Offense continues to sputter as Sox get shut out again

Toronto 3, Sox 0
WP: Burnett (3-2)
LP: Wakefield (2-1)
SV: Ryan (3)
HRs: TOR- Rios (3)

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox offense has become as scarce as panties on a celebutard as Boston was shut out for the second time in four games. AJ Burnett, who had an ERA over 6.00 coming in, blanked the Sox for 7 2/3, and although Tim Wakefield didn't pitch that poorly, it's tough to get a win when your team doesn't score.

SUPERSTAR: Burnett 7.2IP, 3H, 5BB, 5K
The underachieving and perennially injured righty had his best outing of the season against the sputtering Sox, limiting the damage of all his walks and most importantly, keeping them off the scoreboard.

Seems to be a lot of that going around lately.

THE BIGGEST LOSER(s): Sox hitters 4H, 6BB, 7K, 0R
This is getting downright ridiculous. I know guys are banged up and what not, but this non-scoring shit is starting to become a trend and not just a blip. They'd better get it figured out fast, too, with the 1st place Rays coming to town tomorrow.

RECAP:
Either the Boston offense has gone south to escape the never ending winter in the Northeast, or the team has just run into a slew of excellent starting pitching over the past week or so.

And since some of the starters who have handcuffed them are named Garland, Saunders, McGowan and Burnett, I'm gonna have to go with the former.

For the fifth consecutive game Boston was held to two runs or less, and the Sox were shutout for the second time in four games, the last time coming Sunday in St. Pete against the Rays' James Shields.

In between those blankings, Boston did get back on the winning track with a pair of walk off wins, but they scoring a whopping total of 3 runs combined in the two games.

Overall the Sox have scored a measly 8 runs in the last 6 games, and just 17 in their last 8 contests, and that combined with the fact that haven't faced any aces, save for Roy Halladay, means it could be time to panic in Beantown.

Not that there's much they can do. They already got two valuable pieces of the offense back when Mike Lowell came off the DL and Jason Varitek returned after a week's absence, and all of the top prospects from Pawtucket are already here.

The team is suffering from the recent losses of Sean Casey (.346), JR Drew (.376OBP) and Jacoby Ellsbury (.396OBP), and David Ortiz' sore knee is certainly hampering his swing, but c'mon - this team is loaded with offensive talent, and the guys that are still here and healthy should be capable of scoring more than two friggin runs a game against weak-ass hurlers like Dustin McGowan and Matt Garza.

Tonight it was like deja vu all over again. Burnett, who has been awful for the better half of three years since joining the Jays, put the clamps on the Sox batters, surrendering a mere 3 hits while issuing 5 free passes, none of which amounted to any kind of real threat.

Oh sure Boston had its chances to score some runs, like when both Ortiz (2-4) and Manny (0-2, 2BB) reached to start the 4th inning and again with one out in the 6th. But Papi got doubled off second on a liner by Brandon Moss to end the 4th, and Burnett retired Lowell and Moss to end the 6th, and the opportunities dried up quicker than Katie Holmes' acting career.

Toronto got all the scoring it would need in the 3rd inning, when Alex Rios (3-5, 2R, BI) singled with one out, stole second and came around to score one out later on a single by Scott Rolen.

After that it didn't even matter that the Jays left the bases loaded in the 4th, or that they botched a potential big inning in the 5th on an embarrassing, little League-esque play that resulted in only one run being scored instead of two or three.

David Eckstein got the inning started with a bloop double down the right field line, and then Wake (7IP, 6H, 3ER, 4BB, 0K, HR, 2HBP) hit Rolen with a pitch to set up a 1st & 2nd, no out situation. When Matt Stairs crushed a 1-2 offering from Wakefield off the top of the scoreboard, it looked as if at least Eckstein would score and the Jays would have two on and no outs still.

But for some reason the gnome tagged up at second, and by the time he got his little legs running, Rolen was breathing down his neck, and Eckstein got in a rundown and was finally tagged out at third.

Still the Jays had 2 runners in scoring position, and when Vernon Wells hit a sac fly to make the score 2-0, it felt like the sickly Sox had just been 10-run-ruled.

Just for good measure Rios tagged a hanging Wakefield knuckler into the Monster seats for an insurance run in the 7th, and even though the Sox got the tying run to the plate thanks to a curious balk call when the game appeared to be over, there would be no walk-off magic on this chilly evening at Fenway.

Instead the team is left searching for answers. Answers to where the offense went and how they are going to get it back, and when will these low-scoring, weak-hitting affairs come to an end.

With the Rays coming in tomorrow, one would usually say "tomorrow"

But these are the new, improved, first place Rays, and if the Sox don't find some answers quick, there could be a new beast in the East by the time they leave town on Sunday.

And if that isn't enough to light a fire under their asses, I don't know what is.

RECORD: 17-13
AL EAST: T-1st (pctge pts behing TB)
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Fri vs TB 705 Jackson vs. Buchholz

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Game Preview: Toronto @ Sox GM3

Burnett (2-2, 6.07) vs. Wakefield (2-0, 4.06)
Gm 3 of 3 705 Fenway Park

The series with the Jays wraps up tonight with the Sox having the ability to return the sweep favor Toronto inflicted upon them early this season.

Thanks to a pair of thrilling, one-run walk-off wins, Boston has righted the ship after losing five straight games, and a victory tonight will reestablish its 1 game lead over Tampa Bay before the Rays come to town tomorrow for a three game set.

To do so the Sox will have to beat Blue Jays starter AJ Burnett, something that has proven to be quite easy to do so far this season.

Burnett has given up at least 3 or more earned runs in 4 of his 5 starts, and unlike former teammate Josh Beckett, he's never panned out to be the pitcher the Jays thought he would when the signed him to a huge deal after the 2005 season.

For the Sox Tim Wakefield will try to put together back-to-back quality starts after settling in to pitch pretty well (3R, 6H in 6IP) Friday at the Trop after a rough start to the game.

Like Burnett, and most of the Sox staff, he has allowed far too many walks this season (17 in 31IP), plus he's hit 4 batters and thrown 3 wild pitches, and that more than anything has gotten him into quite a few jams this season.

As for the lineup of course Kevin Cash will be behind the plate, and it looks as if JD Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury will remain on the bench nursing their nagging injuries, especially with the chilly temps expected at Fenway tonight.

That means Coco Crisp in center and Brandon Moss in right, plus a gimpy David Ortiz DHing and a struggling Mike Lowell (7-37, .189, 1-7 since coming off the DL) at third.

It ain't gonna be easy, but hopefully the Sox can pull off the sweep and get some momentum heading into the big showdown this weekend with Tampa Bay.

Wait, did I really just print that?

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Deja duel: Sox win carbon copy of last night's game

Sox 2, Toronto 1
WP: Papelbon (2-0)
LP: Downes (0-1)
SV: None
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays tonight in a game that was eerily similar to last night's 1-0 victory: both starters pitched very well, the game was decided by one run, and the winning run scored on a single to center with two outs in the 9th when Vernon Wells couldn't nail the runner at the plate.

Cue the Rod Serling voice over.

SUPERSTAR: Jason Varitek 1-4, GW RBI
Captain Clutch comes through again as it was his single that scored Manny from second base with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to win the game.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Wells 0-3, BB, 1-2 throwing runners out at home
For the second straight night the game came down to Wells' ability to nail a runner at the plate, and even though he had done just that one play before, he couldn't repeat the feat and save the game for the Jays.

RECAP:
Talk about living on the edge.

After snapping a five-game losing streak last night with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a Kevin Youkilis walk-off single in the 9th inning, Boston decided that recipe for success was so tasty they'd try to mix the same ingredients again tonight.

And the result was another incredibly scintillating, sometimes exasperating, but ultimately rewarding one run win, Boston's 8th in its final at bat already this season, the most in the major leagues.

The table was set for another fantastic finale when both starting pitchers, Dustin McGowan and Daisuke Matsuzaka, pitched six innings of shutout ball, allowing a combined three hits.

It was the fourth consecutive game that a Boston starter had pitched into the seventh inning and allowed 2 hits and less than 2 runs, following Clay Buchholz on Saturday, Josh Beckett on Sunday and Jon Lester on Monday, and I don't know if that's some kind of record, but I do know that's damn impressive work from your starting staff.

If only the offense could've rewarded those efforts with some friggin run support.

