Sox strike back as Coco, Lester spark win in Philly

Sox 3, Phillies 0
WP: Lester (6-3)
LP: Moyer (7-4)
SV: Papelbon (20)
HRs: BOS-Crisp (5)

SUMMARY:
Coco Crisp hit a two run homer off Jamie Moyer in the second inning, Jon Lester made it stand up with seven solid innings of shutout ball and Boston can win the series in the rubber game tomorrow afternoon.

#1 STUNNER: Lester 7IP, 6H, 0ER, 1BB, 5K, 99P
The kid out pitched the vet for his third straight win and the for the 9th time in 16 starts the lefty allowed 2 earned runs or less.

THE BIGGEST LOSER(s): Utley, Howard, Burrell 0-12, 8K
The Phillies' big three took a big dump tonight, none more so than Howard who followed up his two homer, one triple, four RBI game with an 0-4, 4-strikeout Golden Sombrero gag job.

Talk about all or nothing.

RECAP:
The Sox won behind Coco's two-run homer, Lester pitched seven strong innings and Boston can take the series tomorrow afternoon.

That's all I got because the Celtics just wrapped up World Championship #17, and I'm knee deep in Korbel and Heineken and basking in the first title for the Green Machine since my senior year in high school!

So I'm checking out for tonight and will report back in before the businessman's special tomorrow afternoon.

Good night and
CONGRATS CELTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RECORD: 45-29
AL EAST: Up 2 gms
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Wed @ PHI 1:05 Masterson vs. Kendrick

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Sox and Rays go MMA in an ugly, costly win for Boston

Sox 7, Rays 1
WP: Lester (4-3)
LP: Shields (4-4)
SV: None
HRs: BOS- Manny (13); TB-None

Umpire: "Batten down the hatches, this shit is going down NOW!"

SUMMARY:
A wild game at Fenway saw the Sox engage in fisticuffs with the Rays on the field and then between each other in the dugout as Boston completed the sweep but lost two center fielders.

Coco Crisp charged the mound after James Shields hit him with a pitch in the second inning, inciting a benches-clearing brawl, and later Manny Ramirez was seen slapping & shoving Kevin Youkilis in the Boston dugout. In between the brawling Jacoby Ellsbury left with a sprained wrist, but at least Jon Lester pitched well enough to get the win.

#1 STUNNER: Manny 2-3, BB, 1R, 5BI, HR
He did damage with his bat - belting a 3-run bomb over the Monster in the first inning and a 2-run single in the fourth - and with his hands when he bitch slapped Youk in the dugout at the end of the fourth inning. He also left with a potential knee injury in the seventh.

Busy night for ManRam.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Crisp 0-0, HBP, ejected
He started this whole mess when he package-punched Aki Iwamura last night because he was mad at Jason Bartlett, and then after James Shields appropriately plunked him on the leg, instead of taking his base he took it to the mound, touching off an ugly incident that could linger long into the summer.

RECAP:
Nothing like a little on-field battle royale and off-field infighting to divert attention from the Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals Game 1 taking place across town.

The Sox and Rays renewed long standing hostilities that trace back to Pedro Martinez plunking Gerald 'Ice' Williams in 2000, but to find the origins of this latest incident one only has to look back to last night's game.

When Coco Crisp clocked Akinori Iwamura in the johnson in retaliation for Jason Bartlett dropping a knee in front of the bag as Crisp attempted to slide into second base earlier in that game, everyone knew there would be ramifications in tonight's ballgame.

What we didn't know was how swiftly and severely those repercussions would play out, and the end result of all this misplaced hostility could end up costing Boston dearly in the near future, especially in light of the injury to Jacoby Ellsbury.

The game, which was moved up an hour to 6:05 to accommodate everyone who wanted to watch the Celts play in its first Finals game in 21 years, started out with a bang and just got louder from there when Rays starter James Shields plunked Dustin Pedroia with a pitch one out into the first inning.

JD Drew, who has been scorching the ball since Papi went down, then doubled to deep left center, and up stepped Ramirez, who has also been mashing the ball of late.

After taking ball one from Shields (1IP, 3H, 4ER, 2K, 1HR, 2HBP, 27P), Manny uncoiled his patented silky swing and drove the ball high and deep over the Monster and out of the park, and the Sox had a 3-0 lead before most of the late-arriving crowd had, well, arrived.

Shields went on to get out of the inning, but little did anyone know it would be the only inning he would complete on the night.

Lost in all the wackiness was the fact that Jon Lester (6.1P, 8H, 1ER, 0BB, 5K, 109P)pitched a solid game, the only run he allowed coming in the top of the second when Willy Aybar hit a double high off the Wall with two outs, and after running the count full Jonny Gomes singled him in to cut the lead to 3-1.

