Buchholz battered again as Twins take 3 of 4 from Sox

Minnesota 7, Sox 3
WP: Hernandez (6-1)
LP: Buchholz (2-3)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Manny (8); MIN-None

SUMMARY:
Despite scoring three in the first inning, two on Manny Ramirez' 498th career home run, and outhitting the Twins for the fourth straight game Minnesota managed to take three of four games from Boston, thanks to a horrendous outing by Clay Buchholz and another clutch hit from Craig Monroe.

SUPERSTAR: Monroe 1-2, R, 2BI, 2B
With the Twins leading but just one slim run (4-3) in the 5th and Boston primed to mount another comeback Monroe sliced a Buchholz offering down the left field line for a two-run double that opened the game up, and Minny never looked back.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Buchholz 4.1IP, 8H, 7ER, 5BB, 4K
For the second game in a row the rookie got shelled like Chuckles the Clown when he dressed as Peter Peanut, walking the leadoff batter in three of the five innings he started and generally pitching like he wants an express trip back to Pawtucket.

RECAP:
Let me start off by saying I missed the first few innings of this game because I was at my son's last Little League game of the season;, we were eliminated in the final game of the Top Team tournament, 10-1.

And then I got home and watched the rest of this stinker plus the Celts stumble on the road again to even their series with the Cavs.

Guess you could say I hit the 'shitty sports night' trifecta.

But as bad as mine and the Celts night was, neither of our miseries can compare to the pain Clay Buchholz must be feeling right now after he posted his second consecutive lousy start tonight at the Homerdome.

And to think he didn't even allow a home run.

When you combine the numbers from young Clay's last start against the Tigers a week ago with the stats he put up tonight, the results are hideous enough to merit a warning to hide the women and children before reviewing them:

-8 1/3IP, 18 hits, 12 earned runs, 6 walks, 10 Ks

In case you don't have a stats converter handy those figures add up to a 13.01 ERA and a WHIP of 2.89, numbers that are closer to Julian Tavarez than a guy who pitched a no hitter at the end of last season.

And we all know where Julian is now (wait, do we?)

Not to say that Buchholz is bound for a trip back to the minors, but let's face it with the Sox apparently clearing space on the roster for a possible promotion for Bartolo Colon, someone on the starting staff is going to have to pay the price, and it ain't gonna be Beckett, Dice-K or Wake.

That leaves Buchholz and Jon Lester ticketed for a potential "seasoning" trip back to the PawSox with neither of the youngsters pitching very well of late, and since Buchholz has the least amount of major league experience it could very well be the lanky righty who draws the shortest straw

Tonight he was staked to a quick 3-0 lead courtesy of David Ortiz RBI single followed by an opposite field bomb by Manny Ramirez, the slugger's 498th of his career and 8th of the season, but he wasted no time in coughing that lead right up and then some.

Minny got two back in the bottom of the inning on three consecutive singles and another error by JD Drew, his second in a week, and then the Twins took the lead for good in the 4th on a pair of walks, a pair of singles and an RBI groundout by Delmon Young. Only an inning ending double play prevented the damage from being any worse, but as it turned out it was about to get worse anyway.

While ageless Twins starter Livan Hernandez (6IP, 10H, 3ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR) escaped a number of jams, Buchholz couldn't get out of any of his self-induced tough spots and Minny was able to add to its lead in the bottom of the 5th.

Last night's hero, Craig Monroe, ripped a double down the third base line and into the left field corner, scoring Joe Mauer, who had walked to open the inning, and Michael Cuddyer, and when Young (2-4, 2BI) followed with an RBI single up the middle, Buchholz night was over.

And with the score 7-3 Twins, so was the game.

The next three innings were rather uneventful (or perhaps it was because I was watching the Cs/Cavs on the main screen with this clunker relegated to the PIP window), but Boston did manage to attempt another 9th inning comeback when Alex Cora (2-4) and Dustin Pedroia got on base with one out, providing the Nation with some hope with the big boppers ready to step up and work their magic.

Alas reliever Jessie Crain retired Ortiz and Ramirez (2-4, r, 2BI) on one pitch apiece, and just like that the good vibes from the Sox recent winning stretch were erased in a disappointing weekend series in the moribund Minnesota Metrodome.

There was some good news on the night: the Rays knocked off the Stanks, 7-1, in St. Pete.

Oh but that's also bad news, too, since its the Rays who are nipping at the heels of our Sox, not the hapless Stankees, so we can't even take solace in the fact that the Stanks got spanked anymore.

Making what was already a depressing night in my sports world a lot more unenjoyable.

NOTES:
-Lugo still ill: with the effects of his head knocking still lingering, Lugo again got the night off in favor of Alex Cora, who had a couple of hits and 5 in the series. Anyone sense a similarity to the Pedroia situation of a year ago?

-The Mayor returns: after missing 15 games with a hip injury Sean Casey returned to the lineup and recorded a hit and made a couple of nice plays in the field as well. He spelled Kevin Youkilis, who got a rare day off despite having hit 6 homers in his last 10 games

-Manny 500: with his first inning bomb Manny got to within two homers of the (once) magic 500 milestone. It was just Manny's 2nd homer in the last 20 games.

-Huh?: Boston lost 3 of 4 in the series despite outhitting the Twins 51-39, including 16-8 in extra base hits

RECORD: 24-17
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm on TB
STREAK: L2
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Tue @ BAL 705 Beckett vs. Guthrie

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Atrocious pitching, horrible error lead to heartbreaking loss for Sox

Detroit 10, Sox 9
WP: Jones (1-0)
LP: Papelbon (2-1)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Youk, 2 (6), Lowell (2); DET-None

SUMMARY:
Boston came back from deficits of 5-1 and 8-4 to take a 9-8 lead in the 8th inning, only to see all that hard work thrown away. Jonathan Papelbon blew his first save of the year, allowing two runs in the bottom of the 9th, but it was another error by Julio Lugo that prolonged the inning and led to the loss.

SUPERSTAR: Placido Polanco 5-6, 2R, 3BI, GW RBI
The man with the cranium of a T3000 came through in the clutch all night, no more so than when he blooped a broken bat single over Lugo's head to drive in the game winning run in the 9th.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Lugo 1-2, 2B, BB, E
Let's just say there's a certain poetic irony to the fact that the ball Lugo booted for his major league-leading 10th error was hit by the last man who was a complete and unmitigated bust at the shortstop position for Boston - Edgar Rentanerror.

