No, I'm not talking about the weather in New York City (it sure as hell is), but the Red Sox pulled out a nice come-from-behind win on Thursday night, 6-5, and a sweep of the Miami Marlins.
Daisuke Matsuzaka once again ran into first inning troubles (maybe he should start every game in the second inning?), allowing three runs to Miami. But to his credit, he settled in, and retired 14 hitters in a row, until his night came to an end when he allowed a sixth inning home run to Giancarlo (Don't Call Me Mike) Stanton.
The big hitting star tonight was Will Middlebrooks, who had three hits and drove in four. His two-run bomb to center in the 8th tied it up, then Daniel Nava singled in Ryan Kalish (who went from first to third on an infield ground out) to put the Sox ahead to stay. Nice to see "the kids" contributing in such a meaningful way.
Alfredo Aceves got his 18th save, 1-2-3 in the ninth. More splendid work from Scott Atchison, who pitched two flawless innings and got the win.
The Sox have now won 7 of 8, and are 5 1/2 games behind New York.
I would call that hot, wouldn't you?
Interleague comes to a merciful end on Sunday as the Sox play the Atlanta Braves at Fenway this weekend.
