Rays take Round 1 despite late Sox rally

Rays 5, Sox 4
WP: Shields (6-5)
LP: Masterson (4-2)
SV: Howell (2)
HRs: BOS-Drew (16); TB-Upton (6), Gross (6)

SUMMARY:
James Shields out dueled a shaky Justin Masterson and Tampa Bay used two big home runs and survived an odd ninth inning to take the first game of this series, increasing its lead over the Sox to a game and a half in the AL East.

#1 STUNNER: Gabe Gross 2-2, R, 2BB, 2BI, HR
Acquired in a late May in a deal with the Brewers the part time right fielder had the biggest hit of his Tampa Bay career when he drove a monstrous two-run blast into the right field seats to give the Rays a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 4th.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Julio Lugo 0-4
The useless former Ray ended four innings tonight against his former team, the worst coming when he left the tying run stranded at third as he lined out to shortstop to end the game.

Has this loser ever had a big hit in all his time with Boston?

RECAP:
What's worse than being a Sox fan and having to deal with this humbling loss?

Being a Sox fan living in the Tampa Bay area and having to deal with this loss.

For the first time since God created his own personal waiting room down here on the Sun Coast of Florida myself and all the other New England transplants do not own bragging rights over the once feeble legion of Rays followers.

And lemme tell you its a strange feeling indeed.

Everywhere I go everyone's clamoring about the new and improved Rays, and when they find out I'm a Sox fan I receive death stares, boos, hisses and insults not fit to reprint in a family blog.

Which is fine, because being a Boston sports fan I know it's par for the course; we accepted the fact long ago that everyone who's not one of us hates us. No biggie.

But for the better part of this decade we could always fall back on the number one argument stopper when it came time to shut the yahoos up: scoreboard. Now these pesky fucking upstart Rays have taken that hard earned privilege away from us, and if we don't take it back soon things are gonna start getting ugly down here.

Because there's so many members of RSN South here we'll turn this fucking tranquil tropical paradise into a mini Southie if they're not fucking careful.

Sorry, I let myself get carried away a bit there. Let's get back to the game.

To say the night started off poorly for Boston would be a massive understatement.

Tampa Bay starter James Shields retired the side in order in the top of the first on seven measly pitches resulting in three weak grounders, and when the Rays came to bat center fielder BJ Upton, leading off in place of suspended Akinori Iwamura, knocked Justin Masterson's first pitch of the game over the wall in straightaway center for a lightning quick 1-0 Tampa Bay lead.

It would go downhill from there.

While Shields (6.1IP, 5H, 2ER, 1BB, 5K, HR, 104P) was dealing more like he did in his complete game 2-hit shutout against Boston on April 27th than his last two starts against the Sox, where he allowed 11 runs and 13 hits in 4 1/3 innings, Masterson was having a hard time locating his pitches and seemed to behind on every batter.

In fact on the night the 23-year-old fell behind 15 of the 28 batters he faced, including 10 of the first 18 hitters at a time when he needed to establish some rhythm and control over the Rays while Shields didn't allow a hit and struck out four Sox batters through the first three innings.

But the lack of control didn't hurt Masterson (6IP, 5H, 4ER, 5BB, 5K, 2HR, 105P) early on as he used a double play grounder and a couple of one-pitch at bats to keep the Rays at bay, and his abilty to keep his team in the game paid off when the Sox finally got to Shields in the top of the fourth.

Who else could get the first hit for the Sox than the red hot Dustin Pedroia (1-4, R) as the Little Big Man hit a hard hopper to short that was bobbled by Jason Bartlett but ruled a base hit.

After J.D. Drew flew out to deep right for the second out of the inning Manny the mauler drew a four pitch walk before Mike Lowell (3-4, R, BI) ripped a scorching line drive past a diving Evan Longoria at third base to drive in Pedroia and tie the game at one.

Temporarily.

The Sox fans in the stands (and there was quite a bit fewer Nation members present at the Trop, by all accounts) had barely stopped celebrating before the Rays silenced them completely. Masterson walked Willy Aybar on four pitches with two outs in the bottom of fourth and then Gabe Gross connected on a 2-1 pitch and nearly put it through the back of the stadium, sending the pro-Rays crowd into a frenzy and giving Sox fans the feeling that this was not going to be our night.

That feeling grew as Tampa Bay tacked on single runs in the fifth on an RBI double by Carlos Pena (1-3, BI), and although Drew would stem the tide briefly when he hit his 12th homer of the month to cut the lead to 4-2 in the sixth, the Rays added a key insurance run in the seventh when reliever Chris Smith loaded the bases on three walks and Javier Lopez allowed an RBI groundout by pinch hitter Jonny Gomes.

That run would prove to be a very large one indeed.

After Lopez worked out of a self-induced jam in the bottom of the eighth the Sox had one more chance to try and salvage this game in the top of the ninth. And they very nearly did.

Closer Troy Percival began the frame by striking Ramirez (0-3, Bb, 2K) out on a blazing 90 mph fastball, but then the streaking Lowell belted a double to deep left center to set the wheels in motion for aa potential game-tying rally.

Youk then sliced a ball down the third base line that Longoria overplayed but knocked down for a single that saved a run, and then something happened that you can only see at the glorious stadium known as the Trop:

Brandon Moss hit what should have been a sure pop out but got a ground rule double out of it.

The sky high shot off Moss' bat hit one of the catwalks that ring the top of the Trop, and when it landed 25 feet in front of Gross Lowell had scored, Moss stood at second base and Lowell was at third as the whole place shook their collective heads, thinking THIS is reason #1 why the Rays need a new stadium.

An even stranger thing happened at the tail end of the play as Percival pulled a hammy running to cover third base, and despite his vehement (and profane) protests to manager Joe Maddon he was removed from the game in favor of J.P. Howell.

Alas even with all the oddity and obvious anti-Rays karma working they still had one thing in their favor - Lugo at the plate - and he reminded every Rays fan why they are glad to be rid of the overpriced underachiever when he hit a soft line drive on a 3-2 pitch right at his counterpart Bartlett, and the game ended with a fizzle instead of a bang for Boston.

