Red Sox Sweep Day-Night Doubleheader With Rays, Continue To Own Tampa Bay This Season

It was a particularly long but ultimately enjoyable day of baseball at Fenway Park as the Red Sox beat the Rays 5-1 and 3-1 in a day-night doubleheader. With the pair of victories, Boston (44-29 overall, 23-14 home) is a mind-blowing 9-2 against Tampa Bay (36-35 overall, 15-19 away) this season. So the Red Sox own the Rays and the Orioles own the Red Sox in 2013, got it?

Alfredo Aceves (4-1) had another good spot start in the first game before the rain came. After a 2:59 rain delay, Boston extended its 4-1 lead with an RBI triple by Shane Victorino (2 hits, 2 runs, stolen base) in the sixth inning. Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, 3 runs) had tripled before Victorino's three-base hit.

The Red Sox never trailed in the first game as Dustin Pedroia had a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Crazy Luke Scott tied it with an RBI double in the second inning but David Ortiz answered with a two-run single in the third then an RBI single in the fifth.

Aceves didn't return after the rain delay (obviously) so Junichi Tazawa, Andrew Miller, Koji Uehara and Craig Breslow each pitched in with a scoreless frame for Boston.

Game 2 was the Felix Doubront show with appearances by Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes. Doubront pitched the best (and longest) game of his MLB career: 8 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 6 strikeouts and 0 walks. At 93 pitches, it was surprising when Red Sox manager John Farrell lifted him for closer Andrew Bailey (3-0). Predictably, Bailey blew his third save of the season on Kelly Johnson's solo homer.

No problem, Nava walked to start the bottom of the ninth against Joel Peralta (1-3) which set the stage for a two-run walk-off homer by Gomes (his 5th of the season) over the Monster. Nava's solo homer in the second, his 10th of the season, looked like it might be the only run.

David Ross (concussion) went on the 7-day DL and Clay Buchholz (neck) was placed on the 15-day DL so catcher Ryan Lavarnway and reliever Alex Wilson were called up from Pawtucket. Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as we all get ready for Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final, Ryan Dempster (4-7) opposes Jeremy Hellickson (4-3) in the series finale.

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"Dear God, I Think That's Alfredo Aceves' Music!" (Jim Ross Voice)

At this moment, it's all good on Yawkey Way. The Red Sox debuted hideous new camoflauge jerseys & hats in honor of Memorial Day (cha-ching) and Alfredo Aceves had a solid start (shocking I know) in a 8-3 win over the Phillies at Fenway Park. With Boston's (32-20 overall, 17-11 home) victory over Philadelphia (24-27 overall, 13-15 away) in its first interleague game of the season, the Red Sox regained first place in the AL East since the Yankees fell to the Mets.

Boston has won four games in a row, five of its last six and 10 of its last 13 to go a season-high 12 games over .500. With Clay Buchholz temporarily sidelined, Aceves (2-1) stepped in and pitched six innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Philadelphia is a bit of a mess but anytime Aceves can pitch that well, you have to be thrilled since it doesn't happen that often anymore.

Poor rookie Tyler Cloyd (1-1) was a sacrificial lamb for the Phillies. In 2.1 innings, he allowed six earned runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Thanks for showing up Tyler.

Boston had 15 hits, led by Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, 2 doubles, run, RBI), Mike Napoli (homer, double, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, walk), Stephen Drew (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 walks), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits, RBI) and David Ortiz (2 hits, double, walk, RBI).

Not sure if you've noticed yet but Dustin Pedroia is playing at an MVP level and yes, I know it's still only May so who cares? He hit a two-run homer around Peskey's Pole in the first inning (his third homer of the season) and two batters later, Napoli followed with an opposite field bomb of his own (his eighth of the season) for a 3-0 Red Sox advantage.

Something called an Erik Kratz hit a solo homer in the third inning but that was Aceves' only real mistake. Boston added three runs in the home half of the frame on Napoli's RBI double, Drew's RBI single and Ellsbury's RBI double. Salty had an RBI single in the fifth and another run scored on the play thanks to a Phillies error.

Domonic Brown hit a two-run homer in the eighth for Philadelphia and Drew rounded out the long but satisfying game with a bases loaded walk later in the eighth.

The struggling Ryan Dempster (2-5) faces a big challenge tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in the form or Cliff Lee (5-2) who is still one of the best pitchers in MLB. It's the last game of this home-and-home set at Fenway, meaning under the superior AL rules. Get ready to see Ortiz in the field starting on Wednesday along with the pitchers being forced to bat!

UPDATE 5/28: Franklin Morales was activated and Aceves was sent back to Pawtucket, thanks for playing Alfredo!

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Red Sox Take Series With A's After A 6-5 Win At Fenway

After Alfredo Aceves' stinkbomb last night in a miserable rain-shortened 13-0 loss by the Red Sox (that earned him a demotion to Pawtucket today), Boston needed to regroup and find a way to bounce back against Oakland. The Red Sox (14-7 overall, 7-5 home) did just that by holding off the A's (13-9 overall, 7-5) 6-5 this afternoon at Fenway Park. With the win, Boston took two of three against Oakland-the best team that they have seen so far this season.

Jon Lester improved to 4-0 even though he had his worst outing of 2013: 5.2 innings, three earned runs, six hits, five strikeouts and six walks. Chris Young's three-run homer in the fourth gave Oakland a 3-0 lead. Boston responded with three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. That was enough to hold off single runs by the A's in the seventh and eighth.

Mike Napoli fittingly started the rally with an RBI double and Stephen Drew (yes him) tied it with a two-run triple. Shane Victorino's RBI double (he later left with a stiff back) put Boston ahead 4-3 then David Ortiz (2 hits, double, run) and Daniel Nava (2 hits) each added RBI singles. After Josh Donaldson's RBI single in the seventh, Young crushed a solo homer off Koji Uehara (second straight appearance that he's allowed a run) in the eighth.

Former A's All-Star closer Andrew Bailey struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save. Of course, he had some help from the umpires since Jed Lowrie's (3 hits, double, run) possible double into the right field corner was ruled foul. It was too close to call and he ended up being the third out. I would say that Bailey has locked down the closer's position: in his last three appearances he has gone three innings, allowing no hits and no runs with seven strikeouts and one walk for two saves. Let's see Joel Hanrahan do that!

Boston received a gift from the MLB scheduling gods since this longest homestand of the season (10 were scheduled, 1 will be made up) is capped off by four games against Houston (7-14)-the worst team in their new league (American).