Little did we know it would be the last time Jonny would come to bat tonight, but definitely not the last swing he would take.

The real action started as soon as Coco came to bat to lead off the bottom of the second. After throwing him a ball, Shields nailed Crisp with a little message pitch on the thigh, a play Coco himself would have to brush off by admitting it was just "tic for tac."

Only Coco wouldn't take his punishment like a man and walk to first base, and after thinking about it for a second or two, he decided to charge the mound and attempt his best Kimbo Slice imitation.
But Shields was ready for him, and lucky for Coco he dodged the first punch thrown by the Rays starter or Crisp would have been in the BI emergency room having his face reconstructed right now.

The melee then turned into a full scale brawl, complete with sucker punches, cheap shots, rolling around and pig-piling by members of both clubs and coaching staffs, and when the dust settled Shields, Crisp, Gomes and Sox third base coach DeMarlo Hale were ejected, and the only reason there wasn't more is because it was too hard for the umps to get a clear picture of who was really beating on whom.

After the fracas and things settled down Boston scored another run when rookie Cris Carter, who came in for Crisp, came home on a sac fly by Pedroia, but by this point the score was almost irrelevant.

What wasn't irrelevant was what happened during and after the fourth inning.

First Ellsbury suffered a scary injury when he dove and caught a sinking liner off the bat of evan Longoria to lead off the inning, bending his wrist under his body as he hit the ground. The rookie had to leave the game and tests show it's probably just a sprain, but with Coco already gone that meant Boston had to go with an outfield of Carter, making his first major league start, Drew in center and Youk in left.

Ugh!

In the bottom of the frame Boston blew the game open when Carter recorded his first career hit, Lugo followed with a hit, and after JP Howell relieved Grant Balfour, Pedroia (0-2, 2R, BI, BB) walked to load the bases.

Drew (1-3, 1R, 1BI, 2BB) then drew a walk to force in Carter and when Manny dropped a single to left to score Lugo and Pedroia to make it 7-1 Boston, it was all over but the shouting.

Literally.

Following the inning Manny apparently had an altercation with Youk, first backhanding the bald first baseman/third baseman/outfielder and then shoving him against the dugout railing before teammates and coaches separated the two.

As Youk walked away to take his spot on the field he appeared to be clueless as to what set Ramirez off, but something tells me the hot-tempered Youk said something about Manny's lack of participation in the brawl, touching a normally untapped nerve in the eternally placid slugger.

To make a long story shorter (so much for that early start time) the rest of the game was pretty uneventful until Manny possibly injured his knee on a swing in the 7th inning; after drawing a walk he was pinch run for by Kevin Cash of all people, making Manny the third outfielder to be removed from the game due to injury and/or idiocy.

Mike Timlin and David Aardsma combined to keep the score the same despite allowing five baserunners in the last two innings, but the real story of the night wasn't the win, or the second Sox sweep of the Rays at Fenway, or the fact that Boston once again owns a 1 1/2 game cushion in the AL East.

No the talk of this game will be all about the brawls, both on the field and off, and something tells me the ripple effects are going to be felt for many weeks and months to come.

By the way, Celts won Game 1, 99-88.

RECORD: 38-25
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
STREAK: W3
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Fri vs. Seattle 705 Hernandez vs. Colon

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Sox Drawer: Coco's cock knock causing a stir

During last night's 5-1 Red Sox win over Tampa Bay Coco Crisp blasted Akinori Iwamura in the package in retaliation for a cheap play Jason Bartlett had pulled on the Sox ceterfielder a few innings earlier.

There is video of the incident on both Bugs & Cranks and Sox & Dawgs, the latter featuring Coco's comments after the game regarding the incident.

The background of the situation goes like this: in the sixth inning of the game, with Coco on first after an infield single, Crisp attempted to steal second base and was successful. But on the play Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett dropped his knee in front of the bag where Coco was sliding, a no no for infielders in the book of baseball etiquette because the runner could suffer serious damage to his hands.

Irked at the play Coco stored it away and reacted on his anger later.

Later came in the 8th inning when Crisp walked with one out and the Sox leading 5-1. Shortly after the base on balls Coco took off for second base, and although he was out by a mile, the intent was not to steal but exact revenge for the earlier play by Bartlett.

Thus when he slid into the base Crisp came up with his arm high and nailed Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura right in the groin, touching off a heated exchange between both teams and included Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, who came out to the mound to remove pitcher Jason Hammel after the play, and continued long after Crisp was in the dugout.

The play was eerily similar to the spring training incident the Rays had with the Stanks when Shelly Duncan package-jacked Iwamura on a slide into second after a Rays player had injured a Stankee catching prospect days earlier.

