Red Sox Outlast Yankees 6-5 in 19 Innings/Longest Game in Team History (6:49)

My brain is completely fried, all thanks to the Red Sox-Yankees 19-inning marathon tonight at Yankee Stadium. Thankfully, Boston (3-1 overall, 3-1 away) came out on top 6-5 after blowing three one-run leads in the ninth, 16th and 18th innings. New York (1-3 overall, 1-3 home) could be the worst team in the AL East so this would have been a terrible loss for the Red Sox. I doubt there has ever been many crazier fourth games of the regular season in MLB history since this also featured a needless 16-minute delay in the 12th when some lights went out.

Steven Wright (1-0) pitched the equivalent of a short start: five innings, two earned runs on six hits with one strikeout and three walks. He blew it in the 16th as Mark Teixeira tied it at four with a towering home run to left field (his second of the season) and in the 18th on Carlos Beltran's RBI double. Rookie Mookie Betts provided the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 19th that scored Xander Bogaerts (4 for 8 with walk, stolen base).

Wade Miley's Red Sox debut was a good one, well at least until the sixth inning when he allowed an RBI single to Alex Rodriguez (yes, that loser) and sacrifice fly by Brian McCann which cut it to 3-2 Boston. Miley went 5.2 innings, allowing the two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks. He works exceptionally quick and he's a lefty that doesn't throw hard with a beard, so I'll call him Mark Buehrle lite.

Seven Red Sox relievers appeared between Miley and Wright. Some highlights: Robbie Ross got the last two outs in the sixth, Alexi Ogando had a 1-2-3 seventh, Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth, Anthony Varvaro got four outs in his Red Sox debut, Tommy Layne recorded five outs (including three strikeouts) and Craig Breslow had two clean innings.

Pablo Sandoval hadn't done much in the three-game opening series at Philadelphia so it was nice to see him come through with a 4-for-9 night with RBI singles in the first and 18th. Daniel Nava's two-run single in the sixth gave Boston that short-lived 3-0 cushion. Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi (formerly of the Marlins) seems like your classic guy that throws hard but doesn't really know how to pitch. He was charged with three earned runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings of work.

Hanley Ramirez was 3-for-9 at the plate which was good but he made a poor read on a play in left field (get used to that) and also got gunned down at third by a mile following Sandoval's clutch single in the 18th. You just know that he is going to be super frustrating to watch every day.

The Edward Mujica as closer joke went as expected in 2015 with Chase Headley hitting a bomb off him in the ninth that sent it to extra innings. It sounds like Koji Uehara could be back by Monday for Opening Day at Fenway and not a moment too soon even though this was Mujica's first save chance of the young season.

Perhaps the craziest part of this whole silly event is that the game on Saturday happens to be in the afternoon (1:05, NESN) so sleep fast fellas! Joe Kelly opposes Adam Warren which doesn't inspire any thoughts of a pitcher's duel or anything of the sort but another four-hour plus contest.

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Ryan Dempster's Biggest Contribution To The Red Sox Results In A 5-Game Suspension

I chose not to write about Sunday night's Red Sox-Yankees game because I was already sick of what I knew would be the stupid angle that everyone would focus on: Ryan Dempster hitting Alex Rodriguez with a pitch in the second inning of New York's eventual 9-6 series finale victory. The circus surrounding A-Rod and PEDs bores the hell out of me and since the Red Sox choked to drop the series, I didn't feel like rehashing that shitty loss (editor in chief's discretion!).

Today, as expected MLB suspended Dempster but it was only for five games. Given that Boston has off days on Thursday and next Monday, he might not even miss a turn in the rotation although truth be told he doesn't really deserve to be there anymore (6-9, 4.77 ERA) in the first place. He was also fined $2500 while Yankees manager Joe Girardi was hit with a fine of $5000 for his excellent hissy fit after the plunking that resulted in his ejection. Keep in mind that Dempster can always appeal this and we all know that usually works out in the player's favor (ask A-Rod who is currently waiting out his basically lifetime ban).

