Sox win again as Masterson remains undefeated

Sox 2, Seattle 1
WP: Masterson (3-0)
LP: Green (1-2)
SV: Papelbon (18)
HRs: BOS-Drew (8); SEA-None

SUMMARY:
JD Drew remained hot at the plate, homering for the second straight game and extending his hitting streak to 8 games, and Justin Masterson continued to pitch like a seasoned vet rather than a real rookie as the Sox took the series from Seattle despite netting just five base hits.

#1 STUNNER: Drew 1-3, 1R, 2BI, HR
Not only is the right fielder blazing with the bat, homering for the fourth time in the last eight games, but he is providing spectacular defense in the field, too, as his highlight reel catch of a Richie Sexon blast in the second inning proved.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Sean Green 2.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
The league leader in appearances came on in relief of starter Erik Bedard an had just one mission to accomplish: keep the score tied. Instead he allowed a homer to Drew on his 5th pitch which turned out to be the difference in the game.

RECAP:
At the rate these guys are going who needs Ellsbury, Papi and Dice-K?

I know I've joked about this before but it's starting to appear to be true because no matter what lineup combo or starting pitcher Francona runs out there the Sox still have an excellent chance to win every time out.

Especially with Manny, Drew and Masterson as hot as the suddenly summer-like Boston weather.

Drew extended his torrid hitting streak to eight games, in which he's batting an even .500 (15-30) with 6 walks, 4 homers and 12 RBI, while Manny's 6th inning single prolonged his streak to 13 games, raising his average from .280 to .302 in that time.

And Masterson, as corny and cliched and overused as this phrase is, has truly been masterful as he has yet to lose in his young career and continues to astound and impress everyone in baseball every time he takes the mound.

Think the Stankees wish they had someone like this coming up from their farm system to bail them out?

But as well as the 23-year-old Jamaican born phenom has been he still hasn't even secured a spot in this tough-to-crack Red Sox rotation.

With Dice-K due back soon and Buchholz too experienced to leave in the minors for very long, Masterson, who still has plenty of options and minor league seasoning left, would appear to be the odd man out.

Unless he keeps pitching like this. Then there's no way they can keep him at Pawtucket, age and experience level non withstanding.

For the third time in four career starts Masterson (6IP, 3H, 1ER, 3BB, 4K, 88P) allowed just 1 earned run. He went at least six innings for the fourth straight time, and has yet to throw more than 95 pitches in any of his starts.

His ERA is 2.59, his WHIP is 1.07 and batters are hitting less than .200 off of him.

Like I said, gonna be hard to send this kid back down with numbers like that.

Today he got touched for a run early, but the situation could have been a lot worse if not for a superb catch by J.D. Drew. After walking the first two batters of the second inning, slumping Richie Sexson sliced a screaming liner to right center field that looked like it was going to go for a sure bases-clearing double.

But out of nowhere Drew raced over and snared the sinking liner with an awesome over-the-shoulder catch, saving two runs, and even though one runner advanced and came home on a groundout the potential for a big inning for Seattle was snuffed out with that catch.

That was the entire offense on the day as Boston held the M's to a mere three base hits, and once the Sox tied the game in the third you got the feeling that it was just a matter of time before they took control of this one.

Boston finally got to Bedard (5IP, 2H, 1ER, 3BB, 5K, 99P), who had handcuffed them last month in Seattle, in the third when they tied the game on only one base hit.

Coco Crisp started the rally with a one out single to right, then Bedard walked Brandon Moss and Dustin Pedroia to set up a bases loaded, tow out situation for Drew, and the slugger came through with an RBI once again, although this time he didn't get a hit but got hit with a Bedard pitch, tying the game at one.

After both teams traded a couple of scoreless innings Mariner manager John McLaren for some reason removed Bedard after the fifth, despite the fact that he had only allowed the one run and three hits, and Drew immediately jumped at the opportunity to face a new pitcher.

Sean Green came in as the leader in appearances in the American League with 32 and had only allowed one home run all season, April 24th against the Orioles.

Until today.

Green jumped ahead of Drew 0-2 before the rightfielder took a ball and fouled one off, then he blasted a bomb to the black seats in centerfield for his 8th home run and second in two days, and with the score 2-1 it was up to the Sox bullpen to bring the series win home.

Craig Hansen came in to relieve Masterson to start the seventh and after surrendering a leadoff walk the rejuvenated righty, who hasn't allowed an earned run in his last six appearances, set the next three Mariners down in order, the last two by strikeout.

Hideki Okajima, who has also settled down since his meltdown in Baltimore, tossed a 1-2-3 eighth, and then Jonathan Papelbon, who was victimized for an unearned run thanks to a rare Kevin Youkilis error yesterday, needed all of five pitches to dispatch what was left of the Mariners in the 9th for his 17th save and close out the win.

Tomorrow the Sox will enjoy a rare off day at home before taking on the O's on Tuesday, and if all goes well Jacoby Ellsbury should be back for that game, with Matsuzaka and Buchholz soon to follow him back to the big club.

If there's room for those guys.

RECORD: 40-26
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 8-2
UP NEXT: Mon-Off; Tue vs. BAL @ Fenway 7:05

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Game Preview: Mariners @ Sox GM3

Bedard (4-4, 4.47) vs. Masterson (2-0, 1.95)
Game 3 of 3 1:35 @ Fenway

The rubber game of this series features an enticing pitching matchup, with Seattle's big bucks off-season acquisition Erik Bedard going up against the new kid on the Boston pitching block, Justin Masterson.

For the first time in his young career Masterson did not get sent right back to the minors following his last start. Instead, with Daisuke Matsuzaka still on the mend and Clay Buchholz working on his mechanics in Pawtucket, Masterson was allowed to stick around with the big club after his second career victory last Tuesday, a six inning, four earned run performance against the Rays on Tuesday.

You have to think the experience of palling around with the big boys would only help the 23-year-old's development, although with all the shenanigans that have gone on this week I'm not sure this was the best time to have him hanging around.

Oh well, just like our kids he's gotta learn about the real world someday.

His mound opponent Bedard finally lived up to his offseason hype as the savior of the M's staff in his last outing; unfortunately his breakout performance came against the Sox.

On May 28th in Seattle the hard throwing lefty pitched seven innings of 2-hit, 8-strikeout shutout ball, proving to the Seattle fans and ballclub that he was worth the enormous financial and psychical package the Mariners gave up in acquiring him from Baltimore in the offseason.

The question for them is, can he do it again?

In his next outing following that gem Bedard surrendered 5 runs (4 earned) and seven hits with three walks and one strikeout in 3 1/3 innings in a 5-4 loss to the Angels, looking more like Julian Tavarez than a staff centerpeice.

He was booed off the Safeco mound after that wretched performance, so maybe a start away from home is exactly what he needs.

Let's hope not.

The real question about today's game is what kind of lineup configuration is Tito "the Juggler" Francona going to come out with today. With so many regulars out or nursing injuries, we could almost create a game show out of this new daily routine.

"Who's gonna leadoff for the Bosox" or "Are you stronger at the top or bottom of the lineup" could be a couple of contenders.

As always we'll just have to wait and see.

As long as whomever's out there puts some runs on the board and keeps Masterson's winning streak intact, it's all good.

