The Sun, Clutch Carl Help Sox Avoid Sweep

So, who would have guessed? A game started by Felix Hernandez, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and Tim Wakefield, making an emergency first start, would be won by the Red Sox?

A really thought a sweep by Seattle was on the horizon.

Wake was superb, going 5 2/3, allowing just three hits while throwing only 76 pitches. But Terry Francona, in a rare bonehead move, decided to bring in The Arsonist Bobby Jenks, who couldn't find the plate and walked in two runs and let the Mariners tie the score.

I'm hoping these last two outings will convince Tito to move Jenks over to garbage time for the foreseeable future. (Is there some sort of garbage barge he can be dumped on somewhere? And I'm sure in Chicago, Ozzie Guillen's chuckling again. Probably on Twitter, too.)

Jed Lowrie hit a ball that Ichiro Suzuki lost in the sun in the ninth inning, and he wound up on third with a triple with one out. Naturally, Marco Scutaro grounded out to third, keeping Lowrie at third.

And that brought up Carl Crawford.

Every Red Sox fan had to be rooting for him big time to come through, and sure enough, he lined a single up the middle to win the game for the Red Sox, 3-2. He was mobbed by his teammates after the hit. (I was praying they wouldn't kill him, as it was another of those silly "walkoff" celebrations.) Let's hope it's the start of good things for the likeable Mr. Crawford.

Jonathan Papelbon got the win, but Wake deserved the win. It was another game that's going to keep him from breaking the Texas Con Man and Cy Young's team record for wins. And that's a shame.