West Coast trips have often been the undoing of Sox teams. Before interleague play, such excursions were usually to places like Anaheim, Seattle, and Oakland. Oftentimes, the size of the stadiums in these cities were larger than Fenway, and homers into the screen became fly-ball outs. Time change may also have been a factor, especially if a trip began in a place like Seattle.
As the Sox began their journey last week, things were a bit different. The opponents were now the World Champion San Francisco Giants, still formidable despite a disappointing season, and the LA Dodgers, the hottest team in baseball. The Sox, who began the trip a game ahead of Tampa Bay, had been slumping. The starters were laboring, and the bullpen seemed overworked. Doomsayers were everywhere.
But this Boston team refused to be intimidated. They first took 2 of 3 from the Giants, and it should have been a sweep. Jon Lester and Felix Doubront hurled 8 and 8 1/3 frames respectively, and Sox bats woke up in two blowouts. The only loss was a controversial one in which Shane Victorino caught a foul ball which became a sac fly for the tying run as San Francisco squeaked by, 4-3.
The series with Los Angeles might have been the most important one of the season. The Dodgers were 28-5 since the all-star break, and were riding a 45-10 wave that had given them a 10-plus game lead in the NL West. The controversy surrounding last August's megatrade hung in the air, with still-angry Carl Crawford announcing "I want to win all three games. Bad."
But Crawford was to be disappointed. The visiting Sox gave three strong pitching efforts by John Lackey (complete game 2-0 loss), Lester (7 1/3 innings, 4-2 victory) and Jake Peavy (complete game, 8-1 blowout). The hot hitting Dodgers only managed 12 hits in the three games; it was their first series loss since mid-June.
The road trip ended 4-2, and Boston starters had a 1.17 ERA. The bullpen finally got some rest. The Sox were fortunate in missing LA starters Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, but inferior piching on the West Coast had often beaten them in the past.
The team has continued its fine play at home against Baltimore and Chicago, but the race is certainly far from over. However, there are no more West Coast trips. Last week's effort certainly proved something. John Farrell's squad continues to come through in tough situations.
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