Round 2 tomorrow and the Sox better have a win in them or its gonna be even tougher for us ex-Pats to exist here in the Bay.

Things could get so bad I might have to head to the beach and drown my sorrows in a bucket of beer while grabbing a handful of smooth white sand.

RECORD: 50-35
AL EAST: 1 1/2 GB
STREAK: L3
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Tue @ TB

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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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The comeback kings return, just in the nick of time

Sox 5, D-Backs 4
WP: Smith (1-0)
LP: Qualls (1-6)
SV: Papelbon (22)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (7); ARI-Tracy (4)

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat tonight when they plated four runs in the eighth inning to overcome a 4-1 deficit and eke out a one-run win. Mike Lowell tied the game with a 2-run double and Jason Varitek won it with an RBI single, giving rookie reliever Chris Smith his first major league victory.

#1 STUNNER: Smith 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K, 28P
Lowell and Tek both had clutch two-out hits that allowed the Sox to pull out the win, but they're supposed to do that shit. Smith bouncing back from allowing a grand slam to his second major league batter on Saturday to pitch two no-hit innings and earn his first ML win - that deserves star of the game honors.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Chad Qualls 2/3IP, 4H, 2ER, 0BB, 1K, 24P
With a line score like this he might want to go back to being a DJ.

RECAP:
Let me start off by saying I missed most of this game due to technical difficulties with my Extra Innings package.

The picture would flash on and off in spurts, freeze at some points, and go black at other times.

It got so bad that I was frustrated to the point of watching the premiere of "Wipeout", that Americanized/ESPN-ized version of "MXC" that ABC shoved down our throats throughout the entire NBA Finals, which wasn't so bad because from what I could gather from GameCast the Sox were getting wiped out as well.

In between blank screens I found out that Dustin Pedroia put the Sox ahead 1-0 in the first inning with a titanic blast off Arizona starter Doug Davis, but the 'Backs tied it right up in the top of the second inning on an RBI single by Chad Tracy off Justin Masterson (6IP, 7H, 4ER, 4BB, 4K, HR, 101P).

While I was watching a bunch of effeminate dudes and one pretty hot chick getting covered in mud, blasted in the package and bouncing face first off giant balls (teehee, get it?), Arizona was busy taking the lead when light-hitting Tracy (3-4, 1R, 4BI) launched an 0-1 pitch from Masterson over the Red Sox bullpen for a three run homer and a 4-1 Diamondbacks lead.

Speaking of a blast in the package.

Luckily the score stayed that way for a while because I missed all the action in between, like Masterson working out of two on, two out situations in the fourth and fifth innings and Boston doing absolutely nothing off Davis (7IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 6K, HR, 98P) after the first inning and prior to the eighth.

By the time my reception got back to 21st century standards it was the bottom of the eighth inning and Jacoby Ellsbury had just singled to right to put runners at first and second (evidently Julio Lugo had just singled as well) with nobody out.

That development got Davis, who has now tossed three straight quality starts and has nothing to show for it, removed from the game in favor of Chad Qualls, a move that backfired on Arizona manager Bob Melvin worse than New Coke.

Pedroia (2-4, 2R, 2BI) worked the count by fouling off four consecutive pitches before driving a single into center field to score Lugo and cut the deficit to 4-2, and with two on, no one out and JD Drew and Manny Ramirez coming up it looked like the Sox were going to break this one wide open.

But then Qualls got the suddenly slumping Drew (0-4, 2 for his last 19) to strike out, and one pitch later Manny grounded out to third, although he did advance the runners up a base.

That little piece of fundamental baseball proved to be mighty advantageous for Boston
because Mike Lowell (2-3, 1R, 2BI) took a 2-0 pitch from Qualls and popped it off the Monster for a clutch-as-hell two run double that tied the game at four and brought the Faithful back to life.

But the heroics didn't end there.

Up stepped captain Tek, who just snapped a career-worst 0-24 skid last night with a double off of Dan Haren and was mired in a brutal 1-30 stretch entering this at bat.

After looking at strike one from Qualls, the captain said "what fucking slump?" as he dropped a single into right field that scored Lowell with what wound up being the game winning run, provided Papelbon could brush off a couple of recent blown saves and nail down the win in the ninth.

Eric Byrnes (1-4) made things interesting when he worked Paps for a 9-pitch at bat that resulted in a base on balls with one out, but the steely closer buckled down and got Stephen Drew to strike out and Orlando Hudson to ground out to end the game, and Boston had a much needed come from behind victory to stay one game ahead of the Rays in the East.

The crisis may have been averted tonight but the Sox are still an extra inning home run and a couple of clutch two out hits away from an 0-5 record on this home stand, and if they don't start getting it together soon those effing Rays will overtake them for first place.

And that would be a HUGE blast to the package.

NOTES:
-Yoooouuuuk!: Kevin Youkilis, still recovering from the shiner he received courtesy of an errant warm up toss from Lowell last night, came on in the 9th inning as a defensive replacement for Brandon Moss and fielded the last out of the game, ironically a semi-low throw from Lowell

-Rem Dog honored: it was Jerry Remy day at the ballpark as the club honored the likable Sox second baseman turned analyst turned president of Red Sox Nation with a lengthy pregame ceremony. The cool thing was Extra Innings decided to carry the event live as a bonus for subscribers. The bad news was between the pregame rain and my shitty reception, I barely got to see any of it

-Speaking of rain: for the third straight game the start was delayed by showers, this time for 36 minutes. The two previous contests saw 32 and 50 minute interruptions

RECORD: 48-32
AL EAST: Up 1 gm
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Wed vs. ARI 7:05 ESPN2 Johnson vs. Wakefield

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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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Sox sweep Royals in grand style

Sox 11, Royals 8
WP: Matsuzaka (8-0)
LP: Bannister (4-6)
SV: Papelbon (14)
HRs: BOS-Drew (4), Lowell (6); KC-Guillen (6), Olivo (6)

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox had a lot to celebrate this afternoon - grand slams by JD Drew and Mike Lowell, Daisuke Matsuzaka picking up his AL-leading 8th victory, extending their winning streak to a season-high 7 games - but nearly as many things to lament, such as another shoddy job by the bully and 6 more walks from Dice-K.

