Sox blow two leads, lose sloppy game to Astros

Astros 11, Sox 10
WP: Brocail (3-3)
LP: Delcarmen (0-2)
SV: Valverde (20)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (12); HOU-Loretta (3), Lee (18), Wigginton (5)

SUMMARY:
On a night when Boston's offense returned in full force the pitching staff had trouble getting any Astros out as the Sox blew leads of 4-0 and 9-6 thanks to shitty performances from Jon Lester and Manny Delcarmen.

Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell both notched 4 base hits apiece and Boston rapped 6 extra base hits, but it wasn't enough to overcome Houston's 14-hit, 3-homer attack.

#1 STUNNER(s - in a game like this there's gotta be more than one):
-Pedroia 4-5, 2R, BI the Little Big Man is as hot as it gets, batting .492 (30-61) in his last 14 games
-Lowell 4-4, 2R, 3BI, 2 2B batting .542 (13-24) during 6 game hitting streak
-Carlos Lee 3-5, 2R, 3BI, HR a big game for a big man
-Lance Berkman 2-5, 3BI, 3K the Big Puma took home the Silver Sombrero but still managed to get the game winning hit
-Mark Loretta 1-4, R, 3BI, HR you just knew the ex-Sox second baseman would factor into beating his old mates in one of these games

THE BIGGEST LOSER(s): ditto
-Lester 5IP, 9H, 6ER, 0BB, 3K, HBP, 2HR not a good outing for the lefty
-Delcarmen 1IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR not a good outing for the righty
-Brandon Backe 5.1IP, 9H, 6ER, 3BB, 5K, 108P 'Stros starter didn't fare much better
-Geoff Geary 2/3IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 0K neither did the first Houston reliever
-Jason Varitek 0-4, 3K, PB the Captain had a rare bad game at and behind home plate tonight

RECAP:
In case you couldn't get the drift of this wild, woeful game from the descriptions above I'm gonna try and sum it up in 1000 words or less right here.

Or, how 'bout two words: that. sucked.

It's funny because this was one of those games that would have been freakin' awesome if the Sox won.

Instead it was uglier than that chick on the Planters Peanuts commercials, way uglier than Ugly Betty and even fuglier than Nick Nolte's mug shot.

Yeah, it was that bad.

Boston jumped on Houston starter Brandon Backe for a four spot in the third inning, scoring all four runs with two out on a two-run double by Manny Ramirez (1-4, 2R, 2BI), a double by Mike Lowell and an RBI single by Kevin Youkilis.

Unfortunately Sox starter Jon Lester decided to repay the favor and then some when he allowed Houston to score five runs in the bottom of the third after two were out in what seemed like a sick game of "can you top that?"

Before the night was over the sickness of the game would reach new lows as Boston regained the lead only to blow it again, and the outcome wound up being decided on a seemingly innocuous play that prematurely ended the sixth inning.

The bottom of the third began on a bad note when Lester hit his mound opponent Brandon Backe with a pitch to start the frame. Speedster Michael Bourne followed with his second bunt single of the game, but then Lester got a ground out and a strikeout and it looked like he would escape the inning unscathed.

No such luck.

Carlos "El Caballo" Lee ripped a 2-2 pitch from Lester into right field to plate both runners and cut the Sox lead in half, and then things really fell apart when Miguel Tejada lined a single off Lester's leg to prolong the inning, and the agony, even further.

After shaking off the effects of the drilling, old friend Mark Loretta laced the first pitch he saw from Lester deep over the wall in left for a monumental three run homer, and just like that the Sox four run lead had turned into a one run deficit.

I told you it was ugly.

But it gets even worse.

Lee added a run to the lead when he absolutely annihilated a Lester breaking ball for a mammoth solo shot with one out in the fifth, but Boston would strike back with a five run sixth that should have put the game away but ended up falling one run short.

The Sox tied the game when Julio Lugo led off with a walk, Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5, R, BI) tripled him home and after Geoff Geary relieved Backe Dustin Pedroia stroked his fourth hit of the game, a single to right center, to score Ellsy and knot the game at six.

The rally didn't end there though as J.D. Drew (1-3, BB, 2R) dropped a single into center, Manny walked to load the bases and Lowell crushed a sac fly to right to give Boston the lead back at 7-6.

For good measure Youk doubled to deep center (man this stadium can be cavernous in places) to score both Drew and Manny, but the 'Stros alertly cut off the throw to the plate and nailed Youk trying to take third on the play, and it would be that base running blunder that would come back to bite Boston later in the game.

Still you would think a 9-6 lead with four innings to go would be enough to earn the win. But not in this fucked up Arena ball-like contest.

David Aardsma relieved Lester to open the sixth and continued his recent impressive stretch when he set the side down in order including the last two by strikeout. But after the Sox failed to do anything off Tim Byrdak in the top of the seventh, Aardsma ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the inning when he walked Bourne and gave up a single to Hunter Pence to open the frame.

In came Craig Hansen, who promptly surrendered an RBI single to Lance Berkman, who had struck out three times up to that point, and one pitch later Varitek failed to catch an inside fastball from Hansen that went for a passed ball and allowed Pence to score and cut the lead to 9-8.

Gulp.

Hansen got out of the inning when he retired Lee, Tejada and Loretta after that, but another 1-2-3 inning put the Sox back on defense quicker than you can say "blown save."

As soon as Manny Delcarmen came in that's just what happened.

No sooner did the Houston announcers declare that Delcarmen had tossed 13 2/3 scoreless innings over his last 11 appearances, the longest such streak by a Sox reliever this season, did Manny D surrender a laser beam home run to Ty Wigginton of all people to "tie" the game at nine.

And that was the beginning of the end.

Darrin Erstad sliced a pinch hit single to center, Brad Ausmus sacrificed him over, and after Bourne struck out Hunter Pence walked to bring Berkman to the plate in a game-deciding situation.

Wouldn't you know the new NL RBI leader did just that.

The Big Puma pounced on a Delcarmen curve ball and slapped it down the left field line over Lowell's head to score both Erstad and Pence and this topsy turvy contest had come full circle again, with the Sox on the wrong end of an 11-9 score and wondering how it all went so wrong.

Well that's not true, lousy pitching is how, but I meant that in a rhetorical sense.

To make matters worse Lowell hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth off Houston closer Jose Valverde to cut the deficit to 11-10, and if Youk had just stayed at second on that play in the sixth, who knows if he might have come around to score and give the Sox that extra run they needed to possibly win this one tonight.

Once again Boston will try to take 2 of 3 from an inferior National League squad when Josh Beckett takes the mound tomorrow afternoon and tries to find the form that made him a Cy Young contender last year.

If he pitches like these guys did tonight he'll look more like Cy Sperling though.

