This time Masterson gets the win

Sox 2, Kansas City 1
WP: Masterson (1-0)
LP: Meche (3-6)
SV: Papelbon (13)
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
It was almost a case of deja vu for Justin Masterson when the bullpen nearly blew his brilliant performance tonight. But Jonathan Papelbon came on to get the last four outs of the game, including the final out of the 8th with the bases loaded, to secure the kid's first major league victory.

SUPERSTAR: Masterson 6.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K, 91P
I know he's only made two starts, but the numbers he's put up so far - plus the composure and maturity he's displayed - have got Sox fans salivating over the thought of him, Lester and Buchholz anchoring the Boston rotation for years to come.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Jose Guillen 0-4, 3K
One day after Lester stopped his 10 game hitting streak, Masterson further doused Guillen's hot bat by striking him out twice looking, and in the 8th Hideki Okajima fanned the AL Player of the Week with the tying run on third base.

RECAP:
The suspense of whether Justin Masterson would toss a no hitter was dispatched with quickly when the third batter of the game, Alex Gordon, blooped a double just inside the left field foul line for Kansas City's first hit in 9 2/3 innings.

The only question left after that was 'would the lanky kid from Jamaica earn his first major league victory?'

Despite a few queasy moments after he was lifted from the game and a nerve-wracking 8th inning that saw Hideki Okajima load the bases, the answer, thankfully, turned out to be 'yes'.

For the second time in less than a month Masterson got the call to come down from Portland and fill in for a Sox starter, and for the second time he did so brilliantly, limiting another major league ballclub to a few hits and what should have been no runs (thanks, Delcarmen), prompting GMs around the league to turn off their cell phones to avoid the calls from angry owners screaming "why the fuck can't we cultivate young hurlers like that?!"

Yes, this means you, Cashman.

The way the Boston batters had been crushing the ball lately no one even thought this game would be close enough for a reliever to blow.

But the Sox could barely dent the impenetrable force that is Gil Meche (7IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 8K) tonight, managing just a pair of runs off the expensive Royals starter even though the 2007 free agent signee had allowed 12 hits and 8 earned runs in his last 12 innings pitched.

All the runs for Boston came in the second inning as Meche loaded the bases with one out on consecutive singles by Youk and JD Drew and a walk to Jason Varitek. A sac fly by Julio Lugo scored Youk, and a ground rule double by Coco Crisp plated only Drew, and the Sox had to settle for two when Pedroia flied out to end the inning.

Luckily for Boston Masterson was just as impressive as he was when he started against the Angels on April 24th. In that game he gave up just two hits and one run in 6 innings, but didn't get the win as the trio of Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima combined to blow a 3-1 lead en route to a 7-5 LA win.

Like I said earlier, it was almost deja vu all over again for the kid tonight.

He wasn't quite dominant in this one, as the Royals had men on base in 6 of the 7 innings he started, but he did work his way out of potential jams, sometimes with a little help from his fielders.

In the third inning he allowed a two out walk to Mark Grudzielanek and then a single to center to Alex Gordon (3-4), but Gordon inexplicably got greedy and tried to stretch it into a double. He quickly jammed on the brakes and tried to get back to first, but a perfect relay from Coco to Pedroia to Youk nailed Gordon as he slid past the bag.

By the 7th Masterson had made the 2-0 lead hold up, but when he walked Mark Teahan to lead off the inning, who then moved to second on a groundout, Tito pulled the youngster before things got out of hand.

And just like last time, the same trio of relievers almost destroyed the game again.

Lopez did manage to retire the one man he was brought in to face, striking out Ross Gload looking, but then in came Manny D., and there went the shutout and nearly the game.

Delcarmen, who officially makes the Nation cringe every time he enters a game now, has allowed at least one baserunner in 16 of his 20 appearances so far this season and is sporting a god awful (for a reliever) 1.56 WHIP, immediately allowed a single to John 'don't call me Joe' Buck to slice the lead in half, 2-1, and it was only by the grace of the baseball gods that he got the immortal Alberto Collaspo to strike out to end the inning.

Unfortunately Francona's choice for the 8th inning didn't fare much better.

Okajima, who hadn't pitched in six days due to a wrist injury, worked his way into a bases loaded jam in the 8th thanks to a double and a pair of walks (in all fairness to him he should have had a couple of those balls called strikes, but hey, what can you do), and it was only his striking out of Jose Guillen that saved the game from swinging in the Royals favor.

After walking Teahan to load the bases with two out, Francona had seen enough and brought in his horse Papelbon to put an end to this nonsense and hopefully preserve the win for the kid.

Four outs (and three strikeouts) later Paps had done just that, and for the second straight night a young Sox hurler walked off the mound at Fenway with a huge confidence-boosting win under his belt and the promise of a long, bright future as a big league pitcher ahead of him.

Oh, and for his efforts Masterson was sent down to Pawtucket after the game.

Welcome to the Show, kid.

RECORD: 29-19
AL EAST: Up 1.5gms
STREAK: W5
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Wed vs. KC 705 Tomko vs. Colon