Welcome to the club, Julio.

RECAP:
Boston's five game winning streak and Detroit's five game losing streak both came to a stunning end in a wild game at Comerica Park that had more ups and downs than Robert Downey Jr's career.

If you like horrid pitching and video game-like hitting this game was for you, because it sure had plenty of both. The starting pitchers for both sides, Clay Buchholz and Armando Galarraga, did not pitch nearly up the the level they had been recently, and the relievers for both sides weren't much better.

The result? Detroit slammed a season-high 18 hits, the most Boston has allowed all season, although only two went for extra bases, and Boston clubbed a dozen base knocks, including three more homers and four doubles, in a game that was nearly delayed by rain but still took almost four hours to complete.

I guess the Tigers really are trying to be the new Stankees.

Anyway, I'm too worn out from coaching my son's third baseball game in three nights and then watching this maddening ballagame to write a coherent synopsis right now, so I'm going to head to bed with visions of Julio Lugo bobbling yet another routine ground ball dancing in my head.

Maybe when I wake up I'll read that he's been traded to Chicago for Orlando Cabrera.

Bring back the OC, please Theo!

Goodnight now.
------------------------------------
Well, just as I though, the light of day hasn't made the pain of last night's loss any easier to take. I don't believe Lugo was demoted, traded or castrated overnight either, making matters even worse.

It was a game that resembled one of my son's Little League games in many ways, filled with odd plays, miscues, crazy comebacks and final-inning drama. The only things missing were a pitch count and a "no leading" rule.

As I said both staters were less than impressive, especially Buchholz (4IP, 10H, 5ER, 1BB, 6K), who had his worst outing in almost a month. He was in trouble in every inning, none more so than the 3rd, when he allowed four runs on five hits and a walk.

After a leadoff double by Pudge Rodriguez, Polanco rapped a one-out double to left for the Tigers first run, then Carlos Guillen follwed with a single to center to score Polanco for a 2-0 lead.

Buchholz gave up a single to Magglio Ordonez and walked Miguel Cabrera to load the bases, and slumping Gary Sheffield, who had three hits on the night, singled to left to score Guillen. An RBI groundout by rookie Matt Joyce completed the scoring, and probably should have completed Buchholz' night, but he was allowed to come back for more abuse.

Boston sliced the lead in half when Kevin Youkilis hit a towering homer to left with Mike Lowell aboard with two outs in the 4th, but Buchholz gave one run right back when Detroit got three straight hits with two out in the bottom of the inning to run the score to 5-2.

Boston again cut the deficit in the nexct inning when they parlayed a walk, hit by ppitch, fielder's choice and a stolen base into a pair of runs, the first comeing home on a sac fly by Jed Lowrie and the second on an opposite field bleeder from Big Papi (2-5, BI), and suddenly the score was 5-4 and Boston had hope of winning a game that seemed unwinnable just a few innings earlier.

And then Julian tavarez relieved Buchholz to start the 5th and Julie immediately gave three runs right back as Detroit put together four more hits and a sacrifice, the big blow being a two-run double by Rodriguez that was followed by an RBI single by PPolanco, and with the score 8-4 it looked like it was lights out time for Boston.

Not so fast my friends.

Another longball from Youk cut the deficit to 8-5 in the 6th, and after Galarraga (5.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 1BB, 6K, 2HR) was removed in favor of Zach Miner to start the 7th, Botson got all the way back in the game with one swing of the bat.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2-5, 2R) started the rally with a leadoff single and then he stole second for his 2nd steal of the game and 22nd straight to start his career, and after a couple of outs Manny walked, forcing Leyland to bring rookie righty Francisco Cruceta to face Mike Lowell with the game in the balance.

Lowell made the decision look foolish when he crushed a 2-1 offering from Cruceta deep into the left field seats for a game-tying, crowd-silencing 3-run homer, and just like that it was a new game, 8-8.

Who knew then that the best - and worst - was still yet to come.

The best part happened when Dustin Pedroia lined a clutch pinch hit single off Cruceta in the top of the 9th that scored JD Drew with the go-ahead run that gave the Sox a 9-8 lead with 6 outs to go. Knowing that Boston had Hideki Okajima lined up for the 8th and Papelbon raring to go in the 9th brought a sense of calm to the Nation, and a feeling that the comeback kids would aadd another notch to their belts.

Ah, no.

Oki, who has been shaky lately, barely survived the 8th after he allowed a one-out singles to Ordonez and Cabrera, but fortunatley he got Sheffield to strike out and Leyalnd made a boneheaded decison to send the runners, and Mags was easily gunned out at third to end the inning.

Whew!

Boston had a chance to pad the lead in the 9th when Lowell doubled and Drew walked, but ancient Todd jones escpaed the inning unscathed, setting up the 9th inning dramatics for Detroit.

Papelbon, who had been the only reliable member of the pen all season, had coverted saves in his last two appearances and hadn't allowed a run since April 17th against the Stanks, so there was no fear in the hearts of sox fans that this would be another routine save of a game that was anything but routine.

Turned out that was mere wishful thinking.

Things started ominously when Joyve beat out an infoeld dribbler to short for his first major league hit, and they got worse when one batter later Rentanerror hit a tough hoper to Lugo that might not have been a double play ball but should definitely resulted in an out somehwere.

Instead Lugo got caught up thinking two instead of getting the sure out (another Little League no-no), and after he lost the ball in the transfer, both runner were safe and the tension was suddenly ratcheted up to full peak.

Rodriguez' sacrifice moved the runners up and then Granderson's groundout tied the game, but Boston still had hopes for extra innings if Paps could just retire Bigheado Polanco.

Unfortunately after battling to a full count, Polanco chuncked a broken bat blooper over Lugo's head (appropraitely) and Rentanaerror came around to score the winning run (ditto), and Boston had snuck a loss out of the jaws of victory after fighting so hard to come back and take the lead.

But we just have to put this one behind us and hope Beckett comes out like the Beckett of old tomorrow night and the Sox can at least take the series from the Tigers, and pray that Detroit doesn't use this win as a springboard to a long winning streak that salvages their sinking season.

And pray that Lugo comes up with a sudden injury that will enable Boston to bury him on the DL until they can find a way to unload the latest incarnation of Edgar.