RECORD: 50-33
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sun @ HOU 2:05 Beckett vs. Mohler

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Deja Youk: Homer wins it in extra innings after Paps blows save

Sox 5, Cards 3 (13)
WP: Lopez (2-0)
LP: Parisi (0-3)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Youk, 2 (13); STL:None

SUMMARY:
For the second weekend in a row Jonathan Papelbon blew a save with two outs in the 9th against a National League club, and for the second straight Sunday Kevin Youkilis bailed out his dance-impaired teammate with an extra inning homer. This one came with one on in the bottom of the 13th and helped Boston avoid the sweep and remain in first place.

#1 STUNNER: Youk 2-5, 2R, BB, 3BI, 2HR
His second multi-homer game of the season ended with the first walk-off shot of his career, and it's safe to say Paps owes him an expensive steak dinner for the latest save he provided for his closer.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Rick Ankiel 0-6, 2K
Not only did the ex-pitcher, ex-juicer have a lousy day at the plate, but in the 8th inning the Cards' centerfielder fell after over-running a ball hit by Coco Crisp that wound up as a leadoff triple and allowed the Sox to tie the game.

RECAP:
Wow. This game had more going on than a CGI-laden summer blockbuster.

It was a pitcher's duel as both starters, Joel Pineiro and Jon Lester, threw seven solid innings of two-run ball.

It was a pitcher's nightmare, evidenced by Paps' blown save and Mike Parisi's blown game. Also, Hideki Okajima allowed 5 base runners in 1 2/3 innings and Chris Perez walked three straight batters to force in the go-ahead run in the seventh.

It's was a hitter's heaven, with the two team's combining for 29 hits. Seven players had at least two hits, two guys racked up three knocks, Dustin Pedroia ripped four hits and Aaron Miles tallied five base hits on the day.

It was a hitter's hell, as Ankiel went 0-6, Troy Glaus 0-4, and Jason Varitek and red-hot J.D. Drew both suffered through 0-5 afternoons.

It had highs & lows, "ahhhhs" and groans, and a couple of plays that made you sit and scratch your head.

Did I mention it was delayed by rain for nearly an hour at the start and there were 13 pitchers used today?

Let's just hope there's not a sequel in the near future.

The craziest part about the game was that it started out as an ordinary pitcher's duel, with both St. Louis starter/ex-Sox hurler Pineiro (7IP, 7H, 2ER, 0BB, 1K, 1HR, 81P) and Sox lefty Lester escaping numerous jams early to keep the game scoreless for five innings.

With 29 combined hits and just 8 runs scored, you gotta figure there were a lot of men left on base, which there were, but there were also four double plays, a caught stealing and a runner gunned out at the plate that combined to keep the score down and the pitch count up (362 total) in this game.

In fact in the first four innings the teams hit into three double plays and two fielder's choices which killed a few potential rallies, but the Cards finally broke the seal when they scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth on back-to-back doubles and an RBI single by Ryan Ludwick (1-6, BI).

Lester (7IP, 9H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, 101P) worked his way out of that situation without any further damage, and Boston sliced the lead in half in the next inning when Youk hit a solo shot over the Monster with two outs in the seventh.

And this is when things started to get wild.

Boston finally got Pineiro, who was signed by the Sox prior to last season and was at one point going be the closer for the club, out of the game when Ankiel misplayed Coco's routine flyball into a leadoff triple to start the eighth.

On came reliever Chris Perez, and soon the St. Louis lead would disappear in a sea of bad pitches.

Julio Lugo worked the count to 3-1 before driving a ball to right to score Coco easily, and thanks to Ankiel's blunder the game was tied at two.

After getting Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out for the second out of the inning, Perez allowed a single to Pedroia (4-5, 2 2Bs, R), and after the Little Big Man stole second, the St. Louis righty walked Drew, Manny and Mike Lowell to force in Pedroia with the go ahead run, 3-2.

Perez did strike out Youk with the bases loaded to end the inning, but needing just three outs and with Paps on the mound it appeared as if the game was over.

Ah, not so fast Faithful.

Last Saturday Papelbon entered the game in Cincinnati with Boston leading the Reds 4-3 when Edwin Encarnacion took the closer deep with two outs and two strikes to send the game into extra innings, where Youk and Coco hit back-to-back jacks in the 10th to win the gaame.

Couldn't happen twice in the span of 8 days, right?

Well, it didn't happen exactly like that, but when Papelbon walked Chris Duncan with two outs it did bring up similar feelings of "not again". After all, it was just paps' fifth bases on balls he had issued this season.

Sure enough pinch hitter Adam Kennedy (3-3, BI) drilled a fat fastball into deep center, and this time it was Coco's turn to misplay the ball as he got a bad jump on it, came in first then went back as the ball helplessly bounced off the base of the wall and Duncan came around to score the tying run.

And the park was shrouded in silence.

Paps (1IP, 1H, 1ER, 1BB, 2K, 19P) bounced back to get Skip Schumaker to ground out to end the inning, but the damaage was done and it was time for the emotional closer to take out his frustrations on his mitt in the dugout.

After the Sox went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, the next three innings went simialr to the first three - plenty of baserunners, but nobody scoring.

Hideki Okajima took over for Paps in the top of the 10th, and Oki did his best Timlin impersonation when he gave up a single and a walk sandwiched around an out before retiting the last two batters to escape the jam.

Boston, meanwhile, got a leadoff double from Ellsbury in the bottom of the 10th, got him to third on a sac bunt by Pedroia, but left him stranded when Drew struck out and pinch hitter Sean Casey flew out.

Oki (1.2IP, 4H, BB, K, 28P) was no better in the 11th as he allowed singles to Yadier Molina, Kennedy and Aaron Miles (5-6) before Craig Hansen came in and struck out Ludwick to squelch the rally.

The frustrations continued in the bottom of the inning when Lowell (3-5, R, BI, BB) led off with a two bagger and Youk and Coco walked, but Jason Isringhausen struck out Alex Cora and ellsy to squelch that threat.

Is this thing ever gonna fucking end?!

Hansen tossed a 1-2-3 12th before Boston got yet another leadoff double in the bottom of the inning, but Pedroia was nailed at third on a bouncer back to the mound and then casey hit into a double play to sq....ah screw it.

The game finally wrapped up in spectacular fashion in the 13th inning, which was an unlucky frame for St. Louis but proved to be very lucky for Boston.

After Javier Lopez releived Hansen with one out to face Duncan the slumping Cards' first baseman drove a double into deep center, and one pitch later Kennedy lined a single to right that looked like it would plate the go-ahead run.

But as Drew ran in and scooped up the ball, Duncan barrelled around third, and instead of trying to slide under Tek's tag Duncan tried to plow him over. Bad move.

Tek hung on to the ball and applied the tag and a disgruntled Duncan was out at the plate, and two pitches later Schumaker flied out to set up Youk's heroics.