Clay Buchholz (4-0) faces Philip Humber (0-4) tomorrow night (6:35 p.m., NESN), Ryan Dempster (0-2) gets Erik Bedard (0-1) on Friday (7:10 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (2-0) takes on Brad Peacock (0-1) on Saturday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) then John Lackey (0-0) returns to oppose Bud Norris (3-2) in the series finale on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN). Good seats are still available for these awful games, the Red Sox need to win at least three against the hopeless Astros.

UPDATE 4/25: Ryan Lavarnway was called up from the PawSox, taking Aceves' spot on the roster.

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Out Of Nowhere, The Orioles Are Having Some Kind Of Insane Regular Season

Nobody and I mean nobody expected the Orioles to be .500 in 2012, let alone jockeying with the Yankees for first-place in the AL East and in firm control of a wild card spot. Somehow devoid of a superstar (Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are very good players but not really at that level) or ace pitcher, Baltimore finds itself on the cusp of its first playoff bid since 1997.

Obviously with a team that comes out of nowhere like this, they will possess many insane statistics but my favorite is this: the Orioles (87-64, 45-32 away) won their 16th straight extra innings game this afternoon with a 9-6 win in 12 innings over the Red Sox (68-85, 33-45 home) at Fenway Park.

Boston fell to 0-7 in extra innings games this season at home and 2-9 overall. Baltimore led 6-3 but Boston scored twice in the seventh on a pair of RBI ground outs then tied it on Scott Podsednik's (double, run) RBI double in the eighth.

Once it got to extra innings, you knew the Orioles had this one wrapped up. The only question was who would the heroes be? If you said Jim Thome (RBI double), Endy Chavez (RBI single) and Manny Machado (RBI single; 3 for 6, run) you truly have a special gift.

Baltimore closer Jim Johnson extended his franchise record by tossing a scoreless 12th for his 47th save of the season.

Consider me shocked that Randy Wolf (5 innings, 3 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks) and Aaron Cook (5.1 innings, 5 earned runs, 9 hits, 1 strikeout, 2 walks) didn't have the instant classic pitcher's duel that wasn't predicted by anybody in the world.

Adam Jones (2 hits, double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) had an RBI ground out in first which gave the O's a 1-0 lead. Ryan Lavarnway (2 RBIs) tied it with an RBI single in the home half of the frame. Baltimore tacked on a run in the second on Machado's RBI single then all or nothing slugger Mark Reynolds connected for a solo homer (his 22nd of the season) as Baltimore opened up a 3-1 lead in the fourth.

Danny Valencia tied it with a two-run bomb (his 3rd of the season) in the fourth. Portland Maine's Ryan Flaherty (2 for 4, double, 2 RBIs, 2 walks) had a two-run triple in the sixth and Jones cranked a solo shot in the seventh (his 31st of the season).

Alfredo Aceves (2-10) was charged with all three runs in the 12th so he received yet another loss in what has been a nightmare second half for the mercurial pitcher. I wouldn't put it past him to intentionally tank just to spite Bobby V. He's that batshit crazy.

Baltimore will look for a three-game sweep tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as Chris Tillman (8-2) faces Felix Doubront (11-9). On an NFL Sunday aka Red Zone to the face time, it would take a large sum of money for me to watch that game let alone take time out of my precious day to attend it.

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Alfredo Aceves Is A Very Valuable Pitcher But He Is Not A Closer As He Proved Once Again

Things have a way of always turning out poorly on bad teams no matter what the sport. Alfredo Aceves returned from his three-game suspension tonight and wouldn't you know that he played a critical part of why Boston choked away a 5-4 lead in the ninth and lost 6-5 to the Angels in the series opener at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Aceves (2-9, 8 blown saves) got a 1-2-3 eighth but as anyone knows from watching the Red Sox (62-68, 30-30 away) this season, he struggles mightily when called upon for a save longer than an inning. Mike Trout (3 hits, 2 RBIs) tied it with an RBI single then Torii Hunter (run, walk) won it on a walkoff sacrifice fly.

Los Angeles (67-62, 34-29 home) actually trailed 5-2 in the sixth before Albert Pujols (29th of the season) cranked a solo homer and Howie Kendrick cut it to 5-4 with an RBI double.

Clay Buchholz (7 innings, 4 earned runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks) and Jered Weaver (7 innings, 5 runs, 4 earned, 7 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk) pitched to a standstill but the Angels improved to 4-0 against the Red Sox this season-all in the span of a week.

The incomparable Trout (25th of the season) gave the Angels a 1-0 lead with a leadoff homer to start the home half of the first. Mark Trumbo added a sacrifice fly for the 2-0 LA advantage.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (22nd of the season) cut it to 2-1 with a solo homer of his own in the second. Boston added three runs in the fourth on RBI singles from James Loney (3rd game in a row) and Salty. A run also crossed home plate on Ryan Kalish's double play.

Ryan Lavarnway's sacrifice fly in the sixth put the Red Sox in good position up 5-2. Bobby Valentine's hand was mostly forced since he didn't want to use Andrew Bailey (who pitched in 4 of the last 5 days) or Vicente Padilla. Although, for some reason he had Aceves warming up in the sixth. Clayton Mortensen was an option but he's never closed so I can't say I blame Valentine from staying away from him.

Kevin Jepsen (3-2) unknowingly earned the win with a scoreless ninth.

It was just another soul-crushing loss in a season full of them. Mortensen will be sent back to Pawtucket to make room for tomorrow night's (10:05 p.m., NESN) starter Zach Stewart (1-2), who makes his Red Sox debut vs. C.J. Wilson (9-9). He was the major piece that came over from the White Sox in the Kevin Youkilis trade.

I have to admit that even though they aren't good and they are playing out the string, I enjoy watching this cast of mostly spare parts and minor leaguers play rather than the overpaid underachievers that we were stuck with the last few seasons. Who knows, maybe a few of them will win jobs for next year (Pedro Ciriaco already has).

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Lester Starts To Figure It Out, Months Too Late In The 2012 Red Sox Season

For the first time since June 5-22 (when he had four in a row), Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester strung together back-to-back quality starts.

His solid outing this afternoon helped Boston (59-62, 30-28 away) beat New York (71-49, 38-24 home) 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. They have split the first two games of the series so tomorrow night's finale will decade who takes it.

Lester (7-10) lasted seven innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. It's amazing what happens when he executes, the Red Sox look like a completely different team. Now if only Josh Beckett wasn't one of the most useless athletes in professional sports, then they'd get somewhere.

Yankees killer Pedro Ciriaco went 4 for 4 with a double, run and stolen base. My favorite part of his great game is that he saw seven total pitches in four at bats. Why wait around? Somewhere Nomar Garciaparra nods his approval. Ciriaco is 14 for 28 lifetime vs. New York, the highest career average ever against the Yankees (minimum 25 plate appearances).

Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits, walk) hit a two-run homer (his 14th of the season) in the first inning against David Phelps (3-4) for an immediate 2-0 lead.

Curtis Granderson (double) homered (32nd of the season) for the second game in a row, this time a solo shot in the fourth which cut it to 2-1.

Nick Punto's RBI double in the fifth scored Ciriaco for a 3-1 Red Sox lead.

Phelps settled down and went 6.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Boston tacked on an insurance run (which they ended up not needing) in the ninth as Scott Podsednik scored on Cody Eppley's wild pitch.

Andrew Bailey got the first out in the eighth then the Yale batterymates (Craig Breslow to Ryan Lavarnway) induced a double play by Robinson Cano to end the eighth inning.

Alfredo Aceves had a scoreless ninth for his 25th save of the season, he allowed one hit but also struck out a batter.

Nick Swisher was 3 for 4 in the loss.

Beckett (5-10) opposes Hiroki Kuroda (11-8) tomorrow night (8:00 p.m., ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball). Boston is 4-7 against New York so far this season but they can win their second straight series in the Bronx (2 out of 3) by coming away with a victory tomorrow.

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If Only Clay Buchholz Could Pitch Every Game For The Red Sox, Then They Might Be OK

Clay Buchholz has earned the right to be Boston's Opening Day starter in 2013 with his superb second half. It continued tonight in Baltimore as the Red Sox (58-61, 29-27 away) salvaged a game against the Orioles (64-54, 32-29 home) with a 6-3 win at Camden Yards.

Not only did Buchholz (11-3) help Boston avoid the three-game sweep but he maintained his run of six quality starts in a row. What's more, he hasn't been charged with a loss since July 14 which is remarkable considering how much the Red Sox have lost in that time frame. He actually allowed two runs in the first and one in the second but settled down to go eight innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.

Alfredo Aceves, Boston's lonely closer, struck out the side in the ninth for a 1-2-3 inning and his 24th save of the season.

After struggling so badly with runners in scoring position the previous two nights, the Red Sox improved (5 for 16) even if they still left way too many guys on base (10). Boston had 13 hits, five RBIs and four walks. Cody Ross went 3 for 5 with a double and RBI, Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 5 with a double, two runs and an RBI, Carl Crawford was 2 for 5 with two runs, a double and stolen base, Adrian Gonzalez was 2 for 4 with two runs, two RBIs and a double while Scott Podsednik was 2 for 4 with a double, RBI and run.

Adam Jones had a two-run double in the first for the Orioles and Mark Reynolds blasted a solo homer (his 12th of the season) in the second inning but other than that, Baltimore was shut down. They went 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.

Orioles starter Chris Tillman (3 earned runs, 6 hits) couldn't get out of the fifth inning but reliever Luis Ayala (4-4) allowed three runs in the sixth which turned out to be the difference.

Podsednik got Boston on the board with an RBI single in the second which cut it to 2-1. Boston tied in the fifth as Crawford scored on a wild pitch by Tillman and Gonzalez knocked in Pedroia with a sacrifice fly.

Pedroia started the scoring in the sixth by reaching on an infield single while Podsednik crossed the plate. Then Gonzalez and Ross kept the line moving with RBI singles of their own.

Boston improved to 4-8 against Baltimore this season; they play six more times with a home series for each team in late September.

The Red Sox are 3-4 so far on their 10-game road trip and it wraps up this weekend in the Bronx with three against the Yankees (70-48, 1st AL East), who are the top team in the American League. Remember when Boston won two of three at Yankee Stadium in the end of July? That was a real turning point of the season huh, oh wait.

Franklin Morales (3-3) faces Phil Hughes (11-10) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (6-10) takes on David Phelps (3-3) on Saturday afternoon (4:05 p.m., NESN) then Josh Beckett (5-10) closes out what could be a very ugly series vs. Hiroki Kuroda (11-8) on Sunday night (8:00 p.m., ESPN).

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Remind Me Again Why Franklin Morales Isn't In The Red Sox Rotation Full-Time?

Never fear folks, Franklin Morales (3-2) won't let the Red Sox get swept by the lowly Twins in the worst series so far of the neverending 2012 season.

He went six superb innings (1 run, 3 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks) in his first start since July 13 as Boston (54-55, 28-32 home) held on for a 6-4 win vs. Minnesota (47-61, 24-29 away) this afternoon at Fenway Park. The Red Sox snapped a four-game losing streak overall and they had lost the first three games to the Twins.

Vicente Padilla did his best Alfredo Aceves impression from Saturday's night's debacle as he allowed a solo homer to Josh Willingham (28th of the season) and a two-run bomb to Ryan Doumit (11th of the season) in the ninth that made a 6-1 game 6-4 in the blink of an eye. Luckily, Aceves shook off his struggles to get a 1-2-3 ninth (on 9 pitches) for his 23rd save of the season. That ability to bounce back sums up his main talent-he's fearless and incredibly durable.

Birthday boy Carl Crawford (who turned 31 on Sunday) had a solid performance, going 3-for-5 with two runs, an RBI and a stolen base. Best of all for the impatient Crawford, he saw a team-high 22 pitches. Adrian Gonzalez (3 RBIs, run, walk), Cody Ross, Will Middlebrooks (stolen base) and Mike Aviles (run, walk) all had two hits in the win as Boston outhit Minnesota 14-6.

The Red Sox scored twice in the third on Crawford's groundout and Gonzalez's RBI single. Ben Revere (hit, stolen base, 19-game hitting streak, 1 incredible over-the-shoulder catch) got the Twins on the board with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, cutting it to 2-1.

Gonzalez hit a two-run homer (his 11th of the season) over the Monster in the fifth, Ross had a run-scoring single in the seventh and Jacoby Ellsbury tacked on a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Is it too soon to lock up Ross with a multi-year deal before he becomes a free agent this winter? He's earned that pay day.

Things are about to get real at Fenway as the American League's best team-tied with the Yankees-comes to town. The Texas Rangers (63-44, 1st in AL West) play the Red Sox three times to end Boston's longest homestand (10 games) of 2012. The Red Sox lost two of three in the Lonestar State two weeks ago and looking at the pitching matchups, I fully expect a sweep by the two-time defending AL champions.

Aaron Cook (2-5) faces Yu Darvish (11-7) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (5-9) gets new Ranger Ryan Dempster (5-5) on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) then the Texas Toughguy (5-9) is scheduled to oppose Matt Harrison (13-6) on Wednesday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) if his bad back and fat ass will allow it.