But unfortunately for the 4th straight game the Boston starter's effort was matched by his opponent, from Edwin Jackson to James Shields to Roy Halladay, and McGowan (7.1IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 5K, HR), who had been rocked by the Rays in his previous start, joined the club last night.

The only hit the sputtering Sox offense could muster off the strapping righty was a 2nd inning single by Manny Ramirez, while Matsuzaka (7IP, 2H, 0ER, 2BB, 4K), making his first start since being scratched by the flu big last week, limited the Jays to just a single and a double in his seven strong innings.

Boston finally broke through in the bottom of the 7th inning when David Ortiz, still nursing a sore knee, slammed a 2-0 McGowan offering high and not very deep into the 2nd row of seats in the right field stands for a monumental home run: the shot marked Boston's first extra base hit since Manny's 5th inning double in St Pete on Friday night, a span of 39 innings.

But the elation that came with that shot was short-lived for the Faithful, as once again the Boston bullpen could not protect a hard-fought lead.

Francona decided to replace Dice-K, who was making his first start in 12 days and had thrown 111 pitches, with Manny Delcarmen to being the 8th.

That move immediately backfired as Delcarmen, who has allowed at least one baserunner in 11 of his 14 appearances this season, allowed a leadoff single to Adam Lind on an 0-1 pitch to open the frame, prompting a quick return to the mound by Tito, who yanked his miffed reliever.

On came Oakjima, who has had his struggles also, and he immediately surrendered a double to the immortal Greg Zaun to set up runners at 2nd & 3rd with no outs.

So much for hoping for consecutive 1-0 victories. Now we were just hoping the damage would be limited to one or two runs.

And those hopes were rewarded when Brandon Moss, starting in right for gimpy JD Drew, made an excellent sliding catch of an Alex Rios liner that turned out to be a sac fly that tied the game and not a single or double that put Toronto ahead.

Oki buckled down after that play, striking out Eckstein and Rolen to the delight of the crowd, and now it was time for the late game heroics to kick in again.

Boston nearly scored in the bottom of the 8th when Coco Crisp lined a one-out double to right center, but after Lugo walked Dustin Pedroia flied out and Crisp was stranded at third when Youk grounded out, ending the inning and dampening the spirits of the Nation.

Temporarily.

Papelbon came out for the 9th and the lousy relief work must have rubbed off on him because he gave up leadoff single to Matt Stairs to open the inning, but after he was replaced by pinch runner John McDonald, Boston got a big break that set the stage for the bottom of the 9th dramatics.

After running the count to 1-2 on Vernon Wells, Paps threw to first and caught McDonald leaning, picking off the pinch runner to the delight of the Faithful and shock of the entire Toronto dugout.

Spurred by that move, Papelbon got Wells to ground out and Lyle Overbay followed suit, and now it was time to press replay on the tape from last night's 9th.

Just like last night Papi (2-4, R, BI) got the rally started, this time with a leadoff single hit through the teeth of the shift down the right field line. He appeared to re-tweak his knee on the play, so as soon as Manny drew a walk off reliever Scott Downs Tito replaced him with pinch runner Jed Lowrie.

Turned out that was a good move because after Mike Lowell, who had double earlier for his first hit since April 6th, struck out looking at a fastball down the plate, Moss ripped a single past the mound and into right center, setting up a potential game winning play at the plate as Lowrie barrelled around third.

Unlike last night, though, Wells didn't bobble this attempt, and instead he threw a seed to home, and that throw combined with an excellent block of the plate by catcher Rod Barajas combined to nail the stunned Lowrie, much to the dismay of the already celebrating Sox, who though the game was over.

Instead they'd have to wait another minute.

In a twist of fate that seemed to be penned by George Will, or maybe Stephen King, Jason Varitek stood in against Downs and had a chance to deliver the real game-winning blow, and wouldn't you know he did just that, ripping a single to the left side of the mound that Wells gathered and tossed plateward once again.

This time Manny, who should have been at third but was too busy celebrating the earlier play at second, eluded the tag at home, and finally the Sox had the win, another thrilling walk-off that defied explanation and exceeded expectation for everyone who came in thinking "there's no way the same thing can happen again".

Turns out there was a way.

Shall we try for three in a row tomorrow night?

RECORD: 17-12
AL EAST: Up 1 gm
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu vs. TOR 705 Burnett vs. Wakefield

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Sox end losing streak with dramatic 9th inning, 1-0 win

Sox 1, Toronto 0
WP: Papelbon (1-0)
LP: Halladay (2-4)
SV: None
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox got to dish out a bit of the medicine they had taken over the weekend as they won a thrilling pitcher's duel between Jon Lester and Roy Halladay on a walk-off RBI single by Kevin Youkilis, ending their 5-game losing streak in style.

SUPERSTAR: Dustin Pedroia 0-4, K
How can a guy who went hitless be the star of the game over the man who knocked in the only run of the night?

Easy, because Pedroia's diving stop of a hot liner off the bat of Vernon Wells with a man on 2nd in the top of the 9th not only saved the game but will be featured on every Top Play highlight reel for the next 6 months.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Halladay 8.2IP, 5H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K
He's not a 'loser' in the slang form of the word, but in the literal sense, because for the third time in a row the former Cy Young winner has thrown a complete game and come away as the losing pitcher of record.

That's what I call a tough luck 'loser' (see the connection?)

RECAP:
It's about friggin' time!

That's the thought on the minds of every member of the Nation as the Red Sox finally got a break to go their way and pulled out a game they really needed to have, saving themselves and their fans the humbling experience of losing a third consecutive low-scoring pitcher's duel.

And what a way to break the losing streak - by capping off eight scoreless innings with a tense, exhilarating 9th inning that featured 1/4 of the total of baserunners in the frame (4) as there had been in the entire game (12).

When Scott Rolen lined a double to the Wall off Jonathan Papelbon with two out in the top of the 9th, everyone in chilly Fenway and watching at home had that "here we go again" feeling that is par for the course with the way the games have gone this last week or so.

But then the Little Big Man, Dustin Pedroia, made the play of the game and probably of the year so far, robbing Vernon Wells of a sure hit and probable RBI, and suddenly those feelings of doubt had morphed into a "we're gonna win this thing" mentality.

All the Sox had to do was make it happen.

For eight innings it looked as if no one was going to be able to win this thing, because both starting pitchers were so damn good.

Halladay didn't allow a walk until the 9th inning and had given up just 3 singles until that point - one by Youk in the 2nd, an infield nubber by Brandon Moss in the 5th, and one by Jason Varitek in the 8th - before allowing three baserunners in the 9th that ultimately led to him and his team losing the game.

But as good as Halladay was, Sox starter Jon Lester was even better. Coming off three straight no decisions and two rough starts in a row, Lester (8IP, 1H, 0ER, 4BB, 6K) was nearly unhittable tonight, surrendering four walks and a lone hit - a
leadoff single by Lyle Overbay in the 6th that was just out of the reach of Pedroia's outstretched glove - before giving way to Papelbon in the 9th.

The pitchers were so on the money that neither team could get the ball off the ground against them, with just 4 of the 54 outs being recorded in the air; even the hits were barely a few feet off the ground.

And it was couple of groundball double plays saved Lester and the Sox in consecutive innings. The first came one batter after Overbay's single as Shannon Stewart tapped into a 6-4-3 job one pitch after the single, and the next one came after Greg Zaun had walked in the 5th, courtesy of an inning-ender by David Eckstein.

All that non-action made the game go by very rapidly, and by the time of the 9th inning heroics the game was barely 2 hours old. Talk about a nice change of pace from the multitude of 4+ hour debacles Boston has played this year.

If the game was quick the heartbeats were even quicker in the final frame, especially after the Sox closer entered the game.

Papelbon, who has only pitched twice in the last 9 days, was his usual flamethrowing self, fanning the first two batters he faced as the crescendo of the crowd rose with every pitch.

When he gave up the double to Rolen, who has 5 hits since coming off the DL four games ago, four of them for extra bases, the noise subsided a bit and that feeling of dread started creeping into the back of the mind.

And then Pedroia's play erased any bad feelings and replaced them with screams of joy.

Vernon Wells, who was 0-9 lifetime against Paps coming in, took a strike from the closer before lacing a rocket right past Papelbon's head, nearly taking his ear off as he jerked out of the way.