What does this all mean? Nothing really, MLB has created this whole mess by overlooking steroids and PEDs for years but then deciding to be heroes after the fact and trying to "clean up the game." Please, by this point nobody really cares what players did or didn't use. Some people claimed in the aftermath of this much-needed drama in the stale Red Sox-Yankees rivalry that they actually began to feel sorry for A-Rod. Haha seriously? That bozo makes LeBron James look like a humble, self-aware model of humility.

Red Sox honks also would like us to believe that this proves Dempster has the team's back. Still, this might have been a personal beef between him and A-Rod so who knows? Plus PS, he has been awful all season so this one small action won't make me love him. Win games in August and September when Boston really needs them, then I will care more about Dempster. If Clay Buchholz ever returns this season (something which seems more improbable with each passing day), Dempster would rightfully be shifted to the bullpen.

Nothing to see here folks, time to move on from this entertaining but albeit mostly meaningless act.

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So Yeah, This Weekend At Fenway Could Get Pretty Ugly For The Red Sox

It only took one inning of tonight's game to get us back into full Red Sox-Yankees marathon mode. Josh Beckett allowed five runs in the top of the first but Hiroki Kuroda did the same in the bottom of the first. The tone was set as it would be a slow-pitch softball game (that took 3 hours, 59 minutes) in the guise of an AL East meeting at Fenway Park.

Boston (42-41, 21-22 home) rallied once but they couldn't do it twice as Beckett and their bullpen let them down in a 10-8 series opening loss to New York (50-32, 25-16 away). The Red Sox lost their fourth straight game overall as they fell to 0-3 against the Yankees this season (all at Fenway).

This excruciating loss was a microcosm of the Red Sox' terrible first half: they got unexpected contributions from nobodies like Mauro Gomez (2 for 5, RBI) and Nick Punto (double, threw A-Rod out at home) but when it came time for a star to step up he didn't do it.

Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, double, 2 runs, RBI) extended his hitting streak to 16 games but in the biggest at bat of the game, he couldn't produce. With runners on first and second with two outs in the eighth, Yankees closer Rafael Soriano came in to face Gonzalez. The former Rays closer got Gonzalez to ground out then he had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 20th save of the season. That's Gonzalez in a nutshell: he puts up numbers that look good at first glance but when you see him up close every day, he is not that impressive. Well at least not this season.

The Red Sox wasted 14 hits by leaving nine guys on base. This wasn't the offense's fault though as Beckett, Andrew Miller and Vicente Padilla all failed to contain the Yankees. The Texas Toughguy had nothing to start and New York scored five runs on a bases-loaded walk to Robinson Cano (run, hit, RBI), Mark Teixeira's (2 runs, 2 hits, 4 RBIs) two-run single and sacrifice flies by Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez (2 hits, 2 RBIs).

Boston tied it on Ryan Kalish's sacrifice fly, Gonzalez's RBI double and Jarrod Saltalamacchia's three-run homer (his 17th of the season, a career-high).

A run scored on Rodriguez's (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases) ground out in the second but David Ortiz (3 hits, walk, run) made it 6-6 with an RBI single in the home half of the second.

With a day-night doubleheader looming tomorrow, both teams had no choice but to stick with their ineffective starters. They actually settled down and didn't allow any runs in the third or fourth which was shocking. Gomez's RBI single in the fifth gave the Red Sox their only lead at 6-5.

Ironically, as news of Ray Allen going to Miami broke in the seventh inning, Miller and Padilla decided to shit the bed. Miller walked Curtis Granderson (3 runs, 2 hits) and allowed an infield single to A-Rod. That was nothing compared to Teixeira greeting Padilla with a two-run triple which put the Yanks ahead for good. Raul Ibanez (2 hits, run) added an RBI double and Chavez's RBI single increased the margin to 10-7 New York.

Cody Ross blasted a solo homer (13th of the season) off Boone Logan (4-0) in the seventh but the Yankees bullpen was still able to outperform the Red Sox'. David Robertson struck out two in the eighth for his ninth hold of the season while Soriano struck out two of the three he faced in the ninth.

Matt Albers pitched a scoreless sixth but the most promising development in the loss for Boston's bullpen was Mark Melancon, who has been lights out since he returned from Pawtucket (hope Daniel Bard is watching). He only allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless eighth and ninth.