Still a win is a win is a win, and now the Sox will head West as owners of the best record in baseball.

SUPERSTAR(s): Drew & Lowell 5-8, 5R, 2B, 2GS, 8BI
Talk about a 1-2 punch.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Brian Bannister 5.1IP, 12H, 7ER, 1BB, 4K, 1HR
So much for that day/night differential.

(Dis)Honarable mention: Boston bullpen 3.1IP, 7H, 5ER, 2BB, 3K, 2HR
Yet another uninspiring performance from the weakest link on an awesome team

RECAP:
This afternoon's victory over the reeling Royals wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy, and it sure as hell wasn't impressive, at least not pitching-wise.

But in the major leagues the end result is all that matters, and the end result of this one means the Sox now own the best record in baseball, the longest team winning streak in two years, the starter with the most wins in the American League, and an offense that appears to be as unstoppable as any assembled in recent memory.

And it's a good thing that offense is so potent, because the team needed every ounce of its power this afternoon.

Because despite ringing up 11 runs and 14 hits including two grand slams Boston nearly blew this game thanks to what has become the Achilles heel of this club, the unreliable bullpen.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (5.2IP, 6H, 3ER, 6BB, 7K, 118P) had another mezza mezza game en route to his 8th victory, and he continues to be the team's most puzzling piece; is he the decisive #1 starter who has the best winning percentage and 2nd lowest ERA in the AL? Or is he an implosion waiting to happen, as evidence by his league-leading walk total and inordinately high number of pitches thrown per start?

Right now the answer appears to be a little bit of both.

He keeps walking batters at an alarming rate (6 more today, 42 in 65 1/3 inn on the year) and has yet to pitch into the 8th inning so far this season, mainly because he throws a minimum of 100 pitches each time out. (He threw a season-high 118 today)

But he still hasn't lost this season and has been the backbone of a staff that has been riddled with injuries and inconsistencies at times.

Go figure.

Today he was not on top of his game from the get-go, as he allowed a run in the first inning on a walk, wild pitch and RBI single by Jose Guillen (4-5, 3R, 3BI, 2B, HR), and after issuing another walk he finally got Miguel Olivo to strike out to end the frame.

But not before he tossed an ungodly 34 pitches, with a 50/50 split of balls and strikes.

Yikes.

Good thing for him his offense was on top of its game, and it didn't take long for the Boston batters to penetrate the unbeatable daytime version of Brian Bannister, who had been 4-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA in afternoon starts this season.

After retiring the Sox in order in the first inning, Bannister collapsed in the second as Boston loaded the bases with no outs on an infield single by Manny Ramirez, a bleeder through the shortstop hole by Lowell and a seeing eye single by Youk.

Then JD Drew, who missed yesterday's game with a sore knee, worked the count to 2-2 before sending a pitch high to the opposite field for a Monster grand slam, his first home run since April 11th against the Stanks and a blast that reminded everyone of his monumental granny in Game 6 of the ALCS last year.

Staked to a 4-1 lead Dice still appeared as if he was going to cough it up at any time, with baserunners reaching in every inning against him, so it was nice when Youk (2-4, R, BI) singled in Lowell, who had doubled, in the 3rd to give Boston a 5-1 lead.

But Matsuzaka finally fell off the tightrope in the 5th when KC scored a pair of runs on a walk to Alex Gordon and back-to-back doubles by Guillen and Olivo (3-5, R, 5BI), and suddenly what seemed like a potential Boston blow out had turned into a nail biter.

Well at least for an inning.

The Sox chased Bannister in the 6th when Drew led off with a single, Kevin Cash, getting a rare non-Wakefield start, followed with a single and Julio Lugo drove Drew home with a sac fly to make the score 6-3 Boston.

Jimmy Gobble entered the game and promptly walked Jacoby Ellsbury, surrendered a deep double to left by Dustin Pedroia that scored Cash, and after David Ortiz popped out for the second out of the inning, KC manager Trey Hillman elected to walk the ice cold Manny Ramirez to load the bases for Lowell.

Not only that, but Hillman chose to leave the lefthander Gobble in to pitch to the righthanded Lowell.

Both moves backfired like a 76 'Nova when Lowell crushed a 1-0 pitch into the Monster seasts for the Sox second grand slam of the game, the first time Boston had accomplished that feat since Billy Mueller did it himself in Texas in 2003, and what had quickly turned into a close game just as quickly turned into a rout at 11-3 Boston.

Or so we thought.

With Matsuzaka having been replaced by Javier Lopez to get the final out of the 6th, Francona called on Craig Hansen to work the 7th. Evidently the Nova was still parked on the concourse because Hansen was horrid, allowing a leadoff homer to Guillen, a walk to Mark Teahen and then a booming double to Olivo to slice the Sox lead to 11-5.

As bad as Hansen was (his ERA is now a robust 7.56), David Aardsma was worse. Although two of the hits he allowed in the 8th were of the infield variety, the homer he gave up to Olivo was anything but cheap as it cleared the Wall with room to spare, and now the lead was back to a minuscule three runs, 11-8.

Gulp.

Even Tito's safety net, closer Jonathan Papelbon, nearly fell victim to the shitty bullpen flu as he allowed two hits after recording the first two outs in the 9th.

But sanity prevailed as Paps got Gordon to fly out harmlessly to left to end the wild affair, and the Sox had the longest winning streak since the summer of 2006 just as they head out to the West Coast for yet another 10 game road trip.

While the homestand was impressive, as the Sox won all seven games and improved to an ML-best 21-5 in the cozy confines of their home park, the real test will come when they take their sub-.500 record to Oakland, Seattle and Baltimore.

If they can come close to duplicating the magic the offense and starting pitching provided during this streak, they'll be in great shape.

You think 10 consecutive complete games would be too much to ask for?