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Sox bounce back with massacre of Mariners

Sox 11, Mariners 3
WP: Wakefield (4-4)
LP: Batista (3-7)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Manny (14), Drew (7); SEA-None

SUMMARY:
Boston got back to business today - the business of winning at Fenway. Tim Wakefield handcuffed the Seattle hitters for seven innings and the Sox batters took care of the rest, pounding 13 hits including mammoth homers by Manny & Drew in a satisfying rout of the M's.

#1 STUNNER: Drew 3-5, 3R, 2BI, 3B, HR
The Sox right fielder continues to wield a blazing hot bat, ripping a triple ahead of Manny's homer in the first and then blasting a homer of his own to straightaway center in the sixth.

Over his last 15 games Drew is batting .396 (21-53) with 4 doubles, a triple, 4 homers and 12 RBI. Yes, keep those fingers crossed he stays healthy.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Miguel Batista 4.1IP, 6H, 5R, 4ER, 6BB, 1K, 1HR, 85P
The Seattle starter was solid but not spectacular in his start against Boston in their recent series in Seattle, but today the veteran righty was downright awful, walking a half a dozen men including two in the 4th and 5th innings when the Sox broke open a close game.

RECAP:
Wasn't it nice to witness a game in which no punches were thrown, no one got ejected, no fights erupted in the dugout and the Sox came out on top?

Now if they could just get the regular starting lineup back on the field everything would really be kosher.

As it is we'll happily settle for the results put forth by another of Tito's patchwork lineups as the substitute Sox simultaneously slapped Seattle while keeping the Rays at bay in Boston's 24th home victory this season.

For the third straight start Tim Wakefield pitched at least seven innings and allowed 2 earned runs or less, but this time he actually got a win to show for his efforts.

And if Manny Ramirez and JD Drew keep crushing baseballs like they have for the past 10 days or so the Sox might not need Ellsbury, Papi, Pedroia, Lowell in the lineup anyway.

After all the team did pretty well without them today.

With the Mariners having posted 21 consecutive scoreless innings on the Sox over their last three meetings, all Seattle wins, Boston wasted no time in breaking that embarrassing streak.

In the bottom of the first inning Drew smacked a ball off Ichiro's glove and hustled it into a triple, and then Manny followed with a titanic shot that cleared the Monster and landed in a parking lot on Lansdowne for his sixth homer in the last 10 games and 504th of his career.

Seattle tied it in the third when Wake's knuckler wasn't knuckling and the Mariners plated two runs on a pair of singles and a ground rule double by Raul Ibanez, but after he walked Adrian Beltre following the double Wake retired 12 straight batters until Kenji Johjima's one-out single in the seventh.

In the meantime Boston slowly pulled away, thanks to the wildness of Miguel Batista and the timely hitting of the makeshift lineup.

With Ellsbury still nursing his strained wrist and Manny's hammy still too sore for him to play the outfield, plus other myriad situations, Francona went with a lineup that once again resembled a split squad spring training game: Cora subbing for Pedroia at second; Youk taking third in place of Lowell while Casey manned first; Brandon Moss playing left in place of Manny; Cash of course catching Wake; and the odd 1-2 combo of Coco and Lugo leading off at the top.

Even with that odd configuration the Sox managed to pile up the runs against a team that had confounded them for most of their meetings this season, scoring two in the fourth and one in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead before blowing it open late in the game.

Boston too the lead back for good in the fourth on a walk to Moss a deep double to left center by Cora (2-4, 2R, BI) and an RBI single by Coco Crisp, his second hit in two innings and the first in a few games that involved his bat and not his fists.

In the fifth the Sox loaded the bases on walks to Moss and Manny (1-2, 2R, 2BI, 3BB) and a single by Casey, chasing Batista from the game, but reliever R.A. Dickey came on to squelch the threat, allowing just one run to score and that was on a passed ball by Johjima.

The lead went to 6-2 when Drew hit a tracer missile off the wall above the camera stand in center field, and after Craig Hansen relieved Wakefield and pitched a scoreless 8th, Boston blew the game open in the bottom of the inning when it sent nine men to the plate and five scored.

Cora got the party started with a leadoff single to right, and after Coco lined out Lugo slapped a single to right as well to set the stage for the team's hottest hitters.

And they didn't disappoint as Drew also laced a single to right for his third hit of the game to score Cora, and after Manny drew his third base on balls pinch hitter Mike Lowell lined a double down the third base line to score Lugo and Drew and push the lead to 9-2.

Kevin Youkilis, who has noticeably toned down his post-at bat antics since the Ramirez dugout incident, provided the final margin when he dropped a double into left that scored both Jacoby Ellsbury, who pinch ran for Manny, and Lowell, and all that was left was for closer Jonathan Papelbon to come in and get some much-needed work.

Unfortunately things didn't go so smoothly for the boys in the 9th as Youk made an error after moving to first base when he botched a throw from Cora, ending his record-setting errorless streak for a first baseman at 238 games.

That blunder, which perhaps was a karmic makeup for the one he should've got last night that went to Lowell, led to an unearned run by Papelbon, but a pair of Ks and a fly out to (appropriately) Drew put a cap on the day and sent the Faithful home happy.

Tomorrow the Sox can take the series from Seattle and put further distance between themselves and the ugly incidents of the Rays series.

Wonder what the lineup will look like.

RECORD: 39-26
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 7-3
UP NEXT: Sun vs. SEA @ Fenway 1:35 Bedard vs. Masterson

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Game Preview: Mariners @ Sox

Batista (3-6, 5.90) vs. Wakefield (3-4, 4.50)
Game 2 of 3 3:55 FOX @ Fenway Park

The Sox will try to regroup after three tumultuous days in which they engaged in an on field brawl with the Rays that resulted in the suspensions of three players, an in-house disagreement between teammates that resulted in numerous denials in the clubhouse, and a shutout at the hands of the Mariners that resulted in the end of their 13-game home winning streak.

All in favor for getting back to winning, Bosox baseball say "aye".

Tim Wakefield will try to right the ship today, although the knuckleballer has had little success historically against the M's, posting a 3-9 record with a 4.15 ERA in 145 career starts (24 appearances.)

But the veteran has been awesome in his last two starts, allowing just 3 earned runs in his last 15 innings, although he's only got a loss and an ND to show for it.

His mound opponent, Miguel Batista, has been equally impressive in his last two starts, allowing 5 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings including a 7 inning, 5-hit, 2 earned run performance against the Sox in Seattle, but he only hasd 2 NDs to show for his efforts.

Boston should have Manny Ramirez back in the lineup this afternoon, but Jacoby Ellsbury will miss his second staright game with his wrist injury. With Sean Casey covering first and Kevin Cash catching Wake it will be another patchwork lineup for Franbcona and the Sox.

No matter. The Sox need to break the 21 inning scoreless stretch against the lowly Ms and take this game to get back on the winning track and put all the craziness of the last few days behind them.

No excuses today.

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Seattle shuts out Sox, ends home win streak at 13

Mariners 8, Sox 0
WP: Hernandez (4-5)
LP: Colon (3-1)
SV: None
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
Felix Hernandez pitched well at Fenway again and got plenty of support from his offense, Bartolo Colon was horrible, from his pitching to his defense, and the Sox were shut out for the first time since...Seattle blanked them 1-0 on May 28th.

