2007 was a sweep for the Boston Red Sox. But the team swept the Colorado Rockies. It was all a group effort. Four different pitchers with a win, four or more RBIs. Actually, three of them had exactly four, and the other had five.
The Red Sox, seeking their second Fall Classic triumph in three years, made i a laugher in the opener at home. Boston won it, 13-1. Josh Beckett won it, with some help from Mike Timlin and Eric Gagne. But the Sox had plenty of run support, of course. Dustin Pedroia drove in two, as did David Ortiz. Jason Varitek also drove in two. Sadly, Mike Lowell was at the low end of the totem pole, and didn't collect an RBI.
In game two, the Red Sox again again. This time though, it was close. Boston won, 2-1, behind the pitching of Curt Schilling. Curt left after 5 1/3 innings. The bullpen helped out even more in this game, as they shut down Colorado for the last 3 2/3 innings. The offence seemed to die, as Lowell got his first RBI and Varitek, his third. But that was all.
In Colorado for game three, it was a little easier. Boston scored ten, but Colorado came alive with some offence of their own. They scored five, alas, it was not enough to make a game of this. And now, this Fall Classic was a rout. Daisuke Matsuzaka was the winning pitcher, but like Schilling in the game before, he lasted only 5 1/3 innings. The bullpen faltered, this time. Colorado scored twice off Matsuzaka, and then three more times in only 3 2/3 innings of the Red Sox 'pen. Not helping matters was the eight hits surrendered in that span by the relief corps. On the plus side, it was Pedroia with a pair of RBIs to give him four in three games. Ortiz had one himself, as he drove home the first run of the game on a double. Lowell had his second-straight two RBI game, giving him three for the Series. Varitek had only one, but that upped his total to four. All this offence, and Boston did not hit a home run, which is odd. Colorado got one from Matt Holliday. But it was the Sox who were just a game away.
Game four followed game two, a one-run Red Sox win. That made it a sweep for Boston, but at least two of the games' were close. Boston build up a 3-0 lead before Colorado came alive. John Lester started and got one more batter out than Schilling and Matsuzaka got in their outings. He gave up no runs and only three hits. The three walks doomed him. The bullpen did falter, although Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon held the Rockies scoreless. Pedroia failed to get a hit or an RBI. So he finished with four. Ortiz got one, but just one, to give him four as well. Varitek drove in Boston's second run with a single in the top of the fifth. Lowell's had, you guessed it, only one. But it was a dandy. A home run in the top of the seventh to make it 3-0. Varitek had one more than Ortiz, Lowell and Pedroia.
The World Series is always a "National League Team vs. American League Team." And just that, team! There's an MVP (In this case, Lowell got it.), and there's got to be a winning pitcher in anywhere from four to seven games. Someone has to step up to the plate for your team and get the runner's home. Or shut them down on the mound. The Red Sox had many players ready to do that in the 2007 Fall Classic!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
The Red Sox, seeking their second Fall Classic triumph in three years, made i a laugher in the opener at home. Boston won it, 13-1. Josh Beckett won it, with some help from Mike Timlin and Eric Gagne. But the Sox had plenty of run support, of course. Dustin Pedroia drove in two, as did David Ortiz. Jason Varitek also drove in two. Sadly, Mike Lowell was at the low end of the totem pole, and didn't collect an RBI.
In game two, the Red Sox again again. This time though, it was close. Boston won, 2-1, behind the pitching of Curt Schilling. Curt left after 5 1/3 innings. The bullpen helped out even more in this game, as they shut down Colorado for the last 3 2/3 innings. The offence seemed to die, as Lowell got his first RBI and Varitek, his third. But that was all.
In Colorado for game three, it was a little easier. Boston scored ten, but Colorado came alive with some offence of their own. They scored five, alas, it was not enough to make a game of this. And now, this Fall Classic was a rout. Daisuke Matsuzaka was the winning pitcher, but like Schilling in the game before, he lasted only 5 1/3 innings. The bullpen faltered, this time. Colorado scored twice off Matsuzaka, and then three more times in only 3 2/3 innings of the Red Sox 'pen. Not helping matters was the eight hits surrendered in that span by the relief corps. On the plus side, it was Pedroia with a pair of RBIs to give him four in three games. Ortiz had one himself, as he drove home the first run of the game on a double. Lowell had his second-straight two RBI game, giving him three for the Series. Varitek had only one, but that upped his total to four. All this offence, and Boston did not hit a home run, which is odd. Colorado got one from Matt Holliday. But it was the Sox who were just a game away.
Game four followed game two, a one-run Red Sox win. That made it a sweep for Boston, but at least two of the games' were close. Boston build up a 3-0 lead before Colorado came alive. John Lester started and got one more batter out than Schilling and Matsuzaka got in their outings. He gave up no runs and only three hits. The three walks doomed him. The bullpen did falter, although Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon held the Rockies scoreless. Pedroia failed to get a hit or an RBI. So he finished with four. Ortiz got one, but just one, to give him four as well. Varitek drove in Boston's second run with a single in the top of the fifth. Lowell's had, you guessed it, only one. But it was a dandy. A home run in the top of the seventh to make it 3-0. Varitek had one more than Ortiz, Lowell and Pedroia.
The World Series is always a "National League Team vs. American League Team." And just that, team! There's an MVP (In this case, Lowell got it.), and there's got to be a winning pitcher in anywhere from four to seven games. Someone has to step up to the plate for your team and get the runner's home. Or shut them down on the mound. The Red Sox had many players ready to do that in the 2007 Fall Classic!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
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