RECORD: 31-19
AL EAST: Up 2.5 gms
STREAK: W7
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Fri @ OAK 10:05 Wakefield vs. Harden

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Sox survive a dicey Matsuzaka outing to beat Tigers

Sox 6, Detroit 3
WP: Matsuzaka (5-0)
LP: Bonderman (2-3)
SV: Papelbon (10)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (1), Youk (4), Ortiz (6); DET-None

SUMMARY:
Boston won despite its pitchers issuing 10 walks thanks to the resurgent offense, which racked up 11 hits, six for extra bases including three long balls, and Daisuke Matsuzaka extended his perfect record, even though his outing was far from perfect.

SUPERSTAR: Lowell 3-5, 2R, 2BI, 2B, HR
How nice was it to see the World Series MVP back in vintage Mike Lowell form tonight?

His 2nd inning homer got the Sox on the board, he doubled in the 4th and came home on Youk's blast, and he narrowly missed a second homer when his 7th inning drive was caught at the wall in left.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Matsuzaka 5IP, 2H, 1ER, 8BB, 1K, 109P
I know it's tough to hang this honor on a guy who actually won the game, but with a linescore as odd as this one I thought it was appropriate. If not for the fact that the Tigers are an absolute trainwreck right now, Matsuzaka easily could've come away with a loss tonight.

RECAP:
I was trying to think of a theme for tonight's post, and it took me about 2.3 seconds to come up with not one but a few:

-Walk on the Wild Side
-Walk This Way
-Walk Like an Egyptian
-Walking in Motown
-I'm Walkin'
-Walk it Out
-Dice-K Walks
-Walking on Sunshine

I nixed those 8 ideas because they were a bit too obvious. But then I came up with a couple more:

-Walk the Line (up)
-Walk Right In

By the 10th "walk" I was tad burned out, though, so I decided to write a normal post, sans theme.

But you get the drift, right?

Somehow the Sox managed to win this game tonight even though its starting pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka, surrendered an astounding 8 free passes and threw 109 pitches in five innings. By comparison, Cleveland starter Cliff Lee, who is also 5-0, has walked only 2 batters ALL YEAR.

Dice-K matched that total in the first inning this evening.

That the Sox managed to win in spite of the erratic effort of Dice-K, who had men on base in each of his five innings yet he didn't surrender a hit until Curtis Granderson laced an RBI single to center in the 4th, is a testament to how well the offense has been playing since that week-long scoring slump led to five game losing streak.

And the offense was led by a few familiar faces.

Manny got the ball rolling when he doubled off Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman (6IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 4K, 2HR) to start the 2nd inning, and two pitches later Boston had a 2-0 lead when Lowell homered to left, his first four bagger since last September.

After escaping a 2-on, 1-out jam in the bottom of the 3rd when Matsuzaka got Magglio Ordonez to strike out and Miguel Cabrera to fly out to center, Boston added another pair of runs in the top of the 4th when Lowell led off with a double and Kevin Youkilis brought him home with aa 2-run blast to left field.

Staked to a 4-0 lead, not even the walking wonder could mess this up, although he sure as hell tried.

In the bottom of the 4th the Tigers finally got on the board when Gary Sheffield led off with a walk and Pudge Rodriguez walked two outs later. That's when Granderson, who has been smacking the ball all over the yard since coming off the DL two weeks ago, ripped a single to center to score Sheffield and give the Tigers hope that they could finally capitalize on all the freebies they had been handed.

But Matsuzaka ended those ideas when he got Placido 'Mr Potato Head' Polanco to pop out to short, ending the threat and keeping the Sox lead at a shaky three runs, 4-1.

It would remain that way until David Ortiz (2-4, R, 2BI), back after sitting out yesterday's game with a sore knee, lined an opposite field single off reliever Clay Rapada after Pedroia had doubled in the 7th to make it 5-1, but Detroit got right back in it in the bottom of the inning thanks to more shaky Boston bullpen work.

Craig Hansen, called up yesterday to take Brandon Moss' roster spot, had a quick 1-2-3 inning in the 6th in relief of Matsuzaka, but he ran into trouble in the 7th when he began the inning giving up a leadoff single to Polanco and then botched a slow roller to the mound by Carlos Guillen for a questionable infield single.

A double play by Ordonez looked like Hansen would escape the jam, but two out walks to Cabrera and Sheffield brought Tito to the mound and Okajima into the game, and he promptly surrendered a 2-run single to pinch hitter Marcus Thames to slice the lead to 5-3, and suddenly it was a game again.

Following a scoreless 8th, Ortiz provided a huge insurance run when he homered off Todd Jones with one out in the 9th, and then it was up to Papelbon to bring it home.

Thankfully the Boston closer has been the one reliable reliever in the pen all year, and he threw another 1-2-3 9th onto his stat sheet to sew this one up, but not before a few "whew"s were uttered in the Nation.

It wasn't pretty in many respects, but as they say, it was effective. Still, Boston has won four in a row, while the reeling Tiggers have dropped four straight.

I guess with the hometown Celts in the midst of the NBA playoffs, it looks like the Sox took a page out of their playbook: survive and advance.

RECORD: 21-13
AL EAST: Up 3.5 gms
STREAK: W4
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Tue @ DET 705 Wakefield vs. Robertson

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Game 2 not quite as festive as Opening Day

Detroit 7, Sox 2
WP: Bonderman (1-1)
LP: Lester (1-2)
SV: None
HRs: Bos-None; DET: Thames (1)

SUMMARY:
The Sox pitching was pitiful and the hitting wasn't that much better as the Tigers finally broke their season-opening 7-game losing streak, scoring half as many runs in this game as they had in the previous seven. Throw in the fact that Mike Lowell left the game with a sprained thumb and it all added up to a bad loss for the roller coaster Sox.

Superstar: Edgar Rentanerror 3-4, 2R, 2BI, 2-2Bs, BB,
The 1-year blunder at shortstop was a thorn in Boston's side all night, ripping three hits and opening the floodgates on the Tigers scoring with a key 2-run double in the 4th despite constant harassment from the fans.

Doesn't it figure that a day after the Faithful welcomed back a former goat that a more recent object of the fans' derision would come back to haunt us?

The Biggest Loser(s): Sox pitchers 9IP, 10H, 7ER, 8BB, WP, HBP
From starter Jon Lester (4R, 4H, 4BB in 5.1IP) and middle man Bryan Corey (2R, 2H, BB in 1/3IP) all the way to Javier Lopez, who surrendered a homer and two other base runners in the 9th, the Boston pitching was piss poor again tonight.