Franklin Morales (1-1) faces Phil Hughes (9-6) tomorrow afternoon (12:35 p.m., NESN) then Felix Doubront (8-4) opposes Freddy Garcia (2-2) in the nightcap (7:15 p.m., Fox). On paper, I feel (and hope) that the first game will be fast and low scoring with the exact opposite happening in the second game. We shall see. All I ask is that they go by a little more quickly and oh I don't know, maybe the Red Sox can win a game if that's not too much to ask.

UPDATE 7/7: The Red Sox recalled Clayton Mortensen for today's doubleheader.

Prior to Game 2, Ryan Sweeney was activated off the DL and he'll start in center field. Ryan Kalish is expected to be sent down to Pawtucket.

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Fenway 100 Was Great But The Reality Is There Are No Distractions Now From This Horrorshow

Now that Fenway 100 is behind us, I wonder how much time Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino and John Henry will devote solely to the Red Sox each day this season?

It's a disturbing thought and you can't help but be negative after the Yankees spoiled all the fun by crushing five solo home runs and beating the Red Sox 6-2 at Fenway this afternoon.

Yes all the pregame stuff (that I saw) was very well done and entertaining but now that's over and there's no way to hide how badly Boston (4-9, 3-4 home) is playing. They've lost four games in a row and by the ninth inning today, pink hat fans were chanting "We Want Francona." Um, he's not coming back folks. Well he did today but that's only because he probably received a huge paycheck.

New York (8-6, 4-3 away) had to play last night in the Bronx, travel then sit through all the hoopla today but they weren't fazed at all. Clay Buchholz (1-1) became the second Red Sox pitcher (Josh Beckett) already this season to serve up five batting practice homers in one outing. Yeesh. I'm no Dave Duncan, but when you throw 91-mph fastballs right down the middle of the plate, teams like the Yankees will make you pay every time.

Buchholz lasted six innings but it was ugly since he allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Ivan Nova (3-0) won his 15th consecutive decision in the regular season for New York. He went six innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks. His stuff isn't overpowering but he seems to have good command and he doesn't give up too many hard hit balls.

The Yankees wasted no time jumping in front as Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single in the first inning then Nick Swisher (3rd of the season) and Eric Chavez (1st of the season) got the home run barrage started with two in the second. Swisher's bomb went over the Monster in left center and Chavez's landed in the Red Sox bullpen.

David Ortiz (2 hits) answered with his second blast of the season, to left center (it had to be reviewed since it just over the lip of the Monster) in the second. Unfortunately, nobody was on base for him.

Chavez homered to straightaway center in the fourth and A-Rod (2nd of the season) crushed one over everything in left in the fifth.

Mike Aviles's (2 hits) double in the fifth scored Cody Ross for Boston's final run.

New York didn't need it but Russell Martin added his first home run of the season in the sixth, over the Monster.

Freddy Garcia (0-1) faces Felix Doubront (0-0) tomorrow afternoon (4:05 p.m., Fox) in a game that I can totally see turning into a shootout. I don't have faith in either pitcher's ability to put up zeros but we'll see. Regardless, Game 5 of Bruins-Capitals starts at 3 p.m. so I know where all my energy will be devoted to.

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A-Rod Under Poker Probe, World Comes To An End

Picture the scene.

A successful pro athlete sits down at a high stakes poker game, alongside Hollywood's elite, A-listers and other assorted millionaires. No big deal right?

By the way, that player happens to be Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

C'mon, let the insults fly. Cheater! Selfish! Gambler! Remind yourself why you hate A-Rod in the first place and just add the fact that he (gasp) plays underground high stakes poker to that list.

Earlier today, a report surfaced from Star Magazine (you know, that reputable publication at the supermarket checkout stand) that Rodriguez was involved in two high stakes poker games in Beverly Hills. The report listed Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio as players in the game, as well as mentioning cocaine use and a fight breaking out over a player losing half a million dollars.

Now, an anonymous source from Major League Baseball came out today and said that a suspension is "very much in play." Not for playing poker mind you but because of the possibility that other players close to Rodriguez may have gambled on baseball, potentially affecting the outcome of MLB games.

