Our Regional Nightmare is Over: Lackey Headed to St. Louis, Craig & Kelly Coming to Boston

He bounced back in a big way last season and helped the Red Sox win a World Series title but even then, it was always difficult to pretend to cheer for that jerk John Lackey. The good news for Boston fans is that now that awkward situation is behind us since he was traded to St. Louis (56-50) along with minor league pitcher Corey Littrell and cash considerations for outfielder Allen Craig and right-handed starter Joe Kelly.

Lackey is 11-7 with 3.60 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 116 strikeouts in 21 starts this season. At age 35 (36 in October) and coming off a major elbow injury, it's a miracle that he has returned to this level. His team option for next year is only $500,000 which shows how little faith the Red Sox had that he could ever be himself again.

Like Yoenis Cespedes, acquired earlier today from Oakland, Craig was an All-Star last season. The difference is that this year, he's gone off a cliff coming back from a foot injury (remember that from the World Series?). This season he's hitting .237/.291/.346 with seven homers, 44 RBIs, 17 doubles and 34 runs in 97 games. Last season, he hit .315/.373/.457 with 13 homers, 97 RBIs, 29 doubles and 71 runs in 134 games. Granted it was a smaller sample size but last season's breakout wasn't that crazy since he was good in 2011 and 2012. At age 30, he's a good guy to take a chance on.

Kelly is 26 and this is only his third full season in MLB. He's also been banged up, dealing with a hamstring injury hence why he's only made seven starts in 2014. He's 2-2 with 4.37 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. He was solid last season, 10-5 in 37 games (15 starts) with 2.69 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 79 strikeouts/44 walks in 124 innings. Since the Red Sox' pitching rotation is now wide open, Clay Buchholz is the only holdover from Opening Day, Kelly should have a great chance to earn a spot for at least the next few years.

UPDATE 7/31: Looks like the Red Sox are done for the day after they shipped Andrew Miller (3-5, 2.34 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 69 strikeouts/13 walks in 50 appearances) to Baltimore for Double-A pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (their No. 3 prospect). Miller is having a career year but he'll never be better than this; get ready to see him facing David Ortiz a million times a season.

Showing that they have a good sense of humor, the Red Sox traded one bucket of crap-Stephen Drew-to the Yankees at the last minute before the deadline for a bucket of shit-second baseman Kelly Johnson. That means that Xander Bogaerts will get to move back to shortstop (where he should have been all season) and Will Middlebrooks will return from purgatory aka Pawtucket. The ironic part is that New York comes to Fenway for a three-game series starting tomorrow night. At least there is a reason to watch the rest of the season with all these new guys on the Red Sox.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Are You Not Entertained? Another Day, Another Walk-Off Win for the Red Sox

At this rate, we can only conclude that A.J. Pierzynski is the anti-Christ while Dan Shaughnessy puts together his newest classic: "The Curse of A.J." The Red Sox improved to 2-0 in the post-Pierzynski era (that has a nice ring to it) and both came in walk-off fashion vs. the White Sox' dogshit bullpen. This afternoon on a perfect summer day at Fenway Park, Boston (41-51 overall, 23-26 home) came away with a 4-3 win in 10 innings thanks to Mike Carp's RBI single that scored Daniel Nava.

In the home finale before the All-Star break, the Red Sox earned a split of the four-game series with the White Sox and built some momentum (what a concept!) heading into the last series of the unofficial first half: three games in Houston.

I'm not Jon Lester's agent, though I wish I was with the dump trucks of money soon coming his way, but this game served as a perfect example of why Boston would be crazy to let him go either in free agency or via trade. He's pitching as well as he ever has in the regular season. It went down as a no-decision but he was brilliant, going seven innings and allowing one earned run on seven hits with 12 strikeouts and no walks. His ERA is down to 2.65.

Boston had more runs than total hits (3), so how did they come out on top? Well Chicago was 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left eight on base, sound familiar? White Sox starter Jose Quintana (7 innings, 3 earned runs, 2 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks) pitched well too but for the second game in a row, Chicago's pathetic relievers blew it.

Jose Abreu (2 for 4, walk, stolen base)-who is a lock to be AL Rookie of the Year now that Masahiro Tanaka is on the DL-made it 1-0 with an RBI double in the first that scored Adam Eaton (3 for 5). Quintana was working on a perfect game until the sixth when Boston tied it on Jackie Bradley Jr.'s RBI single and went ahead 3-1 on David Ortiz's two-run double off the Green Monster.