The ball appeared headed for centerfield, which would have surely resulted in Rolen scoring from second, but then Pedroia appeared out of nowhere, snagged the ball on a hop when it was already past him, popped back up, turned and fired a seed to first to nail Wells by two steps, and Fenway (and living rooms) exploded with shock and awe over what they had just witnessed.

Still buzzing over the play, you'd have to be a fool not to believe the momentum would carry over to the bottom of the inning and Boston would pull out the win. But after Halladay got Coco and Pedroia out on five pitches, the hope was fading fast.

Once again it was up to Boston's big boppers, Papi and Manny, to save the day.

Ortiz, back after sitting two games with a bruised knee sustained in his headfirst slide Friday night in St Pete, did his job by laying off some tough pitches and drawing the first base on balls from Halladay on the night.

Manny then blooped a 1-0 pitch to center in front of Wells, who was naturally playing deep, and suddenly it was up to the slumping Youk to deliver the knockout blow.

With no reliever coming in, it was up to Doc to finish off what he had started, but once again a game he wound up finishing would not end well for him.

Youk took the first pitch for a ball before slicing a single into center, and it looked like it was gonna come down to a play at the plate, with the gimpy Papi challenging Wells' rocket arm.

Except Wells bobbled the ball, and that was all the big fella needed to chug home safely. Instantly the Sox players streamed out onto the field as the crowd went nuts and Dirty Water played in the background, signaling the end to the losing streak and the beginning of some good times at the ballpark for a change.

Boston, you're their home indeed.

Bring on the Rays!

NOTES:
-Lowell returns: Mike Lowell made his return to the lineup after missing 18 games with a sprained thumb. he received a loud ovation in his first trip to the plate but struck out, and was cheered for in each at bat even though he went 0-3. He is now batting a Papi-esque .182 for the season.

-Drew hurt-again: JD Drew left the game after the third inning when he suffered a quad strain running out a ball in the second; he was replaced by Moss. Between the injuries and his recent slump, it's only a matter of time before the calls of "Nancy" begin again, and the chants of "DREEEEEWWWW" revert back to 'boos'.

-Running on empty: the 9th inning score broke a string of 21 scoreless innings for the Sox, dating back to the 5th inning of Saturday's game against the Rays

RECORD: 16-12
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 6-4
AL EAST: T-1st
UP NEXT: Wed vs. TOR McGowan vs. Matsuzaka

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Series preview: Toronto @ Sox

Toronto Blue Jays (11-15, 3.5GB in AL East)
at Red Sox (15-12, t-1st in AL East)
3 game series @ Fenway Park

Game 1 Tuesday 705
Halladay (2-3, 3.73 ERA) vs. Lester (1-2, 5.40 ERA)
Game 2 Wednesday 705
McGowan (1-2, 4.18 ERA) vs. Matsuzaka (4-0, 3.14 ERA)
Game 3 Thursday 705
Burnett (2-2, 6.07 ERA) vs. Wakefield (2-0, 4.16 ERA)

What to watch for: Sox exact payback for early April sweep
Boston had just returned from a trip to Japan and the West Coast when they arrived in Toronto for a 3-game set against the Jays, and after the Sox were outscored 23-9 in the series, it's safe to say the travel and jet lag probably contributed to the losses.

Now Boston is coming off another 3-game broom job by the Rays, and that combined with the memories of the Jays sweep and the return of a couple of key players should be plenty of motivation to kick their rears into gear.

Who to watch for: Mike Lowell
The Boston third baseman returns to the lineup after missing the last 17 games with a sprained thumb.

In the 9 games he played this season, Lowell, the 2007 World Series MVP, hit just .200 (6-30) with no extra base hits or RBI, but there's no doubt that his veteran presence in the lineup and on the field make the Sox a much stronger team.

PREVIEW:
The time is now.

With team leader Mike Lowell coming off the DL and Big Papi returning to lineup after a two game absence, the time has come to shake off the stench of losing five straight games, including three that helped catapult the once lowly Rays into the stratosphere of the AL East, and start a winning streak that separates the men from the boys in the division.

As long as struggling starter Jon Lester can defeat former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay tonight, ailing Daisuke Matsuzaka can overcome his 11-day layoff, Lowell is recovered and not rusty from his time on the DL, and Ortiz' knee problem isn't one that is going to hamper his swing like it did last year, then they should be fine.

It might be early in the season but this is a critical time for the defending champs. The team has had a topsy-turvy first month, with the long road trip leading to up-and-down stretches of baseball, and illness and injury forcing Tito to juggle the lineup like Roidger Clemens juggles excuses.

But now the flu is gone and so are the excuses. Lowell returns tonight and so does Papi, Beckett proved he's healthy with his 13-strikeout performance Sunday in St Pete, and the team has more depth than most any other team in the league.

Not to mention the good fortune of having the struggling Jays come into Fenway.

Thankfully Toronto is off to a worse start than Boston, having gone 7-15 since sweeping the Sox, and the team appears to be falling apart right in front of our eyes.

They recently jettisoned disgruntled DH Frank Thomas, who was a key part of the Sox sweep; they just got key off season acquisition 3B Scott Rolen back after he spent the entire season on the DL; and the decision to bring back LF Shannon Stewart and let go of budding star Reed Johnson has backfired immensely.

The problem is team is supposed to be an offensive juggernaut, but they sit in the middle or bottom of the pack in the AL in runs scored (115, 10th), average (.258, 7th) and homers (19, 11th) and that lack of production hasn't been enough to offset the fact that they are 4th in the league in ERA (3.91).

But Boston has its own offensive woes to worry about. The team scored a paltry 5 runs in 3 games in the Rays series and after scoring at least 5 runs in 10 straight games, have not scored more than 5 in the last five contests.

Part of that has to do with Papi going down, part of it has to do with guys who were hot, like Youk (8-37, .216 last 10 gms) and JD Drew (6-34, .176, 3BI in last 10 gms) cooling considerably of late.

But like I said earlier, the time is now for the team to put aside the travel, illness and injury bullshit and play some freaking winning baseball.

They're home, they're playing a weak team, they've got their team at full strength, and they're out of excuses.

No time like the present to start a new streak.

Especially with those pesky Rays coming to town this weekend.

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International Men of Misery: Sox swept by Jays

Toronto 7, Sox 4
WP: Halladay (1-1)
LP: Beckett (0-1)
SV: Accardo (3)
HRs: BOS- Drew (2), Varitek (2), Ellsbury (1); TOR-Thomas (2), Wells (2)

Going...going...and the road trip is gone...along with confidence in Delcarmen

Superstar: Frank Thomas 1-4, R, 4BI, GS
The Big Hurt continues to live up to his nickname, especially in this series. Thomas had the big blow for Toronto for the third straight game, this one a game-changing grand slam off Manny Delcarmen in the 5th, and he wound up going 4-12 with 2 homers and 8 ribbies in the series to help the Jays pull off the sweep.

The Biggest Loser: Manny Delcarmen 1/3IP, 1H, 1ER, 1BB, GS
His stat line might not show it because three of the runs were charged to Josh Beckett, but this guy cost Boston the game more than anyone. When you come into a close game with the bases loaded and two outs, all you gotta do is get your starter off the hook.

Instead Delcarmen served up a meatball to Thomas on his first pitch of the afternoon that sailed over the leftfield wall and effectively ended the game right there.

(Dis)Honorable mention: Julio Lugo 0-4, 3 errors, 1 misplay that led to a run

RECAP:
Boy do I wish I could start this recap the same way I stared the last two -- by saying I missed the game.

Instead I sat through every agonizing minute of this road trip from hell-ending debacle, and like every other member of the Nation out there I was disgusted by most of what I saw. For example:

-four Sox errors, three by Julio Lugo, as well as numerous other miscues

-another terrible outing, the second in a row, for the once heralded and now dreaded Mattapan Manny Delcarmen

-another unproductive game from the trio of Ortiz, Manny & Lowell (2-12, RBI)

-the TBS announcing team of Chip Carey & Buck Martinez ( a couple of Carey-isms included "Manny Ortiz" and "exhibit # A"-ugh)

Don't get me wrong there were some good things that happened in this game, including a decent performance by Josh Beckett (4.2IP, 3H, 5ER, 4BB, 6K, HR) in his first start of the year, who looked very healthy before tiring late; three Sox homers, all coming from the 6-7-8 spot in the lineup; and the fact that Boston outhit Toronto, 10-5, a stat that ultimately is meaningless when you check the final score.