My feelings about this incident are mixed. Do I believe Coco had every reason to be mad at Bartlett for a play that was stupid but probably unintentionally malicious on his part? Absolutely. But should Crisp had retaliated against Iwamura in the 8th inning of a 5-1 game on a play that wasn't even an attempted break up of a DP, just a straight steal? Absolutely not.

My fellow commenters at B&C are lambasting me for not agreeing with the retaliation, saying that Crsip had to get back at someone so he just picked the nearest player, not unlike a pitcher hitting an opposing batter to get back for one of his own teammates getting hit by the opposing pitcher.

I say bullshit. Coco's problem was solely with Bartlett and he will have other chances to get back at the shortstop, whether it is tonight or one of the next 10 games the teams have against each other.

To cock knock Iwamura was petty and unnecessary and will most likely result in Coco getting drilled tonight and could touch off a season-long war between the top two teams in the East.

The bottom line is Bartlett was wrong for what he did and Coco was also wrong for how he reacted. Let's hope cooler heads prevail and this thing doesn't drag out and give the Rays any more fuel for an already contentious rivalry.

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Bye Bye Birds! Beckett & Coco help dispatch O's

Sox 3, Baltimore 2
WP: Beckett (18-6)
LP: Bradford (2-7)
SV: Papelbon (35)
HRs: BAL-Mora (14), Markakis (18)

SUMMARY
On the day the Pats began their march to another title, Josh Beckett and the Sox made sure no one forgets about the other potential championship club in town.

Beckett tossed seven solid innings and Boston got a pair of RBIs from Mike Lowell and a clutch hit from Coco Crisp along with another save from Paps to finish the season series off with Baltimore.

#1 STUNNER Beckett 7IP, 7H, 2ER, 0BB, 8K, 2HR
The All Star ace continued to do what he has done all season long--put the team on his back and pitch them to victory, although he needed a little help from his friends when two longballs jeopardized his 18th 'W'.

PAN's FAUN Chad Bradford 1.1IP, 2H, ER
The former Sox sidearmer got the job done when he induced Mike Lowell to ground into a double play to end the seventh, but then the journeyman allowed a leadoff single to start the 8th and then surrendered a single by Coco that scored the winning run.

RECAP
They didn't go down without a fight.

Then again overdone fowl never does.

The Sox finally dispensed with the blasted orange & brown birds from Baltimore this afternoon at Fenway South, err Camden, and even though the series record will stand at 12 games to six for the Boston, it sure seemed a lot closer than that.

To make sure I wasn't on crack (again) or something, I did some intense fact checking (aka the season summary panel on the ESPN box score of the game) and found that of the 18 contests only six were decided by three runs or more but the other 12 games came down to one, two or three run margins.

And what's even more amazing is that the two teams, sharing the same division but at opposite ends of the spectrum record-wise, played seven games that were decided by just one run.

Fitting that today's finale fell into that category (also ties in nicely with what I'm trying to do here).

For the third consecutive game the Sox jumped out to an early lead against the Baltimore starter, this time striking for a a pair of runs in the third off promising Oriole righty Jeremy Guthrie.

The inning began innocently enough when Guthrie (5IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K) retired Alex Cora and Jacoby Ellsbury on six pitches to open the frame. Then Dustin Pedroia (3-5, R) pushed a single into center, and Big Papi followed that with a double past the dreaded shift to set up men at second & third for team MVP Mike Lowell.

Instead of walking the league's 5th leading RBI guy with first base open and Manny Ramirez in Florida, Guthrie and manager Dave Trembley decided to pitch to the Sox third baseman.

Lowell drove the first pitch he saw from Guthrie into short left center, a hit that not only was just hard enough to get through the infield but just soft enough to allow the big fella to score all the way from second, but also forced center fielder Tike Redman to overthrow the cutoff man so Lowell could get into scoring position as well.

I'm beginning to believe he absolutely can do this shit when ever, where ever and however he wants.

Beckett did allow at least one baserunner in each of the first three innings, but he also struck out the side in the third, so even though Boston blew another scoring chance in the fourth by stranding Tek & Ellsbury on the bases, everyone assumed Becks would make the runs hold up until the Sox could tack on a few more and cruise to victory.

Well this being the blasted brown birds we should have realized things wouldn't be that easy.

Melvin Mora cut the lead in half when he launched a one-out solo shot off Josh in the fourth, and when Boston failed to produce a run despite getting the first two batters on base in the sixth off Guthrie, things started to tighten up a bit.

Nick Markakis took it to sphincter level tightness when he rocked a leadoff homer to deep left center to open the bottom of the sixth, and suddenly that "easy" victory and series win just got a lot more difficult to attain.

