Jake Peavy dominates in first game since trade: Red Sox win 5-2 over Diamond Backs

Deep, back and GONE!

The Boston Red Sox smacked 2 home runs last night en route to a dominant 5-2 win over the Diamond Backs. Victorino homered, Saltalamaccia blasted one, but after 9 innings of baseball, it was the performance of a man who recently changed his Sox that really stood out.

After he was traded to the Sox back on July 30th, Peavy came to Boston and watched in awe as Boston's first game after the trade ended with a 6 run ninth inning. 2 games later he was doing more than just cheering from the dugout, he was pitching.

"Truly from the bottom of my heart, something I'll never forget," he said after Fenway welcomed him with a aucapella signing of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". 

But for Peavy, he would soon give Sox fans reason to stop the singing and start cheering. Through 7 full innings, Jake was spectacular. He allowed just 3 hits in those 7 innings and saw just 1 run scored on his watch (although he would get charged with another via an inherited runner). He fanned seven batters and in the end would earn the win for Boston. 

"Winning is what it's about," Peavy said. "I don't care where you win. I don't care if you win at ping-pong in the clubhouse. It's fun to win, and that's why we all show up to the ballpark every day is to find a way for your team to win. I can't tell you how excited I was tonight. I told a few guys I had some nerves. Obviously around 300 starts, I felt like it was one of my first."

But there was some more to this story that goes beyond those 7 K's and 3 hits against. In the legal book, Jake Peavy is blind and while he can see enough to throw a baseball, even with the hard core contact lenses that he owns, catcher Jarrod Saltilamaccia had to go to some great lengths to accommodate the needs of his pitcher. According to NESN's Don Orsillo, Saltalamaccia painted his finger nails with neon green paint to allow Peavy to read his signs. 

In my book...well, that worked. 

But all of Saltilamaccia's work last night was not done BEHIND the plate. In the very inning that Peavy left the game, "Salty" came to bat in the 8th with one man on and the Sox leading 3-2. On the first pitch thrown to him, the Boston catcher got all of his swing and smacked his 10th home run of the season deep into his team's bull pens. 

 "In the seventh inning, Patrick ran out of gas a little bit. He made some pitches where he didn't want them," said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson when speaking about his starting pitcher who allowed Saltilammaccia's homer. "Boston, what they do is they see a lot pitches and they foul a lot of pitches off. They got his pitch count up."

Last night was a night of the long ball, it was a night of baseball players painting their fingers green and a night of a man named Jake Peavy, possibly giving you reason to believe that this Red Sox team is no longer simply a contender to get to the playoffs but is now a possible FAVORITE to win baseballs ultimate title: a World Series.