Carl Crawford Vs. The Boston Red Sox

The media seems to have turned the three game series versus the Boston Red Sox into Carl Crawford versus the Boston Red Sox. Carl Crawford basically said before the series that he really didn't enjoy his time in Boston for whatever reason and he really wanted to win all three of these games pretty badly. Just about every player would say that about his old team. This series is much bigger than a Carl Crawford grudge match. The Dodgers are now leading the National League West by 10 1/2 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston is fighting it out with Tampa Bay over the leadership of the American League East. Boston and Tampa are virtually tied for first place. Now the Dodgers have to be thinking about potential World Series matchups. The Dodgers won game one of the Boston series 2-0 behind Ricky Nolasco (10-9). He allowed 2 hits in 8 innings and Kenley Jansen closed them out in the 9th for his 22nd save. Nolasco got all the run support he needed from Hanley Ramirez who hit his 13th homerun, a two run shot to center field in the 4th with Carl Crawford on second. Crawford had two of the Dodgers three hits and stole two bases. He is playing to win all three of these games.