But the snakebit Orioles lost their second young hurler in a matter of weeks when Guthrie had to be removed due to a strained ribcage muscle, the same injury that ended the season of ace Eric Bedard, and we all know what happens when the Os dip into that pen.

Good things happen. For the other team.

Pedroia led off the seventh with a single off Jamie walker, then Trembley brought in Bradford to pitch to Lowell. The strategy worked when Lowell hit into an inning-killing double play on a 1-2 count, but the Sox would get the las laugh next inning.

But not before Beckett worked his way into and out of a major jam in the bottom of the seventh.

He started his trouble by plunking Baltimore catcher Ramon Hernandez to open the inning, a not-too subtle retaliatory strike for the Cabrera/Pedroia fiasco and Hernandez' subsequent diarrhea of the mouth during the ensuing fracas I'm sure. A sac bunt and groundout got his pinch runner, Brandon Fahey, over to third with two outs, and the game was on the line with Brian Roberts coming up.

The plucky Roberts had been a thorn in Boston's side all season, so most of the Nation had fingers crossed that Becks could retire the resilient second sacker one more time.

After staring at the first pitch for strike one Roberts took the next two pitches for balls and then proceeded to foul off six more pitches while the entire Nation was ready to turn the PIP off and watch the Pats unhindered.

And then Beckett threw one of his sick splitters in the dirt, inside and low, and Roberts hacked at it like an over matched Little Leaguer, and from there it was up to his offense to bail the pitcher out and earn him that league-leading victory.

That task got off to a good start when Drew singled off Bradford to start the eighth, stole second after Youk was robbed of a hit by Roberts and went to third on a fly out to center by Tek for out number two.

So Boston was in the same position Baltimore was in just an inning earlier--man on third, two outs, base hit could win the game.

Only difference was Coco came through.

The object of Cabrera's ire the other night gave Baltimore and its beleaguered fans another reason to piss and moan when he hit a Bradford pitch sharply into center to plate Drew with the go-ahead run, and with the Beckett win in the bag and Papelbon warming in the pen, it was all over but the Baltimore cryin'

Papelbon actually made things interesting when he allowed his first baserunner in his last 25 batters, a one-out single by Mora, but then things returned to normal as he whiffed both last night's hero Scott Moore and unheard off rookie Freddie Bynum to end the game, the season series, and probably officially ended the season for any remaining Orioles fans out there.

After all, the Ravens kick off their season tomorrow night.

And I know the fans in the Inner Harbor are definitely ready for some football.

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Back from the brink: Sox knock off Rays with 2-run 9th

Sox 2, Tampa Bay 1
WP: Gagne (3-0)
LP: Reyes (1-2)
HR: BOS-Lowell (16)

SUMMARY
The Sox took what looked like an embarrassing loss and turned it into a feel-good win when they scored two runs in the 9th off Rays closer Al Reyes to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.

#1 STUNNER Mike Lowell 1-4, R, BI, HR
Boston's most dependable hitter/RBI man unloaded on a Reyes 2-0 offering with one out in the 9th and launched it onto Lansdowne St., tying the game and giving the Sox the chance to pull out the win.

PAN's FAUN Reyes 2/3IP, 3H, 2ER, 1B, 2B, HR
I realize the guy hasn't had a save opportunity since the end of June, but not only did he allow the game-tying homer to Lowell, he then gave up a double to Tek and the game-winning single to Coco.

RECAP
So this what the season has come to, celebrating one-run walk off wins against the lowly Devil Rays?

Evidently, as the Faithful and millions of Sox fans Nationwide, myself and my 10-year-old son included, treated Coco's game-winning hit like they had just won Game 7 of the World Series.

But this is what we're reduced to when the once-hefty division lead has dissipated quicker than Star Jones' waistline.

For 8+ innings this game had the look of one of Boston's most bitter defeats of the season, and coming off that horrid road trip in which it lost two of the last three contests in Baltimore's final at bat, that's really saying something.

That's because young lefties Jon Lester and Scott Kazmir engaged in a classic pitchers duel, with both men pitching around their few mistakes, save for one Lester made in the fourth inning.

Lester (7IP, 2H, 1R, 1BB, 4K), who was making his first start at Fenway since returning from cancer last month, received the heartfelt ovation a man who has fought his way back to the big leagues back after being diagnosed with the Big C deserves, then went out and dominated the first three frames.

After allowing a leadoff walk to start the game, the 23-year-old set down the next nine men in a row, including four by strikeout, and seemed well on his way to recording his second victory in four starts since his return, IF his offense could give him any support.

Unfortunately the way Kaz was pitching, that task would prove near impossible.

Every Sox fan knows Kazmir loves to pitch against Boston, enjoying more success against them in his career than any other team, notching a 5-3 record with a 2.55 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 77.2 innings of work, including two 10K games last season.

