Boston Sports Fans Turn Their Lonely Eyes to Red Sox & Betts Delivers His 1st Career Walk-Off Hit

The Celtics are done for the season after getting swept by the Cavaliers yesterday and the Bruins have been long gone for weeks so now, locally all we have left until August (when Patriots training camp and preseason begins) is the Red Sox. That is unless you count the Revolution (MLS), Cannons (MLL) and/or Breakers (women's professional soccer) which I'm pretty sure that you do not.

Boston (11-9 overall, 5-3 home) took advantage of this added attention with a thrilling 6-5 win at Fenway Park on Monday night vs. Toronto (9-11 overall, 4-6 away) to open a nine-game homestand vs. AL East foes (Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays). Mookie Betts (3 for 4 with 2 runs, 2B & BB) came through with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth that scored Xander Bogaerts. It was particularly memorable for the rookie since it was his first walk-off hit in MLB.

It was a weird game from the start, as it was supposed to start at 6:10 p.m. (a nice new feature on weekdays in chilly April) but was delayed 33 minutes by rain. Then Toronto scored three runs in the first off Joe Kelly (6 innings, 5 earned runs, 5 hits, career-high 10 strikeouts, 3 walks) on an RBI single by Devon Travis (2 runs) and two-run double by Russell Martin.

Boston chipped away at the lead (and Aaron Sanchez) beginning with a two-run single by Pablo Sandoval in the bottom of the first. The Blue Jays built their lead back up to three with Travis' solo homer in the third and an RBI single by Kevin Pillar in the fourth. Sandoval hadn't hit a home run in a Red Sox uniform before yesterday's blowout loss in Baltimore but he made it two in two games with a line drive that got over the fence in right in the fourth, cutting it to 5-3.

Betts scored in the fifth after Sanchez made a throwing error, something which has been happening non-stop to the benefit of Boston so far this season. Other than everyone overrating the Blue Jays seemingly for the past decade, another staple of playing MLB's lone Canadian club is that their bullpen is always a complete joke. The Red Sox tied it in the eighth on Hanley Ramirez's sacrifice fly that scored Betts.

So far, Boston's pitching rotation has been even worse than we could have imagined. They are going nowhere with this sorry group of starters but on the other hand, their lineup is lethal and should keep them in most games. Oh and the bullpen is a mess too although Alexi Ogando pitched two scoreless innings of relief and Koji Uehara (2-1) had a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts (two nights after looking like toast when he gave up a walk-off homer to the Orioles).

The best thing you can say about this flawed squad is that they are certainly interesting so much like a car crash, we probably won't be able to turn away from these crazy games. Haha when you can't pitch and give up runs like a beer league softball team, who doesn't want to tune in to that? Maybe spring will appear as well, haha who knows? Tomorrow night (6:10, NESN) Clay Buchholz (1-2) faces Drew Hutchison (2-0). That has 10-8 written all over it, bring your glove if you are going to the game, you might catch a home run.

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Thank God The Patriots Preseason Games Start Tomorrow Night

Don't you wish the Red Sox could just end their 2012 season tomorrow? What good can come out of the next 50 games? Oh well, while they are playing out the string on a truly miserable season, we can at least take solace that the Patriots' first preseason game is tomorrow night (7:30 p.m. vs. New Orleans). There is nothing better than the NFL and we all need it more than ever right now.

Josh Beckett (5 innings, 8 earned runs, 8 hits, 3 home runs) provided another Fenway Turd this afternoon as Texas (65-45, 31-24 away) took the series with a 10-9 win against Boston (55-57, 29-34 home).

The sad part is that the Red Sox kept rallying, tying it at 3-3 in the third and 9-9 in the seventh but it didn't matter since Beckett could care less about competing as a professional athlete. You should never lose a game when you score nine runs.

The Texas toughguy and Jon Lester have combined for one win at Fenway Park since June 27. Since June 1, the Red Sox are 2-12 at home when Beckett or Lester start. Look on the bright side, Boston is only six games back in loss column for the second American League Wild Card going into tonight's action, oh wait.

Beckett was in a giving mood as he coughed up three runs in the first inning, three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth before Bobby Valentine finally took him out. Even the non-sellout (by my calculations) pink hat crowd booed Beckett, I guess the Red Sox front office are the only people in the world left that can't identify what a waste of a roster spot he has become. They had their chance to move him at the Trade Deadline and they didn't so here we are, watching a baseball team rot away from the inside out. What's the worst that could happen by either dumping him on waivers, releasing him or putting him on the 60-day DL for the rest of the season with a fake injury (after all, he loves those)?

Josh Hamilton was 3-for-4 with a triple, homer, 4 RBIs and two runs while Elvis Andrus was 3-for-4 with three runs and a walk in the win. Adrian Gonalez had three RBI doubles and scored three runs, Cody Ross was 3-for-4 with a homer, double, two runs, two RBIs and a walk while Dustin Pedroia had two singles and scored two runs in the loss.

