Sox keep rolling in Toronto

After the Red Sox lost two games out of three to the Tampa Bay Rays in Boston, the Detroit Tigers came to town for a four-game set. The Red Sox won the first three to advance to two games over .500, then lost the final game of the set. David Ortiz continues to hit the living daylights out of the ball for Boston, and the Sox looked like a good team for the first time this season as they rolled into Toronto. Bobby Valentine put Daniel Nava in the 2-spot for last night's match against the Blue Jays, and the youngster made him look like a genius. Nava, Adrian Gonzalez, and Ortiz, the 2-3-4 punch, combined to go 9-13 with 5 RBI and 5 runs in a 7-2 thrashing. Clay Buchholz had the start for Boston, and I thought before the game that he had to have a good game here. After all, his 4-2 record heading into Toronto belied the highest ERA out of starters on the team, his 7.19 mark. But he was able to throw 8 solid innings of 6-hit, 2-run baseball while striking out seven in the contest. Today the Sox go again with the Jays, with Felix Doubront going for Boston.

 Last night was a milestone for another team as well: the New York Mets. Johan Santana, whom many consider to be past his glory days, threw the first no-hitter in the history of the club. Santana benefited from a questionable call in his game, where a liner down the left-field line was ruled foul despite leaving a mark on the chalk line. Of course, the St. Louis Cardinals protested the call, but to no avail. The pitcher was also helped by one marvelous defensive play by the left-fielder Mike Baxter. On a long drive to left field, Baxter ran straight back, making a beautiful running catch before smashing into the wall in left. When I was watching the highlights from the game, I couldn't help but think, "Man, that's gotta hurt..." And in fact, Baxter left the game after the play with a shoulder injury. The Mets won 8-0. Trivia Buchholz is now 6-2 in his career at Rogers Centre. Will Middlebrooks, Daniel Nava, and Scott Posednik all have averages over .300 in their handful of games with Boston, and are seemingly providing key RBIs and runs each day. They join David Ortiz and Ryan Sweeney as the five Sox with batting averages over .300.