ALDS Game 1: Beckett decimates helpless Halos

Sox 4, Angels 0
WP: Beckett (1-0)
LP: Lackey (0-1)
HRs: Papi (1), Youk (1)

SUMMARY
The Red Sox only needed Kevin Youkilis' solo shot in the first inning to take game one of this opening round playoff series because Josh Beckett pitched what can only be described as a masterpiece. Beckett, using a bevy of baffling pitches, surrendered just three singles in nine innings, retired 19 straight batters at one point, and threw first pitch strkies to 25 of the 31 hitters he faced.

Oh, and his closest competitor for the Cy Young, LA's John Lackey, got shellacked again at Fenway, making Beckett's performance all the more impressive.

#1 STUNNER "Cy" Beckett 9IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 8K
As good as this 20-game winner has been all year, this was far and away the best performance of his season and possibly his career. I know all about Game 7 at New York in 2003, but he was just a fireballing kid then; this was a virtuoso effort.

BTW, this was his third postseason shutout, tying a major league record, and his second in a row, following that Game 7 gem. Nice.

GAGME Lackey 6IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BB, 4K
Granted this outing wasn't as bad as his 11-hit, 7-run meltdown back on August 17th, but with one out in the third Boston had already amassed 8 hits and a walk, and if not for a couple of fortuitous calls and a trio of double plays, this beating would have been a lot worse.

RECAP
Boston kicked off the 2007 playoffs with the best pitching performance we've seen all year from their All Star ace Josh Beckett, the kind of shut-down statement start that propels teams to series wins and sets the tone for the rest of the postseason run.

Beckett surrendered a fluke single to Chone Figgins off Dustin Pedroia's glove six pitches into the game, then didn't allow another baserunner until Vlad Guerrero lined a single to left with one out in the seventh, a string of 19 batters in a row that left the Angles players shaking their heads in disbelief and the Fenway Faithful giddy with relief.

After weeks filled with shaky play and injuries to key players followed by a late surge that netted them their first division title since '95, no one was real sure which Sox team would show up in this series.

Would it be the club that got tooled by the Angles in the first two games of a three game set in Anaheim in early August, or would it be the team that averaged more than 8 1/2 run in its six wins vs. Anaheim this season and treats John Lackey like its own personal chew toy?

Thankfully for the psyche of the Nation the answer was the latter, as Lackey's troubles against Boston (1-6, 6.27 ERA lifetime), especially at Fenway Park, where he was 1-4 with a 7.46 ERA in 7 career starts coming in, continued to bite him in the ass.

Following Figgins' leadoff single Beckett retired Orlando Cabrera, Vlad, and Garrett Anderson on a grounder with Figgins at third to escape the inning unscathed, and Youk wasted no time in getting him the only run support he would need on the night when he launched a 2-1 offering from Lackey into the Monster seats with one out in the bottom of the inning to give the Sox an early 1-0 lead.; it was Youk's first career postseason hit.

One of the major contributors to the late-season struggles reared its fugly face afterwards thought when consecutive singles by Papi (2-3, R, 2BI) and Manny were wasted when Lowell grounded out and Drew flied out, leaving both big men stranded.

Ortiz would more than make up for that missed opportunity and provide Beckett with what turned out to be a comfy cushion when he turned on a hanging Lackey curveball and crushed it into the right field seats with one out in the third, scoring Youk, who had reached on a double, and sending the crowd into a typical Fenway playoff frenzy.

One thing we know for sure: screw the knee injury, if it's the playoffs, it's time for Papi to shine.

Boston tacked on what wound up being the final run scored in the game when Manny (1-3, R) followed Papi's blast with a walk, alertly moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on yet another clutch RBI single by Mike Lowell, and even Drew grounding into a double play two pitches later couldn't get the record Fenway crowd in a foul mood.

That's because the game was actually more exciting when Boston was not at bat, and you could tell as the game went on that Beckett was turning in a performance that was nothing short of remarkable.

Not only was Becks setting down LA batters at a rapid clip, but it was the way he was doing it that made the feat all the more amazing. Utilizing a variety of pitches including his usual 97 mph heater, a nasty low-90s slider and a knee-buckling 77-80 mph curve, Beckett was not so much as pitching to the Angles hitters but pitching through them, like a brand new John Deere plowing a field of knee-high grass.