But for the third straight game the bad far outweighed the good, and it was painfully obvious that this long, season-opening road trip has in fact exacted a mighty toll on these road weary road warriors, despite earlier claims to the contrary.

The loss was made all the more painful because the expectation and excitement level was at a peak heading into the game. Not only because Beckett was making his 08 debut after spending a few weeks on the DL with a bad back and hip, but the game was the first to be broadcast on TBS' new Sunday afternoon national baseball package, horrible announcers be damned.

And for the first four innings the game lived up to the billing. Beckett began the game with a 98 mph heater for a strike to Shannon Stewart, and then proceeded to bring the blowtorch for most of the outing. Jacoby Ellsbury gave Boston an early lead when he homered off Roy Halladay (8IP, 8H, 4ER, 1BB, 6K, 3HRs) to lead off the third, at which point he was 4-4 with two longballs against the former Cy Young winner, and after Beckett gave the lead up on a two-run shot to Vernon Wells in the 4th, Bsoton tied it right up when Cap'n Tek hit his second homer of the season to lead off the 5th.

Alas that would be the end of the good times for Boston and the Nation. In the bottom of the 5th things unraveled in a hurry for Beckett, as he loaded the bases after getting two quick outs on a single by Aaron Hill and back-to-back walks to Rios & Wells, and by the time Tito went to his struggling bullpen, everyone in the Rogers Center had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.

And by next I mean the very next pitch, as the struggling Delcarmen tried to sneak a first pitch fastball past the veteran DH Thomas, who has been around a little bit too long and is too good a hitter to be fooled by that kind of crap. Thomas turned on the pitch quicker than Mike Vick's cousin, and just like that a close, winnable game became a rout in the blink of an eye for the second straight game, and despite tacking on a couple of runs late you could tell Boston was in full "get us to our home and our beds" mode as soon as the ball cleared the fence.

So the Sox wound up the trip 3-4 and in last place in the East after traveling around the world and back in the last three weeks, and it may be too early to tell what kind of lasting effect this journey to the ends of the Earth will have on this club, suffice it to say it definitely will not be looked at as a positive influence on the situation the team finds itself in now.

Nothing a little home cooking can't cure.

Not to mention a homestand that kicks off with fellow struggling pennant contenders, the winless Tigers.

RECORD: 3-4
STREAK: L3
AL EAST: 2 GB
UP NEXT: Off Mon; Tue vs. Det @ Fenway 2:05

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Beckett returns from the DL not a moment too soon

Boston (3-3) @ Toronto (3-2)
Beckett (NR) vs Halladay (0-1, 3.86)
1:00 Rogers Center TBS HD

Last year Josh Beckett was the savior of the Sox pitching staff. While compiling a 20-7 record with a 3.27 ERA en route to a second place finish in the Cy Young voting, Beckett was counted on many times to stop Boston losing streaks and subsequently start a Sox winning streak, all while sending a statement to opponents by matching up against their own aces.

Today, as Beckett returns from the DL due to spring back troubles, will be no different than last year.

After taking 3 of 4 from Oakland to start the season, Boston has traveled back to the Eastern time zone to run into trouble with their AL East nemesis to the north, the Blue Jays. The Sox have dropped 2 straight at the Rogers Center to start this series and 7 in a row to the Jays dating back to last season, and with the starters struggling and the bullpen faring worse, it will be up to the Sox Superman to save the day.

Trouble is Beckett doesn't bat, and the Boston batters haven't exactly been hitting the cover off the ball early in the season. The team is hitting .242 with 5 homers and 19 runs scored in 6 games, while big boppers David Ortiz (.091, 1HR, 2BI), Manny Ramirez (.250, 1HR) and Mike Lowell (.208, 0HR, 0BI) have yet to get untracked.

But the one thing Becks can contribute is stability to the staff, and that is what Boston will be hoping he can provide for them today. The team ERA is currently at 4.50, the starters have a record of 2-2, and members of the pen are touting ERAs of21.60 (Kyle Snyder) and 11.25 Bryan Corey), prompting the release of Snyder and a retooling of the relievers.

Facing Beckett will be Toronto's own perennial Cy Young candidate, Roy Halladay. Doc was a victim of bad defense and no run support both in the spring and in his first outing, in which he allowed 7 hits and 3 runs to the Stanks over 7 innings but lost 3-2, and he's had little success against the Sox over the years. But with Boston's pen in shambles and the hitters yet to show up this season since the opener, this could be the day he dominates the Boston lineup.

All of this adds up to the perfect time for Superman to fly in and save the day. The Sox don't need much from him; 7 or 8 scoreless innings of 2-hit ball will suffice.

Nothing he hasn't provided before.

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Bullpen woes continue as Sox fall to Jays again

Toronto 10, Sox 2
WP: Litsch (1-0)
LP: Buchholz (0-1)
SV: None
HRs: Tor-Thomas (1)

Superstar: Jesse Litsch 5IP, 5H, 2ER, 3BB, 2K
He wasn't spectacular, but the former D-Rays bat boy from down here in Pinellas County pitched well enough to earn the win.

The Biggest Loser(s): the Boston bullpen 3IP, 5H, 3BB, 0K, 6ER, HR
For the second straight game the supposed strong suit of the Boston pitching staff shit the bed like an old timer at Sunny Acres nursing home. While starter Clay Buchholz kept the damage to a minimum, the duo of Kyle Snyder and Bryan Corey dumped a can of butane on the game and tossed a match to it.

You know it's pretty bad when Julie Tavarez (2.1IP, 1H) is the lone bright spot.

RECAP:
Thankfully I didn't have the misfortune of catching this game today.

Stop me if you've heard this before. Because it was the same opening I used for my last game recap, and the sorry thing is it is just as appropriate today as it was yesterday.

I did miss the game today, thanks to the f-ing FOX blackout that trumps the Extra Innings package, and I am glad I did because it appeared, from trying to follow it on GameCast, to be the type of game that many expletives would have been flung around, possibly along with some small, tossable objects (like my clickers need any more tape on them.)

This loss was especially painful because unlike the night before Boston actually held a lead today, albeit a slim and short-lived one. But when Manny (1-3, BB, BI) doubled Papi in for a 1-0 lead in the first, and then Mayor Casey, making his first start of the season, singled in JD Drew for a 2-1 lead in the top of the 4th, it looked as if the offense was going to get on track and Clay Buchholz (5IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 7K) was going to be able to put his horrible spring behind him and get the club back on the winning track.

In the words of coach Corso, not so fast my friends.

The high-fiving for Casey's first Red Sox ribbie barely subsided before the team would soon be lamenting his first Boston error, and it proved to be a costly one, too. In the bottom of the 4th Lyle Overbay (2-4, R, BI) singled with one out, Aaron Hill reached on a bunt single, and after Marco Scutaro walked to load the bases, 9th place hitter Ger Zahn hit a routine grounder to first that should have been an inning-ending double play.

Except the man who just set the consecutive game errorless streak for a first baseman, Kevin Youkilis, wasn't on the bag today, and his replacement, Casey, booted the ball for a 2-run, 2 base error that gave the Jays a 3-2 lead, and when David Eckstein (2-5, R, 3BI) followed with an RBI single it was just about over.

Not that a 2-run deficit would be impossible to overcome, but the Sox batters have been unable to muster any substantial offense against the Jays pitchers, and once again the bully was abysmal when called on to hold the game to a manageable deficit.

Kyle Snyder continued his rapid descent to being a has-been reliever when he gave up two walks, a sacrifice and a wild pitch to the three batters he faced, and Bryan Corey continues to make the Nation wonder why the fuck Theo ever picked him up last year when he immediately allowed RBI hits to Eckstein, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and then a 2-run blast by Frank Thomas to cap a 6-run sixth inning and turn a close contest into a rout.

For his efforts this season Snyder (1.2IP, 2H, 2BB, 4ER, 21.60ERA) was shown the door after the game, given his outright release, but the question remains what to do about the hemorrhaging pitching staff. None of the starters have turned in a dominant performance so far this season, and not only has the bully not been a strength, but it has appeared to be more unstable than Britney Spears on crank.

What's that, the ace, savior and shoulda-been Cy Young winner Josh Beckett comes off the DL to start the nationally televised contest against the Jays' Roy Halladay tomorrow afternoon?