RECORD: 22-14
AL EAST: Up 3.5 gms
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Thu @ DET 705 Beckett vs. Verlander

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Game Preview: Sox @ Detroit GM3

Buchholz (2-2, 3.71) vs. Galarraga (2-1, 1.88)
705 Comerica Park

So far manager Smokey Jim Leyland's ballyhooed shakeup of the struggling Detroit roster - moving slumping slugger Gary Sheffield from 3rd to 6th and making him play the field, switching positions for 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera and 1st baseman Carlos Guillen - has produced a grand total of 3 runs and 8 hits in two games.

Maybe he should claim he's switching to Nicorette for his next great trick.

The Tigers, who had shown signs of improving recently when they ripped off an 11-5 streak to get back to within one game of .500 and shouting distance of the top of the Central division, have quickly crashed back to Earth thanks to a 5 game losing streak in which they have scored a mere 11 runs and allowed 33.

Hey, at least the futility has been well balanced; their pitching has been as shitty as their hitting.

But tonight the most reliable starter in the rotation takes the mound for Leyland, and it speaks volumes that that title goes to a 26-year-old rookie who has made 5 career starts, four of them coming in the past three weeks.

Armando Galarraga is a spindly righthander who was called up from AAA to take free agent bust Dontrelle Willis' spot in the rotation when the erratic former phenom went down with a knee injury on April 12th.

Since the promotion Galarraga, who was with the Rangers last year, won his first two starts, allowing two runs and 4 hits over 12 innings against Cleveland and Toronto. Although he's cooled down since then, recording a no decision and a loss in his last two starts, he still has as many wins as anyone else on the club and has the lowest ERA among all Detroit starters.

Who'd have thunk this kid would've been the savior of a rotation that included playoff vets Robertson, Verlander and Kenny Rogers plus prized pick up Willis when the season started?

Boston will try to extend its 5-game winning streak when it sends it's own superb rookie Clay Buchholz to the Comerica hill.

After a shaky start to the season, Buchholz has been nails lately, posting a 2-1 record while allowing just 3 earned runs and 13 hits in 19.1 innings over his last three starts. He's also fanned 21 while walking just 8 in that span.

One of the main reasons behind Boston's latest hot streak has been the resurgence of David Ortiz. In his last 10 games Bi Papi is hitting .317 (.13-41) with 5 homers and 11 RBI, raising his average from .188 to .226. It's no coincidence that the rest of the team has followed Papi's lead.

As long as Boston's offense, which has averaged 8 runs and 12 hits per game during the streak, keeps mashing like it has, and Detroit keeps playing like the latest version of the overhyped, overpaid Stankees, this should be another win for Boston.

And if Galarraga should pitch a gem and pick up his team-leading 3rd win? Well they might just put a statue of the kid up there with the big cats in centerfield, as badly as this team needs a win right now.

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That's more like it: Sox spank Rays

Sox 7, Tampa Bay 3
WP: Buchholz (2-2)
LP: Jackson (2-3)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Moss (2); TB-None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox did two things tonight that they haven't done in a while: beat the Rays, and score more than three runs. Led by Clay Buchholz' strong pitching and the bat and arm of Brandon Moss, Boston avenged last weekend's 3-game sweep by Tampa Bay with a decisive win in Game 1 of this series.

SUPERSTAR: Moss 2-4, 2R, BI, 1 assist
The kid is picking up right where he left off when the club shipped him to Pawtucket after the opening series in Japan.

His 4th inning home run ensured the Sox would score more than 1 run in this game, but it was his laser throw to home plate that nailed Evan Longoria trying to score to end the 2nd that was the key moment of this game.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Edwin Jackson 4IP, 9H, 6ER, 3BB, 4K, HR
The escalator man was down again in this one, and it was his inability to shut the Sox down when they scored 5 runs with two outs in the 4th that led to the Rays losing this game.

RECAP:
Finally!

After a 2 1/2 hour rain delay that pushed the start to 9:30, and a week of feeble offense that produced thrilling wins and heartbreaking losses, the Sox got back to what they do best: pound the ball and pray the bullpen hangs on.

Since the rain delay pushed the start back I did get to catch the whole game, even though my son's Little League game was a 16-13 marathon. But with the game just ending at 12:48 am EST, I don't have the energy, nor the desire, to wrap this one up.

So as is my custom, I'm gonna get some shuteye and finish the post in the morning. Just another advantage bloggers have over the mainstream media.

Suck that, Bissinger.

----------------------------------------------------
Okay, I'm all rested up and ready to report on what took place last night. If you've already read the Globe or watched SportsCenter this morning, oh well.

The Sox ensured there would be no repeat sweep by the Rays with an impressive performance on the mound and at the plate. Although starter Clay Buchholz (5.1IP, 5H, 1ER, 4BB, 6K) was not nearly as dominant as he was last weekend in St. Pete, he worked his way out of several early jams and held the Rays down until his offense could pick him up.

Tampa Bay had numerous chances to get ahead early and put the Sox in a tough spot, but due to some solid pitching, and their own ineptitude, they were not able to capitalize on those opportunities.

The Rays had seven base runners in the first three innings yet failed to get any across the plate. In the second inning Buchholz walked the first two batters, but then got Dionner Navarro to strike out, Gabe Gross to fly out, and Longoria tagged out at home plate on a throw by Brandon Moss that was as good as any JD Who? ever made.

In the third the Rays again got the first two batters aboard, but Buchholz buckled down and fanned the next three hitters, including Carlos Pena and Longoria looking, thanks to a nasty breaking ball that was baffling Tampa Bay batters all night.

Boston broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third when Dustin Pedroia (3-5, 1R, 3BI) doubled in Julio Lugo, who had also doubled. It was Pedroia's league-leading 12th two bagger of the year, and it broke an 0-11 drought that he had in the Toronto series.

After Buchholz finally retired the Rays 1-2-3 in the fourth, Boston broke the game open in the bottom of the inning, thanks to Edwin Jackson's inability to record the third out.

Jackson quickly retired Mike Lowell and Youk to start the frame, but then Moss followed with a cannon blast to deep straightaway center field that bounced off the top of the camera tent for his first homer since Opening Day in Tokyo.

That shot opened the floodgates for the sputtering Sox, as the next five batters reached base, the big blow being a 2-run single by Pedroia that made the score 5-0 and gave the soggy Faithful hope that this wouldn't be another 9th inning nail biter.

Although Buchholz gave up a run the next inning to make the score 6-1 and Javier Lopez continued the horrible performance of the bullpen by surrendering two runs in the seventh, you never got the feeling that the game was in doubt.