RECAP:
Can you say "letdown"?

Coming of the high of yesterday's festive, fun-filled Opening Day display, you had to know that there would be some sort of letdown factor tonight. Kind of like a Tangueray hangover after one of my wife's Christmas parties.

Especially with shaky Jon Lester taking the hill to face a Tiger team so hungry for a win Jim Leyland might even resort to doing something drastic, like threaten quit smoking, if the team didn't get off the schneid soon.

But after jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning thanks to a bases loaded walk to Jacoby Ellsbury and an RBI single by Julio Lugo (a.k.a. Rentanerror 2.0), it looked as if the team might ride the emotional wave of Opening day to another victory over the toothless Tigers.

Unfortunately the wave came crashing down on the Sox in a hurry, starting with an injury to a key player and ending with a miserable loss to the formerly winless Tigers.

It was in that second inning that we learned that Mike Lowell apparently sprained his thumb when he made a diving stop of Miguel Cabrera's grounder in the first inning. Though his replacement, Sean Casey, did have a hit in his first at bat in Lowell's spot to start the rally and later doubled, the 2007 team MVP's absence was a somber reminder that this team is a couple of key injuries away from turning into the D-Rays.

And it was shortly after the Sox took that 2-0 lead in the second that the the game fell apart, too.

Lester retired the floundering Magglio Ordonez to start the 4th, then proceeded to walk Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen to bring the hated former Sox shortstop to the plate with a chance to tie the game.

But this is the same guy who never got a big hit the entire year he was in a Boston uniform, right? Surely he would bounce into a DP or strike out to squelch the threat. Right? Right?!

Instead Rentanerror sliced a double to the wall in left center that sent both runner home and tied the game at two, and if you squinted a bit it was almost as if you could see him standing at 2nd base with a finger to his lips telling the unruly Fenway masses to hush their foul mouths.

It only got worse from there when Lester hung a lazy breaking ball to the next batter, which happened to be Detroit's musclular left fielder Marcus Thames, who turned on the fat pitch and drove it halfway to his namesake river in England to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead they would not relinquish.

That's because Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman (5IP, 5H, 1ER, 4BB, K) and 4 Tiger relievers shut the Sox down the rest of the way, while Boston's bully continued doing their best Eric Gagme imitations as a quartet of hurlers couldn't keep the score where it was and give the offense a chance to get back in the game.

It all added up to a disappointing night at the yard, and now with Lowell's status uncertain, Papi's continued hitting woes (0-4, .091 for the year) and the instability of the pitchers, suddenly the promise of the preseason has turned into the despressing reality that this team could be in last place in the eat when the Stanks come to town tomorrow night.

But at least they've lost two straight to the Royals.

So we got that going for us.

RECORD: 4-5
AL EAST: 3 GB
STREAK: L 1
UP NEXT: Thu vs DET, 715 Robertson v Wakefield

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Sox Drawer: Paps & Lowell make national headlines

From an SI cover and accompanying article for Papelbon to an appearance on the nationally syndicated Jim Rome Radio Show, Sox players are making headlines off the field today

Earlier I expressed the disdain I felt when I opened my mailbox and saw Papelbon's steely glare peeking out at me from the receptacle. And honest to God if he blows out his shoulder or allows a game/series-losing home run in the playoffs, I'm cancelling my subscription the next day.

But I must admit the piece inside the jinxed cover was an informative read as Tom Verducci revealed some insight into items like the decision to return to the pen, the team-mandated pitching guidelines that followed his shoulder injury last season, and what outspoken teammate Curt Schilling thinks of the closer's intelligence.

Here's a few of the highlights:

-On informing Francona of his decision to return to the bullpen this spring

"Man, I'm not sleeping good. I know deep down in my heart this is not what I want to do. If you want to give me the ball in the ninth, I'd love to take it and go back in that role."

Tito's response: "Well, hell yeah!"

-Schilling on Paps' inability to grasp the subtle nuances of being a starter

"This [role] suits him. He's not exactly a charter member of Mensa, so he can just go right after people with two pitches...putting him back as a closer was a no-brainer."

Nice backhanded compliment, Schill.

-On the team's customized, technologically aided schedule used to accommodate his irritable shoulder labrum

...team doctors and officials began devising the Papelbon Program. It covered two pages and was divided into three parts: how often he could be used, a daily testing program and a custom shoulder-strengthening program. For instance, Francona was not to use Papelbon three days in a row, or even two days in a row if he was coming off a high pitch count. Nor could he use Papelbon the day after he had pitched more than one inning

Each day, when Papelbon reports to work, he sees [assistant trainer Mike] Reinhold and estimates the fatigue level of his shoulder on a scale of zero to five, with five being the most tired. Then Reinhold hooks him up to a strength-testing machine that supplements Papelbon's subjective score with an objective measurement of his shoulder strength. A report of the scores is logged along with Papelbon's recent usage patterns and presented to Francona and front-office officials. A summary advisement is included, which might give Francona clearance to use Papelbon aggressively or keep him from using the reliever at all.

Take those Joba Rules and shove em up your asses, Stankees.

-But the best part of the article was the comment Paps had regarding the monetary difference between being a starter and a reliever in the major league marketplace

"I've thought about that, and over my career, what's the difference between $80 million and $100 million? O.K.? Nothing."

Another reason to friggin love this guy.

As for Lowell's interview with Rome, the ever-hyperbolic host labeled it one of the best interviews he's ever conducted and the best baseball interview he could ever ask for.

For once the goateed goofball was right.

Lowell touched on a number of topics and provided candid and witty takes on each, from Manny's work habits to Drew's struggles to being an RBI machine. Her are a few of the best bits I can remember:

-On how he handles the pressure of playing in Boston

"I came from a place that would draw 6,000 fans [Florida Marlins] before we were winning. Here you're playing in front of a packed house every night...a bloop single sounds like a line drive. It makes you think you are a better hitter than you are...and I just try to embrace that."

