Behind ridiculously good pitching from key starters (
John Lackey,
Jon Lester,
Rubby De La Rosa,
Brandon Workman) and yeoman's service from the bullpen (
Burke Badenhop,
Edward Mujica,
Koji Uehara,
Junichi Tazawa,
Craig Breslow,
Andrew Miller), Boston was able to come away with five wins during the seven-game homestand. They need to sustain that level of pitching—and get
some offense—over the next ten road games. Call it
"The Titanic Ten" roadtrip—
with the team's not-so-subtle ties to that benighted vessel clearly in mind.
The Carmine Hose now face four games against the raging A's, three against the surging Mariners and three against
The Evil Ones. The shape they're in when they come home May 30th may well define the rest of the 2014 season. This is the time they need to step up and decide whether they are worthy of defending the 2013 World Series championship.