Indeed when Hideki Okajima came in and got three straight fly outs in the 8th, and then Varitek doubled in Moss in the bottom of the inning to run the score to 7-3, you could sense the victory was all but in the bag.

Just to be sure Francona trotted out his closer to pitch the 9th. Whether it was due to the fact that he had already been warming when the score was 6-3, or that Tito wanted to make sure no one (re: Timlin) fucked up this win, Papelbon came in throwing gas and retired the last three batters without incident, wrapping the win up at nearly 1 am.

The win gave the Sox a little breathing room in the division and also served notice that just because the Rays had won four straight against the Sox, Boston isn't about to cede the East title to the upstarts just yet.

Especially if the offense can score more than 1 run per game.

And especially with a healthy and fired up Josh Beckett ready to take the mound tomorrow night, with payback on his mind.

RECORD: 18-13
AL EAST: Up 1gm
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Sat vs. Rays 705 Shields vs. Beckett

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And the beat goes on: Sox lose on late home run

Rays 2, Sox 1
WP: Dohman (2-0)
LP: Buchholz (1-2)
SV: Percival (5)
HRs: BOS- None; TB-Iwamura (1)

SUMMARY:
A brilliant pitcher's duel between two promising young starters was decided with one swing of the bat when Akinori Iwamura slammed a Clay Buchholz pitch deep over the wall in right for a 2-run homer in the 8th inning, sending the Sox to their 4th straight loss and the Rays to their 5th consecutive win.

SUPERSTAR: Buchholz 8IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 9K, HR
Hard to give this honor to someone who gave up the game-losing homer, but Buchholz was so strong for so long in this one, it's hard to fault the guy for making one bad pitch. If only his offense could've helped him out...

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Shawn Riggans 0-2
Hard to find a loser in this brilliantly played game, but the young catcher's nonchalant chasing down of a wild pitch allowed Coco Crisp to go from 1st to 3rd and eventually score Boston's only run of the game.

RECAP:
Boy, did this one hurt.

Boston was four outs away from celebrating the best performance by a starting pitcher this season until the Rays snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat with Aki Iwamura's 8th inning home run.

Up until that point Clay Buchholz had been simply spectacular. He had allowed just one hit before the 8th, a double by BJ Upton leading off the 4th inning, and even after he surrendered a 2-out pinch hit single to Dionner Navarro prior to Iwamura's homer, it felt like a blip more than a sign that he was tiring or in trouble.

Francona certainly must have thought that way because he had Okajima and Delcarmen ready in the pen yet he let Buchholz pitch to Iwamura, a move that he is probably regretting at this very moment.

Alas hindsight is 20/20, and had he pulled the kid everyone would have been moaning "why not leave Buchholz in, with the way he was pitching?"

And with the way the bullpen has performed lately, can you really blame him for sticking with the hot hand?

The reason the game came down to that pivotal play is because Rays starter Edwin Jackson was nearly as flawless as Buchholz. After getting out of the gate with a 2-0 record and sub-1.00 ERA, Jackson had come back to earth hard in his last two starts, losing both while surrendering 11 earned runs in just 9 1/3 innings.

But tonight Jackson (7IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 4K) was on his game again, limiting the Sox to just a handful of hits and surrendering a single run, and that one came courtesy of a wild pitch, a botched play by his catcher, and an infield single.

Coco Crisp began the 5th inning with a solid single to rightfield, and after Jackson got Jason Varitek, making his first start in 7 games, to strikeout, he threw a wild pitch with a 2-2 count on Jed Lowrie that eluded catcher Shawn Riggins for a second.

But after Riggans finally figured out where it was he casually scooted back to the backstop to retrieve the ball, and Crisp seized the moment by motoring all the way from first base to third before Riggans even knew what happened.

Jackson ended up walking Lowrie, and after Julio Lugo struck out, Jacoby Ellsbury, who started in right field, laced a shot down the third base line that Evan Longoria knocked down, but by the time he threw to first Ellsbury (2-4) was safe and Coco had scored the first run of the game.

And that's the way it stayed until the 8th.

Boston had a chance to add to the lead when Joe Maddon replaced Jackson with Trevor Miller to being the 8th and he gave up a 2-out walk to JD Drew, who took over DH duty and 3-spot for the scratched David Ortiz. But Maddon then called on last night's winner, Scott Dohmann, to face Manny Ramirez, and Dohmann froze Manny for strike three to end the inning and set up Iwamura's heroics in the bottom of the inning.

After Aki's blast, which was high and deep and a classic no-doubter, a dejected Buchholz struck out Carl Crawford to end the inning, and Boston had one last chance for another miraculous comeback.

Only new Rays closer Troy Percival would have none of that, needing just 10 pitches to retire Youk, Coco, and Tek to save the game, and suddenly the Sox are out of first place (by percentage points) for the first time in a while and the Rays are only one game back of Boston and Baltimore in what is turning out to be a crazy AL East race.

And speaking of crazy, my son's Little League team won their tournament game this afternoon, 21-16, and he had a big 2-run homer that tied the game at 8 and propelled us to the win and a spot in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

Who knows, maybe his team and his favorite team will be able to pull off big wins tomorrow.

The way the Sox and his team have been playing, I like my son's chances a lot better right now.

RECORD: 15-11
STREAK: L4
LST 10: 6-4
AL EAST: Tied for 1st
UP NEXT: Sun 1:40 @ TB Beckett vs. Shields

GO Sox & G.L.L.L. Braves!

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Game Preview: Sox @ Rays GM2

Buchholz (1-1, 4.79) vs. Jackson (2-2, 4.63)
Game 2 of 3 7:05 Tropicana Field

If the Sox are going to get back on the winning track, they will have to do so without the services of two of their best hitters tonight.

The Globe is reporting that David Ortiz was a late scratch from tonight's lineup, with the possible reasons ranging from a mild cold he's been battling, to his sore, surgically repaired right knee, to his 0-6 performance in last night's 5-4 extra inning loss.

Although the o-fer dropped Papi's average to .177, his RBI production (17 ribbies in the last 10 games) has made his presence in the lineup invaluable the past few weeks.

On top of that news it appears 1B Sean Casey, who has filled in admirably since Mike Lowell went down, strained a hip flexor while scoring in last night's game and is headed to the DL. Boston called up Opening Day hero Brandon Moss to replace Casey on the roster, so a move appears imminent.

As if all that news wasn't bad enough tonight's game will feature two starting pitchers, Boston's Clay Buchholz and Tampa Bay's Edwin Jackson, who are like Forest Gump's proverbial box of chocolates: every time they take the mound, you never know what you're gonna get.

