Sox end road trip and regular season road games on a high note

Another Red Sox game was completely forgotten on a Sunday afternoon as it was on at the same time as the Patriots' debacle against the Dolphins.

Unlike their football counterparts, the Sox (91-64) took care of business in their last road game of the regular season, shutting out the Blue Jays (83-73), 3-0.

Dice-K improved to 18-2. For real. He went seven innings, allowing only two hits, with two walks and six strikeouts. Hideki Okajima had a 1-2-3 eighth and Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 40th save of the season (the first time he's reached 40 in his career).

Boston's offense was all from David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury. Pedroia knocked in Ellsbury with a sacrifice fly in the first. Ortiz hit a two-run bomb-his 22nd of the season-in the third which also scored Ellsbury. Pedroia added a hit and a steal while Ellsbury notched two doubles and a triple. He has seemingly found his way at the plate at just the right time.

Coupled with Tampa Bay's loss, the Sox are just 1.5 games back in the AL East (2 in the loss column) and their magic number is down to one in the Wild Card.

Cleveland comes to Fenway tonight for four games and then the regular season closes with the Yankees in town for three over the weekend. October baseball can't come soon enough.