In the fourth he needed just 10 pitches to cut down the trio of Cabrera-Guerrero-Anderson again; in the fifth, after pesky Maicer Izturis managed an 8-pitch at bat before popping out to short, Beckett needed only five more pitches to retire Casey Kotchman and Howie Kendrick; and in the sixth he absolutely tortured Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits, getting them to whiff on 77 mph yakkers before Figgins lined out to Coco Crisp, who made a nice sliding catch to extend Beckett's streak to 18 batters in a row sent back to the bench.

By the 7th Lackey was gone, who in all fairness held on to keep the game close after those first few innings, and although Boston squandered a couple of possible scoring chances and had four calls go against them (a phantom foul tip by Kendrick, a bogus caught stealing on Lugo, and two horrible strike-three calls on Youk and Manny in the 5th), thanks to Beckett's dominance the game was all but over.

The string of retired batters ended with one out in the seventh when Guerrero fought off a sinker in the dirt and a 97 fastball on the hands and lined a single into left field, drawing a polite applause from the appreciative crowd, but Becks shook it right off and needed just five pitches to get out of the inning.

With one out in the eighth Howie Kendrick singled past Lowell and under Lugo's glove for the Angels third hit of the night, and Tito had Papelbon & Okajima ready in case Beckett began to peter out.

Fat chance. After Manny Aybar's grounder forced Kendrick at second, Beckett made pinch hitter Kendry Morales look like a Little Leaguer, running the count to 1-2 before freezing him in his place with a wicked 96-mph curve that appeared to come from left field and bisect home plate like a laser-guided missile.

The Sox went down in order against Earvin Santana in the bottom of the inning, and then all that was left was for Beckett to close the book on his third playoff shutout.

Another managerial move by Francona paid off when Jacoby Ellsbury, freshly inserted in left field for defensive purposes, made an excellent sliding catch of a sinking Figgins liner to lead off the ninth, one pitch later OC grounded out to Lowell, and after Guerrero notched his second single of the night and with Papelbon looking on from the pen and the applause rising to a deafening crescendo in the park, Beckett got Garrett Anderson to fly out to Coco in deep left center to put a cap on what will go down as yet another brilliant postseason performance for a man who is starting to make a habit of turning in such efforts.

Now Boston can relax and enjoy the off-day tomorrow, secure in the knowledge that if Dice-K can shut down this stumbling Angels lineup on Friday, the series could be all but over. And with Beckett assured of another start should it go more than three games and LA riding a 5-game postseaosn losing streak, one could almost assume that this series is done.

But we'll take it one game at a time. As long as each of the next two games are victories, we'll be alright.

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Sox Drawer: Welcome to the Dog Days

As the Sox slump in sunny LA, the Stanks have made the AL East officially a two team race--again
With the month of August barely a week old the one thing that nearly every baseball fan has predicted from the beginning of the season has come true: Boston and New York will duke it out over the final two months of the season to decide which team is the real Beast of the East.

New York's recent hot streak (the Stanks have won 20 of 27 games since the break and are averaging an incredible 7.8 RPG) combined with Boston's recent struggles (15-11 since the break) have every member of RSN hearkening back to the Summer of '78, when the Sox enjoyed a sizable lead late in the season only to see their pennant hopes go up in flames thanks to a 1-game playoff and Mr. Bucky Bleepin' Dent.

So the big question lingering over everyone's head like a 6,000lb. rally monkey is, will the Stanks catch the Sox/will the Sox tank the division yet again?

The way things are going right now the answer would appear to be 'yes'. But look closer and we realize that the outcome is not set in stone. While Boston has been playing playoff contenders like Seattle and the Angles, the Stanks have feasted on the likes of Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Toronto.

True Boston has played some of those teams as well since the break, but the point is wait until New York has to play some tough teams and they come back to Earth a bit. As long as Boston can maintain its current pace, New York would have to continue this blistering pace for the rest of the month just to keep up.

We will all find out soon enough when the two heated rivals hook up in the Bronx in three weeks.

Who knows which team will be in first place then.

Wily Mo wants to be traded
The Globe's Gordon Edes reported yesterday that Wily Mo Pena had been placed on waivers after the Sox failed to deal him before the trade deadline, and after clearing the waiver wire he can now be dealt to any team that wants him.

