One Pitch

One pitch, just one little pitch, was the deciding factor in our loss to Rays last night. Even though he earned a loss, Clay Buchholz had an excellent performance. Giving up a mere three hits, it was Buchholz's one bad pitch in the eighth that let up the game-winning home run by Iwamura.

I might be exaggerating a little when I say he only had one bad pitch, but I would not be exaggerating at all in saying that he had barely any. By tying his personal record of nine strikeouts and lasting the whole night, he clearly took on the dominant role of the game.

Our offense, on the other hand, wasn't quite as productive. If we would have managed to score just one more run, the game would have went to extra-innings, and we would have had a good chance of winning. I can't stand blaming everything on the flu and injuries, but with only five hits last night (with 40% of them from Ellsbury), it seems I have no other choice.

On a more up-beat note, Kevin Youkilis broke yet another record last night!
"The veteran set a Major League record with 1,701 chances without a miscue at first base."
The modest Youk responded by saying, "I didn't even know when I did it. I go out there, play the game and it's not a big deal to me. Winning ballgames right now is probably my main [concern]. We need to get this team back on track."

That's right, Youk. We need to get back on track, and there's no better way to do this than with Josh Beckett on the mound tommorow. With Josh pitching to Rays, the worst we'll have to worry about is sunburn!