Wakefield Dazzles Jays In Season Series Opener

By Erik Pesta
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Tim Wakefield was on his game Tuesday night, pitching eight strong innings to win a pitcher's duel with Toronto's Brian Tallet, 2-1. In earning his fifth victory of the season, the veteran knuckleballer gave up just five hits while striking out three, the lone blemish being a solo homer to Kevin Millar leading off the fifth inning. Tallet was no slouch himself, giving up two earned runs on four hits while striking out five batters over six innings. Boston's offense was provided by the very bottom of their lineup, as Jeff Bailey and George Kottaras knocked in a run apiece in the second inning. Jonathan Papelbon came on to pitch a perfect ninth for Boston, his first since late April, in the process picking up save number 11 of the season.

As I wrote in the this space last week, Sox fans need to take the good with the bad when it comes to Tim Wakefield. And in 2009, the good has come far more often. In four of his last five starts, Boston's elder statesman has been spot on with his signature pitch, going deep into games and putting the Red Sox in great position to win, while at the same time saving Terry Francona from wasting bullpen bullets. The 42 year-old is now 5-2 on the year, with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in eight starts.

Where it has been far more bad than good is David Ortiz, who was re-inserted into the lineup last night and continued to disappoint. Ortiz was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk, including a bad swing and miss on the third strike in the eighth inning. The struggling slugger is still homerless on the year, to go along with a .203 batting average, .293 slugging percentage and just 15 RBI. Sox fans continue to wonder just how long Tito Francona is going to stick with his former star, all the while watching him struggle day after day. After a quarter of the season, one of two things in blatantly clear: either he's hurt or washed up. Either way, he needs to be taken out of the third spot in the batting order and either moved down, benched all together, or placed on the DL.

In the middle game of the three-game set against the Blue Jays, the Sox turn to Brad Penny (3-1, 6.69 ERA), who will face Toronto's first year starter Brett Cecil (2-0, 1.80 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10 from Fenway Park.