Lowell led off the frame with a single to left and five pitches later Youk unloaded on a Mike Parisi fastball and drilled it over the Monster for a long-awaited walk-off homer, and finally this 5 1/2+ hour (with delay) marathon was over.

So the Sox avoided what would have been the first Fenway sweep since 2006 and enlatged its lead in the east with the Rays loss to the Astros.

Next up is a series with the slumping Diamondbacks, and its safe to say the Sox could use a herculean effort from Josh Beckett so the rest of the staff can get some rest after this wild and wooly affair.

RECORD: 47-31
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Mon vs. ARI 705 Haren vs. Beckett

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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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Boston's longball barrage buries B-more

Sox 9, Orioles 2
WP: Lester (5-3)
LP: Guthrie (3-7)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Lowell (10), Drew (10), Youk (10); BAL-None

*Note: sorry I was late posting this but after I started it I watched the Celtics game, and after witnessing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the NBA playoffs I was in no condition to blog about baseball! GO CELTS!

SUMMARY:
A trio of 10th home runs sent the Orioles out of Beantown on a sour note as Boston used a pair of two-run shots, from Youk and J.D. Drew, a grand slam by Mike Lowell and a solid start by Jon Lester to defeat the O's and take 2 of 3 in the series.

#1 STUNNER: Drew 2-4, 2R, 2BI, BB, 2B, HR
The torrid streak continues as Drew reached base three more times and smacked another two extra base hits, including his 6th homer in his last 11 games. He is now batting .500 in June (18-36) and is creeping up on Milton Bradley for the league lead in on base percentage.

This is the J.D. Drew the Sox expected to see when they laid out $70 mil for him a year and a half ago.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Dennis Sarfate 1IP, 1H, 2ER, 1BB, 1K, 1HR
Starter Jeremy Guthrie didn't pitch well, but he left with a deficit of just 5-1. Chad Bradford chipped in with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief, but then Sarfate let the game get away when he surrendered Youk's two-run homer in the seventh.

RECAP:
Whadda ya know, the game started at six and was over by nine!

Plus the Sox won and there were no fisticuffs or blown saves.

Now that's what I call a sweet win.

Boston dispatched the pesky Birds with a decisive seven-run victory that gave the Sox five wins in their last seven games against Baltimore, a team they (thankfully) won't see again until after the All Star break.

Like the game yesterday the Sox jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but this time instead of the Boston bullpen suddenly letting Baltimore creep back in the game the Boston batters kept adding to the lead to make sure there would be no Bird comeback or blown save tonight.

The Sox got on the board in the second inning against O's starter Jeremy Guthrie (4.2IP, 7H, 5ER, 5BB, K, HR, 107P) when Youk singled sharply to center with one out, moved to second on a groundout by Coco Crisp and came around to score on a single underneath the glove of first baseman Oscar Salazar for a 1-0 Sox lead.

The funny thing about that play is that normally Kevin Millar would have been over there and might have made the play, but he had to come out of the game after fouling a ball off his knee in the top of the second.

Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you, Kevin.

The game stayed at 1-0 for a few innings as Guthrie continued to struggle, but caught a few breaks like when Youk got tagged out at home in the fourth and Kevin Cash, playing in place of Tek who has strep throat, couldn't capitalize with two men in scoring position

Jon Lester, meanwhile, was mowing through the Baltimore lineup, showing no ill effects of having his start pushed back a day due to his Raysbrawl suspension.

Lester (7IP, 7H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, 101P) retired 13 of the first 17 Baltimore batters
before running into his only trouble of the night in the sixth inning. But by then the Sox lead had grown to 5-0, and it was another case of deja vu that brought them to that point.

Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5, R) started the fifth inning off with a single to right, then one out later moved to third base on a double to the base of the Wall by white-hot J.D. Drew. And then O's manager Dave Trembley did something that he can't really be blamed for, but it came back to bite him in the nads anyway:

he intentionally walked Manny Ramirez to get to Mike Lowell.

Granted most managers would make the same decision in his situation, what with Manny being a member of the 500 homer club and one of the most feared right handed hitters of all time, but sometimes playing the percentages doesn't always work out.

Just ask Jimmy Gobble.

On My 22nd at Fenway the Royals reliever was also instructed to walk Manny to load the bases and pitch to Lowell, and Lowell responded by taking him over the Monster for what wound up being the game-winning grand slam in an 11-8 Boston win.

Fast forward to tonight and it was deja vu all over again as Lowell (1-4, R, 4BI) took an 0-1 offering from Guthrie and golfed it over the Monster for a back-breaking granny, and from there it was all over but the piling on.

As I said Lester did hit a rough patch when he surrendered three doubles in the sixth inning to cut the Sox lead to 5-2, but when Audrey Huff (2-4, BI) inexplicably failed to score from second on a two-out single by Ramon Hernandez that would have sliced the Boston lead to two runs, the game was all but over.

The Sox put this one away against a pair of Baltimore relievers when Youk (2-2, 2R, 2BI, 2BB) drove the first pitch he saw from Dennis Sarfate over the wall for a two run homer after Manny had walked again, and in the 8th Drew added to his incredible June numbers and put a cap on this game and series when he blasted a two-run shot off Jamie Walker for the final margin of 9-2.

So a lot of things went right for Boston and the Nation tonight. Drew continued to make people forget Papi has been out of the lineup. Youk showed signs of coming out of his month-long slump. Boston blasted three homers for the first time in a couple of weeks. Jon Lester looked great after an unexpected extra day of rest.

And the game ended in less than three hours, allowing all of us to catch a miraculous Celtics comeback to take a 3-1 Finals lead over the hated Fakers.

A good night at the old ballyard indeed.

NOTES:
-Going Streakin': Manny had his 15 game hitting streak stopped with his pair of walks, while Drew extended his to 11 games; he has now hit safely in every game since Ortiz went on the DL

-Lugo-no: the Sox shortstop committed his league-leading 13th error on a routine grounder in the 8th inning. Is he a remake of Rentanerror or what?


RECORD: 42-27
AL EAST: Up 2.5 gms
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Fri @ CIN 7:10 Masterson vs. Harang

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Game Preview: Orioles @ Sox GM3

Guthrie (3-6, 3.40) vs. Lester (4-3, 3.50)
Game 3 of 3 6:05PM @ Fenway

The Sox will bid adieu to the Birds for a month after this evening's game at Fenway, and the way these last few games have gone it's not a moment too soon.

After trouncing the O's in the first three games of a four-gamer at Camden two weeks ago Boston lost the next two meetings before eeking out a win last night in a game that was a lot closer than it should have been.

The problem with these pesky avians is that a bunch of their hitters have been thriving on Red Sox pitching this season, as Hideki Okijim'a struggles have proven.