-On batting in the 4-hole in Manny's absence

"I am fortunate enough to hit with a lot of men on base in front of me, and I feel if I don't drive them in I'm not doing my job. But we're a much better team with Manny hitting fourth than with anyone else on the planet."

-On Manny's preparation

"Everyone thinks he shows up with his dreads, eats a hamburger, and starts hitting in a game. he does more pre-game preparation than anyone I've known, from catching miniature baseballs to improve his reflexes to attempting to catch wiffleballs to improve his hand-eye coordination...he's a freak"

-On Drew's struggles and perceived lackadaisical attitude

"J.D. is so even-keeled that he can handle the scrutiny & criticism better than most...he reminds me of Derrek Lee with the Marlins...this is just his first year in the AL; next year he will be good, when he gets that one season under his belt. I had never even faced Roy Halliday before my fist season in the American league (last year)"

I happen to agree with him 100% on this one

-And finally Rome asked him how he felt about breaking Butch Hobson's club record for RBIs by a third baseman last night

" I didn't even know about the record until i was at like 107 and someone mentioned to me the record was 111. I was surprised--I thought it would be more like 140 with all the great players they've had at that position. But once I knew I was close, i wanted to break it. it's a great honor."

No, Mike, it's a great honor to have had you play for the Sox these last two seasons, and if this should happen to be your last season in Beantown, you will always be remembered as both a clutch hitter and a class act.

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Sox creep closer to division title with wild win over Oakland

Sox 11, Oakland 6
WP: Timlin (2-1)
LP: Blevins (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (8); OAK-Piazza (8), Murphy (6)

SUMMARY
Boston climbed one game closer to wrapping up the East title by completing a two-game sweep of the Oakland A's. Starter Jon Lester was unable to hold two leads, but the Boston offense, sparked by three hits from Manny and five ribbies by Lowell, smacked 17 hits and blew the game open with a four run sixth.

#1 STUNNER Boston offense 11 runs, 17 hits, 6 walks, 7 XBHs
It was a veritable pig pile of offense tonight as nine Sox had at least one hit, five guys scored runs (including 4 for Pedroia) and six different players drove in runs, led by RBI king Lowell's five.

GAGME Jerry Blevins 0IP, 3H, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 0K, HR
The game was tied at five when Blevins entered to start the sixth. Three pitches later Pedroia untied it with a rocket into the Monster seats, and by the time he was gone Boston had scored three runs to turn a tight game into a rout.

RECAP
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Is it just me or is following the Sox these past few days like watching an episode of 24? You can't wait for the hour to end to see if Jack saves the day, or if the whole schmear blows up in his face.

Or he gets nailed for a fourth DUI.

Tonight the Sox came one game closer to saving the day--and the psyche of its Nation--by beating the As to reduce its "magic number" (is that a ridiculous phrase or what?, when was it invented, the Middle Ages?) to two games with four left to play; even though the Stanks punched their own playoff ticket by spanking the Rays to remain three games off the pace, it would take a monumental series of unfortunate events to alter the way things stand now.

Monumental but not impossible, hence the persistent silent ticking we all must put up with until the division crown is securely in the hands of the Sox for the first time since 1995.

And there were plenty of nervous moments for much of this game because Jon Lester (4.1IP, 7H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 9K) failed to hold leads of 3-1 and 5-4 when he allowed game-tying homers in back-to-back innings, yet he also fanned a career-high tying nine batters, including six of the first eight hitters he faced.

It was an odd start in what turned out to be a very strange night, which began in record 93 degree heat just after 5:00pm and ended with a spooky orange-yellow moon lurking behind the ballpark which entranced Remy so much he mused about wanting to live on the Earth's satellite one day.

As Carvey doing Carson would say, "weird, wild stuff."

I mentioned earlier that I wasn't going to watch the game because the 5:00 start conflicted with my son's LL game, but thanks to the ever-popular Southern Florida late summer storm, his game was rained out and I got to watch this one in all its see-sawing glory.

I'm not even going to begin to recap all the scoring and details of this one; as I said yesterday, it's not about the how at this point, it's just about getting there, so as long as the Sox win it doesn't really matter if it's by blowout, shutout or shootout as long as the end result is a 'W'.

Let's put tonight's game in the newly formed shootout/blowout category.

Oakland jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third, but Boston answered back with three in the bottom of the inning, the runs scoring on a 2-run single by Lowell (3-5, R, 5RBI) and a sac fly by the reignited J.D. Drew. Then Lester surrendered a three-run bomb to someone named Donnie Murphy (hey, didn't we all go to school with a Donnie Murphy, or was that his brother, Murph?) to give Oakland a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth.

The Sox answered right back with a couple of runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by an RBI single by Manny (3-3, 2R, BI, BB), which followed Pedroia's first of two doubles on the game, and Lowell's second RBI single of the contest.

Handed a 5-4 lead Lester immediately gave it back in the next inning when Mike Piazza deposited a 1-2 pitch into the back row of the Monster seats to tie the game at five, and after the young lefty followed that blunder with a four pitch walk to Jack Cust, Lester's night that had started so well was done with him on the hook for the loss.

Luckily Boston's offense was just getting cranked up, and after Oakland starter Joe Blanton (5IP, 11H, 5R, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) exited after five, rookie lefty Jerry Blevins came in and felt the wrath of an offesne that is finally starting to click on all cylinders for the first time since early June.

Pedroia (3-5, 4R, BI) set the tempo for the onslaught when he led off the sixth with a laser into the Monster seats to break the five-all deadlock, and after Manny walked and Ortiz doubled off the wall to set up runners at first and third with no outs, the As foolishly decided to pitch to Boston's team MVP with first base open.

Professional Hitting/RBI Machine Lowell needed just four pitches to rap a ball into the gap in left to easily score both runners and provide the bully some much-appreciated wiggle room for the rest of the game.

Boston tacked on another in the inning when the incredible Jacoby Ellsbury, who had extended his new hitting streak to eight games with a single in the fifth, plated Lowell with an RBI ground out, and the nailbiter became a blowout when Brandon Moss, who ran for Manny in the sixth, recorded his first career RBI with a single following Pedroia's second double in the seventh, and to cap off the freaky evening, a run scored when Eric Hinske struck out with the bases loaded.

