Grinding Out The Wins

The Sox have won three of their last four games. In all three wins, the starting pitching has not been the stuff of legend. Or even deserving of a glowing story on the front page of the sports section.

These three performances have been..."workman-like." "Hard-nosed." "Grinders."

No one would call Penny's performance on Friday night or Beckett's win on Sunday a work of art. And Justin Masterson's effort last night falls right alongside of them. He threw over 100 pitches (105) in just six innings of work. He walked more batters than he struck out. He didn't look dominating.

But all three of these efforts have something else in common. All three of these wins were quality starts. All three pitchers held the other team to three runs or less and went six innings or more. Despite looking decidedly average, all three pitchers got the job done. And that is why the Sox beat Anaheim 4-3 last night. Masterson kept Boston in the game until the bullpen could take over and the bats could finish the job.

The bullpen...is anyone doubting Theo's off-season plan of attack at this point? He loaded up on pitching and bullpen pitching in particular. The reason that Boston is solidly in control of second-place right now in the Al East is because of the bullpen. And last night was no different. While Delcarmen wasn't perfect, he didn't kill the Sox. And then you had the combo of Ramirez and Papelbon to finish off the game.

Going in reverse, Papelbon had a relatively clean ninth for his ninth save of the year. That is somewhat unusual for him in 2009; more often that not, Paps likes to make his appearances...interesting. Nevertheless, he leads the AL with nine saves and has a respectable 1.20 ERA to go with it. Only Francisco in Texas is having a comparable season thus far.

Then you have Ramirez. With every hold and win, the trade of Crisp to KC for Ramirez looks better and better. He now has five holds on the year, has a 4-0 record and an 0.52 ERA. If he keeps this up, it would be a crime not to see Ramirez at the All-Star game.

Boston's other saving grace has been the timely hit. This year, win after win has come in the late innings with the game on the line. Last night the hit came courtesy of Jason Varitek. With one out in the ninth and carrying a 1-2 count, Tek doubled to center to bring home the remarkably non-sucking J.D. Drew with the winning run. It was only the 13th RBI for Varitek this year but it was huge.

In their three last wins, Boston has scored the winning run in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings. It has become their calling card of sorts, in stark contrast to certain other teams that may have been mentioned in an earlier post today. The Sox don't get it done with the long ball; Boston is sixth in home runs in the AL and fifth in total bases. Yet they are second in runs scored (trailing only Toronto) and in OPS. They are playing small ball; timely hitting combined with smart base-running. And then they are nailing the win down with a solid bullpen. That is how you win another title.

Tonight Tim Wakefield takes the mound against Matt Palmer. Wakes has been the ace of the staff this year; he is 4-1 with a sub-three ERA. Hopefully his streak of good performances continues tonight.