Dice-K wins pitchers duel with Sabathia

Red Sox - 1
Indians - 0
Final

W: Matsuzaka (12-7)
L: Sabathia (13-5)
S: Papelbon (23)

In a game where they were only able to muster up 1 run and 6 hits against Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia the Sox came out victorious. It took a great effort from Daisuke Matsuzaka and the rest of the pitching staff. Matsuzaka pitched 7 strong innings, striking out 5 and allowing no runs. Hideki Okajima pitched the 8th, allowing no hits and no runs. Jonathan Papelbon closed out the game for his 23rd save of the year with 2 strikeouts. The Red Sox pitching staff retired the last seven Indians hitters in order. Nobody really shined on offense for the Sox in this pitcher's duel, but Mike Lowell got an RBI-single in the 4th, knocking in Kevin Youkilis. It took a good effort defensively to scrap out this 1-run victory. The Sox made the key plays when they were neccesary and definitely took some of the pressure off of their pitchers. A key play for the Sox was in the 7th when Josh Barfield bunted to Kevin Youkilis to move the runner up, but instead Youk made a great play and got the force out at second. It was a down night for Pedroia who finished 0-4. I don't think anything was going on, it just wasn't his night and he went up against a great pitcher. The Sox took the 2-0 lead in the series and are hoping to continue their 5-game winning streak. Boston's record now stands at 61-39.

Box Score

If the Yankees can close out their 8-2 lead against Kansas City tonight, the AL East margin between the Red Sox and Yanks will for a 5th straight night remain at 7.5 games.