Buchholz, the lanky 23-year-old with the no-no under his belt, has been shaky at times this season (10ER & 14 hits allowed in 8.2IP in losses to New York and Toronto) and spectacular at others (1ER & 9 hits in 12IP against the Stanks and Texas.)

But the righty has struck out 18 batters while walking only 8, and his last outing, a 5-hit shutout performance in 6 innings against the Rangers last week, was more reminiscent of his no hit stuff than his early season struggles.

Jackson, meanwhile, has also been more up & down than a congressional page. His first two starts of the season, he was lights out (7H, 1ER in 14IP), winning his first two games against the Stanks and Seattle.

Since then he's allowed 11 ER and 11 hits in losses to the Stanks and ChiSox, pitching just 9 innings over those two starts while watching his ERA balloon from 0.64 to 4.63.

So needless to say it's anybody's guess how these two young studs are going to fare tonight.

The Sox are in desperate need of a win or they will see their division lead shrink or disappear depending on what the Orioles do in their doubleheader today, while the Rays, winners of 4 in a row, would love nothing more than to take another game from mighty Boston, a victory that would pull the upstarts to within one game of the AL East lead.

Crazy times.

Hopefully not too crazy.

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No comeback necessary: Sox trounce Texas

Sox 8, Texas 3
WP: Buchholz (1-1)
LP: Nippert (1-2)
SV: None
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox didn't need to stage another come-from-behind thriller this afternoon at Fenway - a run-of-the-mill blowout was on the menu for this Patriot's Day affair; Boston scored all 8 runs off Texas reliever Dustin Nippert in the 4th & 5th innings and cruised to the 4-game series sweep.

Superstar: Clay Buchholz 6IP, 5H, 0ER, 2BB, 6K
The young righty had his best start of the season, giving Tito six quality innings of shutout ball while lowering his ERA nearly two full runs in the process (6.75-4.79) in leading his team to the sweep.

The Biggest Loser: Nippert 2.1IP, 9H, 8ER, 4BB, 2K
The Rangers bullpen was atrocious all series, but this performance takes the cake.

RECAP:
Well that was nice for a change.

For the first time in what seems like forever Boston did not need to rely on late-inning heroics to pull out a miraculous victory as the Sox manhandled the Texas bullpen for the 4th consecutive game.

The only reason Texas had to go to the bully so soon was because starter Kason Gabbard had to exit the contest after the second inning when a slip on the mound caused his back to stiffen up.

Thus the expected matchup of two former PawSox starters, Gabbard and Buchholz, did not come to be, and my half-joking prediction that Gabbard would probably throw a no-hitter today went down the tubes.

Which was just fine because Buchholz pitched as well as he had since his no-no last September.

After battling to a scoreless tie through 3 1/2, including both teams leaving the bases loaded in the second, Boston broke it open in the bottom of the 4th shortly after Dustin "Don't call me Al" Nippert came in to replace Gabbard.

That 4th inning played out like a Little League game, complete with bloopers, blunders and very few hard hit balls.

Instead of describing what happened, let me run it down for you, blog style:

-JD Drew leads off with a walk, Nippert balks him to 2B
-Jed Lowrie pops up a bunt to SS, he's safe at 1st, Drew to 3B
-Lugo singles just past Nippert's hand, Drew scores Boston's 1st run
-Kevin Cash, playing for Tek, hits a soft liner to Ian Kinsler at 2nd, he throws to 1st to double off a leaning Lugo, but the ball goes down the line and Lowrie scores, Lugo to 2B (2-0 BOS)
-Thurston pops out to short
-Ellsbury hits an infield single to SS as Lugo hops over the bounding ball; Ellsbury then steals 2B uncontested
-Pedroia laces a double to right center field, the hardest hit ball of the inning, to drive in both Lugo and Ellsbury (4-0 BOS)
-Big Papi skies a ball to deep left that appears playable for Milton Bradley, until he ducks for cover at the last minute as he loses it in the bright sunlight. It falls in for a double as Pedroia scampers home with run #5
-Youk walks
-Drew walks to load the bases
-Lowrie strikes out just as the marathoners enter Kenmore Square

When the carnage was over Boston had scored 5 runs on 5 hits, 3 walks, an error, a balk and a highlight reel worthy blooper in an 1/2 inning that saw Nippert throw 41 pitches and took 29 minutes to complete.

In case the game didn't appear to be over at that point, Boston tacked on three more runs in the 5th, with one run coming in on a double by Ellsbury (2-4, 2R, BI, BB) and the other two scoring on a legitimate double by Ortiz, marking his 11 ribbies of the series.

I'd say he's out of his slump.

Then again the Rangers pitchers can get anyone out of a slump. Boston racked up a dozen hits in this game and also walked 11 times. In fact every Boston batter reached base at least twice except Thurston, and five batters reached at least 3 times.

By the time Texas struck for a pair of runs off David Aardsma and Javier Lopez in the 7th it was much too little, way too late, and even an RBI double by Josh Hamilton off Manny Delcarmen in the 9th couldn't dampen the spirits of the Nation who had just witnessed a sweet, rare 4-game sweep at home on Marathon Monday.

Alas it's no rest for the weary as the AL West-leading Angels come to town tomorrow night.

But at least this Patriots Day was worth celebrating, even though the festivities started early instead of late.

NOTES:
-No Manny: Despite his 2nd inning ejection yesterday, Francona decided to rest Manny anyway as previously planned. His replacement, Joe Thurston, was the only member of the team not to record a hit (0-5). Sean Casey also got the day off, as Youk moved back to 1B and Lowrie manned the hot corner

-Tek sick: for just the second time this season Jason Varitek did not catch when someone other than Tim Wakefield was on the mound. he reportedly was feeling under the weather. NESN broadcaster Jerry Remy was also ailing, prompting a stint in the booth by former As skipper Ken "paint dry" Macha

-Lugo on fire: the shortstop went 4-4 with a walk and is batting .346 (17-49) over his last 13 games, raising his average from .238 to .314

RECORD: 14-7
STREAK: W5
LST 10: 9-1
AL EAST: Up 2 gms
UP NEXT: Tue vs. LAA 7PM Weaver vs. Beckett

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Game Preview: Brunch with the Bosox

Gabbard (1-0, 2.41) vs. Buchholz (0-1, 6.75)
Game 4 of 4 11AM NESN/Extra Innings

The Minuteman is as much of a symbol of Patriot's Day as orange slices and cold ones

It's that time again, New Englanders - Patriot's Day/ Marathon Monday, a.k.a the regional holiday that is as much an excuse to party and watch sports as it is to honor the memory of the Battle of Lexington & Concord.