Following last night's game in Anaheim, Pena went on to say that he definitely wants to be traded so he can play every day. Problem is, with a .223 average, 5 homers and horrendous defense, who the hell is gonna want a guy who's promise has been overshadowed by his performance?

Unfortunately for him he's on the wrong team at the wrong time. A club sporting one of the greatest hitters of all time, one of the game's best defensive center fielders in the game, and an overpaid bust who still plays terrific D isn't exactly the best team to try and break into a starting outfield position.

Here's hoping the affable man child finds a home soon and blossoms into a solid major leaguer.

Maybe the D-Rays can pick him up.

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Sox hang on for wild win at the Jake

Sox 14, Cleveland 9
WP: Tavarez (6-8)
LP: Lee (5-8)
HRs: BOS-Manny, 2 (17), Wily Mo (5); CLE-Garko (13), Gutierrez (6)

SUMMARY
One night after the teams completed back-to-back 1-o games the two clubs combined for 23 hits and 23 runs in a wild & wacky series finale in Cleveland.

How crazy was it? Kason Gabbard had a 9-1 lead after four innings and didn't get the win, and Julian Tavarez gave up four runs including a three-run homer in 2 1/3 of relief and did.

#1 STUNNER(s)

• Manny 3-4, 4R, 4RBI, BB, 2B, 2HRs--the former Indian started the scoring with a monster homer that was the 3rd longest ever at the Jake, then ended the barrage with a blast that barely cleared the center field wall
• Wily Mo 4-5, 2R, 4RBI, 2-2B, HR--Whiffy Mo was in the zone tonight, jumping on the first pitch in 4 of his 5 at bats, with terrific results; can you say 'showcase game?'

PAN's FAUN Cliff Lee 4IP, 9H, 7ER, 3BB, K
For the third straight start Lee surrendered seven earned runs, but at least this time he didn't fight with a teammate on the field over his performance; I guess they decided to save their fireworks for the clubhouse this time.

RECAP
Holy shit!

That's all I can think of to say after witnessing one of the wildest games of the season, one made all the more incredible coming on the heels of consecutive pitcher's duels in which only two runs were scored in the last two games combined

Talk about providing contrast.

I'm not really sure where to begin with this recap, either, because my notebook looks like the demented scribblings of a retarded junkie, but I'm going to try and sift through the rubble and figure out what the hell happened tonight.

And I know my posts are wordy enough already, so just bear with me as I try to keep this under 1000 words.

Like a small crack in a large dam, the scoring stared as a slow drip before turning into a torrent of hits, runs and relief pitchers. After both Gabbard (4.2IP, 4H, 5ER, 3BB, 3K, HR) and Lee notched 1-2-3 first innings, Manny got the festivities started with a momentous longball in the top of the second.

On the first pitch of the inning from Lee, Ramirez launched a mammoth shot to straightaway center field that soared over the wall and eventually disappeared into a thicket of trees nestled above the lower section of the wall and landed in a patio area beyond the brush.

At the time I knew it was a drive of epic proportions, but it wasn't until later in the game when the Cleveland announcers (damn Extra Innings) reported that at an estimated 481 feet it was the third longest drive in Jacobs Field history did I realize how epic it really was.

After Gabbard retired the Tribe in order in the bottom of the frame, Boston dripped another run onto the board when Dustin Pedroia's double play grounder scored Wily Mo, who had singled and went to third on a single by Lugo, in the top of the third.

My first thought: hey, two runs by one team in one game--yeah!

In the bottom of the third we all got a little sense of deja vu when pesky Franklin Gutierrez blasted a solo shot to left that put Cleveland on the board, a drive that went to nearly the exact place at nearly the exact same time as his homer last night, which ended up being the winning run.

Freaky, I know.

Only this time that wouldn't be the only run for the Tribe on the night--just the only one for the moment.

Boston would string two runs together in the fourth inning when Lee walked Manny & Youk to open the inning, Lowell (3-5, 2BI) followed with a single to right to load the bases, and Cap'n Tek lined a single to left that scored Manny & Youk and gave Boston a seemingly insurmountable (with the way Cleveland has been hitting) 4-1 lead.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg, as the fifth inning would blow the lid off the scoring drought for both teams and catapult this contest into the crazy category.

