Posted on 04/26/2009 8:27:25 PM PDT by Red Steel
BOSTON -- It was a rivalry weekend in which the Red Sox provided countless forms of excitement for their fans.
There was a walk-off win Friday night, a slugfest victory on Saturday and finally a 4-1 triumph on Sunday that included an electrifying straight steal of home by Jacoby Ellsbury.
Just like that, the red-hot Red Sox swept the Yankees in this three-game set to run their winning streak to 10 games.
Boston's first double-digit winning streak since a 12-game run from June 16-29, 2006, has come on the heels of a 2-6 start.
Having completed a 9-0 homestand, the Red Sox will open a nine-game road trip in Cleveland on Monday night.
Ellsbury's steal of home with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning came against Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte. It was the first steal of home by a Red Sox player since Jose Offerman on Aug. 30, 1999. Ellsbury became the first Boston player to register a straight steal of home since Billy Hatcher on April 22, 1994.
Justin Masterson, making his second start in place of injured right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, turned in another strong performance. Masterson went 5 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and one run, walking one and striking out four while throwing 99 pitches.
Their bullpen spent after the chaos of the previous two games, the Red Sox went to some new faces but got good results. Left-hander Hunter Jones recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning in his second Major League appearance.
Michael Bowden, also pitching his second Major League game after being activated just for Sunday's game, gave the Red Sox a big lift with two shutout innings.
With closer Jonathan Papelbon unavailable because of his recent workload, Takashi Saito came on for his second save, completing the sweep.
If I’m not mistaken, this could be one of the longest winning streaks in the history of baseball. Clearly, the Boston Red Sox are having a season of historic proportions.
I doubt a 9 game winning streak is close to a record and clearly three weeks doesn't make an historic season.
LOL...thanks for the hyperbole.
Left handed batter and they never saw him coming
It’s a Red Sox record for April.
Tommy Harper. A name I haven’t heard in a long time. :-)
When Harper did it. It had to be a weekend game. This was only time to see the
Sox in those days on TV. I think Drago was the Royals pitcher when this happened.
NEENER NEENER!!!
iT WAS AWSOME, BABY!!
Q: What is the longest winning streak in Major League Baseball?
A: The 1916 Giants won 14 tied 1 won 12. In baseball, apparently, thats a 26 game winning streak as tied games are replayed but as one individual said, if the stats count, the games count.
The longest true winning streak was 21 games by the 1935 Chicago Cubs.
The American League record of 20 games was set in 2002 by the Oakland A’s.
You like the Sox? We lived on the Jim Mason - Trot Nixon Line. LOL!
wow, tommy harper, long time for that name. along with don mincher and tommy davis, harper was just about the only reason, position player wise, to pay attention to the ‘69 pilots.
PUH-leeze, it’s a 10 game winning streak.
PUH-leeze, it’s a 10 game winning streak.
I read Ball Four when I was a teenager. Tommy Harper, Gene Brabender, Ray Oyler, Gary Bell, Greg Goosen, Steve Hovley and Fred Talbert were great stories.
it sure was. I don’t know how many times I read that book. I got to play slow pitch softball with ray oyler a few years after he retired and he was still a comic. he died very young.
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