#1 STUNNER: Hernandez 6IP, 6H, 0ER, 3BB, 5K, 106P
King Felix continued his reign over the Red Sox as the former phenom racked up his second straight shutout at Fenway dating back to last April's 1-hitter.

According to the wire services his 15 consecutive scoreless innings at Fenway are the longest by an opposing pitcher since 1956. Yikes.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Colon 5IP, 8H, 6R, 3ER, 1BB, 2K, 2E, 79P
Not only did the hefty righty have his worst performance for Boston pitching-wise, but his two inexcusable errors throwing the ball to second base led to three key unearned runs and helped seal the Sox fate. Ugh.

RECAP:
We knew the good times had to end sometime, for Boston and Bartolo Colon, and I don't think anyone was surprised that it all came crashing down tonight.

One night after playing in an exhausting, brawl-filled ballgame that saw three Sox leave the field prematurely and on the same day that three players received suspensions for their actions, Boston's 13 game home winning streak came to a crashing halt at the hands of the slumping Mariners.

On the heels of all that drama the Sox lineup resembled a B squad scrimmage at City of Palms park with Manny Ramirez, Jacoby Ellsbury and of course Big Papi all riding the pine in this one due to injury.

So is it any wonder that the man who nearly pitched a no hitter here last year came to town and shut down the emotionally drained and psychologically stained Sox?

Well yeah, kinda, because after all this Mariner team was in shambles coming in here, losers of four in a row and 12 of 15 and possessors of the worst record in baseball.

So even though a Boston letdown was almost inevitable with all the turmoil swirling around the club, for the measly M's to shut out one of the best offensive teams in the league for the second time in 10 days was a bit surprising.

But I guess we gotta look on the bright side: at least no punches were thrown.

The game was basically over in the first four innings as Seattle jumped out to a 5-0 lead and Boston could do nothing right, including capitalize on an early bases loaded opportunity that could have changed the complexion of the game.

In the top of the first Jose Lopez hit a one-out single to center and Colon responded with a four pitch walk to Raul Ibanez (2-3, 3R, 2BB.) The inning should have ended, though, when the next batter, Adrian Beltre, grounded back to the mound for what looked like a tailor made double play.

Except Colon made the first of many mental blunders on the evening, tossing the ball between Pedroia and Lugo, who were splitting the bag, and the ball sailed into center field as Lopez scored the first run and Ibanez moved to third.

Jose Vidro then hit the next pitch from Colon for an RBI groundout and Seattle had a quick 2-0 lead.

After Colon retired the side in order in the second Boston had a chance to get right back in the game when they loaded the bases off King Felix on a single by Mayor Casey (3-4), a bunt single by Captain Tek and a two-out walk to Lugo.

But in a twisted taste of karma Cock-o Crisp came to the plate with the sacks full and a chance to do some damage with something other than his mouth or fists, and all the sleazy centerfielder could do was strike out.

Granted it was a check swing strike three, and it didn't look like he went around, but what did he think he was going to get a favorable call from the umps after the debacles of the past two nights?

Like Earl always says karma's a bitch.

After dodging that bullet Seattle would tack on another run in third when sloppy plays by Boston led to a gift Seattle score.

Ichiro (1-5, R, 2BI) reached on an error by Mike Lowell to lead off the inning, a call that should have gone to Crazy Kevin Youkilis but the hometown scorer obviously wanted to keep the first baseman's errorrless streak intact.

Lopez followed with a single to set up runners at second and third with no outs, but after Colon got Ibanez to pop out he foolishly tried to pick Ichiro off second, and once again the ball sailed into center field and both runners moved into scoring position.

Two pitches later Beltre blasted a ball to center to easily score Ichiro, and although the score was only 3-0 it strangely felt like 10-0.

Boston squandered a two on, one out opportunity in the bottom of the inning when a single by Drew (2-3, BB) and a walk to Lowell were wasted when Youk flied out and Casey struck out, and then Seattle would put the game away in the fourth with a pair of earned runs (for a change.)

A single by Richie Sexon (3-4, R, 2BI) and a ground rule double by Yunieski 'All Name Team' Betancourt put runners at second and third with one out, and then Ichiro slapped a single to left that scored both runners, although a great throw by Brandon Moss nearly nabbed Yuni at the plate.

That made the score 5- and it was time to go outside and water the lawn, do some yardwork and hang out with the fam as this one was all but over.

Evidently Seattle scored another run when a ball glanced off Colon's glove (talk about losing it all in one game), and for good measure David Aardsma (1IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB, 1K) surrendered a pair of runs in the seventh to reach the final score of 8-0.

By that time I, along with many in the Nation and in the Sox dugout, had checked out of this one, wishing there was a Celts game on to divert our attention from the messy massacre that was taking place on the field.

But hey, at least there were no punches thrown, right?

RECORD: 38-26
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
STREAK: L1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Sat vs. SEA 3:55 FOX Batista vs. Wakefield

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Series Preview: Mariners @ Sox

Seattle Mariners (21-39)
AL West: 15.5 GB
Streak: L4
Last 10: 3-7

3 game series @ Fenway Park
Game 1 Friday 7:05
Hernandez (3-5, 3.29) vs. Colon (3-0, 3.50)
Game 2 Saturday 3:55 FOX
Batista (3-6, 5.90) vs. Wakefield (3-4, 4.50)
Game 3 Sunday 1:35
Washburn (2-7, 6.56) vs. Masterson (2-0, 2.95)

PREVIEW:
Had to cut the normal preview post short to bring the updates on the suspensions from the Raysbrawl game last night.

According to the Globe Coco Crisp, or Cock-o as I have now taken to calling him for obvious reasons, rightfully received the harshest penalty with a 7-game suspension. Fellow Sox Jon Lester (5 games) and Sean Casey (3) were the only other members of the Boston team to get suspended, curious because neither player appeared to be active participants in the melee.

The Rays on the other hand were hit pretty hard as starters James Shields (6 games) and Edwin Jackson (5) received the equivalents of one missed start each, while Jonny Gomes (5), Carl Crawford (4) and Aki Iwamura (3) got lighter sentences.

The punishments will be staggered so everyone doesn't sit at once, and Crisp has stated he will appeal his, allowing him to play tonight. Expect him to get maybe one game shaved off, but that's about it.

All in all a pretty costly evening for both clubs.

As for the undercard of the Friday night fisticuffs between Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis, ESPN is reporting that Manny took exception to Youk tossing some equipment around the dugout following an out he made in the bottom of the fourth.

This is unsubstantiated by the ball club but is easy to believe that even his own teammates are tiring of Youk's ultra-sensitive intensity regarding balls, strikes and outs.

There is some good news amidst all this brawl-filled bullshit: Jacoby Ellsbury's wrist injury appears to be minor and he should only miss a game or two.

So we got that going for us.

As for this series Seattle staggers into town having lost four in a row and 12 of its last 15 games, with two of those wins coming against the Sox in Seattle a week and a half ago.

Since taking the final two games of that series and a game against Detroit two nights later the Mariners were swept by the Angels, prompting a post-game expletive-laced tirade by manager John McLaren Wednesday night.

So basically the Ms are the one team that might be more of a mess than the Sox are right now, but with a lot worse record. As in the worst record in baseball worse.

