Sox on mend, rebound after break

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

BOSTON – Well they're a bit bruised, a bit beat up, but they aint broken. The Sox made it to the All-Star break with 9 players on the disabled list and Kevin Youkilis and Adrian Beltre nursing minor injuries but playing – a scary condition for a team to be in regardless of whether you're only a few games back of the Yankees in the pennant race or not.

David "Big Papi" Ortiz had a nice all-star break, running away with the home run derby title on his 3rd try -- again silencing the critics who said he was washed up at April's end.

But other than that the Sox got back to biz as usual after the break, banged up and battling. Things got a little worse before they could get better with a pair of tough series with the red-hot AL-West leading Rangers and the mildly streaky A's getting the best of the Sox, dropping them to as bad as 7.5 games back in the AL East headed into a 4-game set in Seattle kicking off Thursday night.

We saw the Sox really bare down and fight Thursday, after the M's tied the game with 2 homers in the 9th inning off Delcarmen and Papelbon, the bullpen had to string together a couple crucial innings for for a 13th inning 8-6 win. Okajima got the win for his 12th and 13th inning holds he put on the Mariners lineup.

Then Friday night everybody was tuning in to see how Josh Beckett perform in his first start since nearly 2 months of recovery. Beck really looked to be in top form, striking out 5 and walking 3 over 5-2/3 innings in a 2-1 victory. Pap got the save (22) to cap off a great night put together by the pen.

Josh threw 98 pitches, 62 for strikes -- and that's a sigh of relief to the Sox organization. Beck has something to prove now and some work to do with his 1-1 6.66 ERA in 2010, but as history has proven, this dude is clutch down the stretch and that's why he's their ace.

Even better the Sox got back Clay Bucholz this week as well. He had a rocky start in Oakland, but he's been carrying the team as of late and the hamstring injury shouldn't affect his game in the oh-so crucial months of July and August.

Other news on injuries is that Victor Martinez might be back in the lineup after recovering from his foot injury as soon as Monday and outfielder Jeremy Hermida will most likely see time with the Sox next week as well. There is still no timetable for Ellsbury's return to the bigs, still recovering from his mid-April collision with Beltre that brokes several ribs.

Pedroia is feeling antsy to come back and get in the action, but has only just begun walking through light drills without the boot so he will most likely be a mid-August return.

With the Sox needing a sweep in this Seattle series, 7 games back in the East, they put the prolific 11-4, 2.81 ERA Jon Lester on the mound against the Mariners' David Pauley.

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