Deja Youk: Homer wins it in extra innings after Paps blows save

Sox 5, Cards 3 (13)
WP: Lopez (2-0)
LP: Parisi (0-3)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Youk, 2 (13); STL:None

SUMMARY:
For the second weekend in a row Jonathan Papelbon blew a save with two outs in the 9th against a National League club, and for the second straight Sunday Kevin Youkilis bailed out his dance-impaired teammate with an extra inning homer. This one came with one on in the bottom of the 13th and helped Boston avoid the sweep and remain in first place.

#1 STUNNER: Youk 2-5, 2R, BB, 3BI, 2HR
His second multi-homer game of the season ended with the first walk-off shot of his career, and it's safe to say Paps owes him an expensive steak dinner for the latest save he provided for his closer.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Rick Ankiel 0-6, 2K
Not only did the ex-pitcher, ex-juicer have a lousy day at the plate, but in the 8th inning the Cards' centerfielder fell after over-running a ball hit by Coco Crisp that wound up as a leadoff triple and allowed the Sox to tie the game.

RECAP:
Wow. This game had more going on than a CGI-laden summer blockbuster.

It was a pitcher's duel as both starters, Joel Pineiro and Jon Lester, threw seven solid innings of two-run ball.

It was a pitcher's nightmare, evidenced by Paps' blown save and Mike Parisi's blown game. Also, Hideki Okajima allowed 5 base runners in 1 2/3 innings and Chris Perez walked three straight batters to force in the go-ahead run in the seventh.

It's was a hitter's heaven, with the two team's combining for 29 hits. Seven players had at least two hits, two guys racked up three knocks, Dustin Pedroia ripped four hits and Aaron Miles tallied five base hits on the day.

It was a hitter's hell, as Ankiel went 0-6, Troy Glaus 0-4, and Jason Varitek and red-hot J.D. Drew both suffered through 0-5 afternoons.

It had highs & lows, "ahhhhs" and groans, and a couple of plays that made you sit and scratch your head.

Did I mention it was delayed by rain for nearly an hour at the start and there were 13 pitchers used today?

Let's just hope there's not a sequel in the near future.

The craziest part about the game was that it started out as an ordinary pitcher's duel, with both St. Louis starter/ex-Sox hurler Pineiro (7IP, 7H, 2ER, 0BB, 1K, 1HR, 81P) and Sox lefty Lester escaping numerous jams early to keep the game scoreless for five innings.

With 29 combined hits and just 8 runs scored, you gotta figure there were a lot of men left on base, which there were, but there were also four double plays, a caught stealing and a runner gunned out at the plate that combined to keep the score down and the pitch count up (362 total) in this game.

In fact in the first four innings the teams hit into three double plays and two fielder's choices which killed a few potential rallies, but the Cards finally broke the seal when they scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth on back-to-back doubles and an RBI single by Ryan Ludwick (1-6, BI).

Lester (7IP, 9H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, 101P) worked his way out of that situation without any further damage, and Boston sliced the lead in half in the next inning when Youk hit a solo shot over the Monster with two outs in the seventh.

And this is when things started to get wild.

Boston finally got Pineiro, who was signed by the Sox prior to last season and was at one point going be the closer for the club, out of the game when Ankiel misplayed Coco's routine flyball into a leadoff triple to start the eighth.

On came reliever Chris Perez, and soon the St. Louis lead would disappear in a sea of bad pitches.

Julio Lugo worked the count to 3-1 before driving a ball to right to score Coco easily, and thanks to Ankiel's blunder the game was tied at two.

After getting Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out for the second out of the inning, Perez allowed a single to Pedroia (4-5, 2 2Bs, R), and after the Little Big Man stole second, the St. Louis righty walked Drew, Manny and Mike Lowell to force in Pedroia with the go ahead run, 3-2.

Perez did strike out Youk with the bases loaded to end the inning, but needing just three outs and with Paps on the mound it appeared as if the game was over.

Ah, not so fast Faithful.

Last Saturday Papelbon entered the game in Cincinnati with Boston leading the Reds 4-3 when Edwin Encarnacion took the closer deep with two outs and two strikes to send the game into extra innings, where Youk and Coco hit back-to-back jacks in the 10th to win the gaame.

