Sunday, June 30, 2013

Red Sox Are Halfway To 100; Walk Off Jays, 5-4

(Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
It's these kinds of wins that sometimes define championship teams. Build a shaky lead with unlikely role players. Take that wobbly lead into the top of ninth and blow it. Then, win it in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the final frame. That's just the recipe the Red Sox followed today in a series-clinching 5-4 win at Fenway. Brandon Snyder and Ryan Lavarnway played the parts of the role players, Koji Uehara was the blown savior, and Shane Victorino was the walk-off hero—thanks to a error by the Jays first baseman. Ryan Demspter again pitched well enough to win—going 5 1/3 innings and yielding just two earned runs. Snyder also led off the ninth-inning rally with a hit and made an Jose Iglesias-like play at third. Craig Breslow, Alex Wilson and Andrew Miller did stellar work out of the pen. All of sudden, your 2013 Carmine Hose are 50% of the way to 100 wins. Can you believe it?