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September 20, 2013

G155: Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 3

Blue Jays - 000 010 020 - 3 10  0
Red Sox   - 101 000 31x - 6 12  2
The brand-new gray-and-red shirts passed out on the field after the final out said it all: We Own The East.

The Red Sox clinched the AL East title for the first time since 2007.

Lester (7-5-1-2-8, 123) earned his 100th career victory.

Mike Carp drove in three runs, including two in the seventh to salt the game away. ... Dustin Pedroia went 3-for-5; Daniel Nava, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Jackie Bradley each had two hits. .. Koji Uehara got the five-out save, striking out Brett Lawrie to end the game.

As a reminder, here are ESPN's 43 pre-season predictions:

AL East
Blue Jays     20
Rays          20
Orioles        2
Yankees        1
Red Sox        0

And MLB.com's 20 pre-season picks:

AL East
Rays          10
Blue Jays      6
Orioles        3
Red Sox        1
Yankees        0
Example
Esmil Rogers / Jon Lester
Pedroia, 2B
Victorino, CF Nava, RF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Carp, LF
Nava, RF Saltalamacchia, C
Saltalamacchia, C Middlebrooks, 3B
Drew, SS
Middlebrooks, 3B Bradley, CF
Shane Victorino (jammed right thumb) was scratched from the original lineup.

A Red Sox win or a Rays loss = AL East Champs! (Tampa Bay hosts the Orioles this weekend.)

Boston (93-61) leads Oakland (90-63) and Detroit (89-64) in the race for the league's best record - and home field advantage throughout the postseason. The team with the AL's best record will play the Wild Card winner in the ALDS, which begins Friday, October 4.

In 11 starts since the All-Star break, Lester has a 2.38 ERA.

Manager John Farrell flip-flopped Clay Buchholz and Felix Doubront in the rotation, with Buchholz pitching tomorrow and Doubront going on Sunday.

2 comments:

  1. I might still win the contest! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. We're all rooting for...Laura! Most of the other predictions, mine certainly, are roadkill by now--and I'm glad of that!

    ReplyDelete