The happiest guy to see Beckett do his thing was Matt Harrison (4.2 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 3 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 home run) since on most days, his outing would be considered a disaster. Compared to Beckett, he looked poise to make a run at the AL Cy Young award.

Hamilton had a two-run triple in the first against what had to be a hungover and bloated Toughguy. Former Red Sox Adrian Beltre added a sacrifice fly before Beckett stumbled out of trouble. Boston answered with two runs on Gonzalez's first RBI double and an RBI single by Ross. Cody tied it in the third with a solo shot-his 17th homer of the season.

Beckett must have been drinking Lonestar in the dugout between innings, it caught up to him in the fifth as he grooved meatballs to Mitch Moreland (solo homer; 12th of the season) and Hamilton (two-run blast; 30th of the season). Gonzalez's second RBI double cut it to 6-4 in the home half of the frame then he scored on Geovany Soto's passed ball.

No worries for the Rangers as Soto blasted a two-run shot off Beckett in the sixth, his first for Texas since being traded by the Cubs. Clayton Mortensen (1-1) ran into trouble in the seventh as Nelson Cruz (18th of the season) hit the final homer of the game for the Rangers.

Roy Oswalt allowed four runs in 1.1 innings as Gonzalez's third RBI double set the stage for a three-run blast by Will Middlebrooks (15th of the season) which knotted things at nine. However, Alexi Ogando (2-0) settled things down to pitch a clean seventh and eighth inning with two strikeouts.

Alfredo Aceves is not a natural closer so he struggles with inherited runners but don't tell that to Bobby V who put him in with runners on first and third with no outs in the ninth. Oh and he let him face Hamilton rather than let Andrew Miller (a lefty) give it a shot. Beltre's second sacrifice fly turned out to be the game-winning play.

Ross hit a one-out double in the ninth but Joe Nathan struck out two for his 23rd save of the season.

Boston went 4-6 on its longest homestand of the season, now the Dead Man Walking squad hits the road for 10 games (4 in Cleveland, 3 in Baltimore, 3 in New York) in 11 days. Since there are two off-days between now and their next game at home, the Red Sox won't play at Fenway again until August 21. I shudder to think how many more games under .500 they will be by then. However, I will probably be paying much less attention to baseball with football even closer at that point. I'll be pouring over depth charts for Fantasy Football and reading Sports Illustrated's College Football preview issue.

The Indians (51-60, 3rd AL Central) snapped an 11-game losing streak today with a 6-2 win vs. Minnesota, but that doesn't mean anything when the Red Sox are coming to play you. I'm sure Boston will make them look like the powerhouse Cleveland teams of the late 90s. Felix Doubront (10-5) faces Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Clay Buchholz (9-3) gets Chris Seddon (0-0) on Friday night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Franklin Morales (3-2) opposes Zach McAllister (4-4) on Saturday night (6:05 p.m., NESN) and Jon Lester (5-10) takes the ball against rookie Corey Kluber (0-0) on Sunday afternoon (1:05 p.m., NESN).

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Maybe We Shouldn't Fear The Big Bad Rangers After All

Odds are that the Boston Red Sox have had a better week than you, no matter who you are. Polishing off a 3-1 series in Kansas City is one thing but also winning three of four in Texas (after getting shut out in the first game) is really impressive.

Andrew Miller (6-1) and the Red Sox (80-50) put a bow on an awesome road trip (6-2) with a 6-0 win tonight at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington vs. the Rangers (74-58).

I still want no part of Texas in the playoffs, especially the ALDS, but this series has to give Boston and its fans confidence that they can beat the reigning AL champs in their own ballpark.

Watching the Red Sox pile up 11, 13 and six runs in the last three wins respectively, you couldn't help but notice that the Rangers are sorely lacking a No. 2 starter behind C.J. Wilson. Cliff Lee is in Philadelphia which changes everything; with him, Texas would probably be the AL team to beat. Without him, I think they're slightly behind Boston along with New York.

Oddly enough for the second straight time after not starting for a while, Miller was great. He went 6.1 innings, allowing only three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Like Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison before him, Alexi Ogando (12-6) simply didn't show up for Texas. In four innings, he allowed six earned runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Boston hit four homers against him in Williamsport South.

Red-hot Adrian Gonzalez added two more home runs (his 22nd and 23rd of the year), giving him five in the last three contests. What power outage?

David Ortiz had a solo shot (his 25th of the season) while former Ranger Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a two-run blast (his 13th).

Before the world ends thanks to Hurricane Irene this weekend, can Tim Wakefield please get his 200th win? I think it's all of our last dying wish. Really though, he faces Gio Gonzalez tomorrow night back at Fenway Park (the start of a nine-game homestand) as the Oakland A's come to Boston for what promises to be a wet, miserable weekend. Sunday's game has already been moved to Saturday at 5 p.m. making for the strange doubleheader at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The Red Sox still lead the Yankees by one game in the AL East. New York trailed Oakland 7-1 this afternoon but used three grand slams (first team ever to do that, speaking of Williamsport and joke parks) to win 22-7.

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