Getting a hit

I finally got my fix of baseball last night - I had to get up in the middle of the night to get it, but it was worth it - I got some good stuff.

Beckett was lights-out. He came out throwing pretty much only fastballs - only one of which the Orioles caught up with, for a 1-0 lead in the first - but around about the third inning he started to mix in a slider and his off-speed stuff, and that was the end of the story: 7 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 6 Ks.

Of course, on a day when 2 runs would have been enough, the offense chipped in with 11 runs on 13 hits, and didn't for a moment look like they hadn't played since Friday night. Wily Mo hit a huge opposite-field home run to kick-start the proceedings, Varitek had a home run and 3 walks and 'Doubles' - just to mix things up a bit - had a triple and a home run.

Lowell now has 15 hits in the last 10 games, 11 of which have been extra-base hits, and his BA of .331 leads the team. Wily Mo is right behind him, with a .321 average. It's great to see solid contributions from lower-order guys who - for different reasons - were very much unknown quantities at the start of the season. If - or rather, when - the top and heart of the order starts to get hot, this team could really be going places.

I totally agree with Red - with the Yankees facing injury and pitching worries, now is the time to stockpile some wins and put some daylight between us and the rest of the division.

So what are we waiting for? Let's do it...