It was that kind of night, but like I said, doesn't matter what happened on the field as long as they slice a game off that number.

Hopefully the ticking will stop tomorrow.

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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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Bosox bludgeon Chisox for third game in a row

Boston 14, Chicago 2
WP: Wakefield (16-10)
LP: Buehrle (9-9)
HRs: CHI-Konerko (26)

SUMMARY
The Bosox offense continued to get healthy courtesy of the Chicago pitching staff, turning a scoreless game in the 6th into another laffer by piling up 14 runs in the final four frames to get Tim Wakefield his ML co-leading 16th victory.

#1 STUNNER Mike Lowell 4-6, 2R, 2BI
The votes are in and the polls are officially closed: this guy is the Red Sox MVP for 2007. His RBI single in the 6th started the avalanche of runs, and in the three games the veteran third baseman is 9-14 with 6 runs scored and 6 RBIs.

M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P...

PAN's FAUN Chicago bullpen 3IP, 9H, 10ER
After starter Mark Buehrle allowed 4 runs in the 6th Ozzie's sorry bunch of relievers came in and torched any hopes of a Chisox comeback. This pen--and this team as a whole--might just be the worst in baseball.

RECAP
I know Chicago is called the Windy City, but I never realized that nickname was derived from how badly the baseball team on the South Side blows.

For the third straight game the Red Sox batters pummelled the piss-poor White Sox pitching, ringing up 15 hits and nearly as many runs in Boston's 3rd consecutive rout of the hapless ChiSox, who have lost 12 of their last 14 games.

Believe it or not, this game was actually a pitchers duel for the first five innings, with each team notching just 1 hit apiece in a scoreless battle as starting pitchers Tim Wakefield and Mark Buehrle were plowing through the other lineup like Angelina Jolie plows through adoptions.

But after five scoreless innings featuring a combined 7 base runners (2 hits, 4 walks, 1 error), Boston erupted in the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four times off a suddenly shell shocked Buehrle (6IP, 6H, 4ER, 3BB, 3K).

Little did we know that was only the beginning of the beatdown Boston was about to inflict on these Second City saps.

The sixth inning started innocently enough when Dustin Pedroia legged out an infield single to short and then Buehrle got Coco Crisp to line one right back to the mound to rob him of a hit.

But then David "One Pitch" Ortiz sliced Buehrle's next offering the opposite way into the left center field gap, and although the speed-challenged Pedroia had to hold up at third, it soon wouldn't matter as Boston broke it open.

After something really strange happened.

Ozzie Guillen decided to walk Manny Ramirez (0-3, 2R) to load the bases and pitch to Mike Lowell.

I know, it makes sense to walk a Hall of Fame hitter with first base open and one out to set up the force at any base, but the way Lowell has been blistering the ball, coupled with the fact that he's got more RBIs than Ramirez does this year, made the decision seem a little bit odd, at least to me.

The professional hitter made the decision really look bad when he took a 1-2 pitch from Buehrle and slammed a single through the hole at shortstop for the first run of the game, a play that said "yes, I am the man when it comes to clutch RBIs on this team this year" and also opened the floodgates like a that first pee on a night out.

Kevin Youkilis and Bobby Kielty (3-5, 1R, 4RBI) followed Lowell's lead and hit nearly identical singles to the exact same spot, plating three more runs and by the time Buehrle recorded the final two outs of the inning he was done for the day, and the White Sox would be as well.

After Wake (7IP, 3H, 0ER, 3BB, 6K) pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 6th, Boston added another run on three hits and a walk in the 7th off the immortal Boone Logan, and the score was up to 5-0.

But not for long.

Wake escaped his biggest jam of the day in the bottom of the 7th when he allowed his first hits since the first inning, a one-out double by Jermaine Dye (2-3) and a two-out single by Danny Richar, but struck out Andy Gonzalez to end the threat.

Then in the top of the 8th the Boston batters laid the wood to the pathetic Chicago pen, racking up 8 runs on four hits, five walks including two with the bases loaded, two hit batters and two wild pitches.

Reliever Ryan Bukvich (0IP, 2H, 5ER, BB) began the festivities by plunking both Alex Cora and Kevin Cash to open the inning, then surrendered a ringing double to left by Pedroia (2-5, 2R, 2BI) to plate Cora and send Cash to third.

Coco walked after a lengthy at bat, and the Papi (2-5, 2R, 2BI) waited till the 6th pitch from Buckvich before he lined a single to right to score Cash and Pedroia, and just like that the score was 8-0 with plenty more to come.

Mike MacDougal (2/3IP, 2H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K) relieved Bukvich and continued to make it hard to believe he used to be an All Star closer when he promptly threw a wild pitch to move Ortiz to second, then after striking out Manny, uncorked another wild one that easily scored Coco from third.

On the next pitch Lowell grounded another single to left to score Papi with Boston's 10th run, and the Sox had just accomplished something no Boston team had done since 2000: score more than 10 runs in three consecutive games.

Not even against the Devil Rays.

MacDougal continued to meltdown as he walked Youk (2-5, 1R, 2BI), allowed an RBI double to deep left by Kielty, then after getting Cora to strike out, walked Cash, Pedroia and Crisp in succession, the last two with the bases loaded.

By the time pinch hitter J.D. Drew rained on the parade and struck out to end the onslaught, Boston led 13-0 and apparently had succeeded in hammering the fight out of the fiery Guillen and his team.

Kyle Snyder ruined the shutout bid when he gave up a two-run blast to Paul Konerko in the 8th after plunking A.J. Punchmeplease with a retaliatory pitch, but the Sox tacked on a "fuck you" run in the 9th on another RBI hit by Kielty.

After Javier Lopez got Jerry Owens to fly out to end the game, one of the most dominating two-day stretches in franchise history had come to a merciful conclusion.

So Tim Wakefield joined teammate Josh Beckett as the only two 16-game winners in the major leagues, continued his streak of recording a decision in every start this season, and continues to make us wonder if the 42-year-old made a pact with the devil, because he is pitching better now than he has in his entire career.

