Bobby Jenks Saves Sox's Win Over Seattle

Bobby Jenks, it would appear, is back.

This isn't written in stone, mind you. Just one more blown save, perhaps even just another nail-biter, in the next week or so and Jenks' apparent death-grip on the Sox's closer job would almost certainly loosen. But last night, make no mistake, was a no-doubter, the kind I didn't think existed in Jenks' world anymore. That was the Bobby Jenks of 2005, the one the Sox have been desperately trying to awaken for years. Seattle never had a chance.  

It was exactly one week ago when Jenks blew his second game in three days against the Mariners. It made everyone freak out, and rightfully so. So when Jenks entered the game last night against the same foe with a 6-5 lead in the ninth, his first save opportunity since, he had something to prove. AND BOY DID HE EVER PROVE THAT THING, because, for an inning, Bobby Jenks was pretty goddamn filthy.

First there was 98-MPH heat to strikeout Franklin Gutierrez. 99-MHP cheese froze the next batter, slugger Russell Branyan, on the outside corner for strike three. And then appeared the hook, a formerly dominant pitch missing in action for so long, just baffling Justin Smoak, one of the more promising young hitters in the game. The side had been strike'd out, the save nailed down, the controversy averted. There wasn't even a scare: forget the customary two base runners Jenks normally puts on just to make things interesting, he couldn't even yield a hard-hit ball. For a night, Bobby Jenks became Julius Peppers or Gilbert Arenas. His swag was phenomenal. 

Jenks flirting with triple-digits and busting out disappearing breaking balls was enough to make this one noteworthy in itself, but throw in that the Sox were down 5-1 at one point, and this could be one of the better wins of the season. After dropping three of four in Oakland, the Sox will go for the four game sweep against Seattle tomorrow. They're 7-1 against the Mariners this season.