With Eovadli, let's recall the words of Auric Goldfinger: Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. So... what about number four?

The first certified "Yankee killer" I ever knew was a slick Tiger righty named Frank Lary, who otherwise pitched in the shadow of the great Jim Bunning. Lary actually terrorized the greatest Yankee lineup in history, the 1961 team with Mantle and Maris. The guy died last year at age 87. Hearing his name sent P.T.S.D. tremors through me. (R.I.P., sir.) 

There were others: Teddy Higuera with the Brewers, Hoyt Wilhelm with Baltimore, Boston's bullpen lug nut Rich Garces ("El Guapo") and Seattle's King Felix, in his salad days. We could never beat Roy Halladay, but who could? (R.I.P., sir.)

Tonight it's Nathan Eovaldi, a former Yankee, looking to plant his name into my dark and stormy subconscious.  

In the last two months, we haven't touched Eovaldi: three outings, 16 innings, no earned runs, once even flirting with a no-hitter. He went eight innings, then six, then four - on the 161st game of the season. He's why Porcello pitched in game one, why they twice emptied their bullpen, why Redsock fans still smirk into their Sam Adams, even as the blood vessel burst in their noses. They think Eovaldi owns us. Sixteen innings: six hits, thirteen strikeouts.

To get Eovaldi, they cut a deal at the deadline, after losing out to the Yankees on Zach Britton. They traded their 15th ranked prospect, 25-year-old Jalen Beeks, who went 5-0 with Tampa with an ERA of 4.47.

If we can beat Eovaldi tonight, if we can kill the "Yankee killer," Boston could spend 2019 watching Beeks become yet another ascending Rays starter, with nothing to show for him other than a fun weekend sweep in July, a memory that will only fester as they recall 2018. If we can beat Eovaldi tonight... 

I think we can. This is not a guy for the history books. This is not Frank Lary or Doc Halladay. This is a chance to put their backs so tight against the left field wall that paint chips seep into their underwear. This is a chance to leave them wondering if they'll ever get back to Fenway. This is our chance to put every bad memory of 2018 into a box and get ready to close it. 

What is that Goldfinger said? Three times is enemy action? Well, this is the fourth. We know the enemy. We know what he's going to do. It's time to end this "Yankee killer" crapola. Tonight, Sevy. Tomorrow, the kitchen sink. Damn... we can win this thing!