Paul Jarvey / TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
BOSTON— We’ve learned a lot about Tim Wakefield in his 13 years in Boston and now we know something else.
He’s a mudder.
Pitching in steady rain, Wakefield gave the Red Sox one of their biggest wins of the season, 7-0 over the scorching Toronto Blue Jays.
With Tampa Bay and Minnesota both getting rained out, the Sox gained ground on all fronts. They pulled to within two games of the Rays in the American League East and moved six games up on the Twins in the wild-card race.
The Blue Jays, who have now lost two straight after winning eight in a row, fell 7-1/2 games behind the Sox. They’re 9-1/2 behind the Rays.
The Jays have been charging fast, though, and don’t think the Sox haven’t noticed.
“We read the papers,” said Kevin Cash, whose three-run homer in the eighth broke the game open. “We see the standings every night out there on the Green Monster. We know where they are.”
So, it was important for the Sox to get this series off on the right foot and push the Jays back a bit.
Wakefield helped accomplish that mission by allowing just three hits over eight shutout innings. It was his longest outing since he went eight innings on May 28.
He threw only 94 pitches, but Sox manger Terry Francona took him out after eight innings. Wakefield, who hasn’t had a complete-game shutout since 1997, was fine with that.
“I was on the DL about two weeks ago,” he said. “I think they want to protect me for my next start.”
Read the complete article HERE...