The roster for the game tonight, when Bart Colon goes for win #4 in four starts since being called up, will feature Coco Crisp in center but Manny will not be in left. he tweaked his already tender hammy in the 7th inning last night, leading to a rare pinch running performance by Kevin Cash, so he will sit out tonight.

In his place Brandon Moss, who was called up after the game when Chris Carter was shipped back on the PawSox express, will start in left while Mayor Casey takes over the DH duties.

Moss had been on a tear since coming back from his appendectomy, so his bat will be a welcome addition with Papi and now Manny and Ellsbury missing time.

Anyway it will be nice to get back to talking about baseball instead of fights and bickering.

At least for a day.

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Road Kill: Sox lose pitcher's duel in Seattle

Mariners 1, Sox 0
WP: Bedard (4-3)
LP: Wakefield (3-4)
SV: Putz (6)
HRs: SEA-Betancourt (3)

SUMMARY:
Tim Wakefield and Erik Bedard both pitched brilliantly but Wake made one mistake - he hung a pitch that Yunieski Betancourt hit out of the park in the 3rd inning - and that turned out to be the only run of the ballgame.

And so the Red Sox road woes continue as Boston lost for the fifth time in six games on this latest trip, and just like last night's walk-off loss this was another extremely painful defeat.

SUPERSTAR: Bedard 7IP, 2H, 3BB, 8K, 109P
The only reason he gets the call over Wakefield is because of that one bad pitch. Other than that Wake matched the former Orioles ace. In fact...

Honorable mention: Wake 8IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 8K, HR, 96P
It's too bad the knuckleballer's 2nd best outing of the year had to go to waste

THE BIGGEST LOSER: None
For the first time ever no one was bad enough to take home this dishonor. I mean who could wear this crown when it was a well played ballgame that featured excellent defense and terrific pitching?

RECAP:
Another late night, another disappointing result.

For some reason these losses hurt even more when you stay up past midnight to watch them, although thankfully this one was played in a tidy 2 hours and 11 minutes, sparing us from another post-1:00am dose of depression.

But the depression will be sinking in soon with Sox fans as the realization dawns on us that this team, no matter how well constructed and loaded with All Star-caliber talent, will not be able to go deep in the playoffs if it cannot win on the road.

I mean who do they think they are, the Celts?

Tonight's loss dropped the sox to a horrid 11-19 away from the friendly confines this season, tied for the second most road losses in the majors with three
other teams - Cincy, Colorado and San Diego.

The only club with more losses away from home? These very Seattle Mariners.

Guess they didn't play them at the wrong time, just the wrong place.

The bad thing about this one, well aside from the fact that Boston got shut out for the 4th time this season and 2nd time in five days and managed a meager 2 base hits, is the fact that Tim Wakefield pitched better than he has in almost a month, since his 2 hit, 8 inning shutout at Detroit on May 6th.

In his three starts since then Wake had allowed 21 hits and 17 earned runs over 13 innings, walking nine and serving up five home runs.

Tonight the homer came back to bite him again, but the knuckler was dancing like Kristi Yamaguchi and you would expect the Boston offense to be able to overcome one little mistake.

Unfortunately Bedard was just as good if not better than Wakefield in what was by far the best outing of the lefty's short Mariner career.

Picked up in the offseason from Baltimore in a controversial trade for both sides that sent stud outfield prospect Adam Jones, among others, to the Birds, Bedard had yet to fulfill the expectations that a former 15 game winner and strikeout king brings to a struggling club.

Until tonight.

In his last start against the Stanks Bedard was shellacked to the tune of 8 hits and 9 earned runs allowed in 4 1/2 innings. Tonight against our Sox the effort was the exact opposite.

All Boston could manage off the lanky lefty was a trio of walks and a pair of base hits, which led to just one scoring chance when Manny and Mike Lowell singled in the 4th inning. But Sean Casey, starting his third straight game in place of the still-injured Kevin Youkilis, grounded into a double play, and the Sox only threat of the night off Bedard went by the wayside.

As good as Bedard was Wake was even better, scattering five hits but issuing no free passes as his knuckler baffled the Mariner hitters all evening. Except for the home run, which Betancourt hit on a 1-1 count with one out in the third, Wake was near perfect.

It's just that Bedard was perfect, as far as not allowing any runs to cross the plate.

But manager John McLaren replaced Bedard, who threw a lot of pitches, with hard throwing reliever Brendan Morrow to start the 8th, and Boston nearly had the reliever on the ropes.

A leadoff walk to JD Drew set the table, but Julio Lugo failed to advance the runner when his bunt went right to first baseman Miguel Cairo who nailed Drew at second. Still a groundout by Jacoby Ellsbury got Lugo into scoring position with two outs, but Morrow fanned Dustin Pedroia with a 100 mph missile, and the threat was over.

The Sox would get one more chance to tie the game in the 9th off All Star closer JJ Putz, but once again the cards were not in their favor.

Putz, still rounding into form after an early season trip to the DL, walked Ramirez
with one out, then after Lowell popped out he walked Casey to set up a potential game-losing situation.

But Coco Crisp grounded harmlessly to second, and the Sox had suffered their first 1-0 defeat since last September 10th against the Rays.

Boston will now travel to Baltimore and enjoy an off day in the Inner Harbor before taking on the Os in a four game wraparound series this weekend.

With Dice K back in Boston for tests on his shoulder and his status in doubt, and a 1-5 record already trailing behind them on this 10 game roadie, the Sox need to take 3 of 4 from the Birds or else this season could go south in a hurry.

At least Bedard won't be waiting for them in Baltimore, too.

RECORD: 32-24
AL EAST: 1 1/2 GB
STREAK: L2
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu-Off; Fri @ BAL 705

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Sox lose Dice K, Lugo, Tito and the game on a walk-off hit

Seattle 4, Sox 3
WP: Putz (2-2)
LP: Timlin (2-3)
SV: None
HRs: BOS-Manny (9); SEA-None

SUMMARY:
In what turned out to be an ugly, costly game in the Pacific Northwest Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka had to leave the game with an undisclosed injury, Julio Lugo and Terry Francona got tossed for arguing a check swing, and Mike Timlin gave the game away when he allowed two hits and a walk in the 9th inning, handing the Ms their first win in the last 8 games.

SUPERSTAR: Manny Ramirez 1-3, R, 3BI, HR, A
The game wouldn't had come down to a walk off situation had ManRam not knocked his 499th career homerun over the right field wall in the 6th, tying the game a three and prolonging the agony for the Nation. He also contributed an outfield assist, which at the time staved off late game misery as well.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Timlin 2/3 IP, 2H, 1ER, BB, L
It's time to give Tired Arm his walking papers, a la Kyle Snyder, Julian Tavarez and Bryan Corey before him, because as soon as he entered the game you knew it was over.

RECAP:
Repeat after me: "I friggin stayed up til 1:10 in the morning for that!"

Now say it again.

What's that, you turned it off before the agonizing 9th?

Lucky bastard.

Because for those of us who did stick around til the bitter end it was a long, sour night of baseball, filled with insults, injuries, ejections and frustration as Boston lost for the fourth time in five games and saw its road record drop to an anemic 11-18.

