We Call That A Winning Streak

Maybe it was The Curse of Pierzynski? The Red Sox are 3-0 since A.J. Pierzynski was designated for assignment. He has a reputation of being the most hated player in all of baseball, so it would only make sense to blame him for the Sox poor first half of the season. 

The beneficiary of the open roster spot is Christian Vazquez. He has taken full advantage of the opportunity, going 3 for 4 in last night's 8-3 win over the Houston Astros. It is a night and day difference how easy Vazquez makes it look behind the plate after watching Pierzynski stab at pitches, turning strikes into balls. Vazquez is heralded for being a defensive catcher and we have yet to see anyone attempt to steal on him, but I am dying to see the arm this kid has.

In last night's game, John Lackey battled his way through six innings, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out three to earn his 10th victory of the season. Lackey was having some trouble finding the zone, however, walking five batters on the night. 

The Sox were up 3-2 before pulling away in the 6th inning thanks to a 5-run inning capped off by a bases-clearing double by David Ortiz.  Coming up with timely hitting is something the Sox have lacked so far this year, leaving countless runners on base. But the last few nights, it has been different: two walk off wins in a row followed by a couple of big innings last night; hopefully this is a sign of things to come. 

Let's hope the Sox can win these next two against the Astros and gain some momentum heading into the All-Star Break.