In other Twins-Red Sox news, the teams made a minor trade this afternoon as Minnesota dealt third baseman Danny Valencia to Boston for Single A outfielder Jeremias Pineda. Valencia had a promising rookie season in 2010 (7 homers, 40 RBIs, .311 batting average in 85 games) and reasonably productive 2011 (15 homers, 72 RBIs in 154 games) but he fell off the map this season (.198 in 34 games). He will report to Pawtucket and look for him to get called up September 1 when the rosters expand.

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If You Enjoy Car Crashes & Train Wrecks, The 2012 Red Sox Are The MLB Team For You

I didn't even see the game, I followed it on my laptop then caught the last inning on the radio but I would remiss if I didn't mention the latest soul-crushing, mind-numbing, punch to the balls for the Red Sox last night. They have lost nine straight to sub-.500 teams and are five games back in the AL Wild Card.

Boston (53-55, 27-32 home) led Minnesota (47-60, 24-28 away) 4-2 at Fenway Park and were one strike away from ending a three-game losing streak to the second worst team in the American League. Then Joe Mauer hit a three-run bomb (his 7th of the season) just over the Wall in left off Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves (2-7, 6th blown save).

As always, the Red Sox went down quietly as Jared Burton got a 1-2-3 ninth (on 9 pitches) for his fifth save of the season. Alex Burnett (4-3) got the easy win for recording the last out of the eighth. 2012 circled the drain a long time ago and I currently view this miserable franchise like I did last September: I take some sort of twisted joy from their failure since they are the most unlikable local team I can ever remember.

Clay Buchholz continued to be Boston's best starting pitcher (not much of a contest) and he deserved more than a no decision after seven innings, one run (0 earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Twins rookie Cole DeVries was superb as well against the Red Sox lineup that lacks punch without David Ortiz in it. He went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

Of course, when we look at the box score, no team that has half as many hits (12-6) and three errors ever really should win. Let's be honest there.

Ben Revere went 3-for-4 with a run and stolen base, extending his hitting streak to 18 games. Justin Morneau (2 hits, RBI) and Jamey Carroll (2 runs, 2 hits, RBI) continued to kill the Red Sox this weekend.

Boston took a 2-0 lead as Carl Crawford had an RBI double in the first and Mike Aviles slugged a solo homer in the second, his career-high 11th of the season.

Minnesota scored a run in the fifth on Kelly Shoppach's throwing error then Morneau's sacrifice fly in the eighth tied it at two.

Pedro Ciriaco-one of the only guys to cheer for this season-came through with a clutch pinch-hit homer in the eighth, the first of his MLB career over the Monster. Cody Ross added an RBI single.

Carroll's RBI single cut it to 4-3 in the ninth as Aceves stuggled to get the two-inning save. Bobby Valentine should have seen that he was struggling and gone to Craig Breslow to face Mauer, but he didn't since he's a moron.

Franklin Morales (2-2) is the only thing that stands between a sweep by the Twins this afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as he returns to the rotation to face Nick Blackburn (4-6). Get your popcorn ready, I'm pretty sure the Red Sox will find a way to do it. This series has been the final death knell to this season that we knew was going nowhere all along.

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Felix Doubront & Pedro Ciriaco Run New York, Everybody Knows That

With only 60 games (basically two months) left of the 2012 regular season, now is not the time to celebrate simply getting back to .500 (for the 55th time).

However, the Red Sox (51-51, 26-23 away) should be happy after they took two of three games in New York (60-41, 31-19 home) this weekend and went 3-3 on a brutal road trip against the two best teams in the AL (Rangers and Yankees). Felix Doubront pitched well tonight and Pedro Ciriaco had an RBI single in the 10th that scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 runs, 2 walks) as Boston outlasted the Yankees 3-2 in 10 innings at Yankee Stadium.

After losing on Friday, the Red Sox won nail-biters last night (8-6) and tonight to make the season series 6-3 in favor of New York. There are nine remaining so you will have plenty more baseball games that are well over three hours long no matter what.

Trade bait Ryan Sweeney's two-run double in the second gave Boston a 2-0 lead it would carry until the sixth. New York cut it to 2-1 on Red Sox killer Russell Martin's solo homer (his 12th of the season) then he tied it with an RBI single in the seventh.

Jacoby Ellsbury (double) and Adrian Gonzalez (run) both had two hits for Boston while Nick Swisher added two hits for the Yankees. Somehow the Red Sox survived grounding into five double plays-the most they had recorded in over seven years.

Doubront and Ciriaco have been by far Boston's best players against New York this season. In three starts, Doubront has gone 18.2 innings and only allowed five earned runs on 12 hits. Ciriaco is 11-for-22 in five games against the Bronx Bombers with six RBIs. He has provided the winning hits the last two games as well (RBI triple on Saturday night in the 9th). Call it a small sample size, beginner's luck or not having a book on either guy yet but whatever the reason, two of the most unlikely players have carried the Red Sox to wins against their archrivals.

This evening, the young lefty went 6.1 innings and allowed one earned run on four hits with eight strikeouts and five walks. A high pitch count (109) was the only thing to complain about regarding one of the best outings of his career.

Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda went eight innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

Andrew Miller wiggled out of a jam (runners on the corners, 1 out) in the seventh but Alfredo Aceves (2-6) blew the save (5th time he's done that) by giving up Martin's hit in the eighth (charged to Miller). It didn't matter though since he stayed out there and eventually got the win following 2.1 innings. He struck out two and didn't allow a hit besides Martin's, the downside was that he threw 37 pitches.

The only thing I fear from these last two days is that the Red Sox front office will feel like they've figured things out so there is no need to make a big move (trading Josh Beckett). I really hope that is not the case since they should realize that he had less than nothing to do with either win or any positive things to come out of the weekend. They have until 4 p.m. on Tuesday to do the right thing and get him out of here before fans' heads explode with anger and frustration.

Boston returns to Fenway Park for its longest homestand of the season: 10 games (3 vs. Detroit, 4 vs. Minnesota and 3 vs. Texas). Their next road game is Thursday, August 9 in Cleveland which kicks off the longest road trip of the season: also 10 games.

Clay Buchholz (8-3) faces Max Scherzer (10-5) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN). Beckett (5-9) is scheduled to take the fall against Justin Verlander (11-6) on Tuesday (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Aaron Cook (2-4) gets Rick Porcello (7-6) on Wednesday (7:10 p.m., NESN).

