Road Win: Oh My, Is This Allowed?

So, you're telling me that the Red Sox went to a park that wasn't Fenway and won a game? Are you sure you're not making that up? It sounds an awful lot like a tall tale. I mean, I watched the game and all, but I was PRETTY tired yesterday, so I could have just been deceiving myself. Hold on, I'm gonna check redsox.com. Just wait right there.

Ahem. Why is there a picture of meat in the background of the official site of the Boston Red Sox? WHY IS THERE MEAT? I like meat as much as the next person who likes meat, but this is silly and distracting. Is Smith and Wollensky the new partner of the Red Sox? Are they trying to give me dining recommendations? Because guys, there are better steakhouses in Boston. Give me Ruth's Chris any day. Hm. Meat.

Now that I've gotten that mini-rant out of the way... yes, the Sox did in fact win their first road game of the season last night in panic-inducing fashion. I guess that's the way it had to be, but my poor tired heart didn't appreciate it. Dahmer.... eh, he's still trying to find himself this season. He's been throwing a lot of pitches early, missing his locations, and making himself work too hard. He wasn't bad; no, definitely not bad. He just wasn't as sharp as we'd like him to be. Still, he managed his first win and I hope he takes this win and builds upon it.

As a side note, I'm really pretty tired of getting beaten up by former Sox players... specifically former Sox outfielders, so pitching staff, I request you step up your game when facing our old friends. Thanks.

Sometimes between 1 AM and 3 PM EST, the bats arrived in a box from Boston marked "URGENT." Or something like that. Lowrider jumped back on to that hot streak he was riding, going 2 for 4 with his 2 RBI's coming from a 6th inning home run. Youkilis added his own home run, but that's all I'm saying about him. JD blasted his first of the year in the 7th, giving the Sox a 5-1, which if you watched the game, ended up looking mighty small.

Seriously, a few inches here or there, and we lose this game. That was blatantly apparent on Grumpy's at bat in the bottom of the 6th. After a double and two walks with one out, Tito pulled Dahmer and brought in Bard. We desperately needed a few outs. Bard struck out Cliff Pennington and Grumpy stepped up. On the second pitch to Grumpy, he hit one down the left field line that landed maybe an inch foul, just barely missing the chalk dust. That ball would have tied the game (it 4-1 Sox at the time). That play got my heart going, for sure. Bard went on to pitch a pretty seventh. I wish he could have pitched the 8th so Bobby Jenks didn't have to come into this game at all and make things worse.

Jenks' day went like this: strikeout, walk, single, single, single, strikeout. He left with the bases loaded, 2 outs after throwing 24 not so good pitches. Paps comes in, throws five pitches and gets out of the inning. In the ninth, though... more heart attack theater. Single, pop-out, hit by pitch, RBI single. Two on, one out, the winning run at the plate. Somehow he gets two popouts to end the game, and I go back on my heart medication.

Scary wins are wins all the same. And now that I know they CAN win outside the friendly confines, I'm going to expect to see at LEAST that much effort, maybe more for the rest of the season. They can do it. They're just going to make it terrifying.