No question, Red Sox on roll

April 23, 2009|Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff

The pitchers weren't pitching. The hitters weren't hitting. Three series into the season, the Red Sox had sunk into last place in a division they were supposed to win - or at least contend for - as the first road trip of the year ground to an end. Then Tim Wakefield nearly brought magic to Oakland, and since, the Sox have done almost nothing wrong.

The pitchers have pitched. The hitters have hit. And how.

Behind a second straight complete game by Wakefield (in a rain-shortened seven innings) and a lively offense in which seemingly no one is struggling, the Sox smashed through the Twins in a one-day, two-game series sweep that gave manager Terry Francona a nice 50th birthday present to take into today's day off. It was a 10-1 win in Game 1, a 7-3 win in Game 2, and a seven-game winning streak, all with the Yankees coming to visit tomorrow.

Those worries about the Sox? They are quickly dissipating.

"That's Boston, you know," David Ortiz said. "People panic too easy here. I've been here seven years and the years that we struggled the most we won the World Series, and then there's some other years that everything's looking good and then injuries happen."

So why has the offense picked up now? "Because we've got good hitters," Ortiz said. "Good hitters [are] always going to hit. No matter what. I don't care what anybody has to say. Good hitters are always going to hit."

And good pitchers? They help a bit, too.

"We're playing good ball," Kevin Youkilis said. "We're pitching well. We're hitting well. If your pitching holds the opposition down, I think that's our biggest key: pitching and defense.

"That's going to take us a long way."

So to all those who questioned the Red Sox' decision to bring back Wakefield for a 15th season, the knuckleballer answered again in the first game of the doubleheader. His success might not last beyond his next start. It might last all season. But over his last two starts, he has quelled the skepticism over the decision to put him back in a rotation that looked stacked before the season.

Seven no-hit innings? Done. A five-hit, one-run, seven-inning start? Done. Two straight complete games? Done and done.

With 18 innings on the docket, pitching coach John Farrell had emphasized the night before just how important it was for Wakefield to pitch deep into Game 1. And so he did.