Colon, Bullpen Pass Sniff Test

Bartolo Colon brought his 146 major league victory experience to the hill the night following Justin Masterson's first big league win. Mixing 95 mile per hour gas with a variety of breaking stuff, Colon had four strikeouts, two walks and allowed six hits, many of the cheap variety in holding the Royals to a pair of runs in five innings.

Craig Hansen, Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen, and Mike (Rocky VII) Timlin followed Colon in a contest reminiscent of Spring Training. All except Timlin held KC scoreless, with Timlin surrendering a run in the ninth inning.

The Sox had a variety of offensive heroes including Jacoby Ellsbury with three hits, a leadoff homer, and a stolen base, Jason Varitek with a game tying homer, Dustin Pedroia with three hits, and Julio Lugo with a pair of hits, a run scored and an RBI.

Justin 'Bat' Masterson moved down/up to Pawtucket from Boston/Portland, as he awaits the inevitable health breakdown of the pitching staff.

Julian Tavarez accepted assignment to Pawtucket as well, as the Sox build a Triple A power, at least on the mound.

Bartolo Colon sports a bright red glove...not sure whether that's a leftover from the Angels.

Need something to complain about? After tomorrow's afternoon game, the Sox travel to the Left Coast where East Coast insomniacs delight, and the rest of us go quietly into the night.

The Red Sox have moved up in the AL pitching stats, lowering the team ERA to close to 4.1. The team K/BB ratio is also improving, moving to 1.8o. Important to recognize however is the influence of Papelbon and Beckett, 83 K and 13 BB, with the rest of the team 253/174...1.45, with only three teams, Baltimore, Detroit, and Texas worse.