Forget about veteran righthander Pedro Astacio making a spot start against the Orioles in a day-night doubleheader Oct. 2, the day before the regular season ends. If the Sox remain in contention for their first division title since 1995, they plan to send Curt Schilling and Bronson Arroyo to the mound on regular rest in the twin bill. If the race goes down to the final day, the fortunes of a hopeful fandom will rise or fall with Derek Lowe.
Manager Terry Francona helped position Lowe for the moment when, rather than dump the struggling sinkerballer into the bullpen just before the All-Star break, he strongly advised Lowe that the Sox needed him to help them get where they wanted to go. And thanks to their 30-10 sprint since Aug. 1, they are within reach of the division title as they enter the final turn with a 20-game stretch against the Devil Rays, Yankees, and Orioles.
The fun begins tonight with the opener of a three-game set against Tampa Bay at Fenway Park.
"This stretch has put us in a good situation," Lowe said. "We were half-dead at one point as far as catching the Yankees and we were just hoping to make the playoffs. Not anymore."
Through no fault of Lowe, who surrendered two runs over seven innings, the Sox made things harder on themselves by stumbling Sunday in a 2-0 loss to the Mariners and slipping 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees. The deficit, now at three games after New York's blowout loss last night, leaves the Sox little margin for error in their final six games against the Pinstripers (three this weekend in the Bronx and three more Sept. 24-26 in Boston).
Otherwise, they need to defend their lead in the wild card, which is 4 1/2 games over the Angels.
