Beckett, Good, Sox Win 5-0

Big Papi started the scoring by hitting a 3-2 pitch into the Red Sox bullpen for his 8th HR of the season. That would be all that Josh Beckett needed to silence the Mariners bats over the first 7 innings. Sox win 5-0 & Beckett looked more like the Beckett prior to September 2011. If the Sox 5 starters can have another round of starts like they did against Cleveland & Seattle, then Tampa Bay, Philadelphia & Baltimore have trouble on their hands. Once again the Sox can pull themselves out of a slow start to May & end up around .500. Top to bottom, the Sox are only 5 games out in the AL East in the loss column & just 1 behind Toronto to move out of the cellar. As one reporter mentioned, the AL East teams may beat up on each other so much that the wild cards may come out of the Central & West. Wouldn't that be interesting! Clay Buchholz makes an important start tonight in Tampa Bay to see if he has turned the corner with his control issues. The next 3 series will be a good barometer of where the Sox are as a team.