Wakefield Stuns The Cubs With A 5-1 Boston Win

My goodness, Tim Wakefield was good last night at Fenway Park as his Boston Red Sox whupped the tar out of the Chicago Cubs 5-1. Wakes went 6 2/3 innings and gave up only one run on four hits, striking out 3 and WALKING NONE. For Wakes to go into the seventh inning without walking an opposing batter tells you just how good his knuckie was. He's the oldest player in MLB but it didn't show last night. For those who want to know, he's 44 years, 288 days young. Here's the Red Sox manager, Tito Francona...

"Boy, what a lift that gives us. Throw a guy in there when somebody gets hurt and he’s so professional. I guess it shouldn’t amaze us because he’s been doing it a long time, but I think maybe the better word is ‘appreciative.’ He was terrific. You go into a start where he’s not tremendously stretched out, but the first five innings the pitch count was so low, he threw so many strikes. He was a huge lift, because the first three innings we didn’t do much offensively. But because he was holding ’em down, it gave us a chance to get it going and score a few runs.’’

GREAT job, Timmy. We all know that Lackey will be back soon and he'll remain Boston's number four guy. But Matsuzaka? I don't see him coming back to the rotation until after the All Star game, IF AT ALL. So, fittingly, Tim Wakefield, the ancient one, will be our number five guy and I'm perfectly happy about that. On the offensive side, and I implore you to click on this post's title to see all the highlights, Youk drove in two with a deep double and the hitting machine himself, Adrian Gonzales, went 4 for 4. Youk's great but Gonzalez is AMAZING! Youk and Gonzalez, with their one-two punch, have thrived batting next to each other after semi-slow starts. Great acquisition, Theo. Great lineup, Tito.

Next up for the still hot Sox? Three games with the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland, who have an MLB best record of 29-15. Here are the series details...

Mon. 23 at Cle** 7:05 PM ET* ESP2/STOh** C. Buchholz (4-3) vs. J. Masterson (5-2)
Tue. 24 at Cle** 7:05 PM ET* NESN/STOh** J. Beckett (3-1) vs. F. Carmona (3-4)
Wed. 25 at Cle** 12:05 PM ET* NESN/STOh** J. Lester (6-1) vs. M. Talbot (1-0)

A sweep would be nice (aren't they all?) but taking two of three would be sweet, too. Boston is only one half game out of first place, as are the Yankees. Enjoy the games, click on this post's title for all the highlights from last night and as always, BE WELL. Thanks for stopping in and GO SOX!