Boston Red Sox defeat Atlanta Braves, 13-3

The choreography for another splendid day for the Red Sox was in place yesterday afternoon: The rain abated, Daisuke Matsuzaka was aces, the bats boomed, and a couple of hundred miles to the south, another Yankees pitcher went down with an injury.

But that was before the Sox were forced to keep a Saturday night date with John Smoltz, a future Hall of Famer who wasn't going to let something as trifling as a dislocated pinkie keep him from starting last night for Atlanta....