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THE RAYS and A ONE WAY October 1, 2008 ... Jason Bay's sixth-inning, two-out, two-run blast off Angels ace John Lackey powered the Sox to a victory over Los Angeles for the 10th consecutive time in postseason play dating to 1986. No one expects Bay to be Manny Ramirez. A mild-mannered Canadian who toiled in anonymity in Pittsburgh, Bay hit .293 with nine homers and 37 RBIs in 49 games for the Red Sox after the blockbuster deal that sent Manny to SoCal. Bay didn't invent any injuries or duck inside the Wall to relieve himself. He hardly said a word. He was just Jason being Jason. Jon Lester is an ace, pure and simple, every bit as much as Josh Beckett, the man he replaced tonight in the Red Sox' 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Lester twirled seven brilliant innings, giving the Sox their 10th straight postseason victory over the Angels. He allowed six hits and one unearned run, striking out seven and staking his claim as one the sport's elite. Los Angeles beat Boston eight of nine games during the regular season, but Jason Bay took part in none of them. Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon owned the eighth and ninth. Jacoby Ellsbury added three hits, an insurance RBI in the ninth, and a jaw-on-the-dirt diving catch in shallow center in the eighth. But it was Lester who carried the Sox, from the first inning to his 117th and final pitch. Lester became the Sox most consistent and durable pitcher all season. He amassed a 3.21 ERA and 16-6 record. In the past 130 years, no pitcher with at least 59 career starts (Lester's total) had a better winning percentage than Lester's .771. Vladimir Guerrero helped Masterson in the eighth with a base-running mistake, a gaffe bound for Angels infamy. After Ellsbury made his diving catch on Mark Teixeira to lead off the inning, Guerrero singled. Torii Hunter followed with a bloop to shallow right, just out of Kevin Youkilis's grasp. Guerrero, waiting by second base to see if the ball would land safely, scampered to third as Youkilis gathered the ball. Youkilis fired across the diamond to Mike Lowell, who snared the throw on a hop and easily tagged out Guerrero, desperately diving head first, for the second out.
Hideki Okajima warmed in the bullpen in the seventh; Lester kept him there. Erick Aybar popped a fastball to short. Chone Figgins watched a low fastball for strike three. Garret Anderson, two singles under his belt, went to two strikes. He dribbled a pitch foul. Lester threw him a 95-mile-per-hour fastball, his hardest of the night. Anderson weakly flared the seventh pitch he saw to Pedroia at second base. Lester strode slowly toward the dugout, holding his glove in his left hand, head down. Francona met him at the top step, offering his palm. Francona shook his hand and tapped Lester on the back of the head. Lackey fired lightning bolts through the thick, clear California air for five innings. He was never quite dominant, but he threw his best pitches at the most critical moments and kept the Sox scoreless. Youkilis drew a walk with one out in the sixth, which it seemed Lackey would negate when he struck out J.D. Drew. Bay walked toward the plate, a welcome sight for Lackey. Bay had never faced Lackey before last night, and Lackey overmatched him in his first two at-bats. He swung through a fastball in his first at-bat, and swung over a curve in the dirt in his second. Lackey started Bay with another strike in the sixth. He fired an 0-1 fastball. All night long, his pitches darted into the lower half of the strike zone. This one sailed over the outside of the plate, chest high. Bay unleashed his quick swing, hips flying open, wrists rolling. There was no doubt. The ball sailed high into the air to left. It landed in the back of the Sox' bullpen, some 400 feet from home plate. The Red Sox led, 2-1, and the frenzied crowd hushed. Equipped with a lead after Bay's home run, Lester strengthened. He struck out Howie Kendrick. Mike Napoli ran the count full, then flailed at strike three. Gary Matthews Jr. battled to another full count, then fouled of a pitch. Lester's seventh pitch, a fastball at the knees, froze Matthews and sent him back to the bench. His pitch count hit 100 exactly. Anderson singled to left with one out in the fourth, and Lester kept him there by striking out Teixeira. When Guerrero rolled a fastball to Jed Lowrie, Lester, surely, had escaped. Lowrie had handled each ball hit his way as a shortstop without an error, a rookie record. The first chance he had in the playoffs forced him to his left. Lowrie shuffled toward second and leaned over. The ball bounced struck the heel of his glove and skittered away. Hunter ensured Lowrie would be punished. Hunter flared the fifth pitch of his at-bat, a 1-2 fastball, to left field. Bay, playing deep, charged forward but the ball thudded in front of him. Anderson chugged from second and slid home for the game's first run, the only run, as it turned out, the Angels would score. Bay's big night probably settled the stomach of Theo Epstein, the man who shipped Manny out of town. Theo traded the wildly popular Nomar Garciaparra at the midsummer deadline in 2004 and the Red Sox went on to win the World Series. The Sox won, this time with Jason Bay playing the part of Manny Ramirez. |
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