Friday, July 31, 2015

Return O' The Beard: Napoli HR Nets Sox Win

(AP Photo)
He was all but gone. Every pundit had him pegged as the most likely Carmine Hoser to be dealt today. Instead, Mike Napoli was in the lineup and at the plate in the seventh with his team down by one with a man on. The burly first-baseman sent a towering fly ball to left that just caught the lip of the Monster Seats shelf. With that blow (and an insurance run in the eighth), Boston got its second win in a row—this one over Tampa, 7-5. The Sox saw a 4-3 lead evaporate in the top of the inning, but a long at-bat by David Ortiz (leading to a walk) set the stage for Napoli. Alejandro De Aza (also a candidate for being traded today) and Blake Swihart had two RBIs each. A nice win for the Sox—and finally a winning streak.