Let the good times roll: Sox take pitcher's duel for 5th straight win

Sox 1, Cleveland 0
WP: Matsuzaka (12-7)
LP: Sabathia (13-5)
SV: Papelbon (23)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
Everyone was expecting a pitcher's duel between two of the top hurlers in the AL, and like a gift from the Baseball Gods, the two did not disappoint.

Daisuke Matsuzaka bested AL wins co-leader C.C. Sabathia thanks to Mike Lowell's 4th inning blooper, and after he threw eight solid innings, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon closed out the Sox fifth straight win.

#1 STUNNER Dice-K 7IP, 4H, 3BB, 5K
Matsuzaka shook of a couple of recent bouts of wildness in his best outing since a July 3rd blanking of the D-Rays as the rookie shut down one of the most potent and patient lineups in the league.

PAN'S FAUN J.D. Drew 0-3, 3Ks
This Silver Sombrero performance comes as the once revitalized but now reviled right fielder is in the midst of a 7-41 (.171) stretch that has dropped his average from .262 to .249 in his last 10 games.

For $70 million bucks.

RECAP
Ask and ye shall receive.

Before this game I, and every other semi-intelligent baseball fan out there, predicted a low-scoring pitcher's duel tonight when two of the top starters in the American League hooked up for a midsummer night's showdown at the Jake by the lake.

But how often does something that looks like a no-brainer on paper actually come to fruition?

In sports very rarely. Which as the old saying goes, is why they play the games.

Tonight was the exception to the rule, or maybe it was the rule, or...oh what the fuck, the game went according to plan as the two teams combined for a mere 10 hits and a single run, and the way the run scored was not exactly a work of offensive art.

And of course holding that slim lead for a the rest of the game was no easy task.

Since when do the Red Sox do anything the easy way?

The way the game started it certainly didn't look like the Tribe was going to be shut out for the fourth time this season when Cleveland put five runners on base in the first inning but didn't score.

Grady Sizemore began the odd inning with a single to center and then stole second four pitches later. But the Tribe would make the first of many mistakes on the evening when Sizemore inexplicably tried to take third on a grounder by Casey Blake to Lugo at short and Julio flipped to Lowell at third to easily nail the Cleveland center fielder.

Victor Martinez then drew a walk, and after Dice-K snatched a hot shot by Travis Hafner and turned it into a fielder's choice grounder that forced Martinez at second, Matsuzaka hit first baseman Ryan Garko to load the bases with two outs.

That's when Dice-K buckled down and fanned Jhonny Peralta to escape the inning unscathed.

The two teams traded uneventful 2nd and 3rd innings, then the fourth inning brought more action than the rest of the game combined.

Well, if you want to call a bunch of bloops, bleeders and miscues action.

The inning started innocently enough when Dustin Pedroia tapped a harmless grounder to second base for the first out. Things got decidedly unconventional from there.

Youk (2-4, R) skied a shot to shallow right field that brought former Dirt Dog Trot Nixon racing in from his position, but despite a great effort and an apparent shoestring catch, Trotman had actually trapped the ball, and Youk was on board with a bloop base hit.

I should say the first one of the inning.

Three pitches later Manny lined a solid single to left off Sabathia (7IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 7K), and Coco Crisp, the club's hottest hitter who was starting in the five spot for the first time all year, stepped up with a chance to put some runs on the board.

Unfortunately Crisp could not get it done when he struck out on a questionable check swing, but following him was the leading RBI man on the team, Mike Lowell, and if anyone could drive home a big two-out run, Mike is the guy.

Only this time Lowell didn't club one of his monster homers, or even one of his patented doubles off that tall Jacobs Field leftfield wall. Instead he skied a routine pop up to left field that hung up long enough to get a scenic view of the Cavs' Quicken Loans Arena and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before it came down.

Trouble was Ben Francisco, Cleveland's rookie left fielder, got a late jump on the ball, and by the time he recovered the ball landed inches in front of his outstretched glove for another apparent catch that wasn't, and Youk hustled around from second with what turned out to be the only run of the game.

I know, it looked like he was doing his best Whiffy Mo imitation.

In the bottom half of the inning it looked as if Cleveland would tie the game right up when they got two men on with one out, but once again Dice-K buckled down and got Francisco and Josh Barfield to strike out on just eight pitches, throwing high fastballs by both baffled batters.

By the latter stages of the game the only question became 'would Dice-K be allowed to complete his near-masterpiece?'

The answer was obviously 'no' when fellow countryman Hideki Okajima came out for the eighth, but with a 1-2 combo like Oki & Paps, Tito would be foolish not to use them when the situation was warranted.

And a 1-0 game against an explosive offense like Cleveland's is that type of situation.

After a lengthy 8-pitch at bat by Martinez, Oki needed just six more to dispatch Hafner and Garko, and then it was time for the close to earn his salary.

Following his last rocky outing (2 hits and a walk against the White Sox on Sunday), RSN had to be a little unsure whether or not the tough-as-nails Paps would show up for this one.

Those doubts were quickly laid to rest when he mowed down three Tribe hitters, including Trot swinging and Francisco looking to end the game out with a flourish, and the surging Sox had their fifth consecutive win and eighth shutout of the season.

I love it when a good plan comes together.

NOTES

• Papi missed his fourth straight game with his shoulder injury but is expected to return tomorrow night.
• Julio Lugo returned to the leadoff spot and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games with an eighth inning double high off the leftfield wall; he has raised his average from .189 to .226 during the streak
• Boston's string of seven straight games with at least 10 hits came to an end as Sabathia and reliever Rafael Betancourt held the sox to six hits including two each by Manny & Youk
• Whiffy Mo got the start in left field (perhaps as a trade showcase) and went 0-3 with another K, although he did make a nice running catch of a deep drive by Blake in the fifth. He is now 2 for 25 in July with 14 strikeouts
• In addition to Pena's catch, Pedroia made an excellent play on a grounder to shallow right by Hafner to nail the DH at first to end the fifth
• Coco (0-4) had his seven game streak come to an end, as did Pedroia with his 0-4

QUOTES

"I thought it would be a tight game. In a game like that one run can beat you. It turns out we couldn't push a run across."--Sabathia

RECORD: 61-39
AL EAST: Up 7 1/2 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-5
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Wed @ CLE 705