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Well At Least We Know The Red Sox Aren't Going To Go Winless The Rest Of The Way

Conveniently, with the Red Sox' season fully going down in flames, I've been off the grid for a few days. Yes, I kept up with the pathetic sweep by the Blue Jays last weekend but not enough to write anything of substance.

Tonight, I caught much of the game on the radio as Boston (49-49, 24-21 away) edged Texas (57-39, 30-17 home) 2-1 at sauna-like Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. It snapped a four-game losing streak for the Red Sox and also handed them their first win of the season against the Rangers (1-3).

Mike Aviles broke the 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth with a bloop RBI single that scored Daniel Nava, who came on as a defensive replacement for Carl Crawford in the seventh. The Red Sox bullpen was fantastic as Vicente Padilla (4-0) pitched a scoreless eighth despite giving up a hit and beaning Adrian Beltre. Closer Alfredo Aceves retired the Rangers on eight pitches for his 21st save of the season.

It was a weird night as Ian Kinsler was ejected in the first inning for arguing a strike call and Beltre had to leave after getting hit in the head by Padilla's pitch.

Clay Buchholz didn't get credit for the win but once again, he performed like Boston's much-needed ace/stopper. In seven innings, the Lonestar State native allowed one earned run on four hits with three walks and a strikeout.

Rangers rookie Martin Perez pitched very well in a spot start. In six innings, the young lefty allowed one earned run on five hits with two walks and a strikeout.

Boston went ahead 1-0 in the fourth on Kelly Shoppach's RBI double that scored Cody Ross. Texas tied it in the sixth as Josh Hamilton's ground out plated Elvis Andrus.

Don't get your hopes up for tomorrow night (8:05 p.m., NESN) as Josh Beckett (5-8) takes on Derek Holland (6-5) in the series finale. There is no way the Texas Toughguy will be able to shut down that lineup and/or concentrate in his natural habitat.

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Cody Ross' 3-Run Walkoff Blast Gives Red Sox Their Best Win Of The Season

Cody Ross hit his third 3-run homer in the last 24 hours as the Red Sox walked off with a truly awesome 3-1 win against the White Sox at Fenway Park this evening.

Boston (48-45, 25-25 home) is finally trending upwards as they took three out of four against the AL Central leaders from Chicago (50-42, 26-20 away).

Kevin Youkilis was a healthy scratch tonight and the White Sox certainly missed his potent bat in their otherwise weak lineup. Still, things looked good for them as they led 1-0 headed into the bottom of the ninth.

Carl Crawford singled against Matt Thornton (2-6) before Dustin Pedroia grounded into a fielder's choice. Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits) singled against Thornton which prompted Chicago rookie manager Robin Ventura to turn it over to his closer Addison Reed. Three pitches later Ross ended it with a shot down the left field line and over the Monster (his 16th of the season). It was the fifth walkoff hit of his career and third homer in that instance.

The Red Sox' celebration was pretty great too as Nick Punto ripped off Ross's jersey (apparently that's why he's nicknamed Shredder) and Alfredo Aceves (1-6) dumped an entire jug of blue Gatorade that sprayed all of his teammates. More of that please.

Chicago rookie lefty Jose Quintana was lights out as he pitched eight scoreless innings. Boston could only get five hits against him but he struck out two and didn't walk anybody.

Clay Buchholz was almost as excellent. In eight innings, he allowed one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. If he wants to be the ace that the Red Sox currently lack, that would be fantastic. Normally, he has the second-best run support in MLB (ironically behind teammate Felix Doubront) but that was nowhere to be seen tonight.

The White Sox pushed across their lone run in the fourth on Alex Rios's sacrifice fly which scored Adam Dunn.

Boston actually had two nice chances to score: Pedro Ciriaco tripled with two outs in the third but Jacoby Ellsbury struck out. Then Will Middlebrooks had a quality at bat but grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the seventh.

Normally (or at least earlier this season), this was a prototypical game that the Red Sox most definitely do not win. It is a proven fact that they have really struggled in low-scoring close games the last few years. So if they go anywhere in 2012, you can bet this result will be one that every writer, player and fan points to. Not Bobby V though, he always has to be a contrarian no matter what the question.

The nose-diving Blue Jays (45-47, 5th in AL East) arrive in Fenway tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) for three games. Josh Beckett (5-7) faces Aaron Laffey (1-1) then it's Aaron Cook (2-2) vs. Carlos Villanueva (4-0) on Saturday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Jon Lester (5-7) against Henderson Alvarez (5-7) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN).

With no Jose Bautista (on the DL) and possibly no Brett Lawrie, Toronto looks ripe to be swept as the Red Sox go for their third straight series win after the All-Star break. After that, Boston goes to Texas (three games) and New York (three games) in what can only be described as the road trip from hell, at least in terms of difficulty to say nothing about those miserable places.

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Red Sox Fall To A Mighty Depressing 2-4 On West Coast Trip Thanks To 3rd Walk-Off Loss

It's a good thing that A) nobody is watching or B) that nobody really cares about the Red Sox this season because this current West Coast road trip would give you nightmares all summer, trust the sucker that has watched or listened to most of it.

Tonight, Boston (42-39, 21-18 away) suffered another mind-numbing loss, 3-2 to Oakland (40-42, 21-19 home) at O.co Coliseum.

This was the 81st game of the season for the Red Sox-the exact halfway point-meaning that they are on pace for 84 wins. How mediocre.

Making matters much worse, it came on a walk-off sacrifice fly by old punching bag Coco Crisp in the bottom of the ninth that scored Cliff Pennington. Alfredo Aceves (0-6) blew his fourth save of the season but he wasn't helped out by Ryan Kalish's error on the RBI single by Brandon Moss that tied it at two. Compounding that, Bobby Valentine decided to pitch to Crisp with runners on the corners and one out. Ugh.

It was a Tour De Force of shitty baseball from the Red Sox who have scored two or less runs in four straight games and five of six overall on this swing (2-4) through the dredge of the AL West. Boston had runners on first and second with no outs in the top of the ninth but somehow didn't score a run as Nick Punto bunted into a double play (really) then Kalish was caught stealing third base. How that's possible outside of Little League, we'll never know.

Jon Lester's best outing in a month and a half went all for naught. He allowed a lead-off homer to Crisp (his 3rd of the season) in the first but he was locked in after that, going 6.2 innings and allowing one earned run on four hits with a season-high nine strikeouts and one walk.

Former Red Sox doughboy Bartolo Colon was similarly on point, he went six innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Not bad for a guy making his first start off the DL.