Well in that case, never mind.

Thankfully I will be able to catch that one.

RECORD: 3-2
AL EAST: 1 GB
UP NEXT: Sun @ TOR, 1:00EST, TBS HD

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Bullpen falters to blow JD Drew's game-tying homer vs. Jays

Toronto 6, Boston 3
WP: Marcum (1-0)
LP: Aardsma (0-1)
SV: Accardo (2)
HRs: Bos-Drew (1); Tor-Stairs (1)

Superstar: Shawn Marcum 7IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 8K, HR
Toronto's talented young righty stifled the Boston batters on 1 hit and no runs through 6 innings; his only blemish was the 3-run bomb he surrendered to JD Drew in the top of the 7th, which tied the game and could have cost him the win if it weren't for a horrid outing by Boston's bully.

The Biggest Loser(s): Boston pitchers 8IP, 10H, 6ER, 4BB, 6K, HR
Tim Wakefield did alright in his first start of the season--until he surrendered 3 runs in the 6th, starting with a solo shot from fellow AARP member Matt 'Lumpy' Stairs; after Drew tied the score at 3, reclamation project David Aardsma walked the only batter he faced, Javier Lopez surrendered a single to the only one he faced, and Mattapan Manny D., after recording two foul outs, served up a 2-run double to Big Frank Thomas to put the seal on this one.

RECAP:

Thankfully I didn't have the misfortune of catching this game tonight.

I went to a company-sponsored function at the Clearwater Threshers game, and suffice to say that game was more exciting--and fun--than this debacle. Throw in the fact that my son won $87 and change for tossing a tennis ball from the stands into a tire on the field after the game, and the decision to take in an A ball game on a beautiful Florida spring evening over this major league mess was a no-brainer.

Actually, from what I could gather from highlights and recaps, this game wasn't ALL bad; J.D. Drew did hit his first homer of the year to tie the game late; Tim Wakefield (6IP, 6H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K, HR) pitched pretty well and shut out the mighty Toronto lineup for 5 innings before stumbling in the 6th; and Wake's new personal catcher, Kevin Cash, had a double and no passed balls in his first game behind the dish.

That's where the good side of things end. The bad included Wake falling apart in the 6th when he gave up a home run, two singles, two walks and a wild pitch; Boston batters being held to four hits - Cash's double in the 3rd, a single by Mike Lowell followed by Drew's homer in the 7th, and a 9th inning single by Manny; and of course the collapse of the Boston pen, which was supposed to be the strength of the depleted pitching staff.

Maybe it had something to do with the Jays wearing the Garth Iorg-era powder blue unis.

After Delcarmen's latest effort, the time is coming where many in the Nation will doubt if he will ever have what it takes to be an effective set up man, let alone superstar closer some day. Blessed with a live arm and calm demeanor, he has what it takes to shut down opponents, yet time and time again he cannot seem to get the necessary outs the team must have to pull out games like this.

Had he been able to get Thomas, who was just 1-7 with 3 Ks against him before tonight, the game might have gone in a completely different direction. But after falling behind 2-1, Thomas put a big hurt on Delcarmen's next offering, slicing a double to the left center field gap to score David Eckstein and Shannon Stewart, and the game was essentially over.

Luckily for Boston they will have a chance to immediately redeem this loss when they take on the Jays for a 1:00 game Saturday afternoon. That's when two young studs, Clay Buchholz and Jesse Litsch-will try to see which one has the moxie to lead his team to a big win.

And if Buchholz can't pitch a complete game, maybe the bully will get the chance to prove that it can be the backbone of the staff, and not the Achilles heel.

RECORD: 3-2
AL EAST: Tied for 1st
UP NEXT: Sat @ Tor 1:00

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Nothern exposure: Jays complete the sweep

Toronto 6, Sox 1
WP: Litsch (6-9)
LP: Buchholz (3-1)
SV: Accardo (29)
HRs: BOS-Drew (9); TOR-Adams (2)

SUMMARY
Boston brought itself to the brink of another collapse of historical proportions as Toronto completed a three game sweep with a come-from-behind victory. Clay Buchholz made a costly error that led to the Jays go-ahead run, and Jonathan Papelbon caught the Boston bullpen blues as he allowed a game-sealing grand slam in the 8th.

#1 STUNNER Russ Adams 2-4, 1R, 5RBI, GS
One night after breaking a 2-2 tie by knocking a bases-loaded pinch-hit double off Eric Gagme in the 8th inning, the stocky third baseman clubbed a bases-loaded homer off Boston's stud closer for the first granny--and 17th homer--of his career.

Unfuckingbelieveable.

GAGME of the GAME Boston offense 3H, 1ER, 4BB
The run-scoring drought continues to plague the banged-up Boston lineup as they failed to score at least three runs for the sixth time in the last ten games.

I realize that Toronto pitchers have allowed the fewest hits in the American League, but even this depleted crew should bang out more than two hits against Jesse Litsch.

RECAP
Well, it's official.

This 2007 season which began with so much joy and excitement has veered into morbid, car accident territory--you know what's coming, you don't want to see what's happening, yet you can't pull your eyes away from the potential carnage.

As if New York treating Boston like O.J.s memorabilia dealer wasn't embarrassing enough for this suddenly sorry Sox squad, the pesky Jays followed Derek Jeter's lead and dropped a trifecta of Nation-crushing losses on the boys from Beantown, saving the worst for last with tonight's humiliating finale.

Coupled with New York's 2-1 victory of Baltimore, Boston's East lead now sits at a Kate Bosworth-slim 1 1/2 games. Both teams are off tomorrow before the Sox head down here to lose 2 of 3 to the Rays and the Stanks arrive in Toronto to annihilate the Jays for four games.

I'm too sick and tired to post about this disastrous turn of events right now. I've already started snapping at the wife and cursing intermittently, so I think I'll rest on this one and try to put a proper spin on it in the morning.

Maybe by then the ugly sight of the Red Sox postseason express rolling over into a ditch won't be so fresh in my memory.

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Gagne steers sinking Sox directly into the rocks

Toronto 4, Sox 3
WP: Burnett (9-7)
LP: Gagne (3-2)
SV: Downs (1)
HRs: BOS-Lugo (7)

If only Gagme would go back to comedy, the Nation would be a lot better off

SUMMARY
Another appearance, another meltdown for the artist formerly known as Eric Gagme as the portly, washed-up reliever came on in the 8th and turned a 2-1 Sox lead into a 4-2 deficit by loading the bases and then allowing a walk and a double, effectively putting a torch to Jon Lester's masterful outing, and hopefully his career in a Boston uniform.

#1 STUNNER Gagme 1IP, 2H, 3ER, 3BB, 0Ks, BS, L
This clown has gotten so bad that he is now officially a valuable weapon for the opposing team. Congrats on getting him out of the pen tonight, Toronto. Well played!

PAN'S FAUN Gagme
With the hysteria over Pan's Labyrinth having died down (probably due to the fact that it wasn't nearly as good--or scary--as it was hyped to be), it's time to re-name this ignominious category: the loser of the night will hereby be rewarded with the Gagme.

Hey, he's earned that honor.

RECAP
1978.

1986.

2003.

2006.

2007?

As every Sox fan knows, word association for that list would go "Bucky Bleepin Dent"; "Billy Buckner"; "Grady's Braincramp"/"Aaron Bleepin Boone"; "The Boston Massacre II"; and now "Gagnegate"

The embattled reliever continued his uncanny and unnerving streak of allowing runs to cross the plate at an alarming rate when he gave up three runs on two hits and three walks in the eighth inning tonight, turning what looked like a possible season-saving win (aren't they all right now?) into another soul-crushing loss.

In what now has to be one of the worst trades in Boston history, Gagme has allowed 14 earned runs in 14 innings of work and singlehandedly lost four games since arriving from the Rangers on July 31st for promising young pitcher Kasson Gabbard and talented outfielder David Murphy.

It doesn't take a math major to calculate that had Gagme not blown those wins the Sox would own a 6 1/2 game lead in the East with 10 games left to play, and the Nation would be breathing a lot easier today instead of coping with that all-too-familiar pang of dread that is linked to yet another season of promise going down the drain.

