JD Drew Provides the Offense, Red Sox Beat Seattle

JD Drew has taken his game to a new level in June. Yesterday, he did it with defense, robbing Richie Sexon of a sure double with a leaping catch in front of the bullpen fence in the second inning. Then, he did it with patience. In the third inning, facing the tough lefty pitcher, Erik Bedard, with the bases loaded and two outs, JD worked the tough Bedard long enough to finally get hit on the hand with a pitch, driving in a run. Later in the game, JD did it with power. The Red Sox, as usual, had little success against Bedard, but what they did do was wear him down. They showed excellent patience, slowly driving his pitch count up, until finally, Bedard was removed from the game after the 5th inning. Right handed pitcher, Sean Green, came into the game, making the left handed hitting JD Drew, leading off the 6th inning, very happy. JD welcomed Green with a perfect swing, sending the ball over the center field wall, making the score 2-1. That score would last until the end.

JD did not do it all himself. Some credit has to go the the great pitching, once again, by Justin Masterson. Going up against Erik Bedard, Masterson had to keep the score low, and that is just what he did. The Mariners clawed their way to a run in the second inning, but would get nothing else, as Masterson's slider was just wicked, and his sinker had good movement, making easy work of an aggressive Mariners lineup. Masterson is now 3-0, and has the bullpen to thank for holding the score down.

The Sox bullpen has been getting better and better as the season progresses. Yesterday, Craig Hansen took the 7th inning (exactly what the Sox were looking for from Hansen), Okajima handled the 8th, and Papelbon, as usual, shut things down in the ninth. Papelbon got help from some defense, namely Coco Crisp, who seems to have put his fighting days behind him. To lead off the 9th, Adrian Beltre ripped a ball to deep center field, but Crisp used speed and talent to track the ball down and haul it in. The last out of the game, fittingly, was a fly ball to JD Drew.

The Sox get a day of rest today, and don't even need to travel. Baltimore is up next on Tuesday night. With the Celtics (now 2-0 in the Championship Series against the Lakers) playing in L.A., there will be no adjusting the game time, so get to Fenway at 7:05, see the first pitch, and cheer Red Sox ace, Josh Beckett, on to another Fenway Park victory!

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)