The Sox seemed to slip the noose around the Tribe's necks when they sent nine batters to the plate, ripped four hits and scored five times in the frame.

Pedroia (1-6, R) started the fireworks off with a harmless single to left, then Ortiz (1-3, R, 2BB)worked a 1-2 count into a walk. Manny slammed the next pitch from Lee for a double down the left field line that plated Pedroia, and after Youk reached on shortstop Jhonny Peralta's fielding error, Lowell lined a single to right center that scored Ortiz & Ramirez to make the score 7-1 Boston and chased Lee from the game.

On his way off the field, Lee sarcastically tipped his cap to the thousands of booing fans. Ah, good times in C-Town.

Reliever Jason Stanford apparently ended the onslaught when he got Tek to ground into a double play, but Coco (2-5, 2R, RBI) followed with an RBI single to center and then Wily Mo launched a double to deep right center that scored the fleet-footed Crisp all the way from first, and at 9-1 it was time to put this one in the books, right?

Wrong.

Pitching for the first time in his home state of Ohio, all Gabbard had to do was get through the bottom of the fifth and he would own his first road victory of the season.

Easier said than done.

The inning began and ended the same way--with Ryan Garko flying out to right field. In between the Tribe would score four runs on three hits and three walks, the big blow a two-run double by Josh Barfield that cut the lead to 9-3 and gave the Indians hope, and the most painful being a first pitch ball that nailed slumping Travis Hafner on the elbow, forcing in Cleveland's fifth run and earning Gabby an unwanted early shower.

Handed a 9-1 lead, the wildness that plagued the young lefty in his earlier starts came back and cost him a shot at his fifth win of the season.

Julian Tavarez came on for his first relief appearance since his demotion from the rotation and got Garko to end the inning, and things remained quiet--for one inning.

Then in the seventh Wily Mo turned Thomas Mastny's first pitch (sensing a theme here?) into a tracer that cleared rightfield wall in about 1.2 seconds and scored Tek and Coco, who had both singled, and once again Boston had some breathing room with the score now 12-5.

Then Tavarez (2.1IP, 2H, 4R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K, HR) reminded RSN that it doesn't matter where he's pitching from, the bully or the rotation, he's always highly flammable.

Even though Lugo's error on a grounder by Barfield paved the way for the rest of the inning, after Hafner drove in Barfield in with a solid single to center it was Julie's horrid pitch to Garko that he cranked for a two-run homer that made the game a game again.

12-9 Boston, and still two more innings to get through.

Manny made sure there would be no more thoughts of a miraculous Cleveland comeback when he followed another walk to Ortiz with a mere conventional homer to center, one that barely cleared the wall and a leaping Grady Sizemore's glove, and finally, with the score 14-9 and just six outs remaining, RSN could relish the thought of taking 3 of 4 from the reeling Tribe.

After Okajima and Lopez finsihed the night off without incident. it was off to my new hometown for the Sox for a tasty three game set with the really reeling Rays.

Hope they saved some of that scoring for the Trop.

NOTES

• The start of the game was delayed 34 minutes by rain
• Boston racked up 17 hits, and here's the breakdown: every player except Youk (0-4, 2R) had at least one hit; five players had at least two knocks; two had three hits; and Wily Mo led the pack with four hits, three for extra bases
• How 'bout runs you say? seven of the starting nine scored one run, four players scored a pair, and Manny came home four times
• Pena's four hits doubled his total for the month of July and happened to occur when he is being mentioned in numerous trade scenarios. Hmmm...
• Swing early: that was the obvious game plan for tonight; in 47 PAs Sox batters put the ball in play on the first pitch an astounding nine times. More proof? Six times they hit the second offering from the Cleveland hurlers. In other words out of 47 trips to the plate, Boston hitters saw two pitches or less 15 times. Wow.
• Manny's drive is being called the third longest in the 13 year history of the Jake. The owners of the top two are Jim Thome (511') and Mark McGwire (485'). It was his 250th as a member of the Sox, and the twin blasts gave him 49 career multi-homer games, tied for 12th all-time
• Hafner's seventh inning single broke an 0-21 drought for the slumping slugger
• Barfield made two excellent plays at second, snagging a liner by Ortiz in the third and robbing Lugo of a hit with a diving stop and throw in the fourth
• Not to be outdone, Pedroia matched Barfield on a bullet by Casey Blake to open the bottom of the frame
  

