Back to the magic number
After one long night, Red Sox fans can exhale a bit, thanks to Josh Beckett and Gregg Zaun.
With Beckett picking up his 20th win Friday night, and Zaun, the Blue Jays catcher, hitting a home run in the 14th inning at Yankee Stadium, Boston is back up by 2 1/2 games in the American League East.
The magic number, stuck at 9 for four days, is now 7. The Red Sox have 8 games to go, the Yankees 9 (the extra one is Monday vs. Toronto).
The Yankees scratched two statrers, before settling on Phil Hughes today against the Jays. Original starter Ian Kennedy was a no-go because of a back muscle strain. Roger Clemens was supposed to move up his start a day, but then he was moved further back because of hamstring trouble.
In St. Petersburg tonight, a well-rested Daisuke Matsuzaka (his last start was last Friday) goes against former Sanford Mainer Andy Sonnanstine. After beating Boston at Fenway on Aug. 15, Sonnanstine has had trouble with the Red Sox his last two starts (a total of 8 1/3 innings and 12 earned runs).
Posted at 05:46 AM
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