I done good. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Man that title felt good to type. Red Sox won a game by healthy amount of runs while backing yet another solid pitching performance. I will be following the time-honored tradition that Lefty established yesterday and keep this holiday weekend post short, but I felt obligated to post something for you, our loyal reader (hi Dad!).

The highlight of this game was Mike Napoli, who *knock on wood* seems to be coming around. He was 2 for 3 with 2 long balls, a walk, and 3 RBIs. His first homer almost hit a fan’s “Hit it Here!” bullseye in the Monster seats, and his second homerun still may not have landed. Seriously. It came on a dirty 3-1 breaking ball and Napoli went straight biblical on that thing.

“Begone ye unclean pitch! Out unto Landsdowne Street, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth!”

On the other side of the ball, Steven Wright again got the start in place of an “injured” Justin Masterson. He got off to a rocky start, giving up two runs in the top of the first. I immediately started making more Groundhog Day metaphors in my head and wishing that Henry Owens or Eduardo Rodriguez had gotten the nod in Masterson’s place. But after surrendering the two runs, Wright would settle in, setting down 18 of the next 19 batters he faced.

Farrell again had a quick hook, pulling the knuckler after putting a man on with one out in the seventh, having thrown only 75 pitches. He now has the lowest ERA amongst Red Sox starters. His final line:

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but Tim Wakefield only really figured out his knuckler around his age 30 season (Wright is currently 30).

While it was great to score eight and finally get some timely hitting, this game story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that the Sox were aided by some shoddy defense by Angels’ right fielder Kole Calhoun, who after dropping a fly ball in right seemed rattled by the jeers of the Fenway Faithful, and had a mental lapse later in the game allowing another run to score.

Other Highlights and Notes:

–Pedroia made another sparkling play in the field. I will continue this crusade to not let his defense be taken for granted until the day I die (or stop blogging, whichever comes first).

-Speaking of not taking things for granted, I went to this game from a buddy from high school who lives out in LA now. It was his first time at Fenway, and he called it “the best stadium in sports”, even though he’s a Yankees fan. I know it’s cliché but there really is a magic to Fenway that just isn’t matched by any other sports venue that I’ve been to (and I’ve been to a lot). Another thing us Sox fans should be grateful for.

–Bogaerts got moved up in the lineup and rewarded his manager’s decision with a really nice piece of hitting, delivering a bases-loaded single with two strikes and two outs in a two-run game in the bottom of the 7th.

–Mookie made a great catch that I couldn’t see because I was sitting in the centerfield bleachers. He also had an RBI single and showed off his lightning-quick hands, tagging an inside pitch. He entered the game for Victorino, who started but had to be lifted in the bottom of the third.