QUOTES

"It was a bomb. I don't know how they measure it, but he crushed it."--Youk on Manny's blast

"That was one of the hardest balls I've seen go out. I thought it might go through it (the wall)."--Tito on Wily Mo's laser-guided missile

"It's kind of embarrassing to have a 9-1 lead and have that happen."--Gabbard

RECORD: 62-40
AL EAST: Up 7.5 on NYY (Royals blanked the Stanks!)
STREAK: W-1
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Fri vs. the Rays @ the Trop

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Not again! Sox lose another heartbreaker

Oakland 5, Sox 4 (11)
WP: Casilla (1-0)
LP: Snyder (1-1)
HRs: BOS-Papi (10), Pena (4); OAK- Chavez (8), Ellis (4)

SUMMARY:
After tying the game in the 9th off old friend Alan Embree, Boston couldn't hang on and pull out a win as Kyle Snyder allowed a homerun to Eric Chavez with two outs in the bottom of the 11th to send the Sox to another heartbreaking defeat.

HERO: (a game like this, there's gotta be more than one)

1. Chavez-- hit a homer to win the game, you're a hero
2. Dan Haren-- the A's starter threw a gem and should have had a win until his pen blew it
3. Mark Ellis-- Oakland's second sacker hit for 6th cycle in A's history
4. Wily Mo Pena-- his homer brought the Sox back from the dead, and his single tied the game in the bottom of the 9th

GOAT: (ditto)

1. Kyle Snyder--allow a homer to lose the game, you're a goat
2. Joel Pineiro--gave up the A's fourth run in the 8th; if he didn't, it might never have come down to the 11th
3. Nick Swisher--the A's best hitter went 0-6 with 3 Ks-ugh!
4. Tito Francona--why was Pineiro allowed to come back out for the 9th? He almost blew the game right there
5. Alan Embree--the former Sox reliever allowed 4 hits and 2 runs in 1 1/3 and almost blew this win for the A's

RECAP:
I thought they left these games behind them on the East coast?

After playing a topsy-turvy game last night against the Stanks that lasted four hours, had a terrible outcome and produced enough indigestion to fell Hogzilla, the Sox flew 3000 miles overnight and played in another agita-inducing four-hour marathon that ended at 1:36 EST and had just as disappointing result.

For the second consecutive night (actually, both games ended within 25 hours of each other) the Sox hurlers wasted a spectacular comeback by the offense and lost the game on a solo home run by the opponent in its final at bat.

That hurts.

Last night it was A-Rod who sunk the Sox with a game-winner off Papelbon in the 9th; tonight it was slumping Eric Chavez who launched a scud over the rightfield wall at Whatever Theyr'e Calling It Now Stadium in Oakland, sending the A's fans in the crowd home happy and the Sox back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep.

Just like I said after last night's game, I don't have the ability or the desire to describe everything that just happened on the field, so I'm gonna keep it short and, well, short.

The game was pretty cut & dried for about 8 innings- Dan Haren pitched a gem, taking a 4-2 lead into the 8th and setting down 17 straight Sox at one point, while Mark Ellis (4-5, R, 3RBI) provided all the offense with a two-run triple and solo homer- and all Oakland had to do was retire the Sox in the 9th to earn the much-deserved win.

But before you can say 'where are they now?', former Sox bullpen battlehorse Alan Embree gave up a leadoff double to Papi (3-4, HR, 2-2Bs, 2R, RBI) to lead off the 9th, and a pich hit RBI single by Captain Tek to get the Sox withing one, and a deep single to right center by Wily Mo that scored pinch runner Coco Crisp easily from first, and the game was suddenly, miraculously, tied at four.

After Joel Pineiro & J.C. Romero worked their way into-and then out of-a bases loaded, no out jam in the bottom of the 9th, the game was headed to extra innings, and most of the team had to be cursing Bud Selig's dreadful amphetamine ban.

Ah, nothing like extra innings on a West Coast game!

Dustin Pedroia, who batted leadoff in this game, led off the 10th with a single, his only hit of the night, extending his streak to 14 games. But we found out what Youk claimed last week-Pedroia can't run for shit, because when Papi blasted a pitch from Embree all the way to the wall, almost any other player except the catchers would have scored on the blast.

Pedroia, however, was dead meat at the plate.

