JD Drew Leads Red Sox to Victory

JD Drew continues to swing a hot bat, and has done so ever since David Ortiz headed to the disabled list. While (some) fans instantly began formulating crazy plans to replace Papi (Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and others were bantered about), JD Drew has been picking his game up and making those discussions irrelevant. Last night Drew was a double shy of hitting for the cycle. He went 3 for 5, with a home run, a triple, and a single. The two outs he made were hard hit line drives right at people. Fans got on Drew's case last year, when he clearly underperformed. However, we all know he was dealing with some pretty stressful personal situations, with his wife being pregnant, and his son going through serious medical issues. This year, it appears that is all behind him, and we are seeing what he can really do.

But, last night was not only the JD Drew story. Tim Wakefield pitched a nice game, getting the win as he went 7 solid innings, only allowing 2 runs in the third inning. Craig Hansen is also settling into his role well, and pitched a scoreless 8th inning before handing the ball to Papelbon with an 11-3 lead in the 9th. Papelbon pitched the ninth to get some work in, not because he was needed to close the door. He started the inning looking as if he knew this was no biggie. But, that's the mentality that gets closers in trouble. After a rare error by Kevin Youkilis at first, who misplayed a throw from Alex Cora at second, Papelbon gave up a single that allowed a run to score. Papelbon seemed to realize he was in danger of getting too sloppy, and quickly bore down and got the next 3 outs on a pair of strikeouts, and a fly ball to JD Drew in right.

Kevin Youkilis finally committed an error at first base, his first error at the position since July 4, 2006. 238 games later, Youk finally drops a ball. Congratulations to Youk, as his streak set a major league record. Since moving from third base to first base, he has really proven himself to be a solid, versatile infielder.

Manny Ramirez also kept up the heroics with home run number 504. Manny is still resting a tender hamstring, but was back in the lineup at DH. Coco Crisp was also in the lineup again, and added two stolen bases. With Jacoby Ellsbury out nursing a sore wrist, Crisp has been filling in as a terror on the bases. All in all, the Sox earned a convincing win yesterday, which is needed to shake off the crazy Rays series.

This afternoon, the Sox play their last game of the DVD Giveaway Contest. This is still a close battle, and with Jacoby Ellsbury not in the starting lineup, the lowest base stealing guesses will earn the most points. A win or loss will also make a difference. With many people guessing 4 wins, a loss gives them all 5 points, but a win today gives the few people who guessed 5 wins an edge. Runs and home runs are both settled in the middle. A high scoring game today could produce a dramatic swing in the final standings! Good luck to you all!

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)