Yu Nearly Perfect

Thank you, Big Papi, for not compounding a terrible 8-0 loss with a no-hitter. Yu Darvish pitched 8 2/3rds innings of no-hit ball before Ortiz singled in the 9th. Give props to Darvish who held the Sox in check all night while counterpart Clay Buchholz fumbled through his start. Buck couldn't make it through 5 innings, giving up 6 runs on 10 hits. So question marks still abound about a guy who looked untouchable before injury set in last year. Capuano was also ineffective, allowing 2 inherited runners to score plus 2 more of his own. Mentally, sometimes it's better to get beat 8-0 than 1-0. As a player, you know it's just one of those games. Lester & Lackey now get their chances to salvage this series.