Well, that game was a bummer.  Did the Sox deserve to win that game? Probably not.  Did the Angels deserve to lose it?  Absolutely.

From Bad News Bears-esque fielding to baserunning blunders, the Angels looked for every way they could to lose this game.  Why Howie Kendrick is still in the Angels lineup is bizarre to me.  He’s looks very intimidated out there.  Quite honestly, this game could have easily been a shut out victory by the Angels, but nevertheless the Sox saw 80 pitches that could have allowed them to walk off as series winners, including plenty of pitches where a simple base hit would have done it.

As I said in the beginning, long outings by starting pitching and 2 out RBIs was going to win the series.  Sox didn’t get enough of either last night.  Beckett was a disappointment, but give him credit for battling through 5 innings that kept the Sox in the game. 

The bullpen? Wow, didn’t expect them to shut the door like they did last night.  Manny Delcarmen was arguably the most impressive pitcher the Sox threw out there last night. Finally, someone figured out how to work the middle of the Angels lineup (hint: throw the ball 98 mph)

Tonight is now a must win game, in my opinion.  And Lester takes the mound and it feels good.  He can cement himself as the Red Sox version of 90s era Andy Pettitte by closing out the Angels tonight.  Heaven forbid, this team has to play a game 5 in Anaheim with Dice-K starting that game.  As much as I believe in Josh Beckett, there is no better scenario for the Sox to close out this series vs. the Angels than with Jon Lester pitching at Fenway.