Couldn't happen twice in the span of 8 days, right?

Well, it didn't happen exactly like that, but when Papelbon walked Chris Duncan with two outs it did bring up similar feelings of "not again". After all, it was just paps' fifth bases on balls he had issued this season.

Sure enough pinch hitter Adam Kennedy (3-3, BI) drilled a fat fastball into deep center, and this time it was Coco's turn to misplay the ball as he got a bad jump on it, came in first then went back as the ball helplessly bounced off the base of the wall and Duncan came around to score the tying run.

And the park was shrouded in silence.

Paps (1IP, 1H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K, 19P) bounced back to get Skip Schumaker to ground out to end the inning, but the damaage was done and it was time for the emotional closer to take out his frustrations on his mitt in the dugout.

After the Sox went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, the next three innings went simialr to the first three - plenty of baserunners, but nobody scoring.

Hideki Okajima took over for Paps in the top of the 10th, and Oki did his best Timlin impersonation when he gave up a single and a walk sandwiched around an out before retiting the last two batters to escape the jam.

Boston, meanwhile, got a leadoff double from Ellsbury in the bottom of the 10th, got him to third on a sac bunt by Pedroia, but left him stranded when Drew struck out and pinch hitter Sean Casey flew out.

Oki (1.2IP, 4H, BB, K, 28P) was no better in the 11th as he allowed singles to Yadier Molina, Kennedy and Aaron Miles (5-6) before Craig Hansen came in and struck out Ludwick to squelch the rally.

The frustrations continued in the bottom of the inning when Lowell (3-5, R, BI, BB) led off with a two bagger and Youk and Coco walked, but Jason Isringhausen struck out Alex Cora and ellsy to squelch that threat.

Is this thing ever gonna fucking end?!

Hansen tossed a 1-2-3 12th before Boston got yet another leadoff double in the bottom of the inning, but Pedroia was nailed at third on a bouncer back to the mound and then casey hit into a double play to sq....ah screw it.

The game finally wrapped up in spectacular fashion in the 13th inning, which was an unlucky frame for St. Louis but proved to be very lucky for Boston.

After Javier Lopez releived Hansen with one out to face Duncan the slumping Cards' first baseman drove a double into deep center, and one pitch later Kennedy lined a single to right that looked like it would plate the go-ahead run.

But as Drew ran in and scooped up the ball, Duncan barrelled around third, and instead of trying to slide under Tek's tag Duncan tried to plow him over. Bad move.

Tek hung on to the ball and applied the tag and a disgruntled Duncan was out at the plate, and two pitches later Schumaker flied out to set up Youk's heroics.

Lowell led off the frame with a single to left and five pitches later Youk unloaded on a Mike Parisi fastball and drilled it over the Monster for a long-awaited walk-off homer, and finally this 5 1/2+ hour (with delay) marathon was over.

So the Sox avoided what would have been the first Fenway sweep since 2006 and enlatged its lead in the east with the Rays loss to the Astros.

Next up is a series with the slumping Diamondbacks, and its safe to say the Sox could use a herculean effort from Josh Beckett so the rest of the staff can get some rest after this wild and wooly affair.

RECORD: 47-31
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Mon vs. ARI 705 Haren vs. Beckett

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Matsuzaka gets blitzed as Sox lose 2nd straight at Fenway

Cardinals 9, Sox 3
WP: Boggs (2-0)
LP: Matsuzaka (8-1)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Drew (14); STL: Glaus (10), Miles (1), Ankiel (12)

SUMMARY:
Daisuke Matsuzaka made his first start since going on the DL almost a month ago, and he looked as rusty as an old swing set; he allowed 9 baserunners in one+ inning of work, and rookie reliever Chris Smith did him no favors by giving up a grand slam to the second batter he faced after coming in with no outs in the second inning.

The loss was the Sox 2nd straight at Fenway, only the second time this year they've lost two in a row at home.

#1 STUNNER: Troy Glaus 2-4, 2R, 4BI, BB, GS
The surly, burly third baseman has been hot in June, and his seventh homer of the month was a doozy as his second inning granny off Smith blew the game open and turned the last eight innings into yard work time.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Matsuzaka 1IP, 6H, 7ER, 3BB, 1K, HR, 48P
We all knew the guy would need some time to round back into form, especially with just one rehab start under his belt. But this outing could be considered a major step backward for the previously unbeaten starter. He. Had. Nothing.

