Game 154 - Boston 8, Rays 1

For a while, this was the duel that I honestly expected that it would be. Kid K and Josh Beckett fired back-and-forth at each other, with Beckett seemingly on the ropes in the early innings, while Kazmir was the victim of some poor defense from his catcher.

The problem for Kazmir was that his pitch-count went up quickly as he racked up 9 Ks and 4 walks in 5 innings. Beckett, meanwhile, got stronger and the Rays' offense had no answer as the game grew older. There's a reason Josh Beckett is a Cy Young-award front-runner. He's just that good.

On the other hand, the Rays' offense completed the disappearing act by racking up a grand total of 4 hits - none of them after the 3rd - while finding a way to strike out 13 times. Sure, the Sox total of 17 strikeouts was even more abysmal, but they found a way to score 8 runs.

Then, just to ensure that this game truly was a microcosm for the entire season, the bullpen was rocked over the final 2 innings, putting this one out of reach.

Ray of Light - Scott Kazmir: He was great, despite the lack of innings tonight.

Drowner - Jeff Ridgway: He's faced 4 batters this year, and he's allowed 4 batters to reach base. Gotta love those infinite ERAs.