Red Sox 2008 ALDS Game 3 Preview

Well last nights game was a beautiful thing to watch. Too bad I was at work and only was able to really watch the last three innings. Have I mentioned that I hate Direct TV lately? Audio was horrible on the game until the last few innings so I had to bring up the internet feed from MLB.com. Still, it was good to listen to the game and then get to watch the last three innings.

Lots of things to talk about in the game. Where should we start? Jason Bay looking like he has been playing in playoffs his entire career? Ellsbury continuing to hit and get on base? JD Drew hitting another home run that just kept on rising and rising? Matsuzaka being well Matsuzaka? A relief pitcher besides Papelbon that can go more than 1 inning of NO RUNS ALLOWED? Eleven straight wins against a good Angels Team?

Like I said a lot to talk about from last nights game. None of it matters though, the Sox won and now they have one of the premier post season pitchers pitching tomorrow. Lets go see what MLB.com has to say:

Scouting Report:

Angels: Saunders, fully recovered after passing a kidney stone three days earlier and missing a start, finished the regular season with a dominant effort against the Rangers, holding them to two hits while striking out nine and walking none in six shutout innings on Sunday. He became the staff leader with 17 wins, one more than Ervin Santana. Saunders believed the time off served to revive his arm, and he was stronger than he'd been in close to a month. The All-Star southpaw has been a road warrior, going 10-3 with a 2.55 ERA away from Angel Stadium. At Fenway Park, notoriously unkind to lefties, he is 3-0 in his career with a 2.75 ERA. He is 4-0 with a 2.89 ERA in six lifetime starts against the Red Sox. In three starts this season he was 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA against Boston.

Red Sox: More than anything, the righty has come to be known for his utter dominance in postseason play. For the Red Sox last October, Beckett went 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in four starts. Overall, he is 6-2 with a 1.73 ERA in the postseason over 10 outings, nine of which were starts. It was not an easy regular season for Beckett, who battled injuries, inconsistency and, at times, bad luck. Still, the righty would have opened the series if not for a strained right oblique suffered in a bullpen session two days before the end of the regular season. Beckett held opponents to a .256 average and gave up 18 homers. He was hardly dominant at Fenway this season, going 5-5 with a 5.65 ERA. Beckett was 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA in two starts against the Angels.

Not looking good actually. 7.43 ERA vs a 3.38 ERA. However, this is October and I fully expect some Captain Kick Ass goodery from the #3 (how weird is that) starter. In fact I wouldn't be surprised to see him go 8 innings.

♊ - Well, let's hope we get some funny hats too.

p.s. just in case anyone cares, early post on the game 3 because the BH is kidnapping me for a romantic get away (its our anniversary 24 of a lifetime sentence). Said get away has spotty internet so, posting early to at least have some thoughts said.