Royals 0
Red Sox 4

Throwing only the 2nd Red Sox complete game shutout of the year (the first being Curt Schilling’s near no-hitter), Kason Gabbard was a friend to the umpires, stadium employees, and everyone else who enjoyes fast-paced baseball (everyone), as the Red Sox took only 2 hours and 18 minutes to defeat the Kansas City Royals tonight. 

Keeping in mind the caveat that KC has the 2nd worst team OPS+ in the league, let’s tip our hat to Kason for his 2nd excellent start of the season.  While guys like Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz get most of the love as the young starters in the organization, the 25-year-old Gabbard has proven that he can at least hold his own in the majors, with a career ERA of 3.44 in 55 innings between this year and last.  In those 55 innings, K-Gab (sorry) has only yielded 2 HRs.  If he can continue to keep the ball in the park, Kason could serve as a useful left-handed arm in the big leagues for years to come.

The meat of the order was especially meaty in the victory, as Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez all went deep.   In his last 8 games, Ortiz is hitting .452 with an OBP of .553, including 3 HRs and 10 runs scored.  Sort of makes the recent panic surrounding his knee and lack of power a bit silly, does it not? 

Tomorrow, Tim Wakefield (10-8, 4.47) takes on…WAIT FOR IT…WAIT FOR IT…

…a pitcher we’ve never seen before, making his debut.  Leo Nunez, a 23-year-old Dominican right-hander, has a 1.40 ERA in 39 innings between AA and AAA this season.  During this span, he has held hitters to a .167 batting average. 

Brace yourselves.

Update: We actually have seen Nunez before, as he pitched quite a bit in 2005 (looks like he was one of a group of young pitchers rushed to the majors by KC that year).  Thanks to The Tao’s recent post at In Dayton We Trust for the insight.

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