he was with San Diego. One more Youk!
• It looked to me like Varitek smoked the same pitch from Blanton for a single and a “double” (which was really a home run). I don’t know why pitchers give him low balls to hit – he loves to golf!
• Is Big Papi’s knee okay? Not a great start 0-11 so far.

By the way, I love all the info you get from MLB’s gameday. It is fantastic.

Game 4 – Interesting Stat

Lester v. Harden – rematch

The last Sox lefty to win in the Coliseum (starter or reliever) was Zane Smith on May 29, 1995.