When I tried to explain to my Florida-born son why the Sox were playing at 11:00 in the morning, I told him it's a local holiday in the area and the Sox always play at that time while the Boston Marathon is winding up downtown.

The first thing he asked me was "do the kids have off from school?"

"Yup, it's a big day up there" I responded.

"You were lucky to grow up there" he replied.

And I realized how right he was.

Growing up in the area I know we looked forward to Patriot's Day as much as any other holiday, like Christmas, Thanksgiving or Memorial Day. We would either head to a spot on the Marathon trail and watch the runners pass by, head down to Kenmore to get caught up in the excitement of the race and the game, or head to the local "Qs" (quarries) to down a few kegs and do what rambunctious teens will do when given a Monday off towards the end of a long school year.

Now the only way I recognize the day is if I happen to get laid off around this time, which unfortunately just happened to me last week.

But I'm trying to look on the bright side. I've got the game on the baseball package, the race on Versus and a couple of keg (cans) close at hand.

If only I had taken my son out of school, he could see what it was like growing up in the Hub. Minus the lousy weather and crowds.

GO SOX.

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Stanks outslug Sox in sloppy game in the Bronx

New York 15, Sox 9
WP: Hawkins (1-0)
LP: Tavarez (0-1)
SV: Bruney (1)
HRs: BOS-None; NYY- Abreu (2), A-Rod (4)

This screenshot says all you need to know about the game

SUMMARY:
Another day, another interminable, near unwatchable Sox/Stanks slugfest, this one featuring 24 runs, 30 hits, 9 pitchers and 341 pitches, all contained in a tidy 4 hours and 8 minutes. The Stankees had 4 innings in which they scored at least 3 runs, or once more than they had done it all season prior to tonight.

Ug-ly.

Superstar: Georgie Posada 2-5, 2-2Bs, 2R, 3BI
He might be too sore to catch, but he can still hit, and he burned the Sox twice tonight. His first double in the 5th brought the Stanks back to within one run at 8-7, and his second double provided plenty of insurance, plating 2 in the 8th to push the NY lead from 11-9 to 13-9.

The Biggest Loser: take your pick-

• Clay Buchholz - gave up back-to-back homers in the 1st inning, and that wasn't the worst part of his night. By the time he was finished he had been charged with 8 hits and 7 earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, and miraculously he didn't take the loss


• Chien Ming Wang - fresh on the heels of his 2-hit gem last Friday, Wang was gonged to the tune of 8 runs and 9 hits in 4 innings, and he didn't take the loss


• Julian Tavarez - was handed a 2-run lead after the Sox rallied for 6 runs in the 5th, only to revert back to the Julie of old by allowing 4 runs and 3 hits in an inning and a third; he did take the loss


• Mike Timlin - made sure Boston could not stage another 9th inning comeback when he surrendered 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in the 8th. His ERA is now a Fisk-like 27.00.

The list could go on and on, but I guess I'll stop there.

RECAP:
How do you summarize a game like this? I mean without using 4,000 words and 3/4 of them being curses?

I actually missed the first 3 innings because I was at my son's Little League game, which his team won 12-6; by the time I got in the score was 4-3 Stanks, and little did I know the teams were just getting warmed up, or that my son's game would actually be the more entertaining, better played contest I would see this evening.

You've heard of that genre of movies called 'horror porn'? Well the Rivalry has turned into horsehide horror porn, full of disgusting, over-the-top images that make the viewer want to turn their head, only you can't because you are mesmerized by the sickening sights you are seeing in front of you.

Except these major league gross-outs are about 3 times longer than any of the installments of 'Saw' or 'Hostel'.

I can't find the right words to describe what happened, so I'll revert back to an old lazy blogger trick and let the numbers (and bullet points) do the talking:

• The teams combined for 30 hits (Bos-14, NY-16), and 10 players had at least 2 hits apiece


• 17 players scored at least one of the 24 runs with 7 scoring a pair of runs


• 14 batters drove in at least 1 run, and 7 knocked in at least 2 runs


• Boston trailed 3-1 after one inning, tied it at 3 in the 4th, surrendered 4 in the bottom of the 4th to fall behind 7-3, then exploded for 6 in the 5th to take a 9-7 lead


• Not to be outdone, New York countered that 6-spot with 4 of their own in the bottom of the 5th to take an 11-9 lead, then tacked on another 4-run inning to blow the doors off


• Out of the 30 hits, only 10 went for extra bases, and Boston scored all 9 runs without the benefit of a home run


• Jacoby Ellsbury (0-5) was the only starter on either side not to record a hit

It was one of those games that after its over, you can't really remember exactly what happened and when it happened. It comes back to you in bits and pieces, like a bloop single here and an RBI double there, a big hit by Jeter here and a monumental error by Julio Lugo there...

You know, just like the scenes in a horror porn flick. You can't remember exactly what point in the movie the guy got his larynx sliced open with a rusty butcher knife, but you recall it happening at some point in the picture.

Basically that's all I've got to say about this one. I've already snapped at the wife and berated the dog, so now I'm gonna go play a violent video game on the 360 and take some of my frustrations out on a horde of unrelenting alien attackers.

Maybe then I'll rent Turistas and try and forget about this game.

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Wang dominates Sox with 2-hit CG gem

New York 4, Sox 1
WP: Wang (3-0)
LP: Timlin (0-1)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Drew (3); NYY-Giambi (1)

SUMMARY:
The first installment of Sox/Stanks 08 brought one of the best pitched games the series has seen in years. Chien Ming Wang and Clay Buchholz battled through rain drops to a 1-1 draw for 6 innings before Boston went to the beleaguered bullpen and saw the game slip away as a rusty Mike Timlin allowed a go-ahead homer by Jason Giambi, while Wang shut down the Sox with a complete game 2-hitter.

Superstar: Wang 9IP, 2H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
One of the best pitching performances the series has ever seen and eerily reminiscent of the 1-hitter Mike Mussina pitched on a Sunday night in Fenway in September 2001. Only a homer that should have been caught and a 9th inning bunt single by Coco Crisp kept Wang from achieving Buchholz-like immortality.