For some perspective that mark is worse than teams such as Texas and Milwaukee and equals that of Kansas City, which has an aggregate record of 21-30.

I'm too tired right now to do a complete recap, so I'm gonna give you the lazy blogger version:

-Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up three runs in four innings before leaving the game with what appeared to be a side or back strain prior to the 5th

-Julio Lugo got the hook from third base umpire Angel Hernandez after apparently arguing a check swing non-call on Raul Ibanez in the 5th, and after a heated on field exchange Francona joined his shortstop in the clubhouse

-Manny Ramirez tied the game in the 6th after an error by SS Yunieski Betancourt and a walk to David Ortiz; it was his 499th career home run and first in 12 games

-after scoreless efforts from David Aardsma, Manny Delcarmen (!) and Hideki Okajima, acting manager Brad Mills went with Timlin over Papelbon in the 9th. Timlin proceeded to allow a leadoff single to someone named Wladimir Balentien, and after a pair of ground outs, he intentionally walked Ichiro before allowing the game-losing single to Jose Lopez.

And there you have it in a nutshell. It was an awful night and a depressing finish against an awful team the Sox should have beaten. And with that I'm gonna finish my 7 olive martini and hit the hay.

More in the A.M.

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Game Preview: Sox @ Seattle GM2

Matsuzaka (8-0, 2.40) vs. Batista (3-6, 5.83)
GM 2 of 3 10:00 @ Safeco Field

The Sox will try to make it two wins in a row when they send the AL's wins leader to the mound tonight at Safeco Field.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will put his perfect record on the line in what is probably the most Japanese friendly ballpark in the majors. Seattle is the home of Ichiro, Kenji Johjima and a large Japanese-American population, so Dice K should feel right at home when he toes the slab looking for win number nine this evening.

As we all know Matsuzaka's quest for perfection has been anything but perfect as his starts have featured a slew of base hits, walks and pitches thrown.

Yet here we are nearly into June and the perplexing righty has yet to lose a start, so who are we to complain?

We'll at least wait until he loses to start that shit.

Against the Mariners Matsuzaka owns a 1-1 record with a 4.33 ERA. The loss came in the memorable showdown last April with Felix Hernandez, Dice-K's first career start at Fenway, which was spoiled when King Felix blanked Boston with a 1-hit masterpiece.

At Safeco Matsuzaka is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in two starts, so his undefeated record here is at stake as well.

His mound opponent will be veteran journeyman Miguel Batista. The lanky righty has tooled for 8 teams in his 13 year career, some more than once, and his second season in Seattle has been the kind that will get him shipped out again.

In his last 4 starts Batista has allowed 29 hits and 19 runs over 16 innings for an ERA of 10.69 in losing 3 of the 4. Needless to say those stats don't bode well for a team that has lost 7 games in a row and is facing the best offensive team in the AL.

But anything can happen in this game and we know Matsuzaka has to lose sooner or later, and what better place than the house that Ichiro, his countrymen and former Japan League nemesis, built?

Fingers crossed.

NOTES:
-Youk out? Kevin Youkilis is still smarting from the mysterious hand injury that kept him out of last night's game and according to the Globe he is questionable for tonight. Hopefully he didn't hurt it smashing something, like that idiot pitcher for the Royals.

-Lester named Player of the Week: technically the soft spoken lefty had to share the honor with Detroit outfielder Magglio Ordonez, but he'll take it. I guess a no hitter doesn't carry as much weight as it used to. For the week Lester was 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA, earning his first ever POTW award. Great job, Jon.

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Road Warriors: Sox, Beckett remain hot away from Fenway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RSN shudders at the very thought.

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

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

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

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

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

NOTES & QUOTES:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Game Preview: Sox @ Seattle GM3`

Beckett (13-5, 3.41) vs. Batista (11-7, 4.23)
Safeco Field 4EST

The Sox will try to win two in a row at Safeco after ending a 9-game losing streak here last night while Josh Beckett attempts to become the majors' third 14-game winner.

But the task won't be an easy one. Beckett has never pitched at Safeco, and coming off two straight losses he will have to overcome his strong desire to get back on the winning track as well as the unfamiliarity of the venue in order to prevent a new Safco losing streak from starting.

Not to mention the fact that he will be opposed by Seattle's hottest hurler.

Miguel Batista will be going for a career-high in wins when he takes the mound this afternoon, and the 12-year vet has been unbeatable since the break.

In four starts since the All Star break Batista is 3-0 with a 2.91 ERA, allowing 22 hits and 9 earned runs with 18 strikeouts in 24.2 innings over that span.

His career high for wins, 11, was accomplished twice while he was with Arizona, in 2001 and 2006.

However with several Seattle hitters having little success against Beckett, including Ichiro, who is just 1-10 career vs. Josh and 5-31 vs. Boston this season, another win in latte land is not such a reach.

Boston will try and jump start Beckett's Cy Young campaign before heading down the coast to LA for Curt Schilling's re-debut tomorrow night against the Angles, and he should get plenty of help from hot-hitting Big Papi.

Ortiz has been on a tear the last few weeks, batting .357 (15-42) with 3 doubles, 3 homers, 7 RBIs and 12 runs scored in his last 10 games; he's had at least one hit in 18 of his last 19 games.

As long as Becks can keep Ichiro, the majors leading hitter, off the bases, contain speedy spark plug outfielder Adam Jones and keep pesky Yuniesky Betancourt from leaving the yard again, that 14th win should be there for the taking.

But no matter who wins, at least the game won't get over in the wee hours of the morning.

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Ding dong the Safeco streak is dead

Sox 4, Seattle 3
WP: Matsuzaka (13-8)
LP: Washburn (8-8)
SV: Papelbon (25)
HRs:SEA-Beltre (17), Betancourt (7)

SUMMARY
The Sox stopped their 9-game skid at Safeco Field as Dice-K struck out a career-tying high 10 batters, Captain Tek hit the go-ahead 2-run double, and after Eric Gagne allowed a run in the 8th, Paps escaped a two-on, two-out jam to end the Safeco slide.

#1 STUNNER Dice-K 7IP, 6H, 2ER, 3BB, 10K
Following his tough-luck loss at Tampa Bay Matsuzaka turned in an awesome performance, escaping a couple of jams thanks to a pair of double plays and baffling the Mariners hitters with his nasty fastball.

PAN's FAUN Jose Guillen 0-4, 4K, BB
The ill-tempered outfielder took home the Golden Sombrero tonight with his pitiful 4-K effort, and if it weren't for a lousy home town call he could have added a 5th strikeout in the 9th. He also airmailed a throw to third base that allowed Boston's 3rd run to score.

RECAP
At least this game got over earlier than last night's.

Instead of ending at 1:30 this one wrapped up at 1:20 EST.

But hey, at least this time those of us who stayed up got to witness a win, Boston's first at Safeco Field in its last 10 tries.

Although the victory didn't come easy. New bullpen addition Eric Gagne gave up his second run in as many appearances when he allowed three hits in the eighth, and Jonathan Papelbon walked two batters after he fanned the first two batters in the 9th, but he retired Adrian Beltre on a foul pop to Varitek to escape with the much-needed win.

Just like last night this one ended way too late for me to put together a coherent recap of events, so I will attempt to tackle that task later this morning.

At least tonight we can all go to bed happy.

