Matt Garza

Image courtesy of espn.com

As far as I'm concerned, Garza's 7+, 1 run, 9 strikeout, 3 walk outing last night was the best playoff pitching performance, ever. Baseball is a game of momentum and coming into Game 7 the Redsox had all of it. After jumping out to a 3-1 series lead, the Rays proceeded to choke away a 7-0 lead in Game 5, giving up 8 runs in the final 3 innings. Josh Beckett then out-dueled Rays' starter James Shields in Game 6 and all signs pointed to the experienced Sox taking the series. Game 7 started with a solo shot from Pedroia in the first inning and you could hear Redsox Nation breathe a sigh of relief. However, Garza would settle down, allowing only 2 more hits over the next 6 innings leading the Rays to victory.

Considering how young this Ray's roster is (Pena is the oldest everyday starter at 30), it's amazing how they were able to regain momentum in Game 7. Much of that credit goes to starter Matt Garza who at 24 is only one year older than rookie sensation David Price. It's also important to realize that prior to this season the Rays had never had a winning season, never mind making the playoffs or competing for the AL Pennant. The last pitcher to do quite that was Andy Pettitte, another 24 year-old, when he threw 8+ shutout innings out-dueling the Braves' John Smoltz in Game 5 to put the Yankees (who hadn't won a World Series since 1978) up 3 games to 2 in the 1996 WS.