Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 0

 

We're back, baby! We're back, we're going to the World Series, and we're winning the motherfucker!

Yesterday afternoon, the mighty Boston Red Sox shook off their five-game losing streak and defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-0, behind eight masterful innings by Payton Tolle and a grand-slam home run by Caleb Durbin. (Side note: despite the Georgia heat and humidity yesterday, I went out for a 6½-mile walk, and as soon as I got back into the house, all hot and dripping with sweat, I tuned into the Red Sox game on the radio just in time to catch Durbin's hit on the first play I heard. Great timing, but this isn't about me.) Willson Contreras hit an RBI double in the first inning, and after Tolle's eighth inning grand salami, Masataka Yoshida scored a one-run RBI and Durbin singled for his fifth RBI of the day. 

Durbin went eight, two-hit, scoreless innings on only 91 pitches. He threw 61 strikes, even if he only recorded four K's in the game. He was one inning away from throwing a Maddux and I'm frankly a little surprised that Chad Tracy didn't keep him in the game for the ninth to give the bullpen another day's rest and let Durbin earn his reward.

But most importantly, the Sox ended that ugly five-game skid they've been riding. They're now 28-8 (.778) in their last 36 games, and 33-10 since the start of last June's four-game sweep of the Yankees (.767).    

However, due to their historically bad start to the season, Boston is still only 65-56 (.537) on the year and in third place in the AL East, 9½ back from Tampa Bay, who at 74-46, currently hold the best record in MLB. Fortunately for the Red Sox, their path to the World Series doesn't go through winning the division but through the Wild Card standings, where that have a comfortable five-game cushion for the second playoff spot.   

Their path to the World Series doesn't go through winning the division, but every night before bed I get down on my knees and pray to Cthulu and the Flying Spaghetti Monster that they at least beat the Yankees in the final standings (but this isn't about me). New York lost last night and as of this morning, the Sox are three games behind the Yankees in the standings. 

It's on to Pittsburgh, the crown jewel of the Allegheny Valley, to play the Pirates (59-64), the last-place team in the NL Central. FWIW, I had season tickets to the Pirates back in 1993, but whatever (long story, and this isn't about me). Although Boston has six more wins and eight fewer losses than Pittsburgh, the Pirates actually lead the Red Sox in every major offensive statistic (team batting average, runs scored, home runs, on-base percentage, slugging, and stolen bases). However, the Red Sox enjoy a team ERA advantage (3.48 vs. 4.32) as well as fewer walks, home runs allowed, WHIP, and BAA. Defensively, the Pirates lead only in number of strikeouts (1,137 versus 1,034).

Tonight, Big Jake Bennett (7-5, 3.17) starts the first game of the series for his debut against the Pirates, while Pitt will put Bubba Chandler (5-8, 4.26), the pride of Lawrenceville, Georgia, on the mound to face the Red Sox for his first time. 

The Red Sox are hungry to atone for their losing streak and to regain some of the ground they lost during that stretch, while the last-place Pirates know that once again there's no post-season for them this year, so Boston has the edge on the intangibles like momentum, enthusiasm, and motivation.