Papi, Youk punish Rays

Ty Hampton
Sox Swaggerista

-- It's not an overstatement to say that the Sox are red hot right now!

David Ortiz trade? Thing of the past. Pitcher problems in a star-studded rotation? What pitching issues? The only baggage the Sox appear to be carrying these days are sacks full of beatdowns for their opponents.

Boston came off 2 wins in Philly into a predictably tough road series in St. Petersburg, but pulled off a concincing 6-1 win Monday night behind longball blasts by Kevin Youkilis and Big Papi.

More impressive was how Clay Bucholz went about collecting his 6th win of the year. The rising star for the Sox threw for 8 strikeouts, 6 hits and 1 run, in 6 innings. With a plethora of confidence and newfound maturity on the mound Clay is having an All-Star caliber year, now posting a stunning 3.07 ERA.

Bucholz has now also won eight straight starts on the road. Nuts, absolutely nuts I tell you.

Red Sox Record: (25-21)

Yay's:
- Any remnant of doubt with David Ortiz should now be gone. This guy is more than making up for a bad April and doesn't look to be cooling off again anytime soon. Viva la Papi!

Nay's:
- Victor Martinez drilled himself with a foul tip right on the big toe and suffered a deep bone bruise on the toe. The Sox have Tek, who has played great this year, so I'm not too worried if V-Mart has to take a week off.
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