Alright, I'm back and after downing a gallon of java I am ready to recap the latest late-nite extravaganza our Sox were involved in way out there on the left coast.

As most of the last 9 games have gone for our boys out there, this one didn't start off too well either. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who allowed a 7th inning home run to Dioner Navarro last Sunday in Tampa Bay to break a scoreless tie, wasted little time in matching that dubious feat tonight, surrendering a solo shot to Adrian Beltre with one out in the second to give the Mariners an early 1-0 lead.

After the Sox wasted an infield single by Lugo when he was erased on a double play in the top of the third, Dice-K got into another jam in the bottom of the inning when he hit Jose Lopez to start the frame, then surrendered a single to pesky Yuniuesky Betancourt (2-4, R, BI) and after Ichiro grounded into a fielder's choice, Jose Vidro reached on an infield single to load the bases with one out.

But Matsuzaka buckled down and got Guillen to strike out, then retired Raul Ibanez on a fly ball to escape the inning unscathed.

The Sox batters would finally crack Jarod Washburn (6.1IP, 8H, 4ER, 2BB, 4K)in the fourth, and the rally started when the smokin' hot Big Papi (2-4, 2R) laced a solid single to left, then took second when Ibanez bobbled the ball.

Washburn walked Manny on four pitches, then after Lowell popped out, Varitek stepped up with a chance to do some damage to the team that traded him away for the immortal Heathcliff Slocum.

And the Captain didn't disappoint.

After running the count full, Tek roped a double to deep left, easily plating Papi and Manny, running hard from first and nearly colliding with DeMarlo Hale, slid home and tagged the plate with his hand to score the go-ahead run.

In the sixth the Sox would get some insurance, and Guillen, who had a run-in with the Sox earlier this season at Fenway, played a big part in the rally.

Youk (2-5, R) led off the inning with a double to deep center, one of six two-baggers for Boston, and then Papi followed dropped a single to right. But the overanxious Guillen thought he could gun Youk down at third, and when his throw sailed into the stands behind the bag, Youk trotted home and Ortiz took second, and
Boston had the kind of break it needed to snap the Safeco slide.

When Manny ripped a double to center two pitches later to score Papi with the Sox 4th run, all it would take was a couple more solid innings from Dice-K and then Tito could hand the game over to his new 1-2 bullpen punch and escape this contest with a 'W'.

Matsuzaka barely did his part, wriggling out of a 2-on, no-out jam in the bottom of the sixth by retiring the next three batters, two by strikeout, but after he surrendered Betancourt's second homer in as many nights on the first pitch of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-2 it looked like the Ms might find a way steal another win in Boston's personal house of horrors.

And Boston's new setup man didn't do much to quell that sick feeling when he made his second appearance in the eighth.

Gagne allowed a cheesy run in his first outing courtesy of a wind blown double at Fenway on Thursday, but there was nothing cheesy about this rally that cut the Sox lead to one run.

Just like Thursday Gagne retired the first two batters he faced, then got into trouble when he surrendered a hard single to center by Ben Broussard, and after allowing him to waltz to second, Kenji Johjima drilled a single to left that scored Broussard with the run that had every (awake) member of RSN thinking "oh no, not again!"

But after Lopez doubled on the very next pitch, Gagne got Betancourt to tap back to the mound, and everyone breathed a big sigh of relief that Boston's biggest trade acquisition in three years didn't blow the game in his 2nd appearance in a Sox uni.

All that was left was for Papelbon to come in and shut down the Ms in the 9th and the streak would be over, but even the normally stingy Paps couldn't end this one easily.

He fanned the first two batters, making Ichiro () look foolish on a heater up and away, but then walked the next two hitters to set up another possible crushing defeat here in the land of Starbucks and Microsoft.

But sanity prevailed when Beltre popped up to Varitek on the first pitch he saw, and Boston's 9-game losing streak finally came to an end as most of the rest of the country slept.

Matsuzaka now joins teammates Josh Beckett & Tim Wakefield along with 4 others for second place in the league in wins, and it only took a 3000 mile journey and a nail-biting finish to get there.

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House of Blues: Sox lose 9th straight at Safeco

Seattle 7, Sox 4
WP: Green (5-1)
LP: Timlin (1-1)
SV: Putz (32)
HRs: BOS-Papi (19); SEA-Betancourt (6), Johjima (12)

SUMMARY
For the second straight game a Sox starter blew a three-run lead, but this time the team couldn't salvage the win. Mike Timlin allowed 3 runs after Jon Lester with the game tied at 3, and Boston ran it's losing streak to 9 in a row at the House that Nintendo Built.

#1 STUNNER Yunieski Betancourt 2-4, 2R, 4BI, HR
The captain of the All Name team stung the Sox with four ribbies including a monster 3-run bomb off Lester that spelled the beginning of the end for Boston.

PAN's FAUN Timlin 1.1IP, 3H, 3R, 2ER, BB, K, HR
Returning to the scene of his near decapitation, Timlin had a horrendous outing, committing one psychical error, one mental error, and allowing a soul-crushing 2-run homer to seal the deal.

RECAP
Ah don't you just love staying up till 1:30 in the am just to see how the Sox can blow another game in the city that never sleeps (due to the high caffeine intake)?

The combination of the late hour plus the absurdity of how a team can amass 12 base hits, 6 in the first two innings, and lose the game makes for some...ah fuck it, I can't even type a coherent thought right now.

Bottom line is Boston had an inordinate amount of chances to not only win this game but blow it wide open early--like loading the bases twice in the first two innings yet scoring just 2 runs--but they managed to bungle away what seemed like a golden opportunity to break the Safeco Curse.
Shit, I'm so messed up I'm even using the dreaded 'C' word.

Thanks to an inopportune occurrence of MannyBeingManny, a couple of costly double plays, and a two-error 6th inning that allowed Seattle to take an undeserved 1-run lead, the Sox sent everyone to bed angry this evening. Morning. Whatever.

Speaking of going to bed, I'm heading there myself. I'll try to shed some light on this mess in the morning. Later this morning. Whatever. Goodnight.

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Series preview: Sox @ Seattle

Red Sox (66-42) @ Mariners (59-47)

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Fri 10EST Lester (1-0, 4.26) vs. Ramirez (6-3, 6.52)
Lester makes his first start in his home state and will have plenty of friends & family on hand to watch. Horacio Ramirez blew a 5-0 lead against the Sox in May and then went on the DL for a over a month shortly thereafter. MY PICK: Sox do it for Jonny

GM2 Sat 10EST Matsuzaka (12-8) vs. Washburn (8-7)
Dice -K vs. Ichiro again, blah blah blah. Let's just hope the Sox finally score some friggin runs for the guy so he can bump that win total up to where it should be. Washburn? Washed up. MY PICK: Sox 2-1

GM3 Sun 4EST Beckett (13-5) vs. Batista (11-7)
Beckett needs a win after losing his last two starts, but he'll be facing Seattle's hottest pitcher, Miguel Batista, who has won 4 of his last 5 decisions and has hit a career high in wins. Still, Becks needs this game, and the Sox will make sure he gets it. MY PICK: Sox sweep

Season Series: Seattle leads, 4-2

Keep an eye on: OF Adam Jones .314/25/84(AAA)--The Mariners hottest minor league prospect was just called up to help recharge an offense that has been shut out three times in its last 12 games and give the team, which is just 10-11 since the break, a much needed lift.