Tonight he added to his mastery of the Bososx.

Kazmir (6IP, 4H, 3BB, 8K) pitched his way out of a first inning jam, striking out Lowell after allowing a one out double to Dustin Pedroia and walking Manny Ramirez with two down, and though he got a lot stingier from there, Boston, as usual, let a number of scoring opportunities get away.

In the second Youk worked a one out walk, but Kazmir struck out the side. In the third he issued a free pass to David Ortiz with two outs, and when Manny followed that gift with a single to center, it looked like Boston would have a nice scoring bid.

Which it would had, if not for another unwanted episode of Manny Being Manny.

The throw from the outfield came in to home plate to keep Papi at third, but inexplicably Ramirez tried to take an extra base and broke for second; he was out by as wide a margin as on his attempted steal of third base last night.

Riding the high of that mental miscue, Kazmir retired 9 of the next 11 batters, four by strikeout, and thanks to one mistake by Lester he enjoyed a slim 1-0 lead when he departed after six.

That one mistake was a pitch Lester hung to Carl Crawford to start the fourth, which C.C. ripped off the Wall for an easy double. After B.J. Upton singled him over to third, ex-Sox Carlos Pena belted a sac fly to deep center and the Rays had what turned out to be the only run of the game for a while.

Thankfully Rays manager clueless Joe Maddon, who babies his pitchers like he's running a Devil Rays day care, pulled Kazmir after the sixth and left the one run lead in the hands of his incompetent bullpen.

Who knows, maybe Maddon's angling to get canned?

Gary Glover, who was ineffective last night, came in and immediately walked Cap'n Tek to lead off the 8th, but he was bailed out when Coco Crisp 's sac bunt attempt got Tek nailed at second and then pinch hitter J.D. Drew grounded into a double play to squash the mini-threat.

Then when Tito went to his suddenly sputtering pen to begin the 8th, things nearly got out of hand in hurry.

Manny Delcarmen, who seems to have lost his mojo since his 3-run, 2HR meltdown at the Trop two weeks ago, came in and promptly allowed a leadoff single to Jonny Gomes, then walked Josh Wilson unintentionally, and following a sacrifice and a pop out, issued an intentional pass to Crawford to load the bases.

Out went Manny D. and in came Mike Timlin, and four pitches later the rubber-armed veteran got Upton to strike out to preserve the slim lead with two more chances left for Boston to overcome it.

Dan Wheeler's 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th would cut that number to one, but not before some (more) fireworks from Boston's newest bullpen addition, Eric Gagne, or as Dan from Bugs & Cranks dubbed him, Goatgne.

The much-maligned setup man was determined to put the memories of his first four appearances in a Boston uniform behind him, and I think every member of RSN would agree that the chubby Canadian did just that.

Gagne fanned Pena looking at a nasty curve, got Delmon Young swinging at a filthy fastball, then after allowing a double to Brendan Harris that nearly left the yard, struck out Gomes looking at a perfect slider at the knees for a heart-stopping, fist-pumping "welcome to the Red Sox" moment.

All that was left was a miraculous comeback to top the exciting night off, and for the first time since the Mother's Day Miracle, we were treated to just that.

Reyes, who hadn't had a save opportunity since June 24th, began the final frame by freezing Manny (1-3) on a gorgeous fastball at the knees, and at that point things were looking pretty grim.

But as I said to my son, Boston had two of its most clutch hitters coming up, and making me look like the baseball genius that I am, both the money men delivered.

Lowell watched as Reyes' first two pitches missed the mark, then crushed his next offering high into the Boston night and over the Green Monster for a stadium-shaking, game-tying, season-saving(?) home run, and before the din had even died down, Captain Tek laced a ground rule double into the right field corner and Coco stood at the dish with the game in his hands.

Battling through six pitches, Coco finally got the one he wanted and ripped a single to left, and despite the bad combination of a slow-footed catcher and the rocket arm of young Delmon Young, DeMarlo Hale sent Tek and thankfully Young's throw was off the mark, and the Sox swamped the field like it was 2004 all over again.

Who knows, if they can keep pulling off wins like this, maybe it will be.

