World Series Reflections; Game Two - Red Sox Beat the Rockies, 2-1

Last night, the Boston Red Sox took a 2-0 lead in the 2007 World Series as they beat the Colorado Rockies in a tight pitching matchup, 2-1. Instead of a slug-fest, fans were treated to a pitcher’s duel, supplanted by both Boston’s and Colorado’s strong bullpens.

Curt Schilling, who is making a strong case as being one of the top post-season pitchers of all time, allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings last night and impressive outings by Hideki Okajima (who went 2 1/3 amazing innings with 4 K’s) along with stud closer Jonathan Papelbon, sealed the Rockies’ fate.

Ubaldo Jimenez held his own against the veteran Schilling, as he went a little more than 4 innings and gave up two runs, before being yanked by Clint Hurdle. If there was a bright side to the loss, the Colorado bullpen was excellent, but the offense could not produce anything at all.

It’s critical the Rockies win at home in the next few days, or their series is done. From the looks of it, Boston looks strong and the magic that Colorado had is gone.

Now, they’ll have to fight to win.

Say what you want about Schilling, who looks closer to Greg Maddux now than a fireballer, but his intelligence, grit and guile has got him through this post-season. If he is indeed done with the Red Sox, they’ll be missing an integral part of their championship runs. As long as he can get guys out, I don’t see why he cannot stay in the game longer.

Game three will feature Daisuke Matsuzaka, who came big in the final game of the ALCS versus Josh Fogg on Saturday night.