Preview:
The Sox begin a 9-game roadie against the team that caused much heartache and distress for the club when it last visited the Pacific Northwest in late June in a stadium that has become its personal house of horrors.


In that three game set Boston dropped all three games, the last two in excruciating fashion when reliever Javier Lopez and Joel Pineiro blew late leads/ties and handed the Ms victories in games they should have lost. Boston has now dropped 8 in a row at SafeCo Field.

But this time around the Sox staff is rock solid, with its new, healthy five-man rotation set up and a new & improved bullpen that should be lights out 99% of the time when handed a lead in the late innings.

While the Sox have struggled recently to score runs, so have the Mariners, who have averaged just over four runs a game in July and recently dropped seven straight games before rebounding by winning four of its last five.

With the Ms just 3 1/2 back of the Angels and needing an offensive boost, AAA outfielder Adam Jones was called up to try and spark guys like Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson into catching fire in hopes of overtaking the Halos.

Boston will look to atone for that miserable showing last time out in the Rainy City, and with local boy Jon Lester throwing tonight followed by Matsuzaka & Beckett, anything less than a three-game sweep will not be tolerated.

Get ready for some late nights, folks, and in honor of Seattle, make get youself a triple mocha latte with a side of espresso and dig in for some more West Coast baseball. Yipee!

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Series Recap: Sox @ Seattle

STATS	BOS	SEA
WINS	0	3
RUNS	12	19
HITS	29	28
HRs	1	4
AVG	.264	.283
ERA	5.54	2.79

GM1: SEA 9-4 WP-Weaver LP-Tavarez
GM2: SEA 8-7 WP-O'Flaherty LP-Lopez
GM3: SEA 2-1 WP-Davis LP-Pineiro

Batter's Composite Box:

PLAYER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Pedroia	5-13/R/2B/2BB/K	hit in 8 of 9 (.314)
Papi	4-14/R/BI/BB/3K	...power...
Manny	0-10/3K	...outage...
Drew	3-10/3R/2BI/3BB/2K	hit in 9 of 10 (.306)
Youk	3-10/2B/5BI/3BB/K	3 ribbies in GM2
Lowell	3-14/2B/3B/2BI/BB/5K	6 for last 38 (.158)
Tek	2-12/5K	bad return to SEA
Lugo	0-5/R/BB/K/SB	0-31;last hit: 6/14
Coco	5-10/4R/2B/BI/2BB/SB	.459 (17-37) lst 10
Hinske	2-4/R/HR/RBI/BB	big HR in GM2
Pena	1-3/K	incomplete
Cora	1-5/2B/R	more PT please!
Belli	DNP	no Wake

Pitcher's Composite Box:

PLAYER:	IP/H/R/ER/BB/K/HR	COMMENT:
Tavarez	4.1/ 6/ 6/ 3/ 3/ 1/0/L	back to reality
Gabbard	3.1/ 6/ 4/ 4/ 6/ 2/ 1	awful start
Dice-K	8/ 3 / 1/ 1/ 1/ 8/0	awesome start
Timlin	1.2/ 3/ 3/ 3/ 1/ 0/ 2	awful relief
Lopez	2.1/ 3/ 2/ 2/ 2/ 0/1/ L	lost GM2
Paps	1.2/0 /0 /0 /0 /2 /0	1.55 ERA
Oki	1.1/3 /0 /0 /0 /1 /0	0.95 ERA (!)
Pineiro	0.1/1/1/1/1/0/0/L	welcome back
D'carmen	1.2/2 /2 /2 /0 /1 /0	1st runs all'd
Snyder	1.2/ 1 /0 /0 /2 /1 /0	lousy in GM1

A quick glance at these sorry stats tell you all you need to know about how Boston suffered its first three sweep of the season far away in the beautiful wooded countryside of the Pacific Northwest.

An unhealthy combination of piss-poor pitching (save for Dice-K and Papelbon) and untimely hitting (except for a couple of big knocks in GM2) conspired to doom the Sox, and when they did get a dose of both in Game 3, the lack of a quality arm left in the bullpen sealed the Sweepness In Seattle.

Sorry.

But I can't help being in a weepy, chick flick sort of mood after witnessing some of the worst play of the season.

The fact that Boston hit just one home run, by Eric Hinske no less, makes me want to grab a handful of hankies and just start blowing. And when I think about Sox pitchers issuing 16 walks in three games, including a mind-blowing four with the bases loaded, well I just want to grab a tub of Bon Bons, load up the Kleenex and just let the waterworks flow.

And if those numbers don't make you bawl, then how about 32 runners left in scoring position over three games, or a vertigo-inducing 17 fly ball outs yesterday, including 11 putouts by Ichiro, one shy of the major league record.

Why did they put a train station below SafeCo? Should've constructed an air traffic control tower for crying out loud.

Will somebody please give Ichiro a new pair of cleats, he must've worn a friggin hole through the soles of his other pair?!

Okay, the bitterness is starting to come through now. That's why I took a personal day today, you know, to get away from the game for a while, and so I hopped on the Gary Fisher and cruised down to the beach, where I happened to meet...

...another Sox fan, a dude named Kevin who grew up in Weymouth. S of course us South Shore boys shot the shit about everything from the Sox to...well, the Sox, with a little hockey and college football sprinkled in.

Point is even on a getaway day you can't escape this team. It's in the blood, we're born into it and we're everywhere, which is why I end up running into another member of RSN every time I leave the house and get get them out of my head.

I guess I really am going all chick flick. I better stop now.

Thankfully the Sox headed home after yesterday's heart breaker and they should right the ship with a four game wraparound weekend series against the lowly Rangers (yeah!)

Hopefully they left the need for hankies behind them.

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Seattle sweeps Sox with extra inning loss

Seattle 2, Sox 1 (11)
WP: J. Davis (2-0)
LP: Pineiro (1-1)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
This time the Sox got great pitching for 10 innings-including a brilliant eight from Daisuke Matsuzaka-but former Seattle starter Joel Pineiro returned to the scene of his greatest career moments and gave the Mariner fans reason to smile again.

Pineiro allowed two hits including the game-winning double by Jose Lopez in the bottom of the 11th to send the Sox to a disappointing sweep in the land of Starbucks and Supersonics.

HERO: Matsuzaka 8IP, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 8K
On the heels of 17 runs & 14 walks allowed by Boston pitchers in the last two games, this performance by Dice-K was nothing short of epic.

If only his teammates could have rewarded him for it.

HON MENTION: Lopez--his hit won the game today, and his stellar play all series long was a key factor in Seattle's sweep

GOAT: Ortiz 0-5, 7 LOB
The most clutch hitter in Sox history (arguably) could not come through when his team need him most, and he had plenty of chances; three times in five at bats Ortiz had ducks on the pond but couldn't bring any home, including a miserable groundout with the bases loaded to end the fifth. Ay, Papi!

(dis)HON. MENTION: Pineiro 1/3IP, H, BB, R, L--welcome back, jackass!

RECAP
Well at least it wasn't a sloppy, run-filled walk-a-thon that ended after 1:00am.

