Dice-K dominates!

Ty Hampton
Sox Swaggerista

My Red Sox ARE back baby! I’m tellin’ you haters out there, start payin’ attention and you might learn something. We don’t roll over, we don’t die and you can never, ever count out the Boston freakin’ Red Sox.

Dice-K Matsuzaka put on a masterpiece of a pitching stand last night, flirting with a no-hitter (just four outs short) into the 8th inning and collecting his third win of the year in a powerful 5-0 statement victory for the Sox in Philly. That’s right, Dice-K did that to the Philadelphia Phillies all-star batting lineup – undoubtedly the best NL team for the past two seasons. And Dice-K? Ripped through them. Destroyed their lineup time and time again, with ease.

Juan Castro was the only Phillies hitter to get a hit off of Dice-K, and by about 2 inches. He got a bloop single into shallow left field that nearly grazed off of a diving Marco Scutaro’s glove. Close, so close.

But in the end the Sox hit well off of Kyle Kendrick and Matzusaka still collected a quality shutout of the toughest hitting team in the National League. Dice-K just gave up the 1 hit, 4 walks and threw 5 K’s in his 112 pitches.

Not a bad way to start interleague play for the Sox if I do say so myself.

Yay’s:
- Dice-K was the highlight for sure, but let’s not forget that the Sox gave him some run production tonight as well. David Ortiz showed some serious hustle for the first run of the game, busting his ass to home plate on a close RBI sac-fly from Jeremy Hermida. Then a string of hits – including an RBI single from J.D., an RBI double from Big Papi and a 2-RBI double from Beltre – gave the Sox the 5-run buffer for insurance.

An all-around big win, nobody how you slice it.

- But let me make something clear, Dic-K pitched great, but you do NOT throw a no-no or flirt with a no-no by yourself. The Sox’s defense made a number of great plays on ripped line-drives and shots that could’ve easily been a base-hit if not for clutch, timely consistent glove work.

Nay’s:
- This is the most ludicrous decision I have seen Manager Terry Francona make, and he doesn’t make many. When Varitek is behind the plate with Dice-K, the Japanese ace has thrown for 2 wins with a .60 ERA. The other three starts in 2010 where V-Mart is behind the dish Matzusaka has posted a redonkulously scary 11.05 ERA.

Yet Coach Tito is NOT ready to make Tek, the team’s captain, both Beckett and Dic-K’s designated exclusive catcher. Francona stated the V-Mart is the Red Sox’s catcher and the team’s #3 hitter, and if he’s not in the lineup everyday that’s a problem for the offense.

- Yes, this is a great show of confidence for Dice-K bouncing back now and hopefully a momentum changer…but there is no guarantee and let’s face it, the guy has been inconsistent, if anything, for the past 2.5 years.