The Biggest Loser: Tito Francona
No, I'm not awarding this honor to Timlin - it's not his fault he just came off the DL and was as rusty as an old nail. It's his manager's fault for sticking a guy who is basically still in spring training mode into a tied, pressure-packed rivalry game, no matter how experienced and ready he was.

And don't even get me started on him using Okajima for just 2 batters before turning to Javier Lopez and David Aardsma.

RECAP:
What a difference a day makes.

Less than 24 hours after one of the sloppiest, ugliest, poorly pitched games in recent memory ended at Fenway when the Sox clubbed the Tigers 12-6 in a 386 pitch, 4-hour marathon, we witnessed a pitcher's duel that was shaping up to be an all-time classic.

Until Tito substituted a tiring Clay Buchholz for a soon-to-be-retiring Mike Timlin to start the 7th inning, turning what looked like a possible extra inning affair into a one man highlight reel.

New York starter Chien Ming Wang won the battle of talented young hurlers tonight by outlasting his greener counterpart and by refusing to allow the Sox hitters an inch of wiggle room when it came to maximizing his pitches.

Wang needed just 93 pitches, 61 of them strikes, to spin his 9-inning masterpiece; by contrast Tim Wakefield threw 108 in his 5 innings of work yesterday, while Tiger starter Nate Robertson tossed 107 in 5 1/3 innings.

That's what I call using your pitches effectively.

For a while it looked like neither pitcher was going to allow a run in this one as both teams put zeroes on the board for the first four innings. In fact there were only 2 baserunners through four - a 1-out single by Hideki Matsui in the second, and when Dustin Pedroia reached on a error by Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the 4th, a play that could just as easily have been ruled a hit (ask Rem Dog.)

But in the 5th both teams broke the scoreless tie. Buchholz (6IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 3K) showed signs of wearing down when he gave up back-to-back walks to Matsui and Georgie Posada to start the inning, then after getting Giambi to strike out, he surrendered an RBI double to Fill-in-the Molina for the first run of the game.

Another walk to Jeter replacement Alberto Gonzalez loaded the bases, and if it weren't for a great defensive play by mayor Casey, who snared a hot liner by Melky Cabrera and then doubled off a clueless Gonzalez to end the inning, the damage could've been a lot worse.

As it turned out the missed opportunity hurt New York when in the bottom of the inning red hot JD Drew (1-3, 8-gm hit streak) blasted a 1-0 offering from Wang over the outstretched glove of right fielder Bobby Abreu and into the Boston bullpen to tie the game at one.

If only Abreu, who had just made two nice grabs on deep drives by Papi and Youk, could have jumped more than 2 inches off the ground, Wang might have been taking a no-hitter into the 9th a-la teammate Mussina in that memorable pre-9/11 game.

Buchholz escaped another jam the next inning when ARod (single) and Matsui (double) put runners on 2nd & 3rd with two outs, but he got Posada to ground out to end the threat, which would also mark the end of his night.

Then Timlin entered to start the 7th, and that would mark the end of the Sox chances to win this game. The veteran reliever, who has been out since late March with a lacerated ring finger, was making his first appearance of the season, and I even remarked to my son "he just came off the DL-this is going to end badly."

Sure enough after working the count to 3-2, Giambi blasted a pitch high and deep over the top of the wall in left center to break the tie, along with the spirits of the rain-drenched Faithful.

Because we knew the way Wang was pitching that if he didn't come out of the game, the Sox weren't going to score again.

He didn't, and they didn't.

A couple of days ago there was a running thread on the excellent baseball blog Bugs & Cranks about whether Wang is a true ace or just an above-average starter on a loaded offensive team.

I think he put an end to that debate tonight.

NOTES:
-Lowell disabled: Boston placed Mike Lowell on the 15 day DL today, and they hope he won't need longer than that to recover from his sprained thumb. Infielder and 2007 Sox minor league player of the year Jed Lowrie was called up to replace Lowell on the roster.

-Corey out of the house: to make room for Timlin on the roster, reliever Bryan Corey (14.54ERA) was released. First Kyle Snyder and now Corey; is this what you call addition by subtraction?

-Ay Papi: Ortiz (0-3) saw his early season slump get even even deeper as his latest 0-fer dropped his average to .077. He has three hits and three RBIs this season, and those game in two games, April 2nd @ Oakland and April 6th in Toronto.

RECORD: 5-6
AL EAST: 1.5 GB
STREAK: L-1
UP NEXT: Sat vs NY, 3:55 FOX Mussina vs. Beckett

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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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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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Is your team in trouble? need a late-season lift?...

...call the offices of Jacoby, Buchholz and Lester

to solve any of your team's needs.

Jacoby, Buchholz, and Lester. *Specializing in providing speedy resolutions to your offensive and defensive needs and reinvigorating aging pitching staffs for at least 30 days in September and hopefully way beyond.

All three are available at a moment's callup and a bus ride from Pawtucket, ready, willing and able to come to the defense of a backsliding ballclub in need of a little youthful injection.

Jacoby, Buchholz and Lester. Call now.
(*offer not valid unless employer is the Boston Red Sox baseball organization)

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Buchholz nets 1st ML win as Bosox hammer Lackey

Sox 8, Angels 4
WP: Buchholz (1-0)
LP: Lackey (15-7)
SV: Papelbon (29)
HRs: BOS-Ortiz (20), Pedroia (6)

SUMMARY
On a beautiful day at Fenway the Sox hitters helped rookie phenom Clay Buchholz earn his first major league victory, and the fact that they did so by battering Angels Cy Young candidate John Lackey just made the victory all the more sweeter.

#1 STUNNER Buchholz 6IP, 8H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 5K
He wasn't spectacular, he wasn't overpowering, but the 23-year-old veteran of 22 minor league games was good enough, flashed a nice repertoire of pitches, and defeated one of the top teams in baseball to earn a win in his major league debut.

Well done, kid.

PAN's FAUN Lackey 4IP, 11H, 7R, 6ER, 0BB, 3K
Good thing Scioscia held him out of the nightcap showdown with Beckett to unleash him on the kid. All the Angels ace did was allow the most hits and runs he has all season, including a Sox cycle in the first when 10 men came to the plate and six scored.

Well played, Scioscia.

RECAP
Was that sweet or what?

Not only did the Sox dismantle one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, but in the process they got emergency callup rookie Clay Buchholz milestone victory #1 in the process.