RECAP:
Well that didn't go too well now, did it?

On a picturesque day at Fenway in front of a national TV audience, with its full compliment of players in the lineup and its winningest starter on the mound, it appeared as if a Sox victory was all but certain.

And then the game started, and it quickly became apparent that not only would Boston probably not win this game, but it might lose it in humiliating fashion.

Less than an hour into the game the Sox trailed 8-0, and any hopes of winning this series and Matsuzaka earning his 9th victory of the season were gone in a barrage of Red Bird base hits and bases on balls.

The Cards opened up an industrial strength-sized can of whup ass on Dice-K and the Sox this afternoon, and by the time the second inning was over the team was in worse shape than before Matsuzaka came back from his shoulder injury.

Suddenly the once solid staff is in a spot of trouble, because in the last few days Bartolo Colon and Mike Timlin have gone on the DL, Curt Schilling has all but called it a career, Hideki Okajima has developed a case of Steve Blass disease, and now it appears Daisuke's problems may be more than what a quick trip to the DL can cure.

Is it too late to trade for Santana?

It was obvious right from the beginning that Matsuzaka was either not fully recovered from his sore shoulder or just real, real, rusty. He walked the first batter of the game, the immortal Skip Schumaker, on five pitches that weren't really close to the strike zone, then surrendered a two-run homer to Aaron Miles for a lightning-quick 2-0 St. Louis lead.

Following last night's theme of the Cardinals scrubs doing the damage it was the light-hitting Miles' first homer since last September.

Unfortunately before he was out of the inning Dice K would let every one get in on the act as he followed the longball by allowing a single to Ryan Ludwick, a one out single to Troy Glaus, and after a ground ball moved the runners into scoring position, a two-run single by Jason LaRue (2-5, 2BI) pushed the lead to 4-0 before the Faithful had downed their first $9.00 beer.

Boston looked like it might jump right back in it when Jacoby Ellsbury dropped a leadoff double down the left field line, but rookie Mitchell Boggs, making his third career start in his fourth career appearance, got Pedroia, Drew and Manny to fly out to left, center and right, and before we knew it Matsuzaka was back on the mound.

But not for long.

Second verse, same as the first. Only worse.

Schumaker walked, again, for the second time in two innings, and then Miles (2-5, 2R, 2BI) dumped a single to center and Ludwick walked and the Cards had the bases loaded with no outs and it was all the fans could do to keep from booing Matsuzaka off the field.

Luckily for him this is the kinder, gentler, more forgiving post-titles Fenway crowd.

Mercifully Francona made the trip to the mound to pull his piss-poor starter, and on came rookie Chris Smith, who had been up and down from Pawtucket three times this year without ever getting into a game.

So he gets to come into a bases loaded, not outs jam with Ankiel and Glaus due up.

Welcome to the bigs, kid.

Things looked promising at first when the 27-year-old righty got Ankiel to strike out on three straight knee-bending breakers, but when he tried a similar tact with Glaus the strapping third baseman caught up to a hanging curve and swiftly deposited it into the seats above the Monster, and at 8-0 this one was all over save for the stat-padding.

Alas Boston couldn't even do that, managing a mere six base hits on the afternoon, and although they did scratch out a couple of runs in the bottom of the second off Boggs (5.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 2BB, 1K, 1HR) on a two-run double by Alex Cora, the only other run the Sox could muster on the afternoon was a solo shot by Drew, aka Juno, to lead off the sixth to slice the deficit to five, 8-3.

Ankiel got that run right back when he took Javier Lopez deep to begin the seventh, and about the only good sign for the Sox on the day was David Aardsma pitching his second consecutive 1-2-3, 3K inning in two days in the eighth.

So we got that going for us.

Thanks to Dice-Ks destruction and another win by the motherlovin' Rays, the Sox lead in the East has been reduced back to a minuscule 1/2 game.

Now Jon Lester will be faced with the task of preventing a humiliating home sweep when he takes the mound tomorrow afternoon, and he doesn't have to pitch another no-no.