NOTES:

-Comeback Kids they ain't: Boston is now just 2-41 this season when trailing after 8 innings

-Trade bait: Whiffy Mo Painful got a courtesy start in right tonight following word in the Globe that his trade to a National League team may be imminent

-Hit show: The Sox had seven hits, 2 by Pedroia, but were held to four hits through the fist 8 innings; the four Boston hurlers held the Rays batters to just 4 hits

-Heating up: Pedroia had his 8th multi-hit game in his last 12 contests, raising his average from .318 to .328

-Youkidding me?: Youkilis struck out three times for the first time this season

-Lineup shuffle: with Drew sitting out Youk took the 6th slot with Lowell moving up to the 5-hole

-Power outage: Lowell's dinger was the first homer by Boston in five games, dating back to Pedroia's 7th inning blast last Wednesday in Anaheim; it was also just the third baseman's 2nd homer of the second half, the other coming July 22nd vs. the White Sox

-Love fest: Lester received loud & lengthy ovations when he walked from the bullpen before the game, when he took the mound in the first, and when he exited the game after the seventh

-Fenway mausoleum: funny how Tropicana Field was filled with louder Sox fans than Fenway has been for most of this series; I guess that's what happens when you only score 5 runs against a piss-poor club

QUOTES:

"Walking in from the bullpen was pretty exciting. It will be nice just to not have to answer the 'first' questions anymore and just be treated like every other starter."--Lester on his return to Fenway

"He's going to help us. We need him to help us, and if we run away from him, that would be a big mistake."--Tito on Gagne. (Hey, Father Francona has been right about this before-remember the clamoring for Cora over Pedroia?)

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Road Warriors: Sox, Beckett remain hot away from Fenway

Sox 9, Seattle 2
WP: Beckett (14-5)
LP: Batista (11-8)
HRs:BOS-Manny (19)
RECORD: 68-43 AL EAST: Up 7

You moose-t be kidding me; the Sox nearly lost Coco Crisp to a freak fourwheel accident. Who's under that costume, Nicole Ritchie?

SUMMARY
Josh Beckett pitched 6 2/3 innings of 1-run ball and the Boston offense exploded for 6 runs in the last three innings to turn a close game into a blowout as Boston won a series in Seattle for the first time since 1999.

#1 STUNNER Josh Beckett 6.1IP, 8H, 1ER, 2BB, 9K
After a couple of tough losses in a row Josh Beckett righted the ship with a dominating performance in his first ever start at Safeco Field and joined C.C. Sabathia and John Lackey as the AL's only 14-game winners.

PAN's FAUN Ichiro 0-5, R
The league's leading hitter capped off a horrible series against the Sox with his second straight 0-5 showing. Suzuki was 1-14 in the three game series and ironically is now 1-14 lifetime vs. Beckett.

SUMMARY
So this is what it feels like to win a series in Seattle.

For the first time since the turn of the century the Sox left the land of laptops and lattes with a series victory under its belt, and it only took a near four-hour marathon and a close call with a moronic mascot to end an eight year drought here.

Other than that it was a piece of (coffee) cake.

On a picture-perfect day in the Pacific Northwest the Sox wasted no time in jumping on Seattle starter Miguel Batista, the Mariners winningest pitcher who was vying for a career-high 12th victory.

Coco Crisp, who would be in the middle of the action all day, including the moose incident, led off the game with a sharp double to center, then took third on a flyout by Youk and waited there while David Ortiz drew a walk.

With Manny up rookie Adam Jones, who manned center today while Ichiro rested at DH, didn't realize how deep he should have been playing the Sox slugger.

He soon learned when Ramirez (2-4, R, 2BI) smoked a 2-2 offering from Batista a long way towards straightaway center field, and Jones used all his ample speed to track the bomb down. But once he caught up to the drive it doinked off his glove for a miserable 2-base error, and Boston led 1-0 mere minutes into the game.

They would quickly extend the lead when Batista (6IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 5BB, 3K) intentionally walked J.D. Drew to load the bases, then unintentionally walked Jason Varitek to force in another run, and the Sox enjoyed an early 2-0 lead with just one hit.

Beckett would escape a jam in the bottom of the frame when he gave up a two-out single to Jose Guillen (3-4) and Ben Brousard reached when strike three got away from Varitek.

Three pitches later Beckett got Adrian Beltre to ground out, but it would be the first of many jams Becks would have to work his way out of in order to record the win.

Despite myriad baserunners for both teams the score remained 2-0 until the fifth inning. That's when Manny sent a deep drive to an area that even the fleet-footed Jones couldn't get to--the patio just beyond the left center field wall for his 19th longball and a 3-0 Boston bulge.

Following that frame there was more excitement on the field for Boston, but it didn't involve a homer or a great defensive play.

Between innings the Mariners mascot, brilliantly named Mariner Moose, was performing one of those inane ATV-fueled acts, riding around the field throwing t-shirts and delighting pre-pubescent kiddies all over the ballpark.

Only this time the act veered into an episode of Hot Pursuit as the moose nearly ran over Coco Crisp as he went to jog out to his position in the field.

Unharmed, Crisp (2-4, 2R, BI) laughed off the faux pas and mockingly threatened to throw his glove at the mascot, but I don't think Coco realized just how close he came to a lengthy DL stint courtesy of the moronic mascot.