The WWL was kind enough to point out via a terrific little video montage that the Sox have lost their last three games on Jeter's 8th-inning homer off Schilling, three longballs from long-in-the-tooth Jays slugger Frank Thomas, and yet another late-inning meltdown from their key mid-season trade acquisition.

Way to roll into the postseason guys.

The worst part about this loss was the fact that lefty Jon Lester (6.2, 3H, 1ER, 4BB, 5K) pitched a whale of the game after a shaky start put him and his team in an early hole, taking a 2-1 lead into the 7th inning before he gave way to Manny Delcarmen with two outs and no one on, his 5th victory of the season apparently well in hand.

Perhaps if the Boston offense hadn't continued to be as stagnant as Cuba Gooding's career the Sox and Lester wouldn't have had to sweat out the end of the game and could have enjoyed a satisfying win. But Jays starter A.J. Burnett, who has been on fire since coming off the DL at the end of August, bent but didn't break by holding the Sox to two runs through six innings despite scattering 8 hits and 3 walks in that time.

Burnett (8.2IP, 9H, 3ER, 3BB, 11K) was bailed out by a couple of double play balls off the bats of youngsters Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5) and Brandon Moss, and by the 11 Ks he recorded, including Ellsbury and Big Papi three times each.

Lester survived a rough first inning when he allowed a pair of walks and and a pair of hits, the big blow and RBI double to deep right by Alex Rios. But he, was bailed out by a nice play by Lowell and Tek to nail Rios at home on a grounder by Aaron Hill, and despite the fact that they had five baserunners in the inning, the Jays managed just one run.

Sounds like the Sox offense.

Speaking of which, it was held off the scoreboard for the first three innings of the game by Burnett despite having at least one batter on base in each of those frames. After Ellsbury led off the game with a single to left he moved to third with one out on a stolen base, his 7th in 7 attempts, and subsequent throwing error by Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun.

But Burnett got Papi to strike out and then retired Lowell on a fly ball, and yet another Boston baserunner was left stranded 90 feet from home plate.

Singles by J.D. Drew and Tek were wasted in the second when Hinske struck out and Moss grounded into a double play, and in the third a leadoff single by Lugo was quickly erased when Ellsbury GIDP'd to sqelch that potential rally.

Ah, young guys. They may giveth excitement, but the ability to stay out of the inning-killing double play they taketh away.

Boston finally got on the board in the fourth when Lowell reached on an infield single with one out, Drew walked, and after Hinske struck out again, Captain Tek laced his first big hit in weeks into the leftfield corner to score Lowell and tie the game at one apiece.

The Sox would grab the lead in the next inning thanks to a two out single by Dustin Pedroia and a double to deep center by Papi, but after Lowell was intentionally walked Drew obliged the Jays by striking out swinging, and still another possible big inning was shot in the ass.

Lester and Burnett both held serve for the next couple of innings, and after Hector Luna drew a one-out walk from lester in the seventh, Tito allowed the young lefty to get one more out before bringing in Manny D. to face Wells with the game on the line.

Delcarmen did his job, getting Wells to fly out to Ellsbury in center, and after Burnett set the Sox down 1-2-3 in the top of the 8th, it was Gagme's turn to redeem himself to his team and the Nation.

Mission NOT accomplished.

Truth is the mission should have been aborted long before it got to the hideously ugly point that it did, and the debate about why Tito left this guy in there to absorb yet another career-killing loss will rage for weeks and possibly a lot longer if the Sox end up blowing this thing.

From the minute they showed two the Seth Rogen/Sasha Baron Cohen look-a-like trot out of the pen with a look that screamed "why do I feel like I'm about to shit myself right now?", I sensed disaster in the air. As a matter of fact, when my son sat down on the couch a few minutes later and asked what was going on, I replied "the Sox are about to lose this game, Gagne just came in", only half-sarcastically.

Sure I said it, but after so many awful outings, a brief stint to rest his "tired arm", and a couple of decent appearances in garbage time recently, I didn't really believe I would witness a repeat of one of those unforgettable horror-shows.

Unfortunately that's exactly what happened, and just to add to the torture effect, the roly-poly reliever got two quick outs in the inning before he ran everyone through the wringer.

What a dick.

After those two quick outs the game spiraled into a surreal, movie-like collapse of epic proportions. Seemingly from out of nowhere Gagme couldn't find the plate, walking Frank Thomas on four pitches (in all fairness a couple of those were pretty close), then after Aaron Hill singled to left on one pitch, Gagme walked Matt Stairs on six pitches to load the bases, and that familiar queasy feeling began to take hold in the pit of the Nation's stomach.

Gagme quickly went to 3-0 on Zaun, and despite numerous mound meetings with Tek, proceeded to walk him two pitches later to force in the tying run, and now the feeling of dread carried that special "all-time choke job" tinges that we are all so familiar with.

Curiously, instead of pulling the train wreck for a warmed-up Papelbon, Tito allowed the carnage to continue, and when pinch hitter Russ Adams sliced a drive through the glove of Drew for a two-run double, it was like watching the finale of a horror-porn flick.

The fact that Zaun was thrown out at the plate to end the inning, or that Lugo added a "thanks, anyway" homer in the ninth to deny Burnett the complete game and make it just another one-run loss for Boston, means little to the frantic Nation worldwide.

Even though losing the division would still result in yet another Wild Card birth for the team that won the series via that route in '04, this is full-fledged panic time, folks.

But it's not like we haven't been here before.

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Thomas puts a big hurtin' on Wake, Sox

Toronto 6, Sox 1
WP: McGowan (11-9)
LP: Wakefield (16-11)
HRs: TOR-Thomas, 3 (25)

Frank Thomas, Spring Training '07 (insert Jolly Green Giant joke here)

SUMMARY
Tim Wakefield got lit up for the third straight start and Big Frank Thomas clubbed three homers, two off of Wake, as the Jays handed the sputtering Sox their third loss in the last four games.

#1 STUNNER Thomas 3-4, 3R, 5RBI, 3HRs
There's a reason this guy was nicknamed the Big Hurt back in his MVP-winning heyday with the White Sox.

BTW, the last time he had three homers in a game? Sept 15, 1996 at Fenway against Wakefield. (cue the Twilight Zone theme please)

PAN's FAUN Wake 6IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HRs
Much like Schill yesterday, the wily veteran wasn't horrible, but when your team is in the thick of the pennant race and you have the third-most wins in the majors, you gotta do better than that.

RECAP
At first I was upset that I forgot to set the DVR so I could watch this game after I got home from my son's LL game (they lost 16-7, but at least he played well).

So I when I got home just after nine and turned it on, I was expecting to see the Sox leading big in the fifth or sixth inning.

Then I was upset I watched any of it.

With an NL-esque run time of 2 hours and 13 minutes, I tuned in just in time to witness Jays DH Frank Thomas take Kyle Snyder yard in the 8th inning for what the TSN announcers informed me at the top of their lungs was BIG FRANK'S THIRD HOMER OF THE BALLGAME!

And I thought the game I had just come from was ugly.

For the third time in four games the Boston Red Sox played as if someone had a foot on their throats, taunting them with threats like " if you think you're gonna win the friggin divison this year you got another thing coming, you bunch of fucking Townie punks!"

While the Stankees were busy dropping 8 runs on the hapless Orioles, Boston's offense continued to do its best turtle impersonation, refusing to come out of its shell when everyone is staring at them waiting for it to happen.

And now the division lead is down to 3 1/2 games.

Magic number? Hah! How 'bout a magic potion to end this nauseating free fall into David Lynch-land?

I didn't see the game, save for one homer run in the 8th, so I'm not going to bother analyzing it from low lights and box scores. Bottom line is Wakefield has continued to fall apart since a minor back injury caused Clay Buchholz to make history, allowing 26 hits and 17 earned runs in his last three starts covering just 12 2/3 innings for an atrocious 12.08 ERA.

And the offense, after failing to cash in on numerous scoring opportunities while losing 2 of 3 to New York over the weekend, continued it's dreary stretch where it's been either feast--scoring 10 twice, 13, and 16 runs--or famine--averaging just over four runs in the rest of the games--this month.

Tonight Boston managed just five hits, two by RSN poster boy Jacoby Ellsbury, who atoned for his first hitless game last night since his callup on the 1st, and just one run batted in, that coming of course off the bat of Professional Hitter/RBI machine Mike Lowell.