Riding that adrenaline rush, Ellis dumped a single to shallow center with one out in the 10th to achieve the rare cycle, but the A's couldn't bring him around to score as Snyder came in to retire Shannon Stewart and Travis Buck to end a 2-on, 1-out threat.

Snyder wouldn't be so fortunate in the 11th.

Nick Swisher and Dan Johnson were easily retired to start the inning, but then up stepped Eric Chavez. The proud vet is in the midst of one of his worst seasons as a pro, yet as I stupidly said in my preview post, no matter what he's batting he is still always a dangerous hitter.

As if to prove my point, Chavvy took the third offering from Snyder and deposited it over the wall in right for the walk-off win, and a group of tired and demoralized Sox staggered off the field in search of warm beds and hot pitching.

Maybe tomorrow with Dice-K on the mound.

As long as he stays away from the sushi at Fisherman's Wharf.

NOTES:

• Papi's homer in the first inning was his first longball in 20 games, a span of 64 ABs, the longest drought of his Red Sox career; his three hits raised his average to a season-high .333
• Pedroia, who needed extra frames to extend his hitting streak, is from nearby Woodland, Ca. and will have a number of family & friends on hand for each game of the series (god knows there's room in the stands)
• Santiago Casilla, a 26-year old righty and 3-year vet, picked up his first major league win
• The blown save was Embree's first in exactly two years, when he was with Boston
• J.D. Drew returned from a mini-layoff to rest his hammy and singled in his first at bat; he wound up 1-3 with 2 Ks and was lifted for pinch hitter Tek in the 9th
• For the fifth time this year Tavarez, the Sox 5th starter, had to face the opponent's ace, and although he pitched decently again-5.1IP, 9H, 3ER, 2BB, 3K, HR-Haren was just better
• With the late game last night, early arrival and long flight, Tito rested Coco, Lugo, Lowell and Tek to start the game, but by the end of the night every Sox position player had seen playing time in some form or another

QUOTES:

"Maybe Eric Chavez will find a pitch to his
liking and send us home."

"Are you calling it?"

"I'm hopefully calling it."

--A's announcer Ray Fosse to partner Duane Kuiper immediately before Chavez' game winner

RECORD: 37-19
STRK: L-2
LST 10: 6-4
AL EAST: Up 10
UP NEXT: Tue @ OAK 10P EST

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Sox win in grand style as Pena's slam saves the day

Sox 5, Baltimore 2

WP: Beckett (5-0)

LP: Ray (2-2)

SV: Papelbon (7)

HRs: BOS-Pena (2)

Pena doesn't make contact often, but when he does the ball goes a loooong way

SUMMARY:
The game was a near carbon-copy of last night's contest- a low-scoring (2-1) pitcher's duel through seven innings until Boston got the Baltimore starter out of the game, then teed off on the Oriole bullpen.

The teeing off came courtesy of a grand slam by Willy Mo Pena in the 8th and made a winner out of Josh Beckett for the 5th time this season.

HERO: Pena 2-4, R, GS, K
He may have been striking out at an alarming rate the past week, but games like this are the reason the Sox need this guy. Boston looked dead in the water until Pena's titanic blast rescued them from defeat, allowing them to head off to New York on a positive note.

GOAT: closer Chris Ray 2/3, 2H, BB, K, GS
For the second time this season Ray allowed a game-losing grand slam; the first time was to A-Rod in the Bronx on April 7th. Ironically he hasn't allowed any other runs this season, so other than those eight runs on two swings of the bat, the guy has been lights out.

RECAP:
Nothing like a quick little trip to the Inner Harbor to cure the Sox ailments. For the second game in a row Boston turned a close game into a rout, and for the second straight game the Boston starter pitched effectively and with complete command of his pitches.

Just like Schilling the night before, Beckett (8IP, 8H, 2ER, 0BB, 3K) was doing a good job of mixing up his pitches and not relying strictly on his blazing fastball. This is something new pitching coach John Farrell has been working on with Becks, and the results are starting to show. Although the big righty's strikeouts are down-he had only 3 tonight-his ground-ball outs are up, thanks to a nasty breaker and slider to go with the heater.

Still for all his efforts Beckett was in line for an "L" as Baltimore jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after 3 innings on a Nick Markakis groundout and a Melvin Mora double (oddly, of B-More's eight hits, five were doubles.) And once again Boston's main problem was leaving men on base in key situations.