Or as Remy so aptly put it, "imagine losing your center fielder to the Mariner moose?"

RSN shudders at the very thought.

With the near catastrophe averted the teams got back to baseball, and the Ms finally scratched a run off Beckett in the sixth on singles by Broussard, Ibanez and an RBI knock from backup catcher Jamie Burke, but Boston would get that run back and then some over the next three innings.

The Sox scored two in the 7th on a walk, a triple by J.D. Drew and an infield single by Lowell, then plated three more runs on a sac fly by Coco, an RBI double by Youk and a run scoring single by Ortiz in the 8th.

Dustin Pedroia added a pinch hit RBI double in the 9th to account for Boston's final run, and the game was so out of reach that the few fans who stuck around for the end of the game didn't even mind when Kyle Snyder gave up an RBI single to Jose Vidro with two outs in the 9th.

By then the Sox were already packing their bags for the flight to LA, anticipating the return of Curt Schilling tomorrow night and basking in the glow of the first series win in Seattle in the aughts.

Oh and thanking their lucky mocha lattes that their center fielder didn't get run over by a moose.

NOTES & QUOTES:

--Busy day: Not only did Coco nearly get run over, he was almost hit by a pitch from Batista in the 6th, made another CocoCatch to rob Vidro of a hit in the 7th, and slapped an Ichiro-esque double down the leftfield line in the second

--"I'm not an angry man. It was an accident. I mean, I'm not going to run over and clothesline the guy."--Coco

--Pick me: each team had a baserunner picked off the basepaths; Beckett nailed Ibanez leaning off second base in the 4th, and Julio Lugo got caught in between second & third in the 6th

--Eric Hinske will be gone from the club for three days to deal with the impending birth of his baby and the untimely death of his grandmother. The club has said that Pawtucket outfield prospect Brandon Moss will be called up and join the club in Anaheim

--Ichiro's 0-12 skid is one at bat away from a season high

--Boston racked up 13 hits and 8 walks; every starter except Tek had at least one hit

--pitching coach John Farrell laid into the mascot and Mariners officials after the moose incident, and although Tito was in the loo when it occurred, ESPN reports Seattle GM Bill Bavasi sent an apology to the Sox dugout immediately afterwards

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BoSox walk all over Chicago in second straight rout

Boston 11, Chicago 2
WP: Gabbard (4-0)
LP: Danks (6-7)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
For the second straight game the Boston batters tooled on the piss-poor Chicago pitching staff, blowing open a 4-1 game with a 7-run seventh inning that included three bases loaded walks.

Coco Crisp had his second big offensive game in a row and young Kason Gabbard won his fourth game with his second straight stellar outing. Ah, good times.

#1 STUNNER Coco 3-4, 1R, 5RBI
One day after his three-run triple broke open the ballgame Crisp provided not one, not two but three big run-producing hits today. The slim center fielder has now racked up 8 ribbies in his last two games and 16 in the month of July.

PAN's FAUN Wily Mo Pena 0-2, GIDP, E
Starting in place of Manny in left field (who was DHing in place of Papi) and dropped to 9th in the order, Pena's awful error led to Chicago's first run, then he grounded into a double play one pitch after Coco's single in the second. Ay.

RECAP
I think I'll have to miss games more often.

Although the wife & I didn't make it to the beach as planned due to those pesky Florida summer thunderstorms, we did go to the movies instead (saw "Knocked Up"-friggin hilarious) then went to dinner, so I didn't get to watch today's game until after we got home.

Ah, nothing like delayed gratification.

For the second straight game the Real Sox busted out the whooping stick on the ChiSox and slapped another double-digit scoring barrage on the beleaguered Chicago staff.

And the best funny thing about it is that despite scoring 11 runs, they didn't hit a home run and were without the services of slugging DH David Ortiz.

Big Papi injured his shoulder sliding into second base in last night's 10-3 pasting of the Pale Hose, necessitating an MRI on his damaged wing and at least a day or two out of the lineup, meaning Manny had to slide into his DH spot with Wily Mo Pena starting in left.

Although that configuration would quickly come back to bite Boston when Pena muffed a sinking flyball from Paul Konerko in the second inning that was ruled a two-base error, which was followed by a legitimate two-bagger by Josh Fields that plated the first run of the game, it turned out Pena's non-production at the plate and incompetence in the field would not hurt Boston today.

It turned out to be Boston doing all the hurting from the second inning on.

The Sox would grab the lead right back in the bottom of the frame when Chicago starter John Danks (6IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) handed out free passes to Youk & Mike Lowell and then a single by Jason Varitek to load the bases with one out.