That's it. One run and five knocks. Against Toronto's talented-yet-raw righty Dustin McGowan, whom the Sox tuned up for six runs and eighth hits in five innings of a 9-4 Boston win in mid July.

So it's come to this. Boston, after enjoying a seemingly insurmountable 14 1/2 game lead way back in May now has to keep winning in order to ensure they wear their first division crown since the mid-ninties.

Because suddenly that magic number is looking more like a warning light.

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Porous pen brings Sox streak to an end

Toronto 6, Sox 4
WP: Accardo (4-3)
LP: Okajima (3-2)
HRs: BOS-Varitek (13); TOR- Wells (16), Glaus (20)

SUMMARY
The Sox supplied starter Curt Schilling with two leads tonight but the bullpen could not close the deal. Manny Delcarmen allowed a solo shot to Troy Glaus to tie the game in the 8th, and Hideki Okajima gave up a 2-run shot to Vernon Wells in the 9th that brought Boston's 4-game winning streak to an abrupt halt.

#1 STUNNER Wells 3-5, 2R, 2BI
Wells came into the game on an 0-12 skid, went 0-2 in his first two ABs, then ripped off three straight hits including the game winner, a deep drive to straightaway center that got out of the park in a hurry and left the Faithful in stunned silence.

PAN's FAUN (s) Oki & Manny D 2IP, 3H, 3ER, 2K, 2HR
When your veteran starter gives you a quality start and your offense scratches & claws to retake the lead, you would think the artists formerly known as the best bully in baseball could close the game out, right? Right!?

RECAP
Ah, we shoulda seen this one coming.

The Red Sox playoff wagon was starting to ramp up to ridiculous speed following four wins that featured a no-hitter, an explosion of offense, the rise of a new young superstar outfielder and three consecutive appearances (and saves) from the closer for the first time all season.

So anyone wearing a scruffy old Sox hat made in the previous century should have known that the good times would end sooner rather than later, and when the fun finally did end, things could get sideways in a hurry.

And boy did things get out of hand fast.

The third straight quality start for Curt Schilling ended with a no decision beacuse when he exited the contest after six innings two of Boston's top two relievers could not get the outs that were necessary to secure the game and Schill's 9th win.

That's coachspeak for Delcarmen & Okajima sucked ass.

Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on another fielder's choice groundout that could have been a double play, exactly how yesterday's first run scored, but Schill (6IP, 8H, 3ER, BB, 2K) gave that up and more when he surrendered three runs after two were out in the top of the fifth.

After issuing a one-out walk to Greg Zaun Schill retired John MacDonald on a pop out, apparently ending any Toronto rally.

But the Jays batters, led by Wells' first hit in 14 at bats, then stroked four consecutive singles, the last three each driving in one run as Schilling could not stop the station-to-station bleeding.

Finally Curt got Troy Glaus to line out to Jacoby Ellsbury in left, but the 1-0 lead, along with all the good Fenway vibrations, had disappeared in a matter of minutes.

Still, it was early, and when Boston loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning on a walk to Tek, a beautiful bunt single by Coco and, after a failed bunt/strikeout by Alex Cora, a single by Julio Lugo, it looked like they would get right back in the game.

Well, not quite.

Ellsbury did manage to get his bat on a low sinker from starter Shawn Marcum (5IP, 5H, 2ER, 3BB, 2K) and drive it deep enough into center firled to score Tek with the Sox second run, but when Big Papi fouled out on a nice play by Glaus at third, the potential big inning was reduced to a single run.

Then for some reason the insane Jays manager John Gibbons (it fucking amazes me this dickwad still has an MLB head coaching job) decided to remove Marcum, his hottest pitcher and winner of seven of his last eight decisions, and the Sox batters wasted no time teeing off on reliever Brian Wolfe.

Wolfe got the first two outs of the sixth and then much like Schill he fell apart a bit when he was on the doorstep of getting out of the frame.

The first mistake came when he nailed Youk with a pitch which not only opened up a pretty good gash on his right forearm but also put the tying run on base, but he followed that bit of stupidity by practically placing a fastball on a tee for Captain Tek, who proceeded to hammer the generous offering into the bleachers in right to put the Sox ahead again, 4-3.

With Schill done for the night, all the pen had to do was get nine outs and this one was in the bag.

Turned out to be easier said than done.

September callup and 2006 coffee drinker Bryan Corey came on first and although he did allow a single by Wells to lead off the inning, he got a ground ball by Matt Stairs that Cora turned into a slick double play, and then he got Alex Rios to ground out to end the inning.

Six more outs to go.

But Boston blew its chance to break the game wide open when another bases loaded situation ended without a run crossing home plate in the seventh.

Gibby used three relievers in this inning and they all allowed baserunners, but after Casey Janssen walked Lowell to pack the sacks he struck out J.D. "Boo!" (it's official now) and Youk to escape the jam unscathed.

You know what happened next.

Delcarmen came on for the 8th and gave up a towering, slicing drive to Glaus that just stayed fair but left the building entirely, and just like that everyone knew this game was going to spell the end of the winning streak, and temporarily, the good times on Yawkey Way.

That suspicion was quickly confirmed when Okajima took the mound in the 9th, promptly hit Zaun with a pitch, and then gave up a heatseeking missile to Wells that soared above the tall center field wall and officially put an end to the feel-good mini-streak.

Now it's off to B-More, a team falling apart faster than Senator Craig but one that has been a pain in Boston's side all season.

At least Papelbon should be ready to go again.

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Game Preview: Toronto @ Sox GM3

Marcum (12-5, 3.75) vs. Schilling (8-6, 4.02)
Fenway Park 705

Ah, it's always enjoyable when things are all rainbows and lollipops in Soxland.

The new kids are more than alright, the injured vets are healing, and the club has used the strength of this four game winning streak to increase its AL East lead back to a somewhat secure seven games with 23 games left in the season.

Yep, it's a good time to be a Sox fan right now...

...as opposed to last week when it was pure misery.

Tonight Curt Schilling will try and keep the good times rolling as he takes the mound for his sixth start since returning from the DL. In those starts he is 2-2 with an ND, and while he is still struggling to find some consistency he has pitched well in three of those previous five starts.

In the three good starts (8/12 vs. BAL, 8/24 vs. CWS, 8/30 vs. NYY) he has allowed just 14 hits and 3 earned runs in 19 innings (1.42ERA), but in the two rough starts (both vs. LAA, 8/6 & 8/18) Schill gave up 17 hits and 9 earned runs in just 12 innings for a 6.75 ERA.

I guess they just shouldn't let him pitch against the Angles.

Hopefully he will pitch better than his career record (3-6, 5.68) against Toronto tonight, because opposing him will be the Jays hot young righty Shawn Marcum.

Marcum has won 8 of his last 10 starts and although he hasn't exactly been dominant, he has been steady enough to provide the Jays another quality starter to go along with hard luck Roy Halladay.

Last time out the Nation needed Schill to come up big against the Stanks to prevent an embarrassing sweep, and if it weren't for little Robbie Cano, he might have accomplished that mission.

Tonight we need him to come up big to keep the winning streak going, keep the momentum going, and prevent another bad loss from derailing all the good vibes floating around Fenway right now.

Is that too much to ask from a former ace?

NOTES: With his 0-4 last night Lowell snapped his 15-game hitting streak; no doubt he'll start a new one tonight, hopefully with a few ribbies thrown in as well...according to the Globe Dustin Pedroia will get the night off tonight and Alex remember me? Cora will get a rare second half start...the wunderkind that is Jacoby Ellsbury will be in the lineup again, batting 2nd and playing LF...speaking of wunderkinds, Clay Buchholz was named the AL Player of the Week; wonder what for?

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Beckett wins 17th in another fun one at Fenway

Sox 5, Toronto 3
WP: Beckett (17-6)
LP: Halladay (14-7)
SV: Papelbon (33)
HRs: BOS-Ellsbury (2), Youkilis (16); TOR-Stairs (19)

The energetic Ellsbury has been the ring leader of the Fenway Fun Bunch

SUMMARY
In an NL-esque pitchers duel Josh Beckett bested former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay en route to earning his major league-leading 17th victory, and Jacoby Ellsbury continued to blaze since his recall, ripping three more hits including a homer and a triple as Boston won its fourth straight game.

