On the same day the Celtics swept the Knicks out of the NBA playoffs, the Red Sox did the same thing to the LA Angels, with another shutout, 7-0.Another game on the West Coast, another terrific performance by John Lackey: eight innings, no runs allowed. (Let's hope he can pitch this way back East as well.)
It was the first Red Sox four-game sweep in Anaheim since 1995. (Correction: it was the first Red Sox sweep of any kind in Anaheim since 1995. That last one was a three-game sweep. With thanks to my friend Jere for setting me straight.) Carl Crawford hit his first Red Sox home run and two hits, and the Red Sox scored three in the first and the game was practically over even before Lackey took the mound.
How much did the Red Sox dominate this series? The Angels never had a lead in the four games. And they entered the series with a 12-6 record. And it really felt like the old days as the Red Sox are now 13-1 against the Angels since being swept in the 2009 ALDS by them.
The Red Sox are now 10-11, and are 5-1 on this road trip, which continues in Baltimore on Tuesday night.
It's interesting you say first 4-game sweep in Anaheim since '95. NESN said since '80, so I checked it out to see if they were right. I did notice a 3-game sweep in '95, and a fourth game we beat them a few days before the 3-game sweep (there was a Seattle series in between). I wondered if this single game was due to missing games early that year, which started late because of the strike. So I guess you're considering that 1 and 3 as a single four game series, one in which we won every game.
ReplyDeleteIf you saw that stat somewhere else, can you tell me where it was? Thanks.
I heard that it was the first four-game sweep by the Sox in Anaheim since 1995 from the Angels broadcasters, who said it right after the last out. (I had their feed on the MLB package yesterday.) Well, I guess they had it wrong.
ReplyDeleteHa--NESN also had their stat cued up, as Don said it right after the last out, too. Maybe out in California, they consider 1 on, 3 off, 3 on to be a four-game series. "They're way ahead out there," as The Wizard from Taxi Drive said.
ReplyDelete