Here are some of the numbers for Baltimore batters vs. Boston pitchers this season:

-Luke Scott .462 (12-26), 2 2Bs, 3HRs, 7R, 6BI the 3rd year player acquired from Houston in the Miguel Tejada deal has been the ringleader of the Baltimore Birds of Boston Destruction as he has simply torched Boston pitching all season long; almost a 1/3rd of his 10 homers have come against the Sox

-Audrey Huff .424 (14-33) 3 2Bs, HR, 6R, 4BI the former DRay has had a lot of experience hitting Boston pitching, but never has the surly DH capped them at a .400 clip. His 2-run single off Oki the other night was the back breaker in the come-from-behind win

-Nick Markakis .364 (12-33), 5 2Bs no surprise here as the solid right fielder has hit Boston at a .300 clip for his young career, and though he doesn't have the power numbers against them he still manages to get on base vs. Boston. A lot.

-Adam Jones .303, 3 2Bs, 5BI although he's only hitting .252 overall the second-year center fielder has been having a field day against Boston; his 3-run double off (who else?) Oki won a game for the O's back in late May

This list of Boston bashers doesn't even include Kevin Millar, who's only batting .200 vs. his old mates but has 6 runs batted in and 5 runs scored against them, or Jay Payton, another ex-Sox who's hitting .294 and has driven in 8 runs in only 17 at bats against his old team this season.

Talk about the Boston stranglers.

The task of stopping these maniacs will fall on the shoulders of Jon Lester. Fresh off serving his (unwarranted) five game suspension for his role in the Raysbrawl, whatever his role may have been, Lester should be rested and ready to put brushbacks and beanballs behind him and concentrate on winning games again.

Since tossing his no hitter on May 19th Lester has one win, one loss and one ND on his record and though he hasn't pitched poorly he hasn't been close to unhittable, allowing 22 hits and 7 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings of work.

His mound opponent will be the unlucky righty Jeremy Guthrie. Despite being 10th in the league in ERA Guthrie has often fallen victim to a pitcher's worst nightmare - poor run support.

In half of Guthrie's 14 starts the O's hitters have scored three runs or less including his recent three-game losing streak in which they scored 0, 1 and 2 runs for him.

Since that streak he is 1-0 with one ND, which came in Baltimore's 6-3 win over Boston when Jones hit his game winning double off Oki. For the season Guthrie is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA against the Sox, striking out a dozen batters while walking only two in 12 1/3 innings.

As long as J.D. Drew, who has a 10 game hitting streak in which he's batting .500 (16-32) with 5 homers and 13 RBI, and Manny Ramirez, who owns a 15-game streak and has homered in 4 of his last 5 games against Baltimore, keep bashing like they have been the Sox should be alright in this one.

But it's up to Lester to calm the Baltimore bats and help the Sox win the series before they head out on a six game interleague road trip beginning in Cincy tomorrow.

Not an easy task they way these guys have been hitting Boston pitching, especially with the game set to start at six o'clock again.

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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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500th clubbed: Manny's milestone powers Sox to win

Sox 6, Orioles 3
WP: Aardsma (2-1)
LP: Cormier (0-2)
SV: Papelbon (16)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (4), Ortiz (13), Ramirez (10); BAL-Roberts (4)

Bye bye baseball, hello Hall of Fame

SUMMARY:
Manny Ramirez became the 24th member of the 500 home run club when he belted an opposite field blast in the seventh inning off Chad Bradford, and Boston used a trio of homers to defeat the error prone Orioles for the second night in a row.

SUPERSTAR: Ramirez 1-5, R, RBI, HR
He only got one hit, but that one hit ensured his ticket to Cooperstown. So it was a pretty big one.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Bradford 1/3IP, 1H, 1R, 1HR
The sidearmer was brought in for one reason - to get Manny out. Instead Manny put it out, and in the process put Bradford's name in the record book, forever to be known as "the man who surrendered Manny Ramirez' 500th home run."

RECAP:
One day after celebrating his 36th birthday Manny Ramirez got the present he'd been waiting all year for - a free trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

When Ramirez carved his 500th career home run to right field in the seventh inning of tonight's win over Baltimore, he capped a season long vigil that began with a bang but had been reduced to a nerve-racking whisper. He began the year with six homers in his first 17 games, but then he went more than 10 games without a homer twice before hitting two in the past four games to finally reach the magic mark.

"I'm just happy everything's done for now," Ramirez said. "I can go be myself and have fun."

Like he ever had a problem doing that, 500 lb monkey hanging off his dreads or no.

The homer was the icing on the cake of what has been an enjoyable couple of days in the Inner Harbor for the Bosox.

After snapping a 1-5 skid with a hard fought and satisfying 13-inning win early Saturday morning that featured key contributions from nearly every member of the bullpen, tonight they fought back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before pulling away late, thanks to Manny's milestone and some sloppy play by the bumbling Birds.

Wonder what Sunday has in store?

The night started off on a bad note when Jon Lester (5IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K, HR, 103P) allowed a pair of runs in the second inning on a walk, a passed ball and a pair of RBI singles by Jay Payton and Adam Jones, but Boston got those two runs right back when Pedroia and Papi hit back-to-back jacks off O's starter Garrett Olson (5IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K, 2HR, 89P) in the top of the third.

It was the fourth time this year Boston has hit back to back home runs, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

Unfortunately Lester gave the lead right back when Baltimore's version of Pedroia, Brian Roberts, hit his fourth homer of the season into the left field bleachers to give the Birds a 3-2 lead.

But once again Boston came right back, this time off reliever Lance 'don't call me Rheal' Cormier. Cormier retired Manny on two pitches but then hit Mike Lowell two pitches later, balked him to second two pitches after that, and after allowing an infield single to Kevin Youkilis, gave up the game-tying hit when Cap'n Tek (3-4, RBI) slammed a single to left.

With the game all square again it was time for the historic heroics.

David Aardsma, one of the few pen men who didn't contribute to last night's victory, relieved Lester and threw a 1-2-3 sixth and then Jacoby Ellsbury, who stole three bases for the second consecutive game (!), led off the seventh with a blistering triple to deep right center, and it was just a matter of time before the Sox brought him home.

Sure enough one out later Ortiz (1-3, R, 2BI) greeted reliever Jamie Walker with a towering sac fly to left that scored Ellsbury with ease, and then O's manager Dave Trembley made his second mistake of the inning when he brought in Chad Bradford to face Ramirez.

The sidewinding vet had spent 2005 with the Sox, so you know he knew all about Manny's tendencies. Like how he loves to swing at the first pitch if he thinks he knows what's coming.

He did, and he pounced on the pitch and drove it deep into the right field seats for the history-making blast, and with arms raised and in full pose mode Manny became a member of a special if not exactly rare group of sluggers who have reached the once exclusive 500 homer club.

The Sox tacked on another run in the 8th when Youk got hit by a pitch, moved to third on a single by tek and scored on a double play grounder by Coco Crsip, and after Okajima tossed a scoreless frame in the bottom of the 8th, Papelbon caused a few nervous moments when he allowed a hit an a walk in the 9th before a base running blunder by the Birds led to a game-ending double play and another road win.