Just keep the score under 8-zip after two, please.

RECORD: 46-31
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
STREAK: L2
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sun vs. STL 1:35 Pineiro vs. Lester

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Game Preview: Cards @ Sox GM2

Boggs (1-0, 5.56) vs. Matsuzaka (8-0, 2.53)
Game 2 of 3 3:55 FOX @ Fenway Park

The return of Daisuke Matsuzaka from the disabled list this afternoon is a blessing for Boston's beleaguered rotation, stung by the loss this week of Bartolo Colon and the news that Curt Schilling will not be joining it at all this season, but it is also a bonus for the bullpen as well.

To make room for Dice-K the team placed reliever Mike Timlin on the DL for, of all things, a bad knee. You guys sure it has nothing to do with his noodle arm?

Either way it's another day and another set of moves for the constantly flowing Red Sox roster, which has had more changes to its makeup this season than the cast of "Dancing with the Stars."

When we last saw Dice K on the mound he was pitching in Seattle at the end of May. After pitching four innings and allowing two runs, Matsuzaka grabbed his side while warming up before the fifth inning began and was immediately removed from the game.

Turns out he injured his shoulder reaching for a throw while covering the first base bag earlier in the game, and after nearly a month on the DL and one rehab start, the Japanese righthander stated he is ready to pitch at the big league level again.

That remains to be seen about his tired armed teammate Timlin.

When Matsuzaka went down he was leading the league in wins and was second in ERA. One month later he's still tied for the third most wins in the majors and can jump right back into the ERA leaders with a solid performance today.

You can bet Tito & John Farrell will have a close eye on their stud starter, and should his pitch count get high or he appear to be struggling at all he will probably be on a short leash.

The fact that he's facing rookie righty Mitchell Boggs can only benefit Matsuzaka and the Sox. A veteran of 2 major league starts, the 24-year-old Boggs has pitched fairly well since being being called up on June 7th, but his inexperience combined with pitching in Fenway for the first time against one of the top offensive clubs in baseball should play into Boston's favor.

The Sox hope to rebound from last night's messy loss, in which the hurlers surrendered three homers to three obscure Cards and Julio Lugo was the key offensive contributor but also committed a pair of errors in what was a lackluster performance for the team coming off a solid 4-2 road trip.

So it's no excuses today. The top starter is back. The starting lineup (minus Papi) is intact. And a greenhorn is on the mound to face the World Champs in a national TV game in the ballpark where Boston has lost only 8 games all season.

Let's not eff this one up, fellas.

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Miscues and longballs cost Sox against Cards

Cardinals 5, Sox 4
WP: Lohse (9-2)
LP: Wakefield (4-5)
SV: Franklin (10)
HRs: BOS-Lugo (1); STL: Molina (4), LaRue (2), Schumaker (5)

SUMMARY:
A couple of costly miscues in the 6th inning by Julio Lugo broke a 1-1 tie, and a late home run allowed by Hideki Okajima ended up being the game-winning run as Boston dropped its 8th game at Fenway this season.

#1 STUNNER: Kyle Lohse 6IP, 6H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 4K, HR, 109P
The St. Louis starter wasn't overpowering but he got the bigs outs when he needed them, including fanning Manny Ramirez with the bases loaded in the 5th, en route to winning his 6th consectuive decision.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Okajima 1IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB, 2K, HR, 19P
The woes continue for the team's once most reliable set up man as even bringing him in with a deficit couldn't prevent Oki from blowing this game.

RECAP:
Before this series started if you said St Louis would beat the Sox and Tim Wakefield by bashing three home runs in the opening game, nobody would've thought twice about it.

After all Wake has a tendency to give up the long ball, and the Cards have mashers like Pujols, Glaus, Ankiel, and Ryan Ludwick who are capable of hitting the ball out of the park at any time.

But to lose a game when stiffs like Yadier Molina, Jason LaRue and someone named Skip Schumaker go deep off not only Wake but the artist formerly known as Hideki Okajima, well that's a bitter pill to swallow.

