Home, sweet home

Well my 10 day, three country sojourn is over - the Sox 10 day, three city sojourn is over - and thankfully, I return just in time to see the Sox get the short homestand off to the right start.

I can say that now that the Sox have the win in the record book, but it was one of those nights where you did wonder whether the lack of key hits would come back and haunt the team. While the Sox ended up outhitting the Rangers 10-8, they had a five hit advantage through the 7th inning, but had only managed to score on Trot's first Fenway HR of the season in the home half of the 1st.

So when Papelbon blew his first save of the season in the 8th, allowing Matthews to score from 3rd on a pitch that Blalock shouldn't even have been thinking about swinging at, let alone hitting solidly to left center, part of my jet-lagged / time-zone addled brain groaned. But in the bottom half, Manny, Trot and Mike Lowell combined to score the go ahead run, while Papelbon came back out in the 9th to get his first win of the season.

Given the rain is falling and the thunder is still grumbling here in Westchester, and the Yankees are 5 runs behind in the 7th with a rain delay from that same storm threatening the game, it looks like I made it home just in time to see the Sox reclaim first place.