But the fact that Boston won back to back road games for the first time since May 5th & 6th at Detroit, or that they stole 9 bases in two games, or that Baltimore made 6 errors in the two losses and generally played like a Little League team both nights, none of those things mattered.

This night belonged to Manny.

You can call him maddening and you can call him mercurial, you can call him child-like and you can call him Manny being Manny.

But one thing you have to call him is one of the most impressive and feared hitters of all time, and five years after he hangs up his 'do rag for good you'll be able to call him a Hall Of Famer.

Congrats Manny, and happy belated birthday.

RECORD: 34-24
AL EAST: 1GB
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Sun @ BAL 1:35 Colon vs. Burres

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A's broom Boston out of Oakland

Oakland 6, Sox 3
WP: Blanton (3-6)
LP: Lester (3-3)
SV: Street (11)
HRs: BOS-Ortiz (11); OAK-Cust (8)

Watching Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, was infinitely more enjoyable than witnessing the Sox get swept by the A's

RECAP:
Gotta confession to make here - I didn't catch a minute of this game.

Instead the fam and I went to see Iron Man at the multiplex before it gets booted out in favor of the myriad other summer blockbusters.

And after seeing the end result of both the film and the game, I'm sure as hell glad we did.

I DVRd the game and planned on watching it when we got back, but after seeing the final score (damn ESPN crawl) I decided against it. Why ruin a perfectly good holiday weekend?

From what I did see on the highlights and recaps Jon Lester of course did not come close to matching his masterful performance from last Monday, surrendering a base hit to the first batter he faced en route to a decent (5IP, 7H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 3K) but not quality start, and the Boston offense was once again held in check, this time by mediocre Joe Blanton.

The good things to come from the contest, which was Boston's 7th straight road defeat, were David Ortiz' 11th homer of the season in the first inning and Manny Ramirez' first 3-hit game in three weeks. Ramirez, who improved to 13-21 off Blanton lifetime, also drove in a pair of runs, matching his total from the last 10 games combined.

The bad, aside from Lester's letdown, include Boston batters striking out 10 times, 3 by Jason Varitek and 2 each by Lowell, Youk and JD Drew, and Craig Hansen (1.2IP, 2H, 1ER, 1K) getting shelled again, raising his ERA to a Gagne-esque 7.20.

All in all it was a wasted trip to the Bay area, and the trio of losses combined with Tampa Bay's three game winning streak propelled the rays back into first place as the Sox head to Seattle to take on the sliding Mariners.

And if things start going poorly in that series I might have to go check out Indiana Jones.

RECORD: 31-22
AL EAST: 1/2 GB
STREAK: L3
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Mon @ SEA 10:10 Colon vs. Hernandez

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Game Preview: Sox @ Oakland GM3

Lester (3-2, 3.41) vs. Blanton (2-6, 3.87)
Game 3 of 3 @ 4:05, Oakland Coliseum

On the heels of the announcement that Sox starter and cancer survivor Jon Lester's father has also been diagnosed with cancer, six days after Lester pitched a no hitter at Fenway and one day after A's hurler Justin Duchscherer nearly duplicated the feat to send Boston to its second straight loss, Lester will take the mound today in Oakland.

Good thing for the quiet lefty there won't be much hubbub or pressure surrounding this start.

But if the Sox are to get back on the winning track it will be up to the unassuming young hurler-turned-role model to get the team back to its winning ways.

Since the Sox have taken their recent seven game home winning streak on the road they have lost two straight in the city by the Bay, and neither game has been close, or pretty.

Friday night Boston got crushed ,8-3, in a game that wasn't even that close, and last night the inexperienced starter Duchscherer held the Sox hitless for 6 1/3 innings before settling on a one-hit shutout.

Today the attention will turn back to Lester, whether he likes it or not, as not only will he have to deal with ending a losing skid, but the pressure of trying to follow up his magical performance of last Monday night.

Not that we're asking him to duplicate the feat, which has only been accomplished once in MLB history by Johnny Van Der Meer in 1938, but the Nation will settle for a solid start and hope that the suddenly anemic offense can get back to mashing the ball like it did all during the homestand.

During that seven game stand Boston averaged 7 runs per game, scoring less than three runs only once in a 2-1 win against the Royals. In two games in Oaktown Boston has managed just three runs total, dropping the teams road mark to an underwhelming 10-16 comapred to its steallar 21-5 record at home.

Manny Ramirez, who has been slumping majorly, will return to the lineup today after sitting out yesterday's game, and hopefully the combination of the regular lineup and the presence of Lester on the mound will lead to an inspired win.

Ramirez, who is in the midst of a 3-26 skid that has dropped his average to .280, should benefit from facing Oakland starter Joe Blanton, off whom he is hitting a robust .556 (10-18) in his career, although he has not homered off the stocky right hander.

Manny is still trying to reach the 500 homer mark and has been stuck on 498 for weeks now. Maybe facing a guy who he has success off of but no homers will change his fortunes.

Blanton has been the victim of poor run support this season as Oakland has scored an average of just over 3 runs per game in his starts, including a 2-1 loss to Boston in the second game of the season in Tokyo.

So we'll see what transpires in the series finale in Oakland today.

Chances are there won't be another no no or near no no on the horizon, though.

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Sox Drawer: Lester's dad diagnosed with cancer, too

Realizing that manager Terry Francona knew of Lester's father's illness at the time made this embrace all the more poignant

On the day Jon Lester takes the mound for the first time since his historic no hitter last week at Fenway, word has come down that his dad, John, has been diagnosed with the deadly illness as well.

Talk about an unwanted father-son connection.

Lester revealed yesterday that his father discovered he also had lymphoma about a month ago but the pitcher, who just tossed a no hitter last week, decided to keep the personal matter under wraps, telling only Boston manager Terry Francona, whom he considers a second father figure.

This helps explain the emotional embrace the pair enjoyed following Lester's gem last Monday against Kansas City at Fenway Park.

Lester says his father has already begun chemo treatments, but that the cancer is a slow growing and will not result in death.

The Lester family is from nearby Puyallup, Washington, so with the Sox playing in Oakland today and then Seattle beginning tomorrow the elder Lester will be able to watch his son pitch today and then be present at the games against the Mariners.

John Lester wanted his son to reveal that he had the illness so he didn't have to carry the burden of hiding such an emotional burden from his teammates and fans, and also to prove that if his son could overcome such a potentially life-threatening disease and handle the aftermath with dignity and determination then he could as well.

I think it's safe to say that everyone in the Nation, and baseball fans in general, will be rooting for the man who is responsible for producing such an inspirational son will be able to recover from this traumatic experience and become as much of a role model for cancer survivors as his namesake has.

