Although Josh Beckett extended his string of quality starts to five the Red Sox as a whole failed to find the keys to success laid out prior to their series with Toronto.
But we learned plenty in the three-game set. Here are a few items to take away from the weekend at Fenway Park:
The End is Nigh
When the Red Sox entered what appeared to be a winnable homestand against the Blue Jays and Orioles they were six games behind the New York Yankees in the wild card race and there was still a little bit of chatter surrounding some of the postseason possibilities. If Boston could chip a couple of games into that deficit before beginning six games against the Yanks this coming weekend then maybe a late run would be possible.
There is no such chatter anymore.
After dropping two of three the Red Sox' deficit in wild card race was 6 1/2 games, now in back of Tampa Bay, and with just 13 games to play. The six games against the Yankees may represent little more than a chance to play spoiler in the A.L. East race.
Lacking It
With three scheduled starts to go it is safe to say that this has been a down year for John Lackey, at least from a numbers standpoint. After several rough outings both he and manager Terry Francona have talked about some bad breaks and balls finding holes and what not. But as Francona said following Lackey's latest start, "runs are runs."
Lackey gave up seven of those runs — six earned — in just 4 1/3 innings in the opener of the series, losing for the fourth straight time. He is now 2-6 with a 5.68 ERA in his last nine starts.
Not Lacking It
Like Lackey, Jon Lester is streaking, only in the other direction. He is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA in his last five starts after throwing seven scoreless innings in the series finale.
With two scheduled starts remaining Lester (18-8) has 20 wins in his sight. If he gets it he would be the first Boston lefty since Mel Parnell in 1953 to accomplish the feat.
