Seventh Heaven For Iron Mike Lowell & Red Sox

(SawxBlog Montage)

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees traded numerous punches yesterday in a back and forth game that eventually saw the Red Sox pull away in the seventh inning for an 11-6 victory.You never know what these games between the Sox and Yankees  are going to give you, and yesterday it was the inspired play of Mike Lowell. Mike Lowell has slid in magnificently as Bill Mueller's replacement and his defense, hitting, and aggressiveness make it really hard not to root for him. 

Lowell got it all really started with his fourth inning shoulder check on Robinson Cano, which was some obvious retribution on the Alex Rodriguez elbow to the groin job on Dustin Pedroia a week a go. "That was like a football game, I think everybody leaves these games just mentally and physically exhausted. Just a lot of hard baseball." And I couldn't agree anymore with Tito there. These games are always exhausting, but Lowell's spark really helped keep the Red Sox get off of the mat and stand up for some more.

You could obviously tell that Iron Mike Lowell wasn't thrilled with how he got hit in yesterday's game, and he played like a man on a mission yesterday. On the other side of the plate Schilling and Mussina both didn't look very sharp and some of that can be attributed to the 28 minute, completely unnecessary, rain delay. I was watching the game at Phoenix Landing in Cambridge with Ms. SawxBlog and we both were a little confused with the rain delay because looking out on Mass. Ave. we saw no rain (except for maybe 3 min.) and sunshine.

This win for the Red Sox came at a great time, especially right on the heels of the news that Roger Clemens wouldn't be pitching for the Yankees for another few weeks due to a groin injury. All the Sox really needed to do in this series was in one game. Even if the Yankees win tonight on ESPN they still only gain one total game in the standings. I'm hoping and pulling for two out of three, especially with Josh Beckett taking the hill tonight.

Random Notes:

• Hats off to Youk for his 23 game hitting streak coming to an end. Hats on to Dustin Pedroia who goes for number 12 in a row tonight.
• Seriously Ben Affleck. It's a little obvious that you're desperate for attention when the only games you EVER attend are Red Sox / Yankee games that are on national TV. Trying a little too hard there super-fan.
• I love how Ms.SawxBlog and I call Jeter fancy pants and twinkle-toes, it always seems to make me happy.
• Youk continues to be the man, here's his take on the fourth inning Bruschi-esque charge by Lowell on Cano. "Everyone's going to question it, I mean, we're in the questioning center of the world here, in the Northeast. Yankees fans are going to hate it. Red Sox fans are going to love it. That's just how it is."
• This is just out of control.
  

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SawxBlog Player of the Game
Mike Lowell - 3B
3/4, 4 RBI, 1 BB

Comments

[Bill]

I love that the PA system is playing Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" through the whole outburst. That Army crawl is just plain surreal.

[Derek Hixon]

Watching that crawl is Vietnam Syndrome at it's finest. Spooky man, very spooky.