Three homeruns and a wicked knuckler spark Sox to victory

Sox 4, Toronto 1

WP: Wakefield (2-1)
LP: Ohka (0-2)
SV: Papelbon (3)
HRs: BOS- Papi (5), 'Belli (2), Lowell (1)
Sox box

SUMMARY:
This one's real simple to summarize: Wakefield shut down the red-hot Blue Jay batters for 7 innings, as Tomo Okha did to the Sox for 5 innings. But after not registering a hit through 4 2/3, Boston exploded with three home runs in 3 consecutive innings, then Donnelly & Paps closed the door on a nice bounceback win for the Bosox.

HERO(s): Wake & 'Belli
Boston's new Dynamic Duo had their second consecutive great joint outing together. Wake has only allowed 1 run in 7 innings in each of his last two starts, and in those games Mirabelli is 4-8 with 2 big HRs and 3 RBIs.

Not bad for a 40-year old knuckleballer and a guy who only plays once a week

GOAT: Tomo Ohka 6.1IP, 4H, 4ER, 1BB, 3K, 3HRs
Glancing at his linescore it appears the Japanese journeyman righthander (include Boston in one of his journeys) had a decent, if not great, game. Then you get to the end, and those three longballs stick out like Avril Lavigne at a debutante ball.

RECAP:
For nearly 5 innings Tomo Ohka looked like the second coming of Felix Hernandez. Then the Sox batters realized they were being no hit by a guy who has played for 6 teams in 8 years, including his 1st three with Boston, and whose career record is 48-59.

Mike Lowell finally got the team going, hitting a solo shot with two out in the 5th to give the Sox a 1-0 lead on its first hit of the game. It must have been contagious because Doug Mirabelli matched him to open the 6th, and then Big Papi followed suit leading off the 7th, nailing an opposite-field blast to push the lead to 3-0; it was the big fella's 2nd hit the opposite way on the night.

For good measure Mirabelli knocked in another run in the 7th, singling home J.D.Drew who had reached on a single and moved to third on a fielder's choice. That made the score 4-0, and it would be plenty for the veteran Wakefield, who had his knuckler dancing all over SkyDome.

With his money pitch working its magic Wake had no trouble dispensing with what had been a torrid Toronto lineup. Coming into the game the Jays were batting .280 as a team, but after allowing a one-out single to Matt Methuselah Stairs in the 1st he set down 10 in a row before running into trouble in the 4th.

That's when Wake got into his only real trouble of the game; he allowed all three of his free passes in the frame to load the bases with two outs, but after a visit from pitching coach John Farrell, Wake got catcher Jason Philips to strike out swinging on a nasty knuckler and the Sox escaped the inning unscathed.

The Jays did get to Wakefield for a run on back-to-back doubles by the artist formerly known as Royce Clayton and John McDonald in the bottom of the 7th, but for all intents & purposes the game was already over, so the effect was minimal. Wakefield's night was done after that, and Black Donnely pitched a quick, perfect 8th to get the ball in the hands of Papelbon for the 9th.

Things got a bit interesting when Paps allowed a 1-out single to Aaron Hill and then a walk to pinch-walker Greg Zaun, but pinch-hitters Jason Smith and Adam Lind both fanned on Papelbon fastballs, and the Sox had a sweet victory to offset the sour taste of last night's bitter defeat.

NOTES:

-Wakefield has only allowed 3 earned runs in his 20 innings of work over three starts this season; he lowered his ERA to 1.35, good for 3rd in the American League

-Drew finally got back on the hitting track after consecutive hitless games halted his 9-game streak

-Papi is hotter than that little blonde on Dancing with the Stars; he has hit all five of his homeruns and had 12 RBIs in the last 8 games while batting .367 (11-30) in that span

-On the other hand Manny (0-3, .191), Coco (0-4, .136) and Pedroia (0-3, .188) are icier than a Simon Cowell putdown. Fellow sub-Mendoza member Cap'n Tek (mercifully) had the night off with Wake on the mound, and the way 'Belli's hitting you have to wonder if he shouldn't get a chance to play more, at least in late-inning pinch-hitting situations

-Although he ran into a spot of trouble in the 9th, Papelbon recovered to strike out the side and he continues to post some staggering early numbers: 4.1IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 9Ks. (All I can say is thank you tiny baby Jesus for allowing Mr. Papelbon to have the sense to return to the 'pen)

QUOTES:

-"I'm not going to lie to you, I tried to hit that way before and it never worked."-Papi on going to the opposite field

-"I've always loved pitching here. The mound is probably the best mound in the American League, and pitching inside is always a big plus for me."- Wake explaining his success at SkyDome

-"I don't care about Matsuzaka. So what?"-a testy Ohka bristling at a reporter's suggestion that he was trying to match fellow countryman Dice-K's performance

RECORD: 8-5

AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm

UP NEXT: Thu @ TOR, 12:35

Tavarez (0-1, 9.00) vs. Halladay (2-0, 2.35)