Then again, anybody could shutdown Boston's limp lineup right now. They had seven hits and all but one was a single. Even worse, they were 0-for-8 tonight with runners in scoring position.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (16th of the season) tied it with a solo homer in the second then David Ortiz scored on an error in the fourth, giving Boston the temporary 2-1 advantage.

Mr. Single himself Adrian Gonzalez was 2-for-4 (both singles of course) to extend his fraudulent hit streak to an MLB-best 14 games. Woo, feel the excitement.

After striking out pinch-hitter Seth Smith to end the seventh, Vicente Padilla managed to not allow a run in the eighth despite facing runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs after an error by Mike Aviles and a single. Oakland had a sacrifice and intentional walk but he struck out the last two batters to record his 18th hold of the season. If Aceves ever gets demoted, Padilla should be the next closer. Just saying.

Lefty Jerry Blevins (2-0) got the last five outs for the A's to receive the unexpected win.

The Red Sox will try to restore a shred of dignity while they close out this miserable road trip (their last before the All-Star break) tomorrow afternoon (4:05 p.m., NESN). Aaron Cook (2-1) faces rookie AJ Griffin (0-0) on the Fourth of July and I doubt that you have better plans than to watch what should be one of the better pitching matchups of the season. Haha! Plus, does it get more patriotic than Oakland?

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Red Sox Pick Up First Extra Innings Win Of 2012, 2-1 In Seattle After 10 Miserable Innings

It only took them six tries (1-5) but the Red Sox can finally say that they won a game in extra innings during the 2012 season.

Boston (42-37, 21-16 away) salvaged a split of a very forgettable weekend in Seattle (34-47, 15-23 home) with a 2-1 win in 10 innings this afternoon at the hitter's graveyard better known as Safeco Field. Don't believe me? Well the Mariners scored five runs in four games this series while the Red Sox had nine.

Pinch-hitter Ryan Kalish doubled with one out in the 10th, moved over on Dustin Pedroia's single and scored on David Ortiz's sacrifice fly. It couldn't have been more of a layup for the Red Sox beat writers as Ortiz drove in the winning run just hours after being named the only All-Star from Boston for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game.

The Mariners are a complete joke, they scored one run or less in three of the four games this weekend yet they went 2-2. That is wild. Somehow, Seattle looked like they might get their third walk-off win of the series when Justin Smoak hit a one-out double in the ninth. Luckily, Vicente Padilla (2-0) got Dustin Ackley to fly out, intentionally walked Chone Figgins then Brendan Ryan flew out to end the threat.

Get this, Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves had a clean 10th inning that was over in five pitches. I don't know if I've ever seen that before but it was good enough for his 19th save of the season.

Felix Doubront did his best Dice-K impression but if we're being honest here, he still has to fine tune it. He labored through 102 pitches in 4.1 innings but only allowed one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts and five walks. Matsuzaka would have allowed way more runs and hits than that, come on Felix!

Lefty Jason Vargas almost shut down the Red Sox as he went eight solid innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk.

Ichiro provided the Mariners only run with a sacrifice fly in the third that scored Figgins. Can we pour out a cup of saki for our homie Ichiro? His batting average is .271 and his OBP is .297. He is 38-years-old and been in MLB for 11 seasons. At least he's got to play on many World Series contenders, oh wait. Well who could forget all those Octobers with him prominently featured in them?

Pedroia (6th of the season) tied it in the eighth with a solo homer to left, his first long ball since May 10.

Boston's bullpen saved Doubront and the rest of the team from another embarrassing loss. They went 5.2 innings, allowing one hit with one strikeout and two walks. Matt Albers was first (1.2 innings), Scott Atchison (2 innings) was next then Padilla and Aceves. Albers had the most memorable play for the relievers as he came in with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. On his first pitch, he got Jesus Montero to ground into an inning-ending double play. You can't draw it up better than that.

The Red Sox have one last series on the road before the All-Star break: three games in Oakland (38-42, 3rd in AL West). The A's actually won two of three at Fenway (April 30-May 2) earlier this season but they are still the mediocre team you remember that can't hit or score runs therefore making wins pretty tough to come by for the sons of Billy Beane. The funny thing is Oakland has in many ways become the Pawtucket Red Sox: Josh Reddick, Coco Crisp and Brandon Moss are all in their current lineup.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2) is still looking for his first win of 2012, he faces Jarrod Parker (4-3) tomorrow night (10:05 p.m., NESN). Jon Lester (5-5) gets King Koopa aka Bartolo Colon (6-7) on Tuesday night (10:05 p.m., NESN) and Franklin Morales (1-1) takes on rookie A.J. Griffin (0-0) Wednesday afternoon (4:05 p.m., NESN) on the Fourth of July.

After only beating Seattle twice, Boston needs to win at least two in Oakland to make this road trip feel a little better before they come home to face the Yankees.

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Heartless In Seattle: Red Sox Suffer 2nd Walk-off Loss In 3 Nights To The Shitbum Mariners

If they're going to lose, the Red Sox should at least have the decency to get it over with in nine innings when they are out on the West Coast.

Tonight, Boston (41-37, 20-16 away) fell to 0-5 in extra innings (0-2 on the road) as they lost 3-2 in 11 innings to Seattle (34-46, 15-22 home) at Safeco Field.

Chone Figgins's sacrifice fly scored Dustin Ackley (2 hits) with the winning run. Much like John Jaso's walk-off single two nights ago, right fielder Cody Ross made a fine throw to home but once again catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia couldn't handle it. Guess he didn't practice that between games. This was a tougher play (less time, bad hop) but he's still got to make it if he is to ever going to be considered an All-Star.

For those keeping track at home, Seattle has scored a total of four runs in the first three games of this series yet they are 2-1. Boston can do no better than a split provided that they win tomorrow afternoon.

Before the game, outfielder Darnell McDonald was designated for assignment which means the Red Sox have 10 days to trade, release or send him to Pawtucket. With all the young outfielders that have come up plus Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford rehabbing, it was simply a numbers decision. D-Mac was a good teammate but his lack of production didn't justify a spot with Boston anymore. Good luck to him moving forward.

This game couldn't have fallen much more in the Red Sox' favor since Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez left in the third inning with an injury. That meant that Seattle had to use six relievers to close it out. Somehow it all worked with Shawn Kelley (2-2) getting a 1-2-3 11th with two strikeouts to earn the win.

Boston's closer Alfredo Aceves (0-5) ended up going 2.1 innings (25 pitches) which means he could be unavailable tomorrow in a save situation.

Josh Beckett's first start in 19 days was about all you could positively expect: six innings, two earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

The Red Sox' inept offense killed them this evening as they went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 guys on base, brutal numbers for a team that had pounded the ball on its most recent homestand (7-2).