On an eventful day for the club both on & off the field the Boston batters picked the perfect time to bust of their "we can't get a big hit when we need it" funk when they plated six runs in the first frame off ML co-wins leader John Lackey.

Did I mention manager Mike Scioscia moved him from the nightcap to start this afternoon so he didn't have to "sit around all day"?

I can't get enough of that one.

Turns out it was a good thing Boston piled up all those runs early, cause those pesky Halos kept hanging around and scratching at the lead until next thing you know they had the tying run at the plate with two on and one out in the 8th inning, forcing tito to bring in Papelbon for a rare four-out save.

But let me back up and explain how we got to that point first.

Buchholz was obviously nervous at the outset, evidenced by the leadoff 4-pitch walk he issued to the AL's 4th leading hitter, Chone Figgins, to start the game.

Trouble struck one out later as Bad Vlad Guerrero lined a solid shot to right that J.D. Drew caught up to but dropped for a two-base error, and the Angels had runners at second & third before everyone had stumbled in from the Cask.

But Buchholz buckled down and minimized the damage by getting Garret Anderson to ground out to first, bringing Figgins home, and then striking out Gary Matthroids on a filthy slider to end the inning with LA leading 1-0.

That deficit would turn into a surplus in a hurry in the bottom of the inning, though.

Dustin Pedroia got the party started with a double down the right field line on Lackey's second pitch of the game. After getting Youk to strike out on a foul tip, Lackey had the heart of the order coming up with no relief in sight.

Up stepped David Otiz, who had hit just one homer in his last 13 games but has enjoyed success against Lackey (8-23, .348, 3 2B, HR, 7BI) in his career. After falling behind 0-2, Papi worked the count to 2-2, then unloaded on a Lackey fastball and deposited it over the right field wall for a well-timed 2-run homer, his first at Fenway since July 31st.

And the fun had just begun.

Three pitches later Manny dropped a flyball between Anderson and Matthroids on the warning track near the Wall for a single (?), and on the next pitch Drew atoned for his gaffe by lacing a three bagger into the left centerfield gap to give Boston a 3-1 lead and help remove some of the butterflies from Buchholz' gut.

The hit parade continued as Lowell (bloop 1B to center), Mirabelli (2B high off the Monster) and Alex Cora (2B to left) all notched RBI hits to run the score to 6-1, and the only negative of the whole scene was when 'Belli came up lame rounding third and had to be replaced by Jason Varitek.

Staked to a 5-run lead Buchholz could relax a bit more but he couldn't let up, especially since the Angels seemed to have runners on base in every inning as they attempted to cut into the lead.

Luckily he benefited from three double plays to help extricate him from potential disastrous situations.

The Sox missed out on a golden opportunity to add to the lead in the second when they loaded the bases with one out on a shift-shading single by Papi, a HBP by Manny (which barely nicked his shirt) and a single by Drew, but Lackey got Lowell to pop out and Coco to ground out to hold the margin to five runs.

They did tack on a run in the 4th thanks to more uncharacteristic miscues by the Angels. Youk led off with a single to center and after Lackey got Ortiz and Ramirez out, Drew (3-5, R, RBI) dropped a single into right for his third hit of the game.

For some reason Guerrero decided to try and nail Youk going to third; not only did the ball nearly smack Kevin in the goatee, it skipped into the stands for a two-base error, and suddenly the Sox lead was a hearty 7-1.

The Halos finally got to Buchholz for a pair of runs in the 5th when they put four consecutive singles together, but once again he sidestepped major damage when Matthroids lined a tracer to Youk who then stepped on first base for a lightning quick inning ending double play, and Boston's lead was 7-3 after five.

By the time Casey Kotchman doubled to lead off the 6th, the rookie was clearly at the end of the line, and when Jeff mathis got him home with a sac fly one out later and he retired Reggie Willits to end the inning, the day was done for the kid with the electric stuff.

After pitching a 1-2-3 seventh, suddenly struggling Hideki Okajima allowed a pair of base runners in the 8th and had to be relieved by Papelbon with two outs in the frame and the tying run at the plate.

Paps proceeded to get Sox killer Maicer Izturis to fly out harmlessly to Coco in center, and when Pedroia added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame on a homer over the Monster to push the lead to 8-4, it was all over but the save.

Papelbon struck out the first two batters in the 9th before allowing a double to old friend Orlando Cabrera, then got Guerrero to fly out to center to end the game, and the whole team feted the kid who came, saw, and conquered one of the most potent teams in baseball.

Too bad the same couldn't be said for potential spoiler John Lackey.

In hindsight maybe they should have saved him for the nightcap.

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Game Preview: Angeles @ Sox GM1

Lackey (15-6) vs. Buchholz (NR)
Fenway Park 105

I spent all my time last night (this morning) analyzing the first two games of this series only to later discover that the pitching matchups I crowed on & on about were not going to happen.

Turns out Mike Scioscia didn't want to throw Lackey opposite Beckett in the nightcap, supposedly because Lackey got to town yesterday and he didn't want him sitting around all day before pitching, but we all know the real reason he switched 'em up:

so he could have his ace go up against the new kid on the block, Sox rookie Clay Buchholz.

At first I was pissed when I learned of this development, but after a night's sleep I realized it was probably the smart thing for Scioscia to do.

Even if it was a chickenshit move.

But really what better time to put your ace on the hill than when a rookie is making his fist major league start for the other team?

I mean Buchholz is going to be nervous enough already, pitching for the best team in baseball in the middle of a pennant race at Fenway and facing the second best team in the majors, so why not add to his nausea by having one of the leading Cy Young candidates in the AL oppose him?

This way the Angels have a much better chance at a split, where before Earvin Santana most likely would have lost the opener and then you run the risk of your ace losing to our ace in the nightcap.

Smart move, Scioscia.

God I hate that guy.

Other news swirling around the park, via the Globe, include the impending trade/demotion of Whiffy Mo Painful, which must be decided before game time so they can activate Buchholz; the fact that Mirabelli, not Tek, will serve as the kid's catcher, saving Captain Clutch for the night game; and the impending return of Jacoby Speedy Ellsbury for Game 2, which also will prompt the return of Buchholz back to Pawtucket.

A busy day at Fenway to be sure, and hopefully one that will end with two wins for Boston, one from the kid with the Beckett-like potential and one by the real deal himself.

Combined with the addition by subtraction of Wily Mo and the return of the promising young Ellsbury and this could be a banner day in the 2007 season for the Bosox.

Either that or a total fucking disaster!

Go Sox!

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