According to the report, Rodriguez had previously been warned by MLB and the Yankees in 2005 about participating in these games but chose to keep playing which is certainly careless on his part. But at the same time, it's a little bit of a reach to suspend Rodriguez without proof that his presence directly affected the outcome of MLB games.

Tons of pro athletes gamble every single day, whether it's OJ Mayo and Tony Allen brawling on a team flight or simply playing in a casino, like Celtic guard Paul Pierce did in this year's World Series of Poker. Gaming at a casino is not banned by the MLB but they clearly have a problem with this "underground" game. The main reason that this particular game was illegal is that the house was taking a rake, or a percentage of chips, from each hand. That's it.

So according to MLB's logic, Rodriguez could have been compromised by individuals who bet on baseball, as if every casino in the country doesn't have a sportsbook in it for said gamblers. What's stopping someone in a casino from compromising an athlete?

MLB is also wondering if Rodriguez was compromised, does this mean that he was involved in throwing games? This is the most laughable insinuation of this entire investigation. As a player who said he wants to "cement his legacy" his first day in pinstripes, the last thing that Rodriguez wants is another stain on his reputation, especially after his steroid admission. Everyone knows the man yearns to be accepted, to be wanted, to be liked. Throwing games in the Bronx? I don't even think Manny Ramirez would be dumb enough to do that.

Lastly, let's take a look at the bigger picture here. Does anyone really care? Well unless you are a Yankee/A-Rod hater you shouldn't.If this was Tom Brady or Kevin Youkilis, it would be swept under the rug faster than you can say "all in". Consider the NBA as well. Four years ago, Tim Donaghy admitted to actually fixing basketball games, an accusation that many thought would be irreparable to the NBA's image. Guess what? The NBA was more popular this year than ever and is still the league where officiating matters the most.

No one should care because the MLB and Bud Selig is still in damage recovery mode from the steroid era, where the owners and the league clearly knew why was going on in all clubhouses. This is the same league that made us doubt sluggers like Jose Bautista, who has to pay the price because they allowed and maybe encouraged the use of PEDs a decade ago. Now, like knights in shining armor, they are trying to preserve the games "integrity?" Please.

A-Rod will still be the butt of jokes no matter what he does. If he hits 30 homers in a season, he should've hit 31. This is always going to be the way that people view him and if he is suspended for one at bat without MLB proving that he bet on games, it will be a gross injustice.

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Extra, Extra: Red Sox Win!

It only took a week and seven tries but the Boston Red Sox finally won a game yesterday afternoon.

They beat the Yankees 9-6 at Fenway Park at their home opener despite John Lackey's best efforts to sabotage the game.

As is the custom on Opening Day at Fenway, nobody got booed on the Red Sox (1-6) even the players that deserved it like Lackey, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Marco Scutaro, J.D. Drew, etc.

Nope, the day is all about the C-list celebs and Boston's elite rubbing elbows with each other while enjoying Fenway's newest garbage food (sushi).

Lackey (1-0) went five innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Sadly, that pathetic display earned him a win on this strange day.

How bad was Yankees (4-3) starter Phil Hughes? Well in just two innings, he allowed six earned runs on seven hits with two walks. New York's prized young pitcher is clearly hurt or something since he has no velocity right now and he made Lackey look like a quality MLB pitcher (a nearly impossible task).

As expected, it was a slugfest. The Red Sox had 12 hits and the Yankees had eight.

Dustin Pedroia led Boston with three hits and three RBIs, J.D. Drew had two hits and two RBIs while Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz and Saltalamacchia each added two hits.

The Red Sox bullpen stepped up with four scoreless innings. Alfredo Aceves was followed by Bobby Jenks, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon (they all threw scoreless innings). Papelbon was the most impressive in his first save opportunity of the season. He struck out two, didn't allow a hit or walk in an economical 11 pitches.

Brett Gardner led New York with two hits, two runs and two walks while Robinson Cano had two hits and two RBIs.

Cano gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run double.

Pedroia answered with a solo homer just over the Monster in the bottom of the first (second straight year he's homered on Opening Day).

Gardner's RBI double in the second made it 3-1 New York.