John Jaso gave Seattle a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the sixth. Boston tied it with two in the seventh on Ryan Kalish's ground out and a passed ball by Miguel Olivo which allowed Will Middlebrooks to score.

Adrian Gonzalez was 3-for-5 with a run but he also got gunned out at second base in the eighth inning trying to stretch a single into a double. Making it sting more, that was the third out.

Cody Ross had two hits and a walk for Boston while Ichiro (run, stolen base) and Olivo each produced two hits for Seattle.

Felix Doubront (8-4) faces Jason Vargas (7-7) tomorrow afternoon (4:10 p.m., NESN) in the series finale. It's a must-win for the Red Sox because losing a series 3-1 to the Triple-A worthy Mariners would be an absolute disaster.

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Red Sox Rally For A 5-1 Win Vs. Blue Jays

For six innings tonight, Aaron Laffey completely shut down the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Luckily, Boston (39-35, 20-21 home) was able to hang around and pounce once the Blue Jays (38-36, 19-21 away) went to their bullpen and ended up with a 5-1 win for their troubles.

Shockingly, Daisuke Matsuzaka was the Red Sox starting pitcher that nearly matched Laffey 0 for 0 on the ancient scoreboard in left. Dice-K went 5.2 innings, allowing only one earned run on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

Laffey went six scoreless innings, allowing three hits with two strikeouts and two walks. He left after 82 pitches since this was his first start of the season and first since 2010 when he was on the Indians.

Brent Lillibridge started in center field and batted ninth, he was 0-for-2 in his first at-bats as a Red Sox; he was lifted for pinch-hitter Daniel Nava in the seventh. Truly an unforgettable debut for a scrub that might not make it past the trade deadline.

Edwin Encarnacion provided Toronto's only run with an infield single in the first which scored Brett Lawrie. The Blue Jays had runners on second and third with one out but Matsuzaka wiggled out of it as Kelly Johnson flew out and Yunel Escobar lined to Dice-K.

Scott Atchison had a scoreless inning before Andrew Miller (2-0) ended up with the win even though he only got one out: he struck out red-hot Colby Rasmus to end the seventh with Adam Lind (2 hits) on third base.

Jarrod Saltlamacchia (14th of the season) tied it at one in the seventh with a solo homer over the Monster against reliever Jason Fraser. Dustin Pedroia added a two-run single later in the inning, all three runs coming with two outs.

Boston was 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position while Toronto was 1-for-8.

Pedroia's heroics made up for the fact that he got gunned out at home to end the sixth. David Ortiz had hit his second double but left fielder Rajai Davis (2 hits) threw a perfect strike to catcher Jeff Mathis who tagged Pedroia on the way by.

Vicente Padilla had a 1-2-3 eighth for his 17th hold of the season. Amazingly enough, he struck out two but only required 12 pitches. He's been quite a pleasant surprise.

Boston tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth-their last at bat-as Adrian Gonzalez (2 doubles) doubled home Ortiz and Will Middlebrooks drove in Cody Ross with a sacrifice fly.

Alfredo Aceves got a clean ninth despite the fact that it wasn't a save situation. He only threw 12 pitches as well so he should be available tomorrow too (then again you can always say that about Mr. Rubber Arm himself).

The Red Sox have gone 6-2 on a highly successful homestand and they'll try to end it on a high note tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as Jon Lester (4-5) faces Ricky Romero (8-1). A win would make finally make them .500 at home this season something which they haven't been since the opening series vs. Tampa Bay in early April. Haha really.

After that, Boston heads out on its first West Coast road trip of the 2012 season. Four games in Seattle followed by three in Oakland, the last games away from Fenway before the All-Star break.

UPDATE 6/27: Josh Beckett is expected to come off the DL on Saturday and make a start in Seattle against the Mariners.

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The Kids Are Alright: Red Sox Edition Starring Will Middlebrooks

The Red Sox might be onto something: the youthful energy and enthusiasm of Daniel Nava, Ryan Kalish and Will Middlebrooks not to mention Felix Doubront and Jarrod Saltalamacchia is starting to carry them. Boston (36-33, 17-19 home) rallied twice to ultimately defeat Miami (33-36, 16-18 away) 6-5 tonight at sticky Fenway Park for a three-game sweep.

Don't look now but the Red Sox have won five straight and seven of their last eight games as they've tied a season-high at three games over the .500 mark.

Middlebrooks carried Boston's offense, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Down 3-0, his RBI single started the Red Sox' first rally, tied it at three with another RBI single then punctuated it with a two-run homer (his 8th of the season) to knot it at five. At this point, Kevin Youkilis might as well start looking into another career outside of baseball (only half kidding). It doesn't even matter what Boston gets in return for him, it's time to send Youk on his way out of town before the trade deadline (July 31).

The Daisuke Matsuzaka experience was in full effect as he has now started three games in 2012 without recording a win. As is his custom, he handed the Marlins three runs in the first inning then proceeded to retire 14 batters in a row. Like Youk and Josh Beckett, I wish the Red Sox could trade Dice-K but I've heard the key to trades is that other teams have to want the player in return. After 5.1 innings and 101 pitches, Matsuzaka was done. He allowed four earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

Carlos Zambrano also didn't factor into the decision which is fitting because he was neither good nor bad. In five innings, he allowed three earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks.

Greg Dobbs (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, stolen base) had a two-run single and Omar Infante (2 hits, 2 RBIs, stolen base) produced an RBI single in the long top of the first inning.

Middlebrooks' first RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Mike Aviles cut it to 3-2 in the fourth inning. Even though he got jammed, Middlebrooks managed to dump another RBI single to right field in the fifth to tie it at three.

Dice-K's last pitch was a spicy wasabi ball (Japan's equivalent to a meatball) to Giancarlo Stanton (2 hits, 2 runs) that made it over the Monster in about 1.5 seconds. Infante added an RBI double later in the sixth against Andrew Miller.

Middlebrooks' two-run bomb (449 feet to center) against Edward Mujica tied it at five in the eighth and Daniel Nava (2 hits) had what turned out to be the deciding run on an RBI single in the same frame.

Scott Atchison continued his incredible season with a scoreless seventh and eighth. After 22 pitches, his ERA is 1.17 with a WHIP of 0.89 and 29 strikeouts. He honestly deserves to be an All-Star if he keeps this up. Too bad he'll probably get three total votes (from his extended family).

Alfredo Aceves had a 1-2-3 ninth (haha on seven pitches!) to collect his 18th save of the season. You think Ozzie Guillen and Co. were eager to get out of here?