#1 STUNNER Ellsbury 3-3, R, 2BI
The speedy rookie continues to amaze Red Sox fans & management with his heady play and hot bat. Since his recall on Saturday Ellsbury is batting an astounding .667 (8-12) and is making it very hard for Francona to leave him out of the lineup.

PAN's FAUN Lyle Overbay 0-4, K, GIDP
The struggling first baseman had a game to forget, ending three innings when he flied out with a man on to end the fourth, grounded into a double play to end the sixth, then watched a 96-mph Papelbon fastball whiz past him for strike three to end the game.

RECAP
I might not have witnessed a no-hitter, but I did get to watch an entertaining, well-played and unusually short American League contest between two division foes.

Plus I nearly won a $50 Best Buy gift card to boot.

Not exactly history-making stuff, but pretty damn fun nonetheless.

And that's the one word I would have to use to describe the current iteration of this team, one that has morphed personalities roughly 147 times this season and has seemed to employ a different lineup for each one of them.

Fun.

The Red Sox are playing fun baseball, it's fun to watch them play baseball, and it looks like they are actually having fun out there playing baseball, not going through the motions waiting for the regular season to end or shrinking away like an anorexic starlet in the presence of a hated arch rival.

And the biggest reason for all this giddiness has to be traced to the exuberance that youngsters like Ellsbury and Buchholz have added to the clubhouse.

The unbridled enthusiasm these guys brought from Pawtucket, along with their suitcases full of talent, seems to have rubbed off on the grizzled vets on the club, turning a loose-but-professional team into a bunch of happy-go-lucky kids.

Fun.

And to think less than a week ago the one word I would equate with this team was 'miserable'.

Tonight's game promised to be entertaining from the get-go when the pitching matchups were announced and we learned that current leading Cy Young candidate Beckett would be squaring off against 2003 Cy winner Halladay in a battle of team aces.

The two did not disappoint, although neither was at his very best.

Halladay (8IP, 9H, 5ER, 2BB, 7K) was definitely the shakier of the pair, allowing at least one base runner in each of the first four innings before Boston broke through for four runs in the frame.

And wouldn't you know it was one of the Fun Bunch who brought the Faithful to their feet again.

J.D. Drew led off the inning with a five-pitch walk from Halladay, then Youk (2-4, R, BI) dropped a single into right to send Drew to third and set up Boston's first real scoring threat of the night.

After Varitek struck out on three pitches Coco tapped an offering from Halladay to second base for what looked like a potential rally-killing double play, but the fleet Crisp barely beat the relay throw to first base as Drew came home to score the first run of the game.

Then the fun really begun. (Sorry, I'll stop now)

On the very next pitch Ellsbury drove a Halladay fastball on a low arc into the Red Sox bullpen for his second major league homer and second longball in three days, and just like that a 0-0 game had become 3-0 in the span of two swings of the bats.

Boston finished the inning with back-to-back doubles by Lugo and Pedroia (2-4, BI), and flushed with a 4-0 lead and their best pitcher on the hill it looked like a potential easy win for the Sox.

Ah, I didn't say it was always fun.

Toronto climbed back into the game in a flash when Aaron Hill led of the fifth with an infield single off Beckett's foot, John McDonald walked and with two outs old friend Matt Lumpy Stairs launched a three-run bomb over the Jays bully to slice the Sox lead to 4-3.

But Beckett (8IP, 5H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K) was lights-out from then on, retiring 9 of the last 10 batters he faced with the one being erased on a double play, and he finished his night in style, striking out Alex Rios looking at a nasty yakker to end the eighth.

Youk added a big insurance run in the bottom of the inning when he blasted a solo shot high & deep to straightaway center field off a tiring Halladay, and the only question left was, with Paps & Oki presumably off limits after pitching two days in a row and Gagme on the shelf with a bruised ego, errr sore arm, which reliever would Tito call on to close out the game?

The answer was a surprising one as the intimidator himself, Papelbon, trotted out for the final inning; it was a miracle Remy didn't tumble out of the booth.

All season long Tito has used his prized closer as if he was made of bone China out of fear that Paps balky shoulder from last September would rear its unwanted mug again.

But sometimes the kid gloves approach came back to haunt him, most notably when he wouldn't use his closer in both games of a doubleheader against the Angels, resulting in one of Gagme's more infamous blown saves of his sure-to-be-brief Sox tenure.

So to see the squared cap and menacing glare of Paps enter the game was, to put it mildly, a major fucking shocker to most of the Nation.

Luckily, the All Star closer didn't make the decision look like a mistake.

Papelbon needed exactly 9 pitches to dispatch the Jays including the above-mentioned tracer to Overbay to end the game with a fist-pumping flourish, and the young & talented closer has saved the last three Boston wins without allowing a base runner.

Suddenly the resurgent Sox have won four straight without the services of Manny Ramirez and with Tim Wakefield's status in doubt due to a tricky back problem.

No worries around the Fens, though, cause the kid's have got things all under control.

Oh, yeah the Best Buy gift card part.

On the great baseball website Bugs & Cranks they have what's called an indoor four contest, where you pick a player who will hit an inside the park home run and the first player to reach the feat each month wins a $50 BB card for whomever was astute enough to pick him.

Of course I waited until the final month of the season to do so, but my obscure choice almost made a winner out of me tonight: Jacoby Ellsbury.

With guys like Coco, Jose Reyes, Carl Crawford and even Dontrelle Willis all taken already, I decided to take a darkhorse candidate, a speedy September callup who might just pull the feat.

Hey if Kevin Youkilis and Derrek Lee can do it, why not?

In the sixth inning tonight Ellsbury almost made it happen when he drove a ball deep over Alex Rios' head in right field that landed on the warning track, hit the base of the wall and then kicked right back to Rios, who quickly fired it back to the infield.

By that time Ellsbury had scampered into third with a stand up triple, and I was standing up as well, screaming for Rios to bobble the ball and/or Ellsbury to go for broke and try and make more Red Sox history while making me a little richer, entertainment wise.

Alas we had to settle for the three bagger, but at that point I didn't even care...

...because it sure was fun anyway.

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Game Preview: Toronto at Sox

Halladay (14-6, 3.87) vs. Beckett (16-6, 3.29)
Fenway Park 705

Looks like I picked the right time to rejoin the Nation.

After missing four of the more exciting games of the season including the first Sox no hitter in five years I am jumping right back into the fold with this doozie of a pitching matchup.

Call it Cy past vs. Cy future.

While Josh Beckett can take over the major league lead in wins with a victory tonight, a category that will go a long way to deciding who wins this year's Cy Young award, he will be opposed to a man who is no stranger to being the best pitcher in baseball.

Roy Halladay, the 2003 Cy winner, has won at least 12 games in five of the last six years, and after a slow start this season aided by a trip to the DL the ace is just hitting his stride, winning three straight starts before a recent 0-1 stretch over his last three starts despite pitching at least 8 innings in all three games.

He doesn't have a stellar record against the Sox in his career (9-9, 4.79) but anytime he takes the mound there is a chance the opponent will be completely shut down.

Beckett, meanwhile, will try to shake off his last horrendous start when he allowed 13 hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-3 loss to New York on Wednesday. Before that unfortunate outing Becks had won three in a row and appeared well on his way to winning his first Cy.

Now that the competition has stiffened up, he will have to put together a terrific final month in order to not only win the coveted award but help his team win the division crown and ease into the playoffs.

Although the quality of the starters suggests this won't be an offensive explosion like most of the last few games, the way Boston's lineup is clicking one can't be so sure.

Despite the absence of Manny Ramirez, who has missed the last six games with that oblique injury, the Boston batters have been mashing the ball to the tune of 34 runs and 50 hits in the last 4 games, with the miraculous Mike Lowell leading the way.

The ageless vet is laying to rest all the talk of his notorious second half swoons by ripping off a current 16-game hit streak in which he's batting a hearty .500 (30-60) and has knocked in 20 runs.

With 101 ribbies he's just four off his career high and leads the Sox sluggers Ortiz (94) and Manny (86) by a pretty wide margin.

Throw in the infusion of youth from Jacoby Ellsbury and the amazing, ever-improving Dustin Pedroia, and the offense might just be performing at its best level of the season, Manny or no Manny.

All the same I think he'll still be welcomed back when he's ready to return.

And I know I'm ready to welcome Red Sox baseball into my life after a brief holiday hiatus.

What are the chances of Beckett throwing a no-hitter tonight?

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