Boston Red Sox 95-67, AL wild-card winner; beat Angels in four games.
95-67, AL Wild-Card Winner; Beat Angels in Four Games.
Red Sox lefty Jon Lester did not allow an earned run in 14 innings against the Angels in the ALDS.
(By Charles Krupa -- Associated Press)
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Who's Blogging  |
What We've Learned
· That Jon Lester is a perfectly capable fill-in for Josh Beckett in the role of Boston's October ace, with a lifetime postseason record that stands at 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA.
· That they can live with Daisuke Matsuzaka's uneconomical approach. He's going to throw 100 pitches in five innings and keep the bases full of opposing hitters, but he will almost always get the game to the bullpen in good shape.
· That they're fine without Manny Ramírez -- really.
What We Still Don't Know
· Whether Beckett is healthy. The Red Sox say he is, but that wasn't the old Beckett in the ALDS. A healthy Beckett swings the series in the Red Sox' favor, and even a semi-healthy Beckett is essential to their survival.
· Whether Manager Terry Francona is locked into the same corner-infield alignment he used in Game 4 against the Angels (Kevin Youkilis at third, Mark Kotsay at first) in the absence of Mike Lowell. It worked well Monday night.
· Whether Justin Masterson or Manny Delcarmen is Francona's go-to guy in the eighth inning.