To make matters worse clueless Julio Lugo committed two more costly errors, both coming on back-to-back routine plays in the 6th inning with the game tied at one, and even though he atoned for his flubs with a game-tying home run in the bottom of the inning, the Boston pitchers couldn't prevent those unsung Cards hitters from going yard.

The Sox actually had a lead in this one when Lugo (1-2, R, 2BI, BB) hit a sac fly to score Ramirez with the bases loaded in the second inning, but Boston's inability to capitalize on three sacks full situations in the game would come back to haunt them big time.

In fact the Sox had the bases loaded in the second, two on in the third, bases loaded in the fifth and again in the seventh and only managed to score two runs out of all those opportunities; they stranded 11 men total in the game.

Staked to the 1-0 lead Wake (7IP, 7H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 4K, 2HR, 111P) made it hold up for a few innings, working out of a bases loaded situation himself in the fourth when he got Molina and Adam Kennedy out after allowing a single and a pair of walks with one out.

But in the fifth the Cards tied the game when LaRue, a backup catcher batting just above the Mendoza line, blasted an 0-1 offering from Wake over the Monster to lead off the inning for his second homer of the year, and after Boston blew the bases loaded sitch in the bottom of the inning St Louis would take the lead in the top of the sixth.

Rick Ankiel (2-5, R) started the inning with a shot off the base of the Wall in left center that went for a double, and on the next pitch Lugo botched Glaus' routine grounder when he threw the ball wide of Youk at first, allowing Ankiel to take third.

A few pitches later Wake got Chris Duncan to tap into a surefire 3-6-3 (or 1) double play, but Lugo's relay from Youk back to first sailed past a covering Wakefield as Ankiel scooted home with the Cards' second run of the night.

It was Lugo's 16th error of the season, the most in the majors for any position, three fewer than he had all of last year and just 9 away from his career high of 25, set with Tampa Bay in 2005.

I'd say right now that number is easily within reach.

As I said he did make up for his butchery (somewhat) when he drove a Lohse pitch high and deep over the Monster for his first home run of the year to tie the game at two in the bottom of the sixth, but unfortunately the glory was short-lived as Wake served up a gopherball to the immortal Skip Schumaker with one on in the seventh to give the Cards the lead for good.

The Sox really had a chance to tale control of the game and earn a come-from-behind win when they loaded the bases with no outs off ineffective reliever Randy Flores in the bottom of the inning on a single by Ellsbury and walks to Pedroia and J.D. Drew (1-3, 2BB), but the ancient Russ Springer got Manny to tap into a double play that scored Ellsy but stopped the game-changing rally right in its tracks.

Still down just 4-3 with two at bats left and Lohse out of the game, a comeback was a definite possibility.

And then awful Oki entered the game, allowed a home run to Yadier Molina with one out in the eighth to tack on the all-important insurance run, and all hope was basically lost.

Compounding the pain was the fact that David Aardsma came in and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, registering three strikeouts of the Cards' most potent hitters - Ludwick, Ankiel and Glaus.

Ouch.

Turns out that run was even more painful than it seemed at the time because Boston did mount one last comeback attempt in the ninth off closer Ryan Franklin when Pedroia hit a one-out double, Manny drew a two out walk and Mike Lowell drove in Dustin with a seeing-eye single up the middle to slice the deficit to 5-4.

Then Franklin, who's subbing for injured closer Jason Isringhausen, got Youk to fly out to right to end the game, and the Sox suffered a rare home loss made all the more frustrating by the way in which they lost.

Game 2 should be interesting as Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his first start since May 27th and puts his undefeated record on the line in a nationally televised game on FOX.

As long as he steers clear of the deadly trio of Yadier, Skip and LaRue, he should be okay.