Good luck, John, and get well soon.

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How sweep it is! Sox broom Rays out of town

Sox 7, Tampa Bay 3
WP: Lester (2-2)
LP: Kazmir (0-1)
SV: Papelbon (9)
HRs: BOS-Youk (3); TB-Pena (7)

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Scott Kazmir, who was making his season debut, before Tampa Bay closed to within one run. But Kevin Youkilis drove in the final three runs to put the game away, and Boston completed the payback sweep against the Rays.

SUPERSTAR: Youk 3-4, 2R, 4BI, 2-2B, HR
He drove in the first run of the game with a sac fly, the 5th run with a homer to straightaway center, and the 6th & 7th runs with his second double of the day in the 8th, single handedly collecting more RBI than the entire Rays team.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Carlos Pena 1-4, R, BI,HR, 3Ks
He did provide the Rays first run of the game with a homer in the 6th inning, but he also fanned three times, including twice with men on base and twice to end innings.

Classic case of all or nothing.

RECAP:
If payback's a bitch, then Boston just sicced one nasty, rabid, Cujo on the Chihuahua's known as the Tampa Bay Rays.

Upset and embarrassed over the three game sweep Tampa Bay inflicted on them last weekend at the Trop, the Sox wasted no time making sure any thoughts of a repeat performance were quickly dispatched from the minds of the Rays and all the Nation haters out there.

Beginning with a solid 7-3 victory on Friday night, Boston proceeded to trounce the Rays, 12-4, on Saturday, and they completed the sweep today on a dismal afternoon at Fenway when the majority of the Commonwealth was watching the Celtics defeat the Hawks in Game 7 of their first round playoff series at the new Garden.

But it didn't matter to the Red Sox that Fenway was not quite filled to capacity, or that most Boston sports fans had the Cs on the main screen while the beloved Sox were relegated to the PIP window.

All that mattered to them was showing the Rays and the rest of the division that last weekend's sweep was a result of combination of them facing tough pitching while their offense was struggling, and now after scoring 26 runs and rapping 39 hits in three games, it's safe to say that things are back to normal.

For the second game in a row, Boston set the tone early by scoring in the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with an infield single to second, and Dustin Pedroia, the hero of last night's game drew aa walk off the rusty and erratic Kazmir (4IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 5K).

But despite a rare double steal that put runners on second & third with no outs, Boston could only manage to plate one run in the inning, on a sac fly to center by Youk, batting in the three hole in place of David Ortiz, who got the day off due to his balky knee (plus the fact that it was a shitty day and he is only 7-37 career against Kazmir.

The missed opportunities didn't hurt Boston though as they quickly added to their lead when they plated two more runs in the third inning. Once again the first two batters reached base (Pedroia single, Youk double), and then Kaz hurt his cause by tossing a wild pitch that allowed Pedroia to scoot home with the second run of the game.

On the next pitch Manny Ramirez, who had rough series (2-13, 5Ks), doubled down the left field line to score Youk, and for the third straight game Boston had jumped out in front by a score of at least 3-0.

After adding another run on an RBI groundout by Pedroia (1-4, R, BI, BB) in the fourth, the new and improved Rays did what they've done all year long - fought back to make a potential blowout game interesting.

Through five innings Jon Lester (6IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K, HR) had been cruising along, allowing the occasional base runner here and there but not having to face any real threat or jam.

But in the 6th Carlos Pena touched him for a solo shot to right that put the Rays on the board and gave them the opening they needed to get back into the game.

And get right back in it they would, against none other than Manny the anti closer Delcarmen.

Delcarmen, who has allowed 21 base runners and 10 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings of work this season, retired the first batter of the inning before surrendering a single to slpa hitter Jason Bartlett and then a triple to Sox killer Aki Iwamura, slicing the Boston lead to 4-2.

That disgusting display brought Hideki Okajima into the game, and even though he allowed an RBI single to Carl Crawford, he then struck out BJ Upton and Pena to end the inning and the threat.

Suddenly faced with a 1-run game Boston responded immediately in the bottom of the 7th when Youk took reliever Kent Birkins deep to the tarp in straightaway center to push the lead to 5-3, and in the 8th Youk extinguished any thought of a Rays comeback when he doubled in Lugo and Ellsbury for the final 7-3 margin.

Just to be sure none of his crappy relievers blew this one, and because he was already warming when the margin was just two runs, Francona brought in Papelbon to close it out. And the closer did just that, retiring the final three batters on three consecutive groundouts, and the re-sweep was complete.

So the Celts knocked off the pesky hawks and the Sox swept the pesky Rays on the same miserable day in the Hub.

I'd say order has been officially restored to the sports world.

RECORD: 20-13
AL EAST: Up 3 gms
STREAK: W3
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Mon @ Detroit 705 Matsuzaka vs. Bonderman

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Game Preview: Rays @ Sox GM3

Kazmir (NR) vs. Lester (1-2, 4.31)
Game 3 of 3 1:35 at Fenway Park

While the majority of the Hub will be tuned in to the NBA Playoffs as the hometown Cs try to expunge the pesky Hawks in Game 7 of their first round series, the Sox will be attempting to return the favor for the three game sweep the Rays gave them last weekend in St. Petersburg.

The last time a Celtics playoff game overshadowed a Red Sox game it was a misty, damp night in April of 1986.

On that evening, while the Cs were defeating (catch the irony here) the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, 119-108, a young fireballer named Roger Clemens struck out 20 Seattle Mariners in a game that was attended by about 10,000 fans.

History was made at Fenway while the rest of the city was watching the Celtics (Globe photo)

You know, back before he was a 'roided up philanderer.

Coincidentally the forecast calls for rain today in Boston, and that combined with the win-or-go-home urgency of Game 7 could make for similar circumstances today at Fenway.

Of course there will be more than 10,000 fans on hand, and another sellout is already assured due to advance sales, but don't be surprised if the stands are a little more sparsely populated today than usual.

Which is too bad because this could be another memorable game for the Sox.

Scott Kazmir makes his 2008 season debut for Tampa Bay, and since the 07 strikeout king owns the best ERA (2.73) at Fenway of any opposing starter, who knows if he could provide a Clemens-like outing this afternoon.

Kazmir has not played in a game this season after being diagnosed with an elbow strain early in spring training. The injury was initially thought to be minor, but here it is almost two months later and the young lefty is just taking the mound for the first time.

Needless to say it remains to be seen how long he will be able to go, or how effective he will be.

For the Sox Jon Lester will look to build on his impressive last outing, when he limited Toronto to one hit in 8 innings of a 1-0 Boston win. The lefty has been inconsistent at times this season, but has showed signs of finally realizing the potential the team believed he had before he was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago.

Boston will be without the services of rookie right fielder Brandon Moss, who had to be rushed to the hospital before last night's game for an emergency appendectomy. That means JD Drew will have to make it through this game healthy, a tall task considering the condition the field will be in as well as the condition of his brittle body.