The Sox left the bases loaded in the 3rd when Orioles starter Adam Loewen (6IP, 1R, 2H, 5BB, 5K) got Papi to tap back to the mound, then left 2 men on in the 6th and in the 7th when Ortiz dribbled back to the mound again. All of these missed opportunities were quickly shaping up to spell sure defeat if not for another batch of late-inning fireworks.

Last night Boston broke open a 1-1 game with 5 runs in the last 3 innings; tonight it would just take one big swing of the bat to plate 4 runs and put the victory in the Sox' hands. The 8th started out with Manny (0-3, R, 2BB) drawing a walk on a 7-pitch at bat against Baltimore reliever John Parrish. After J.D. Drew flied out, Ray came on, ostensibly to get the final 5 outs.

Except Ray didn't read the script. Mike Lowell ignited the rally with a ground rule double, sending Manny to third, and Varitek drew an intentional walk to load 'em up for Willy Mo. Despite the fact that Pena was hitting just .120 against righties and had struck out in 11 of his last 17 at bats, he catapulted a 2-1 offering from Ray deep into the left centerfield stands for what proved to be the game-winner.

Jonathan Papelbon came on for the 9th and allowed another walk, but also registered another K and, most importantly, his 7th save in 7 opportunities.

So the Sox head to the Bronx with a modest 2-game winning streak, but going back to last week have won 7 of the last 9. And maybe now that the bloody sock controversy is behind them, they can concentrate on bloodying the Stankee pinstripes.

NOTES:

-Boston managed just six hits, four singles

-Cap'n Tek continues his regression: with another 0-3 tonight he is 1-10 with 7 K's and 8 men left on base in the past 3 games. Maybe the return of Yankee pitching will re-ignite his bat

-Former idiot Kevin Millar trotted out onto the field with a mock-bloody sock on his foot. Always the joker, that Millah

-Coco sat out again with the strained oblique, but could play tomorrow night. Although after Pena's slam, don't be surprised if Tito is extra cautious about bringing Crisp back

-One night after stranding 21 men, Boston left 19 ducks on the pond tonight. Yikes!
-Beckett is the first 5-game winner in the majors and the first Boston starter to win his first 5 starts since Pedro in 1999.

QUOTES:

-"He just put it in there. I swing," Pena said. "When I swing I knew it was gone."- Willy Mo; hey, when you can hit it that far you can afford to be a man of few words

RECORD: 14-7

AL EAST: Up 3 on TOR

UP NEXT: Fri @ New York, 7P

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Don't panic, RSN: Dice-K falls to 1-2

Blue Jays 2, Sox 1

WP: Chacin (2-0)
LP: Matsuzaka (1-2)
SV: Frasor (1)
HRs: BOS- Pena (1)

Sox box

It was this close play at first that caused the Diceman to unravel in the fourth

SUMMARY:
For the second straight outing Dice-K got little run support and took a loss despite pitching well. He allowed just 2 runs in one rough inning, only 3 hits and struck out 10 Blue Jay batters, yet with the blazing Boston bats suddenly silenced, the Diceman fell to sub-.500 on the season.

HERO: Dice-K
Sure he took the loss, but c'mon he allowed 2 runs and 3 hits in 6 innings, which certainly qualifies as 'giving his team a chance to win the game'. He also became the first rookie since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 to have a pair of double-digit strikeout games in his first three starts.

GOAT: Dice-K
Proving he is indeed human, the calm & cool hurler got rattled for the first time during a rough 2nd inning. After allowing two singles and a walk to tie the game, he then walked two batters in a row to force in the go-ahead/game-winning run.

KEY MOMENT: Top 2nd, 2 on 1 out
With Manny & Lowell, who both singled, on board and just one out it looked as if the Sox were just a hit or two away from breaking the game open like they had done all weekend.

Wrong. Struggling Captain Varitek grounded into a soul-crushing double play, and that was the last of Boston's scoring threats.

RECAP:
Before anyone goes jumping off the Bunker Hill Bridge I just want to say relax, take a deep breath & a swig of Guinness and chill out.

