With the Red Sox beating the Rays 2-0 last night, their magic number now stands at 10. The Red Sox currently sit at first place in the American League (and only .01 percentage points behind the MLB-leading Braves). The Rays are 8.5 games back of the Sox, Orioles 10, Yankees 10.5, and Blue Jays.
The Wild Card race is tighter than ever with the Rangers having the first slot, and Rays 2.5 games back with the second slot. Orioles and Indians are 1.5 games back of the Ryas, Yankees, 2 games, and Royals 3 games. It's a tight race, and there really isn't a definite winner of either Wild Card slot.
Clay Buchholz pitched last night for the first time since Jun 9th. Before the game, I was admittedly nervous. Not only was it nerve-racking to watch a pitcher who hadn't pitched for 3 months, but Buchholz wasn't calming my nerves in his minor league appearances either.
Buchholz, for his part, pitched beautifully. He went 5.0 innings, gave up 0 runs, 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. He pitched 74 pitches, 44 for strikes. It went without saying that Farrell wouldn't let Buchholz go over about 70-80 pitches, and he did nicely with the 74 pitches he threw. His ERA is now at 1.61 for the season.
With Buchholz back, it's brings the question of who the odd man out is. For right now, the Red Sox announced they were skipping Doubront's next start. Dempster, who pitches tonight, has a 4.79 ERA. Doubront's ERA is at 4.15. I still think a 6-man rotation is needed, let them fight it out for a spot on the playoff roster.
With the way they've been pitching lately, Lester and Lackey definitely deserve a spot in the playoff rotation. Peavey has also been great since coming over from the White Sox, and he should be getting starts as well. Depending on how Buchholz pitches these next few starts, Farrell can also utilize him. Farrell has a tough decision to make, since the ALCS usually carries 3 starters, and the Red Sox have 4 pitchers who seem up for the task.
The Red Sox take on the Rays again tonight, as mentioned, sending Dempster to the mound. This could be a chance for Dempster to break out, since the Rays have been on a downward spiral these last couple weeks. Plus, the Trop had under 19,000 fans last night at the game, and I'm sure half of them were Red Sox fans.
And for those who wanted and update on how I'm doing in Connecticut...
Connecticut is hot today. It's almost like it was in Iowa, where the humidity is worse than the heat. My curly hair is a frazzled mess right now (luckily, I could just pull it it back into a messy bun and not have to worry about it).
You know those eCards that show up on Facebook about wearing a dress because it's hot? Yup, that's exactly how I felt today. I hung the dress up yesterday, and Cole commented how I was going to wear a dress. I explained to him when it's this hot, a dress is a lot cooler than shorts. Plus, I went shopping today and wanted to look a little cute.
I went shopping in Meriden, Connecticut today, and I thought it was an absolutely gorgeous town. I first went to the mall, which was right off the highway and not that scenic. After, I went to Pier One and Target, and there were spectacular views all around. I really wish I would've taken a picture walking out of Target and seeing the mountains in the distance (yes, I'll call them mountains now and not hills). I will definitely take pictures the next time I'm there.
The apartment is starting to feel more like a home. Once we have everything put away and situated the way we want, I'll be sure to post pictures. I'm definitely my mother's daughter, as I spend time each day on websites like Amazon, Pier One, Ikea, and Target looking for new things to make this apartment feel more like Cole and me.
One last note, Saturday Cole and I will be going to the Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway Park. It's going to be about 20 degrees cooler than it was last weekend (the high is saying 70). I can't wait to get back to Fenway and feel the atmosphere of that wonderful baseball park. Make sure to check back at the end of the week for Twitter Friday.