So if the game doesn't get postponed, Boston will look to sweep the Rays and repay them for last weeks' embarrassing sweep.

We'll have to wait and see whether or not history is made again on the diamond while the Mean Green are trying to avoid another kind of history across town.

Go Sox and Celts!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RECAP:
It's about friggin' time!

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

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

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

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

All the Sox had to do was make it happen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boston, you're their home indeed.

Bring on the Rays!

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

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

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

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

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No comeback tonight - Sox finally lose

Los Angeles of Anaheim 6, Sox 4
WP: Garland (3-2)
LP: Hansen (0-1)
SV: Rodriguez (8)
HRs: BOS- Ortiz (3); LAA- Kotchman (6), Matthroids Jr., 2 (4)

SUMMARY:
Ravaged by illness and injury, the undermanned Sox tried to stage another come-from-behind win, but Boston couldn't stave off the relentless Angels, who scored runs in six separate innings to hand the Sox their first loss in seven games.

Superstar: Casey Kotchman 2-3, R, RBI, BB, HR
He's had big homers in each of the last two games, but unlike last night, when his solo shot merely tied the game, tonight's 6th inning blast off Craig Hansen wound up being the game winner.

The Biggest Loser: Hansen 1.2IP, 2H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
The youngster was called up earlier in the day to do one thing - get batters out. Allowing game-winning homers after your team has scratched & clawed to tie the game up is not part of that equation.

RECAP:
Once again the Comeback Kings tried to swipe a victory from the jaws of defeat.

But after going to that well about a dozen times this season, they finally found the spring had dried up.

Facing deficits of 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2 and 4-2 thanks to a shoddy start by Jon Lester, Boston fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the 5th inning on a 2-run homer by David Ortiz, only to see the fruits of their labor washed down the drain when Kotchman's homer off Hansen gave Anaheim the final lead they would need to salt this one away.

I know, I know, they say all good things must come to an end.

But that stupid saying doesn't make the end hurt any less.

The worst part about this game isn't the fact that Boston lost - I mean with the clubhouse resembling the #4077th and the grounds crew installing a revolving door on the mound, a defeat in the near future was inevitable - but it was how they lost that was so frustrating.

I would rather they suffered a good old-fashioned woodshed beatdown than lose the game, and the six game win streak, in the manner they did tonight.

As I mentioned, Lester (5IP, 9H, 4ER,2BB, 1K, 2HR), who was forced to start on 3 days rest for the first time in his career when Daisuke Matsuzaka came down with the flu, was magnificently mediocre in his 5th start of the season. He was hit early (1 run in each of the first 3 innings), he was hit hard (2 homers by Gary Matthroids Jr exited the ballpark - please check his urine), and he was hit often (at least 1 hit allowed in each of his 5 innings of work), yet he was off the hook for the loss when Papi's homer landed in the first row of seats in right field.

At that point I think every member of the Nation assumed okay, they came all the way back to tie it, this win's in the bag now.

You know the old saying about assuming, I, ah, assume?

With the game tied at four and Lester having gone the requisite five, Francona called on callup Hansen, the fireballing righty who along with Delcarmen, Lester and Buchholz is projected as a key future piece of the staff. Although he was making his first appearance in the bigs since 2006, all he had to do was set the Angels down for an inning or two and let the Boston batters do the rest.

And he did just that - except for one big hit allowed.

After retiring the first two batters in the 6th, Kotchman, the former Seminole High standout whose father owns a baseball academy down here, deposited a 1-0 offering from Hansen into the right field seats to give the Halos a 5-4 lead, and even though Hanson went on to get a few more big outs, the damage, as they say, was done.

To make any chance of a comeback that much harder, Mike Timlin, who continues to look every bit of a 42-year-old reliever with 1000+ games under his belt, gave up a huge insurance run in the 9th, and when Frankie K-Rod Rodriguez trotted out for the bottom of the 9th with a 2-run lead, it was okay for the fans who made up the 400th consecutive sellout at Fenway to head for the exits.

Yes it was a disappointing way to end the streak, but considering how many players are hurt or sick, the loss wasn't all bad. In fact there were quite a few positives to take away from this one, such as: every member of the team except JD Drew registering at least 1 hit; Julio Lugo (9 gms) and Dustin Pedroia (12 gms) extending their hitting streaks; Ortiz racking up his 15th RBI in the last 8 games; and Sean Casey recording 2 more hits and yet another double.

Plus the game was played in under 3 hours!

But as I said before, just because the good times had to end doesn't mean we have to like it.

I guess you could say we've been spoiled, but a team that finds a different way and a different player every day will do that to a fanbase.

At least we don't have much time to dwell on it - day baseball tomorrow, time to start a new streak. If only we could figure out who's going to start...

RECORD: 15-8
STREAK: L1
LST 10: 8-2
AL EAST: Up 2 1/2 gms
UP NEXT: Thu vs. LAA 135 Saunders vs. ?????

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Just like old times: Manny, Papi carry Sox to victory

Sox 5, Texas 3
WP: Lopez (1-0)
LP: Benoit (1-1)
SV: Papelbon (6)
HRs: BOS-Manny (6); TEX-Hamilton (4)

SUMMARY:
The comeback kings struck again as Boston rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the 8th, tying the game on a single by David Ortiz and then winning it on a 2-run homer by Manny Ramirez. It was Boston's 4th come-from-behind victory this week.

Superstar: Manny 1-2, 2R, 2BI, 1BB, HR
ManRam is absolutely tearing the cover off the ball right now. He smashed his 5th homer in his last 7 games, his second game winner this week and the second moon blast in his last three games at Fenway.

He currently leads or is tied for the lead in the majors in homers and RBI (20) and is batting .461 over the last 7 games.

The Biggest Loser: Joaquin Benoit 1IP, 3H, 3ER, K, HR, BS, L
The 7-year vet had more blown saves (7) than actual saves (6) last year; nice to see he is following that tradition again this season (1-0)

RECAP:
Another game, another comeback victory for the cardiac kids.

The difference between this one and the other comebacks this season is that David Ortiz, who has mainly been an innocent bystander as Boston has won 9 of its last 12 games, was a key contributor to the festivities tonight.

But for the first few innings it looked like Boston was going to get blown out, let alone have a chance to stage another comeback.

That's because starter Jon Lester (6IP, 10H, 3ER, 2BB, 5K, HR) continued to be shaky and unassertive with his command and delivery in his 5th start of the season. But following the rough start to the game the young lefty settled in to keep the Rangers hitters at bay, giving the Boston batters a chance to work their late-inning mojo again.