Interleague play ends this weekend with the Atlanta Braves (37-32, 3rd in NL East) at Fenway for three games. Jon Lester (4-4) faces Jair Jurrjens (0-2) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Franklin Morales (0-1) takes on Randall Delgado (4-7) Saturday night (7:15 p.m., Fox) and Clay Buchholz (8-3) opposes Mike Minor (3-5) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN).

In 2012, the Red Sox are 9-3 during interleague and they've won all four series thus far. Taking at least two out of three against the Braves would be a nice cap to their dominance of the National League.

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Red Sox Get Back Over .500 Thanks To 3 Home Runs, 7-5 Win Vs. Marlins

After they had a 2-1 pitcher's duel (won by Boston) last Tuesday in Miami, it's only logical that tonight Clay Buchholz and Mark Buehrle both faltered as the Red Sox slugged their way to a 7-5 win in the interleague series opener at Fenway Park.

Boston (34-33, 15-19 home) climbed back over the .500 mark with their fifth win in six games as they sent Miami (33-34, 16-16 away) under it with the Marlins' 11th loss in their last 13 games. The victory was somewhat tempered by the fact that Dustin Pedroia left in the 7th inning after he popped out. It appeared like he re-injured his thumb but I guess we'll have to wait and see since the Red Sox act like the Patriots now when it comes to talking about hurt players.

Far more than starting pitching, this outcome was decided by three Red Sox home runs and a few other hits which were enough to overcome a career-high 5 RBIs from Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison (3 for 4, 2 double, 1 HR).

For the fourth straight game, Buchholz (8-2) still got the win but it broke up a string of four quality starts in a row. In six innings, he allowed five earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

Buehrle (5-8) was hit even harder as he gave up six earned runs on seven hits in only five innings. He struck out one and walked none but allowed all three longballs.

Morrison gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead in the first inning with his sixth homer of the season.

David Ortiz (17th of the season) tied it with a two-run blast of his own that just got over the wall in right during the home half of the first. Kelly Shoppach (4th of the season) continued his mastery of Buehrle (don't ask me why) with a two-run homer of his own over the Monster in the second inning.

Morrison's RBI double in the third scored Hanley Ramirez (3 hits, 2 runs, walk) and cut Boston's lead to 4-3.

Cody Ross had a memorable first game back from the DL (Scott Podsednik went on the DL with a groin strain) as he connected for a solo home run (his 9th of the season) in the fourth which made it 5-3.

Morrison tied it with a two-run double in the fifth but Adrian Gonzalez had a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Will Middlebrooks (2 hits) doubled in Kevin Youkilis (who had also doubled) in the sixth for the last Red Sox run.

It's become redundant to say but Boston's bullpen was superb again tonight: three innings, one hit, zero walks and three strikeouts. Matt Albers got the first two outs of the seventh before Andrew Miller got Morrison to fly out with Jose Reyes on third base and two outs.

Vicente Padilla allowed a hit but still got his 16th hold with a scoreless eighth (6.2 scoreless innings in a row). Alfredo Aceves struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 17th save of the season.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) is another repeat from a week ago as Felix Doubront (7-3) faces Ricky Nolasco (6-5) with the Red Sox looking for their fourth consecutive win. Last Wednesday, Doubront flirted with a no-hitter as Boston rolled 10-2.

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Red Sox Hang On For A 4-3 Win Over The Cubs

After a pathetic shutout loss yesterday to MLB's worst team, the Boston Red Sox (32-33, 18-14 away) picked their pride up off the floor with a 4-3 win tonight against the Chicago Cubs (22-43, 14-18 home) at steamy Wrigley Field.

The difference in the game was that Boston was 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position while Chicago was 1-for-4.

Former Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija (5-5) struggled with his control a bit and didn't completely fool Boston's weak-hitting lineup. He went 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia batted cleanup for the first time in his career and he made Bobby Valentine look like a genius (for a few hours) as he delivered with a double and two-run homer (his 12th of the season) in the fourth inning.

Will Middlebrooks had an RBI single in the sixth and Scott Podsednik (2 hits) added an RBI single in the seventh. Mike Aviles was 2-for-4 with a double and a run in the victory.

Turns out that the Red Sox needed all those runs since Jon Lester started to crumble in the seventh after cruising through six scoreless innings. He allowed a three-run bomb to Luis Valbuena (1st of the season) in the seventh. Next up, Lester struck out pinch-hitter David DeJesus but that was the end of his outing. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.

Scott Atchison got the last out of the seventh, Vicente Padilla had a 1-2-3 eighth for his 15th hold of the season and Alfredo Aceves worked around a single in the ninth for his 16th save of the season.

Get ready for another primetime game tomorrow night (8 p.m., ESPN) to close out this series but it goes without saying that Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN is light years ahead of Fox's painful Saturday games with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Franklin Morales (0-1) faces former Pirate Paul Maholm (4-5) as both teams go for the series win in Boston's last game this season in a National League park. That is unless they make the World Series in October (dies laughing).

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Clay Buchholz Makes Sure The Red Sox Win Once Every Five Games Or So

It was only a month ago that 2012 was starting to look like a lost season for Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz, who seemed destined for a trip to Pawtucket. Now, he's pitching like the staff ace as he had his fourth consecutive quality start.

Boston (30-32, 16-13 away) broke its four-game losing streak with a nifty 2-1 win against Miami (32-30, 17-17 home) this evening at Marlins Park.

It was only the second win in the last nine games for the Red Sox, the common thread in both? Buchholz took the ball. The Marlins have lost seven of eight.

Buchholz (7-2) was outstanding in a game when the Red Sox needed nothing less since their offense couldn't do much either against Mark Buehrle (5-7). Buchholz went seven innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with a season-high nine strikeouts and a walk.

His only mistake was a solo home run to Logan Morrison (his 5th of the season) in the seventh inning. Jose Reyes (2 hits) had led off the first with a triple but Buchholz proceeded to strike out the side to get out of trouble.

Vicente Padilla survived an infield single and bloop single in the eighth to strike out two and get his 14th hold of the season. Alfredo Aceves earned his 15th save (1st in 10 days) after allowing a single but also striking out one in the ninth.

Always one of the fastest workers in MLB-wish he'd give some tips to Boston's ultra slow pitchers-Buehrle went seven innings as well. He allowed two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk.

Boston's two runs came in the seventh on Kelly Shoppach's (2 doubles) RBI double that drove in Will Middlebrooks and Shoppach came around on an RBI single by Mike Aviles.

Felix Doubront (6-3) faces Ricky Nolasco (6-4) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in the series finale as both teams go for the deciding game.

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