The Red Sox offense finally exploded for a big inning, five in the second inning. Marco Scutaro's fielder's choice cut it to 3-2. Pedroia put Boston up 4-3 with a two-run single, Gonzalez and Ortiz followed with RBI singles.

Lackey is nothing if not giving and he gave up a run in the third (Nick Swisher groundout), fourth (Derek Jeter RBI single) and fifth (A-Rod homer) to tie it up. Thanks you Muppet-faced bum.

Two of Boston's biggest liabilities came through with the two biggest hits. Saltalamacchia had an RBI double in the fifth and Drew delivered a two-run single in the seventh.

Clay Buchholz opposes Ivan Nova this afternoon in a matchup that obviously favors the Red Sox. Hopefully they can take advantage and rack up another win.

Yanks win on walk-off bomb in epic fashion

After being down 5-0 in the first inning last night at Yankee Stadium, the Sox were poised to pull off their best win of the season.

Boston (19-20) led 9-7 going into the ninth but one-trick pony closer Jonathan Papelbon couldn't end it as he gave up the tying two-run bomb to A-Rod and a walk-off two-run homer to Marcus Thames.

The swing of emotions was dramatic as the best win turned into the worst loss , something that the Sox might not recover from this season that always looks fated.

In true Dice-K fashion, he gave up one run in the second but settled down enough to get into the fifth inning.

David Ortiz's solo homer cut it to 6-2 in the fifth and J.D. Drew made it 6-5 New York (25-13) with a three-run homer off Phil Hughes.

Marcus Thames showed Dice-K the door in the fifth with an RBI double, giving the Bombers a 7-5 lead. Matsuzaka gave up seven earned runs in 4.2 innings with three walks and three strikeouts.

Hughes wasn't good either: five earned runs on six hits in five innings with a walk and three strikeouts.

The long ball was Boston's friend as Victor Martinez hit a solo shot in the sixth (7-6 NY) while Youkilis (two-run) and V-Mart went back to back in the eighth to give the Sox a 9-7 lead.

It was Papelbon's first blown save of the season but he fell to 1-3. He gave up four earned runs on three hits and threw 19 pitches so who knows if he's available tonight.

I'm not feeling good about Josh Beckett's chances tonight when he faces C.C. Sabathia. Beckett has been nothing short of pathetic this season and this does not look like the night to get untracked.

Goodnight and Good luck (not really) Yankees

8-0 in 2009. The Boston Red Sox continued their incredible stretch against the New York Yankees with a come-from-behind 4-3 win last night at Fenway.

Yankees ace CC Sabathia (5-4) threw 123 pitches over seven plus innings in a very impressive effort but New York (34-26) was done in by its sub par bullpen. I seem to remember saying back in April that the bullpen was the difference between these teams (pats self on back).

Brad Penny in a likely job audition for the Mets, Phillies, etc. was great as he threw six scoreless innings. Penny gave up six hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

David Ortiz continued to return to life as he hit an opposite field homer in the second to give Boston (36-24) a 1-0 lead. It was Big Papi's third bomb in the last five games.

Yanks rookie catcher Francisco Cervelli tied it with an RBI double in the seventh off Manny Delcarmen. Later in the inning, A-Rod delivered with a two-run double off Delcarmen to make it 3-1 New York.

In the eighth, the Red Sox do what they do best: wear out pitchers. It all started with Dustin Pedroia's 10-pitch at bat (resulting in a walk) against Sabathia that pushed him closer to leaving the game.

J.D. Drew singled home Nick Green to cut it to 3-2 Bombers. Jason Bay tied it with an RBI single which scored Pedroia and Mike Lowell got the job done with a sacrifice fly that brought home Drew.

Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth for his 16th save and the Sox took a two-game lead in the AL East. The Yankees and Red Sox won't meet again until August 6th.

Starting tonight, Boston travels to Philly to meet the World Champion Phillies. Citizens Bank Park is a glorified little league park and the Phillies can crush the ball, plus they're one of the National League's best teams, so it should be a fun three game series.