That's about the only bright side from this one, a game that was just as long the previous two early morning messes-3 hours and 46 minutes, I believe-and had just as painful an end result: another heartbreaking Sox loss.

In fact as brutal as the first two contests were, a confounding mix of terrible pitching, timely hitting and did I mention terrible pitching?, this game was by far the more painful of the trio.

Because as good as Matsuzaka pitched today (and he was damn good, no sign of those pesky control problems that have plagued him most of the season), the way Boston was leaving men on base and making another nobody pitcher look like the next Cy Young, you just knew it was going to end badly for Dice and his mates.

Sure enough it did.

But what's a good horror movie without a lot of suspenseful moments that lead up to the grisly climax, huh?

Let's take a look at the trail of carnage the Sox left behind before the bloody finale in the late Seattle afternoon sunshine.

Boston had runners on base in each of the first three innings off Mariner rookie Ryan Feierabend, who had been shelled in his last outing against the Reds, but despite the Sox hitters spraying deep flyballs all over the outfield against the 21-year-old lefty, they couldn't get any runs across the plate against him.

Dice was just as hot, but most of his early outs were coming via the strikeout: four of the first six Mariners batter whiffed, including Ichiro on three pitches to open the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the third Matsuzaka got into the only real trouble he would have all day, and wouldn't you know former Japan League and new MLB rival Suzuki would factor in the equation.

Backup catcher Jamie Burke (what's with the Sox getting burned by backstops and Irish guys lately?) started the rally with a one-out double to center that Coco ran & dove for but barely missed coming up with another great grab.

(side note: many will criticize Coco for diving in that situation, but when a guy makes spectacular catches look routine on a near nightly basis, nobody should say a word about that play. Nobody. Besides, he missed it by about a 1/4 of an inch.)

Manny backed the play up and held Burke to a double, but it didn't matter anyway as Ichiro finally got a hit off his old enemy when he blooped a single to shallow center to plate Burke with the first run of the game and the last for either team for a while.

Both hurlers traded 1-2-3 fourths, then the Sox got back to what they are becoming master craftsmen at- leaving runners on base, thus squandering precious scoring opportunities.

Feierabend quickly retired Tek (1-5) and Wily Mo, who started in place of the lefty Drew, to open the top of the fifth, but things came unraveled from there as Coco (2-4, RBI) sandwiched a double to left around walks to Lugo and Pedroia.

With Papi coming up, it looked like Boston would get at least one run home, if not more. But that's when Ortiz began his string of non-clutch at bats, and the shaky youngster got the experienced vet to tap out to second to end the threat.

Did you forget lefties were hitting only .167 against Ryan?

While Dice-K was methodically mowing down the Mariners, retiring 11 straight batters after Ichiro's single, Feierabend exited after five quality innings (5H, 0R, 2BB, 3K) with a chance at a win if his bully could hold the slim 1-0 lead.

Lucky for Boston that wouldn't be the case.

The Sox finally cracked the scoreboard in the seventh off reliever Sean Green, and Drew got it all started with a pich hit single to center. Then for the third straight game a pitcher made an error on a sacrifice bunt when Green tossed Lugo's bunt attempt wide of first that allowed Drew to scoot to third.

Okay, now we got us a full-fledged explosion coming, right?

Right?

Wrong.

Although Coco hit a booming sac fly to center (that Ichiro was lucky to basket catch on the track) to tie the game, and Pedroia walked, Hargrove once again used his bullpen like a virtuso conducting a concerto.

Grover brought in George Sherrill, who got Papi to fly out to deep center, and then called on Brandon Morrow, who induced Manny into an inning-ending fly out to-who else?-Ichiro, who made all three putouts in the inning an 11 in the game.

So even though the score was tied, it felt like a defeat because once again the Sox failed to burst a game wide open when they had the chance, and the perfect men at the plate to do so.

Boston would again get two men on base in the seventh off Morrow, but the embattled reliever got the embarrassing Lugo (0-2) to strike out to end the inning. Meanwhile Dice ran into a nip of trouble in the bottom of the eigth, but a double play erased his only walk of the day, and after eight brilliant innings his job was done.

Grover brought closer J.J. Putz in the ninth despite the score being tied, another move that turned out to be a stroke of genius. The league's saves leader quickly dispatched Coco and Pedroia on groundouts, then got Papi to whiff for the fifth time in five career at bats against him.

Tito showed some good bullpen judgement himself when he tapped Okajima to start the bottom of the ninth, then after Oki allowed Ichiro and Jose Vidro to reach on singles, Francona brought in his closer, Jonathan Papelbon, to put out the fire.

One pitch later hot-hitting Richie Sexson (0-4) fouled out to second base, and then paps got Ben Broussard to ground out to Pedroia to stave off the game-winning rally, at least temporarily.

Jason Davis came in for Seattle in the 10th and tossed a 1-2-3 frame, and Papelbon matched him in the bottom of the inning, fanning Jason Ellison & Adrain Beltre before getting Betancourt to ground out.

Unfortunately for Boston, the Sox were clear out of good reliever after that point.

After another opp went by the wayside in the 11th, Tito had no choice but to bring in the former Mariner Pineiro, who has been hobbled by an ankle he rolled on Eric Hinske's foot a few days ago and was making his first appearance in the park he pitched in for the first seven years of his career.

Pineiro got Burke to ground out to open the inning, but when Ichiro drew a walk on a close 3-2 pitch, the lumps began forming in the throats of every member of RSN. Like a horror flick, everyone in the theater knew what was going to happen, they just didn't know exactly how.

It wouldn't take long to find out as Lopez, who had torched Boston with his slick glove and hot bat (8-14) all series, lifted a high fly to right center that Manny chased and tried to catch at the wall, but he couldn't come up with it and the Mariner's stormed the field when Suzuki crossed the plate with the series-sweeping run.

Okay, I can't take any more. After three games and three excruciating losses, Boston will get a day off tomorrow before taking on the lowly Rangers at Fenway Friday night.

That off day is much deserved, for players and fans alike.

NOTES

• House of horrors: Boston has now lost eight in a row at Safeco
• Lugo-fer's hitless streak has now hit 31 at bats and his average is down to .190
• Ichiro had been 0-6 against Matsuzaka before his RBI single
• His 11 putouts were one shy of the ML record, and he made them in a variety of way-long runs, basket catches, and a circling maneuver on a Lowell popup that he lost in the sun in the 8th
• Manny & Papi were a combined 0-10
• One day after snapping a 19-game hit streak, Ichiro went 2-4 with a walk an RBI and a run scored
• Coco remains crispy, notching his fifth multi-hit game in his last 10 and raising his average to a season-high .262
• Oki lowered his ERA to 0.95 while Paps' is now at 1.55; Pineiro's climbed to 5.04

QUOTES

"I'm not going to make excuses. I hung a pitch." --Pineiro, rightly accepting the blame for the loss, although he did go on to cry about his poor twisted ankle

"Seems like we've played more than our share of this type of games here and ended up not feeling good."--Tito on Boston's doldrums in the Pac NW

"Given Ichiro's great batting skill, I have no regrets about the pitch. And it is really a testament to his hitting skill that he hit the ball."-- the always respectful Matsuzaka


RECORD: 48-29
AL EAST: Up 9 on TOR
STREAK: L-3
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu- Off; Fri vs. TEX

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