RECORD: 46-30
AL EAST: Up 1.5 gms
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sat vs. STL 3:55 FOX Boggs vs. Matsuzaka

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Interleague Series Preview: Cardinals @ Sox

St. Louis Cardinals (42-32)


NL Central: 3.5 GB
Streak: L3
Last 10: 5-5

Batting Stats (NL Rank)
AVG.: .269 (3rd)
OBP: .348 (3)
RUNS: 338 (7)
HRs: 70 (10)
Pitching Stats (NL Rank)
ERA: 4.06 (6)
BAA: .216 (10)
RUNS: 319 (12)
SVs: 23 (t2)

3 Game Series at Fenway Park
Game 1 Friday 7:05
Lohse (8-2, 3.77) vs. Wakefield (4-4, 4.19)
Game 2 Saturday 3:55 FOX
Boggs (1-0, 5.56) vs. Matsuzaka (8-0, 2.53)
Game 3 Sunday 1:35
Pineiro (2-3, 4.02) vs. Lester (6-3, 3.18)

*KEY CARDS (*not including Pujols, who's on the DL):
-RF Ryan Ludwick .305, 16HR, 55BI, 45R, 21 2Bs, .374OBP, .632SLG% the most surprising player on the most surprising team of the season so far, the 29-year-old rightfielder has climbed from an being an undrafted free agent/career minor leaguer to one of the best players in baseball this season.

-3B Troy Glaus .260, 9HR, 43BI, .362OBP, 40BB the big third baseman was brought over from Toronto in a swap of disgruntled players, but so far he isn't making anyone forget about the man he replaced, Scott Rolen. He has heated up a bit in June, hitting 6 of his 9 homers this month, and the 2002 World series MVP with Anaheim is plenty familiar with Fenway Park, where he's batting .313 with 8 homers in his career

-CF Rick Ankiel .251, 11HR, 31BI, 36R, .332OBP the former phenom pitcher turned HGH-using outfielder has slumped quite a bit since being busted as a PED user but he can still put the ball out of the yard, and NO ONE dares run on him after he gunned two men out at third base in one game earlier this season. Batting just .238 away from home and .218 vs. lefties

PREVIEW:
The St. Louis Cardinals return to Fenway tonight for the first time since Game 2 of the 2004 World Series on the same day Curt Schilling announced he will undergo season-ending, and most likely career-ending, surgery.

Ironic, or appropriate?

In case you have been living under a rock for the last four years Schill, while sporting the infamous bloody sock, won that game on October 24th, pitching six innings of one run ball on one good ankle as the Sox won the game, 6-2.

That win gave Boston a 2-0 advantage in the Series, and two games later the Sox won their first championship since 1918, fulfilling a promise Schilling had made to the Boston fans when he signed with the club in the previous off season.

Today the Cards return to the scene of Schill's historic moment, as the town bids adieu to one of its brightest stars and honors the Boston Celtics, which won its first title since 1986 two nights ago at the (new) Garden.

Talk about coming full circle.

But this series isn't about the past, it's about the present and presently the Cards are one of the biggest surprises of the 2008 season. Picked to finish last in the NL Central by many "experts", St. Louis has been better than that all season long, even leading the division for a while before the Cubs heated up and some Cards broke down.

Right now the team is sputtering a bit, losing 5 of its last 7 games, in part because all-everything first baseman Albert Pujols is residing on the DL with a calf injury. But at 10 games over .500 and in the thick of the division and wild card race, the season has already been considered a success in the eyes of Cards fans everywhere.

A series that was not a success for them was that 2004 World Series, as the Sox swept the over matched Birds by a combined score of 24-12, and although the Cards did ultimately win their first title since 1982 when they topped the Tigers in the 2006 Fall Classic, Boston has since gone on to capture another trophy by sweeping the Rockies in 2007.

Alright, enough of the history lesson.

This series will be interesting on a few fronts, mainly for the return of Daisuke Matsukaka from the disabled list on Saturday; J.D. Drew trying to wreak havoc on the club he played his first 6 seasons with; and former Sox swingman and onetime possible closer Joel Pineiro's return to Fenway for the first time since he was let go early last year.

Tonight Tim Wakefield will take his recent hot streak (6 ER, 14H, 2HR in last 21IP) and put it to the test against the Cardinals ace, Kyle Lohse.

The veteran righty has won his last five decisions and has allowed three earned runs or less in his last six starts, so getting to him will be priority one for the Boston batters.

The good news for Boston is that Manny Ramirez (hammy), Coco Crisp (wrist) and Kevin Youkilis (back) should all be back in the lineup for Terry Francona tonight.

The bad news is it's not 2004, and there will be no miraculous 'bloody sock' performances to count on this weekend.

But how 'bout they sweep these guys anyway, just for old time's sake?

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