It's Gonna Be a Long Offseason in the Bronx

All season long, even before the rash of injuries, it was clear that the New York Yankees were a flawed team. They weren't built for success in the postseason (not enough arms, defense or OBP guys). Still, in my wildest, PCP-induced dreams, I could have never imagined that the Yankees would miss the playoffs for the first time in 14 years and be all but dead before the calendar even says September.

In its second to last game at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox blew out the Yanks, 11-3. In the process, they showed New York a blueprint for why they've won two World Series championships in the last four seasons while the Yankees are 0-for the new Millenium. The keys to the 2008 Red Sox: Quality starting pitching, patient hitters and young studs getting plenty of playing time.

Boston (77-55) once again wore out Yankees (70-62) pitchers, with 13 hits and six walks. Dustin Pedroia led the way, going 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs on his first career grand slam. Jason Bay was 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a run. David Ortiz was on base four times with two hits and two walks while Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits and scored twice.

Veteran Paul Byrd (9-11) gave his team all you can ask of a fifth starter: six innings, two runs, five hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

Sidney Ponson (7-5) wasn't so lucky for New York. He went 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts. The duo of Jose Veras (five runs) and David Roberston (two runs) made sure that the Yankees faithful went home early as the Sox exploded for seven runs in the eighth.

A-Rod had two doubles, a run and RBI but nobody will remember that since his team got smoked and it occured after his nightmarish performance the night before.

Jason Bay drove in Pedroia and Ortiz with an RBI double in the first. Bobby Abreu scored on A-Rod's double in the first, making it 2-1 Red Sox.

Robinson Cano tied it in the fourth with an RBI single but Boston scored twice in the fifth to regain the lead. Kevin Youkilis walked with the bases loaded and Bay had a sacrifice fly score Pedroia.

The eighth was a hit parade for the Red Sox. Bay tripled in Pedroia, Alex Cora had a sacrifice fly which scored Bay, Coco Crisp knocked in Jed Lowrie with a single and then Pedroia blasted his grand slam to left center.

Jason Giambi homered in the ninth but by that time, most of New York's fans were gone or had turned off the YES Network.

Mike Mussina and Jon Lester-the two surprise aces of their respective teams this season-duel this afternoon in the finale.

Sox bullpen coughs up another one

The script was altered from Saturday afternoon but the end result was the same last night at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox let another game get away that they had in their pocket.

New York won 5-4 in 10 innings last night as rookie Brett Gardner (2 hits, run, RBI, stolen base) grounded a single up the middle off Jonathan Papelbon (3-3) which scored Robinson Cano (2 hits, 2 RBIs) with the winning run.

Boston (52-39) was up 3-1 after five innings and 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh but the bullpen once again couldn't hold the lead.

Cano tied it up in the seventh with a two-run triple off Javier Lopez.

Tim Wakefield and Joba Chamberlain had nearly identical lines. Wakefield went 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits, a walk and five strikeouts. Joba went six innings, allowing three runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

A-Rod had a solo homer to left in the second off Wakefield and Derek Jeter had an RBI single in the sixth which scored Gardner.

Kevin Youkilis (2 hits) scored on Joba's wild pitch in the fifth and Dustin Pedroia came through with a clutch two-run single which put the Sox up 3-1 at the time.

Kevin Cash extended Boston's lead to 4-2 in the seventh with an RBI double plating Julio Lugo.

Manny Delcarmen got four outs without allowing a hit while Hideki Okajima pitched a scoreless ninth.

Cano singled to start the 10th vs. Papelbon and moved over on a bunt by Melky Cabrera. After striking Wilson Betemit out, Gardner had a great at-bat (spoiling a bunch of two-strike pitches) before shooting one up the middle past Papelbon and a diving Alex Cora (at shortstop).

Kyle Farnsworth pitched a scoreless eighth for New York before Mariano Rivera (3-3) had two scoreless innings.

The Red Sox finished 3-7 on a pretty bad road trip. They didn't play well against an average team in Houston, ran into a red-hot team at the wrong time (Tampa Bay), and won the first two in the Bronx before choking away the last two.

Things don't get easier as the hottest team in baseball (winners of 17 of their last 20), the Minnesota Twins, comes to Fenway for three games starting tonight.