Bring on the Rays!

Man what an intense series! I was on the edge of my couch and pacing my living room. When I was out at a bar for game 2, I was screaming at the TV as if I was home.

Sox looked like they were gonna cruise to a series win after taking the first two in Anaheim. Then they came back home and dropped game 3 in a game where the final score didn't indicate how badly the Angels dominated that game. Game 4 with Lester on the hill you had to feel confident. He was dominant yet again pitching 7 innings of scoreless ball. He's now gone 21+ innings in the post-season without allowing an earned run. He's turning into a dominating post-season pitcher before our eyes, seemingly taking on Beckett's role this year.

In the series-concluding game 4, the Sox took a 2-0 lead into the 8th. Lester at 109 pitches was done for the evening, under his own admission. Okajima comes in. He retires Figgins and Anderson on ground balls. Two outs, nobody on, Teixiera comes up. Inexplicably Oki walks him on four pitches. An absolute NO-NO in a 2-0 game especially with a guy coming up with the ability to tie the game on one swing. Oki is pulled at that point for Masterson.

Masterson gets ahead of Vladdy 0-2...one strike away from getting out of the inning. He ends up walking Vladdy putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Hunter is the next batter. Sox are still in good shape, just gotta retire Toriiiiiii. Another inexplicability takes place as Masterson and Tek get crossed up (Tek was expecting slider, Masterson threw a fastball) and the ball goes to the backstop, advancing the runners. Now all of a sudden two walks and a wild pitch has runners on 2nd and 3rd.

At this point, I was not feeling good about things. My fears were realized when Hunter singled through the right side which scored both runners and tied the game. Just like that, they seized the momentum and I had thoughts of the series going back to Cali.

The Sox went meekly in the bottom of the 8th. Top of the 9th Masterson is back out there. Future HOF candidate Kendry Morales leads off the inning with a double. The runner is bunted over to 3rd giving LAAA a runner on 3rd and one out. Tito's seen enough and yanks Masterson. In comes Manny Delcarmen who to his credit has found a nutsack since getting vilified by L&C. His juevos would be needed now more than ever in this situation. They had to keep this run from scoring, or the series could very well be tied 2-2 going back to their crib with all the momentum on their side and the season resting on an erratic Dice-K. MDC had to come through here.

Welp, enter Michael Scoscia, Angels manager, who the TBS cameras loved panning into the dugout of every 30 seconds, but that's another story. He thought it would be a good idea to employ a suicide squeeze in that situation with Erick Aybar. On a 2-0 pitch, they tried pulling it off. Aybar whiffs on the bunt and pinch runner Reggie Willits is caught in no-man's land between 3rd and home. Tek immediately runs at him and chases him back towards 3rd. He pump fakes but decides to keep the ball and applies the tag just before Willits got back to 3rd. The ball popped out of Tek's glove, but the tag had already been applied.

The Sox seized all the momentum back at that point. We all know what happened in the bottom of the 9th. Bay's bloop double which went in the stands, Kotsay's scorching liner which found its way into the diving Teixiera's glove, and my man Lowrie's single through the right side just out of the reach of Howie Kendrick with two out which scored Bay who slid home with the winning run.

Phenomenal series. Pins and needles the whole time. It was only appropriate the Sox beat the Angels on a walk-off.

Now it's a date with the Rays for the AL championship.