Is That a Winning Streak?

It sure is. For the first time in 2011, the Red Sox have put together back-to-back victories, thanks to impressive pitching performances by Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, respectively. Although today's 8-1 victory helps the Red Sox improve to 4-10 on the season, they still have the worst record in all of baseball.

Beckett's last two outings have looked like this: 2-0, 0.60 ERA, 19 K, 3 BB, and 5 hits through 15 innings pitched. You have to go all the way back to August 2009 for the last time Beckett made consecutive starts of at least 7 IP while allowing 1 earned run or less through the two outings.

Lester was by no means dominant today through 6+, but at this point a quality start is a quality start for the Red Sox. While I feel like he was being squeezed a little bit by home plate umpire Doug Eddings, his pitch count was still a tad high for just 6 innings (110). Some double play balls bailed him out in the 2nd and 3rd innings, respectively.

Among other bright spots today was Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who's 2-4, 3 RBI performance is perhaps helping him turn the corner after a hideous start offensively. Salty's two-run single in the bottom of the 6th helped break the score open a little more to 6-1 Boston, and it could even have been 7-1 if not for poor base running by JD Drew. That being said, the man with the longest surname in Major League history continues to struggle defensively. His decision to throw the ball to 2nd on the play where Juan Rivera was ultimately picked off allowed Aaron Hill to score from 3rd, which at the time put the Sox in a 1-0 hole. Salty's other throws to second both bounced well shy of the base, one of them even bouncing off the pitcher's mound. It's going to be a work-in-progress for Saltalamacchia behind the dish, and hopefully he gets it together sooner rather than later.

The Sox will look to take 3 out of 4 from Canada's team tomorrow on Marathon Monday in Boston, where Daisuke Matsuzaka will likely get his last chance to prove he belongs on the Red Sox. Stay tuned. The Red Sox are 66-49 all-time on the Patriots Day 11:00 A.M. start.