Sox In Desperate Need Of Home Cooking

Erik Pesta
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

After losing four out of five games and getting nipped in the ninth inning of their latest contest, the Red Sox now return home to face the first place Blue Jays at Fenway Park. Toronto has surprised just about everyone while taking the lead in a division many thought would be dominated by Boston, New York, and Tampa. It's been a tough road for the Sox lately, as injuries and inferior starting pitching leave them sitting three games behind the Jays in the American League Eastern Division, and just six games above .500 (22-16). However, Boston is 13-4 at home this season, and that's where they'll be for the next six games. After Toronto, the Mets come to town for the first round of Interleague play of 2009.

Nick Green made two errors in yesterday's frustrating loss in Seattle. On what should have been the third out, the Boston shortstop threw the ball over the head of first baseman Jeff Bailey, allowing Roger Cedeno to reach second base. After Ichiro was intentionally walked to load the bases, Franklin Gutierrez knocked in the game winner for the Mariners, who took two out of three over the weekend. Ramon Ramirez was the hard luck loser on Sunday, his first defeat in what has been a very impressive season.

Terry Francona finally saw the writing on the wall and benched a struggling David Ortiz for the entire series in Seattle. Rocco Baldelli, who subbed for Ortiz in the DH role all weekend, probably wishes he didn't. The local kid took the collar in the series, going 0-for-11 with five strikeouts. That has to hurt. Ortiz is scheduled to be back in the lineup on Tuesday. Hopefully he used his time off to find his power stroke. Last time I checked, he was still homerless on the year.

In the first game of the Toronto series, Tim Wakefield (4-2, 4.03 ERA) takes the mound against Brian Tallet (2-1, 4.68 ERA). Wakefield, who lost last time out but had been hot for the previous few starts, looks to get back on track against a good, young lineup. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind are two names you might not know right now, but you will soon. Hill leads the Blue Jays in batting average (.345) and homers (11), while Lind paces the Jays in RBI (35) and OPS (969). As a team, Toronto is first in the American League in batting average (.291) and second in ERA (3.90). They do all of this while performing in baseball's toughest division. Simply put, this team isn't going to fade and they aren't going to back down. Led by Roy Halladay, arguably baseball's best pitcher, the Jays are gearing up for a slug fest that will last deep into September, if not beyond.