Empyreal Environs

Game 80: July 3, 2006
Red Sox (50-30), 0
Devil Rays (36-47), 3
L: Josh Beckett (10-4)
W: Scott Kazmir (10-5)

The best part of last night’s game was Raymond, which says something about how the evening went. For the third time this season the Red Sox went scoreless. Interestingly, the Red Sox have only been on the receiving end of shutouts in the course of year so far. All-Star Scott Kazmir enjoyed his first complete game shutout, throwing 120 pitchers and striking out ten while allowing just two hits and two walks.

In contrast, Josh Beckett continued to be assailed by the longball. All three of the Tampa Bay runs were homers, and not off the bats of the usual sluggers; Russell Branyan hit one in the fifth while Ty Wigginton hit one each in the third and fifth innings.

Before the first pitch, Raymond was shown reading Jerry Remy’s book and demolishing Remy’s bobblehead. Remy seemed to take it in good humor at the time, but this wanted poster has been circulated around St. Petersburg. Raymond has yet to brag of his exploits in his blog, jejunely entitled The Big Blue Blog. I guess it’s difficult to update one’s site while on the lam.