Lester surrendered a run in the first on a Monster shot by Josh Hamilton, who should win Comeback Player of the Year every year for his rise from the depths of drug-addled hell, and after Boston grabbed the lead right back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning on a pair of doubles, a walk and a double play, Lester let Texas tie it right back up when Adam Melhuese doubled in old friend David Murphy in the top of the 2nd.

The third inning was no better for Lester as Hamilton (2-5, 2R, BI) and Hank Blalock hit back-to-back singles with one out, and reserve outfielder Jason Botts doubled in Hamilton to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead.

Back and forth for three innings with texas scoring in each frame did not look good for Boston, and you got the feeling at that point that Lester wouldn't be long for this game. It was just a question of what the score would be when he exited.

Especially since Texas starter Jason Jennings (6IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB, 1K) was pitching well, limiting the potent Boston lineup to just a few scattered hits and a pair of runs in his six innings of work.

But surprisingly Lester settled down form there when he usually gets weaker as the game goes on, and the game remained 3-2 Texas until both starters had exited the game.

And the metamorphosis from hard-luck losers to walk-off winners took place (okay, it wasn't a walk-off win, but it might as well have been.)

The 8th started innocently enough as Texas reliever Joaquin Benoit got Jacoby Ellsbury to pop out to shortstop, and Boston was down to its last 4 outs to complete their comeback.

No problem as Dustin Pedroia got the rally started when he doubled off Benoit 2 pitches later, and Ortiz (1-4, R, BI) chased him home with an infield bleeder that tied the score at 3 and sent the Faithful into a frenzy.

But the raucous cheering was just getting started as Manny stepped to the plate with a chance to single-handedly end a game for the third time this week.

And boy did he ever end it in style.

After looking at strike one from Benoit, Manny unleashed his wicked bat on the next offering and crushed the pitch over the Monster, over the billboard atop the Monster, and probably over Lansdowne for a towering 2-run homer that capped the comeback and sent the fans home happy again.

After all, what's not to be happy about. Manny is being the Manny we all love, the team is winning with regularity, and now Big Papi is finally getting into the act with key contributions at the right time.

Seems like old times at the old ballyard.

Pennant-winning times.

Championship-winning times.

RECORD: 12-7
STREAK: W3
LST 10: 8-2
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
UP NEXT: Sun vs. TEX, 135PM Millwood vs. Wakefield

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Sox steal one in Cleveland thanks to Manny's late bomb

Sox 6, Cleveland 4
WP: Timlin (1-1)
LP: Borowski (0-2)
SV: Papelbon (5)
HRs: BOS-Youk (1), Manny (3); CLE: None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox practiced what us coaches preach to our Little Leaguers every week: it ain't over till it's over. Down 4-1 after six innings, Boston scored 1 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th, the big blow a 2-run homer by Manny Ramirez off closer Joe Borowski that helped beat his former team in a rematch of the 2007 ALCS.

Superstar: Manny 2-5, R, 2BI
He hadn't had the best game up until that point- striking out looking twice, once with the bases loaded to end the 7th- but another thing we always teach the kids is you're always gonna get another chance to redeem yourself, and Manny sure did tonight.

The Biggest Loser: Borowski 2/3IP, 4H, 3ER, HR, BS, L
No sooner had the announcers made a point of Borowski's tendency to give up a lot of base runners and runs, noting his plus-5.00 ERA last year despite 45 saves, did the 37-year-old closer allow plenty of both in turning what seemed like a sure fire Cleveland win into a heartbreaking loss in a matter of minutes.

RECAP:
It was another near 4-hour game, but at least it was worth waiting for the outcome of this one.

Down by 3 runs with just three innings to play, Boston scratched away for solo runs in the 7th off starter Jake Westbrook and the 8th against lights out reliever Rafael Betancourt before breaking the game open with a trio of runs in the 9th inning to earn its third straight victory and send Cleveland to its 4th loss in the last 5 games.

But the game had a couple of twists to it before we even got to that point.

Boston took a 1-0 lead in the first when Pedroia walked, David Ortiz broke his 0-17 skid with a bloop single to the opposite field, and after Ramirez struck out, kevin Youkilis hit a clutch 2-out double to right to give the the Sox the early lead.

With Jon Lester (4.1IP, 5H, 4ER, 5BB, 3K) cruising through the first three innings without allowing a hit, Westbrook struggling early, and Papi primed to break out of his slump, it looked as if Boston would win this one going away.

Then, like the weather across the country this spring, things changed in a hurry.

In the 4th inning Lester lost all semblance of control, and his shot at another win at the scene of his return to baseball after beating cancer went along with it. He walked the leadoff batter and then surrendered a single to Travis Hafner, then followed that with an RBI single to Victor Martinez, and after striking out Jhonny Peralta, gave up an RBI single to Ryan Garko that put Cleveland ahead 2-1.

Meanwhile Westbrook (6.1IP, 7H, 2R, 1ER, 3BB, 5K) settled down, retiring the Sox in order in the fifth, including Papi swinging to end the frame. But in the bottom of the inning Hafner (2-5, R, 2BI) laced a 2-run single to right that chased Lester from the game and brought Julian Tavarez in from the pen, eliciting gulps and "oh wells" from the Nation

Surprisingly, though, Tavarez (2.2IP, 2H, 4K) pitched effectively, striking out Garko and David Delucci to end the threat, and then breezed through the 6th, prompting Steve Phillips to insinuate that he may be doctoring the ball because it had so much movement on it.

Hey, when Julie pitches as well as that, one can't help but wonder if he's cheating to do so.

Anyway, Tavarez' solid relief work helped his teammates get back in the game. Pedroia knocked in Lugo with an infield hit to cut the deficit to 4-2 in the 7th, but when Betancourt relieved Westbrook and fanned Papi and Manny with the bases loaded to squelch the rally, it didn't look like a comeback was in the works.

Or was it.

Youk's solo shot to lead off the 8th off the fireballing reliever, who was so good in the ALCS, suddenly brought the Sox to within one, 4-3, and if they could just mount a rally against Borowski they could pull this one out.

Which of course you know by now, they did.

Lugo started the winning rally with a double to left to lead off the 9th, and then Coco, who is playing his best ball now that he is injury free and not under pressure to be the man, sacrificed him to third. Pedroia lofted a sac fly to left to tie the game and bring the Faithful back to the edge of their seats, and wouldn't you know Papi blooped another single to the outfield to keep hope alive.

Sometimes it's the little things from the big fella.

What came next was not little, though, as Manny crushed the first pitch he saw from Borowski over the wall in left center for a momentous game-winning blast, and as his smiling teammate Ortiz greeted him at home plate you got the feeling that this will be Manny's year to bask in the accolades that come from delivering the clutch, game-0winning hits for a pennant contending club.

No problem here.

As long as those hits keep coming, we don't care who's delivering them.

RECORD: 8-6
STREAK: W3
AL EAST: 1/2 GB
UP NEXT: Tue @ CLE 7P Wakefield vs. Byrd

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