Sure Boston's new $103 million dollar investment, Daisuke Matsuzaka, is sitting on the south side of .500 and has already had to tread into unfamiliar territory like icing his arm and getting rattled under pressure, but it's all part of his adjustment to his new job & surroundings.

At least that's what we have to tell ourselves.

The Red Sox Express ran off the tracks in Canada again as Dice-K was both dominant and erratic, a combination that ended up costing Boston the chance at a win. But in all fairness to Daisuke, when your team has only scored 1 run for you in your last 14 innings pitched you're kinda screwed from there.

Everything started out hunky-dory for Boston as Dice-K retired the first 8 batters he faced, 4 on strikeouts. Jason Smith broke that string with a single in the 3rd, but Matsuzaka quickly dispatched with Alex Rios and appeared to be in command of all his pitches. When Willy Mo Pena, starting in place of J.D.Drew, clubbed a mammoth homerun on top of the centerfield windows to lead off the third, it looked like Boston might be on its way to its fourth straight win.

But then came the ill-fated fourth inning, when everyone saw a glimpse of what it would be like for Dice-K under pressure. The frame began with a strikeout of Adam Lind and it looked as though Matsuzaka was in the midst of a potentially special performance. Quicker than you can say "not so fast my Fenway friend" a missed strike-3 call by home plate umpire Ed Montague to Vernon Wells got Dice off his game a bit, as he looked skyward in digust.

To add insult to injury, after receiving the fortuitous home call, Wells then legged out a close play at first base that really got Matsuzaka pissed- he bowed his head and shook his arm angrily. Next thing you know he walked Frank Thomas, Lyle Overbay tied the game on a single over Lugo's glove, and then Matsuzaka uncharacteristically walked two batters in a row including catcher Gregg Zaun on a 3-1 breaking ball to force in the go-ahead run.

He escaped further damage when Coco caught Smith's deep flyout to end the inning, but with Sox killer Gustavo Chacin (6.2IP, 6H, 1R, 0BB, 3Ks- he's now 6-0 vs. Boston) and relievers Casey Janssen & Jason Frasor shutting the Sox down, it was basically over after that.

Seriously though, I know part of the Nation is going to be up in arms over the fact that the guy who Boston went to great lengths to bring here to be a rotation savoir has a worse record than scrubs like Wilfredo Ledezma and former 21-game loser Mike Maroth, but let's look at the big picture here, folks:

-He's only allowed 12 hits and 5 walks in 21 innings for a staggering 0.86 WHIP

-His strikeout-to-walk ratio is a spectacular 5-1 (24 Ks, 5BBs)

-In his 3 starts the Red Sox have scored a grand total of 5 runs, or 1.6 runs/game; by comparison, 3-0 Josh Beckett has received 9.3 runs/game

-He tied Oakland's Tim Hudson for the most strikeouts in the first 3 starts of a career with 24

The bottom line is the guy got a little upset over a coule of tough calls, but he only allowed 2 runs and 3 hits while mowing down 10 Jays batters. If Papi or Manny had been able to get to Frasor in the 8th & 9th to tie the game, the incident would be a blip on the season's radar. But the Sox were shut down and tonight, for the first time, Matsuzaka got out of his usual comfort zone and it cost him and the Sox.

That doesn't mean he won't win 15-18 games.

But if the Sox don't give him any run support, he might not win 10.

NOTES:

-Tito tinkered with the lineup for the first time this season tonight, and for the most part the moves worked. Coco moved up to the two-hole and had 2 hits including a double and WMP, batting in Coco's 8th slot, had 2 hits including that monster bomb. Alas Youk, who moved to Drew's 5th spot, went 0-4 with 2 Ks.

-Varitek's season-long slump (is it a slump, or he just can't hit anymore?) continues. Although he did notch a single, his rally-killing DP was where we needed the artist formerly known as Captain Clutch to step up. Other members of the near-.200 club include Manny (.205), Pedroia (.207), and Coco, who despite his 2 knocks is still batting only .150

QUOTES:

-"If he recognizes pitches and swings at strikes, he's going to do some damage." -Captain Obvious, errr Francona, on Pena's titanic homer.

-"Even if I pitch well and the team does not win, I'm definitely not happy with that result."- the ever self-effacing Daisuke Matsuzaka

RECORD: 7-5

AL EAST: - 1/2

UP NEXT: Wed @ Tor, 7:05

Wakefield vs. Ohka

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