In need of a big hit to keep the momentum of last night going and to prevent the team from falling into another "failed to deliver" funk, Coco Crisp, one of the club's hottest hitters, especially RBI-wise, delivered just that, lacing a Danks offering over the shortstop's head for a two run single that gave the Sox the lead and set the tone for the day.

This would not be a game of missed opportunities.

While the suddenly scintillating Kason Gabbard (7IP, 3H, 1R, 1BB, 1K) held the Chicago lineup in check using his assortment of speeds (slow & slower) to induce a slew of groundball outs, Boston batters set about getting the hard-working lefty a little bit more of a lead to work with.

The Sox would tack on two more runs in the sixth when J.D. Drew (1-3, 2R, 2BI, 2B, 2BB) followed singles by Pedroia and Youk with a line drive double to right that scored Manny, and after an intentional walk to Lowell and a fielder's choice by Tek, Coco lined a single to left that scored Drew but the inning ended when Lowell was called out at the plate.

Although for the second straight day replay showed Boston was robbed on a call when reverse angles showed Lowell's foot cross the plate before Toby hall put a phantom tag on his back.

Oh well. The best was still yet to come.

With Danks out of the game in the seventh and Ozzie Guillen forced to go to his anemic bullpen, Boston wasted no time in turning this somewhat close game into a blowout.

The inning started innocently enough when Big Hit Hinske, pinch-hitting for Wily Mo (thank you Tito), lined a single to right field off reliever Ehren Wasserman, who made his major league debut in last night's loss.

Wasserman appeared to escape any harm, though, when he struck out both Julio Lugo (1-5, 3K) and Dustin Pedroia (2-5), but little did we know the fireworks were just beginning.

Well, I guess you technically can't classify a shitload of bases on balls, a single and a triple as "fireworks", but you know what I mean.

After Hinske stole second while Lugo was whiffing (let's assume that was a busted hit & run), Guillen decided to have Wasserman walk Manny and pitch to Youk with two on and two out.

Talk about opening the floodgates.

Wasserman unintentionally walked Youk, then was replaced by--get this--Boone Logan (where the fuck are they getting these guys? isn't that a porn name? no wonder their bully sucks!), who proceeded to walk Drew on four pitches, scoring Hinske with the Sox fifth run of the day.

Wait, it gets better.

Ozzie pulled another name out of his hat and trotted Dewon Day out of the bunker to take one for the team, and Day honorably followed in his teammates footsteps by issuing free passes to both Lowell (0-2, 2R, BI, 3BB) and Cap'n Tek, the latter after an epic 12-pitch at bat, and just like that the score was 7-1 and the rout was on.

But wait, it gets even better.

Four pitches later Crisp ripped a single straight up the middle to score both Drew and Lowell, and when Ozzie left day in to face the tenth hitter of the inning, Hinske responded to that act of kindness with a ringing triple to deep right that plated Tek with Boston's 11th and final run, and suddenly a three game losing streak has turned into a two game winning streak in which Boston has scored 21 runs, rang up 21 hits and walked an amazing 12 times.

See what happens when I start missing games.

Good news, guys: the wife & I rescheduled our beach plans for tomorrow, so let the beatings continue!

NOTES

• Eagle eyes: of the nine walks issued today by Chicago pitchers, the passes were only distributed to five players--Manny & Tek (1 each), Youk & Drew (2 each) and Lowell (3 freebies)
• Coco's crispy: in addition to his hits, which gave him a modest five game hitting streak (7-20, .350), Coco also continued his Gold Glove campaign in center when he made yet another awesome basket catch of a Jose Uribe drive to end the second
• Lugo on top: for the first time in weeks the hot-hitting Julio Lugo was put back in the leadoff spot, and although he responded with a mediocre game, he extended his hitting streak to 11 games and is hitting a superb .465 (20-43) during that time
• Gabbard has now won three straight decisions since his debacle in Seattle, and this week alone he has won two games, allowing just six hits and one run in 16 innings with 2 walks and 9 Ks; can you say "hot commodity"?
• Joel Piniero got in his requisite one inning/one run allowed appearance when he pitched the ninth and gave up a run on a couple of hits, including a double. Old reliable, isn't he...
• Javier Lopez pitched around a couple of hits to toss a scoreless eighth

QUOTES

"Defensively, he's the best center fielder in baseball and offensively he makes things happen."--Pedroia on Coco

"He pitched better than Beckett"--Ozzie call 'em like he sees 'em Guillen on Gabbard

"When you don't get hits and the bullpen did what it did the last two nights, you're going to get what we did the last two nights. A loss."--Guillen

"Wily Mo will never win a Gold Glove"--FOX's Thom Brennaman after Pena's gaffe

RECORD: 58-39
AL EAST: Up 7.5 gms on NYY
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Sun vs. CHI 205

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