And Mike Lowell continues to amaze even the most hardened baseball fan, going from a "must take" piece in the Beckett deal due to his age, salary, and declining productivity to become the key cog on what looks like a surefire playoff team, leading the team in RBIs and leadership by example.

And the Boston offense has made the Chicago White Sox look like the worst team in major league baseball for three straight games, finding its missing mojo and finally taking advantage of every scoring opportunity that comes their way.

Ah, good times in the Nation indeed.

Holy shit, just writing that wore me out, so I'm just gonna say one more thing: let's do it again tomorrow, boys!

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Bayside Bitches: Wake defeats Rays--again

Sox 6, Tampa Bay 0
WP: Wakefield (15-10)
LP: Kazmir (9-8)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (17)

SUMMARY
Once again the knuckleball of Tim Wakefield bedazzled, befuddled and bewildered Tampa Bay as the veteran used the strength of 3 RBIs from Mike Lowell and a pair of ribbies from Manny to earn his 19th career victory against the Rays.

#1 STUNNER Wake 7IP, 4H, 1BB, 5K
His numbers against the Rays are starting to resemble a fantasy geek's wet dream: 19-2, 2.74 ERA, 9-0 at the Trop. When you talk about one player owning one team, this record has got to be right near the top of the list.

PAN's FAUN Scott Kazmir 5.2IP, 7H, 6ER, 4BB, 8K
Normally Kaz is nearly as tough on the Sox as Wake is on his team, but not tonight. Boston hit the young lefty early & often, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after two and spoiling any rhythm the kid had hoped to get to offset Wakefield's dominance.

RECAP
What do you know, I was wrong again.

For some reason I had a sneaking suspicion that the twin Wakefield streaks were going to end tonight here in the Bay area, what with so much attention having been paid over the last week to both his unblemished record at the Trop and him recording a decision in every start this season.

But this is Tampa Bay, USA, where dreams come to life, snow birds come to vacation, and one old knuckleball pitcher comes to kick the local ballclub around like a Mike Vick chew toy.

Wakefield, the 42-year-old wunderkind, not only ran his record to 19-2 against the Rays but with his 15th victory of the season he tied teammate Josh Beckett and the Angels' John Lackey for the major league lead in wins.

I know it's a cliche, but this guy truly is the Energizer Bunnny. With that 60 mph floater and just enough of a fastball to keep hitters guessing, the senior Sox might outlast Buchholz, Lester, Delcarmen and all the other young studs currently in the Sox system.

Another reason I suspected the task might be tougher for Tim and the Sox tonight was the fact that they were facing a mini-assassin as well, Scott Kazmir.

Sure his 5-3 record vs. Boston doesn't sound so impressive, but when you figure in a 2.37 ERA along with 91 strikeouts in 83 innings of work, there's no denying the fact that the youngster enjoys going up against the best in the East.

And for the last month Kaz has been pretty happy to go up against anybody. He's been the hottest pitcher since the break, posting a 4-0 mark and surrendering just 5 earned runs in 44.2 innings for a phenomenal 1.02 earned run average covering seven starts.

Oh and he also struck out 53 batters and walked just 15 during that time.

But tonight the Boston batters had his number, whether it was the joy of playing a team other than the pesky Angels or just being in the cozy confines of Red Sox Nation South, and they quickly went to work on Wakefield's next win.

Dustin Pedroia started the festivities off with a single to left center on the first pitch of the game. Five pitches later Youk worked his obligatory walk, and with Papi getting the night off it was up to new Sox hero Bobby Kielty to get on for Manny.

Kielty reached base, but only by forcing Youk at second, and after Kazmir fanned Ramirez looking at three straight pitches it looked as if the young lefty was going to escape the inning unscathed.

Then Mike Lowell, Professional Hitter, stepped to the plate, and much like he has all season long, delivered just the right hit at just the right time.

Lowell sliced a wicked shot down the third base line that eluded the sprite Akinori Iwamura at the bag and scooted into the corner for a 2-run double, and with Wake owning the Rays you almost got the feeling the game could have ended there and saved everyone the trouble of sitting through 8 more innings.

Wakefield escaped a mini-jam in the bottom of the frame when Iwamura singled and stole second, then went to third when Carl Crawford whiffed but had to be thrown out as new knuckleball catcher Kevin Cash had not yet adapted to the nuances of the flutterball.

As it turned out tricky bounces would not pose much of a problem on the night when Boston tacked on three more runs in the second inning, effectively ending the game and allowing the sparse crowd in attendance to go home and tuck the kiddies into bed before the first day of school.

Coco ignited this rally with an odd ground rule double that looked as if it was a foul ball but glanced off right fielder Delmon Young's glove in fair territory and hopped into the stands.

A groundout by Lugo got Crisp to third, and after Cash watched a couple of nice pitches by Kazmir just miss the mark to earn a free pass, Pedroia (2-4, 2R, BI) slapped his second single to left to score Coco and run the score to 3-0 Sox.

Youk followed with a single to load the bases, and after Kielty struck out, Manny swatted the first pitch from Kazmir to deep center to score Cash and Pedroia to make it 5-0, and even though they couldn't capitalize when Manny made it to second and Lowell was intentionally walked to re-load the bases, the damage was done and this one was all but over..

That's because Wake's knuckler was dancing like Ian Ziering, floating and prancing like a proud ballerina and confounding the Rays, who did manage to get a runner on base in five of the first six innings but could do nothing with them.

By the time Lowell (2-2, R, 3RBI) slammed a solo shot to left with one out in the fifth to make the score 6-0, you could hear the drunk Sox fans cheering on their beloved team as the Tampa Bay fans rushed for the 275 on ramps.

Things were going so good that Manny Delcarmen exorcised the demons of his last appearance here (of which my son & I were unwitting witnesses) by tossing a 1-2-3 8th on 13 pitches, and with Papelbon & Gagne watching side by side from the pen, Mike Timlin set the Rays down in order in the 9th to close out another Wakefield milestone victory.

Once again the magic man of the major leagues continued two impressive streaks and tied for the league lead in wins at the same time.

If he keeps pitching against Tampa Bay he might even get some Cy Yong consideration.

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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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