Restocked Boston Red Sox Punish Texas Rangers...Boston 8 Texas 1

The Boston Red Sox, restocked with players Mike Lowell, Sean Casey and starter Josh Beckett, with Roberto Colon coming back next week, won the 9th game of their last 11, an 8-1 triumph over the Rangers in Texas. The return of a healthy Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell made all the difference in this one, with Josh going 5 tremendous innings (he was on a pitch count), allowing zero runs and zero walks while striking out 7. He was in control. PERIOD. His manager said this..

“I think we were thrilled,” manager Terry Francona said. “He went out and commanded really well. He threw a cutter that had late movement to it and even when he missed, he was missing around the plate. . . . He did a great job.”

And here's what the man himself had to say...

“Health is the main thing and I came out of it healthy, which is what we were really looking for,” Beckett said. “This is definitely a steppingstone. It’s going to be easier next time going out there, not thinking about it.”

Peter here, and as the Rolaids ad goes, "Oh, what a relief it is!" Having a healthy Beckett who can dominate any team in baseball will bring this club far into October. Maybe all the way. The bullpen was brilliant, with the lone meaningless run coming off Hideki Okajima in the 9th inning. No harm, no foul, as they say.

The batting stars were Coco Crisp, who went 3 for 5 and had 3 RBIs, and Mikey Lowell, who made his presence known with two hits, a home run and a two run single, in his first 2 at bats. WELCOME BACK MIKE! We missed you! Here's what he had to say after his team's lopsided win...

“It was a good day and I was really excited to be out there,” Lowell said. “I didn’t want to try to do anything extra and I think that actually helped me.”

Peter here, and what you did, Mike, was just about perfect. Youk had to sit this game out in Boston, but his back is feeling better and his return will be soon, as soon as the team returns to the Hub. With the Tampa Bay Rays' loss to Toronto (thank you again, Jays), the Sox are only 2 1/2 games back and still 6 games up (over Minnesota in the loss column) in the wild card race. And the Yankees fell to 9 games back of the Sox with their 3-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners. They are just a footnote in this playoff race. As for the Red Sox, ya know what? That sounds like a path to October play, and nothing could make me (or us) any happier. Boston is running on all cylinders, flat out, pedal to the metal, standing on it, and it's been fun to watch. They're having fun, too...I guarantee that. It'll be up to Timmy Wakefield to keep this hot streak going tonight, but I want to stress one important thing...having a healthy Josh Beckett on the mound every 5 days is HUGE! And so sweet.

Have a great Saturday as we here in southern New England await the drenching rains and winds of tropical storm Hannah. The winds here in north central Connecticut will take a backseat to the copious amount of precipitation, so damage and power outages are not expected on a wide scale. But it's good that our Red Sox are out in Texas, because Fenway will be dunked and drenched tonight. Click on the title of this post for more on last night's lopsided win, and as always, BE WELL. Your comments are always great to read and I will respond to every one of 'em. Thanks for stopping in once again...you make me so very happy.