That looked to be enough for the Red Sox as Junichi Tazawa worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts. Koji Uehara couldn't nail down the save though as pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie took him deep for a two-run bomb wrapped around Pesky's Pole. Alexei Ramirez was 3 for 5 with a double, run and stolen base in the loss for Chicago.

No worries, Nava led off the bottom of the tenth with a walk then Mookie Betts sacrificed him over with a bunt. After Stephen Drew was intentionally walked, Carp (pinch hitting for David Ross) delivered with an opposite field single to left that scored Nava. Andrew Miller (3-5) had worked around a single and intentional walk to Abreu to survive the top of the frame.

I'm still not used to having the Astros (39-54 overall, 4th in AL West) in the AL (change is hard!) because I wanted to call this an interleague series. By looking at their record, you'd think Houston is awful and I suppose that yes they still are really bad. The difference is that now they have young stars like Dallas Kuechel and UConn's George Springer doing their thing in H-Town.

The two Texas starters on the Red Sox get outings in their home state-shoutout to Brandon Workman toiling away in Pawtucket!-as John Lackey (9-6) faces Scott Feldman (4-5) tomorrow night (8:10, NESN) in the series opener. Clay Buchholz (3-5) takes on Collin McHugh (4-8) on Saturday afternoon (4:10, NESN) then the jets will be lined up on the runway Sunday afternoon (2:10, NESN) when TBA opposes Houston's Jarred Cosart (9-6). After that, John Farrell, his coaching staff, Lester and Uehara will head to Minnesota for the Midsummer Classic while everyone else scatters around the country with four glorious days off in a row.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Happy Memorial Day from the Red Sox

As you would expect, the Red Sox' first win in nearly two weeks (May 14 at Minnesota, same night the Bruins were eliminated by the Canadiens) couldn't be simple and straight forward. Nope, their 8-6 win over the Braves on Memorial Day afternoon at Turner Field in the series opener had to include a rain delay that was one hour and 26 minutes long. The game itself was wacky enough as Boston (21-29 overall, 11-12 away) trailed Atlanta (28-22 overall, 18-11 home) 6-1 after four innings as they rallied to snap a 10-game losing streak.

The two biggest hits for the Red Sox were provided by none other than Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz in the fifth inning. Pedroia roped a two-run single then Ortiz crushed a three-run bomb to left center, his team-leading 12th of the season. Boston went ahead for good with a pair of runs in the seventh on Ortiz's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by A.J. Pierzynski.

Due to Clay Buchholz (8 walks) leaving after only three plus innings, in addition to the rain delay, Boston needed six relievers to piece it together but somehow they managed to pull it off. Burke Badenhop allowed two inherited runners from Buchholz's mess to score but got all three outs in the fourth, Chris Capuano had a scoreless fifth with one strikeout, Edward Mujica (2-1) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win, Junichi Tazawa had a 1-2-3 7th, Andrew Miller picked up his second hold with a scoreless eighth then Koji Uehara notched his tenth save in only eight pitches.

Boston had scored first, on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice fly in the third but Atlanta put up three runs in both the third and fourth innings. Justin Upton had a two-run double in the third and Gerald Laird notched an RBI single. The Upton brothers (don't forget that jackass B.J.) both had RBI doubles in the fourth and Andrelton Simmons closed out their scoring with an RBI single.

Jon Lester (4-6) faces Aaron Harang (4-4) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) in the pseudo series finale as the Braves come (back) to Boston for two more games starting on Wednesday. Cool schedule right?

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Now That's What I Call A Baseball Game! (Ducks Eggs and Tomatoes Being Thrown)

If you were enough of a loser (like me) to sit through five hours and 17 minutes (spoiler: I didn't really pay attention until hockey was over), at least the Red Sox rewarded us with a 6-4 win in 14 innings over the White Sox are U.S. Cellular Field. We could get wrapped up in the details like Chicago's (8-7 overall, 6-3 home) losing pitcher-Luery Garcia-is actually a utility infielder. Nope, Boston (6-9 overall, 4-5 away) snapped its three-game losing streak despite going 3 for 17 with runners in scoring position and leaving 16 on base.

The Red Sox only had six total hits so this victory was all about Chicago's wretched bullpen which allowed 15 walks. Each team had a golden opportunity to end it much earlier but both obviously choked. The White Sox were up 3-1 in the eighth before they allowed a sacrifice fly to A.J. Pierzynski in the eighth and Grady Sizemore in the ninth.

Jonny Gomes put Boston up 4-3 in the 11th thanks to a-you guessed it-sacrifice fly. Temporary closer Edward Mujica failed as he allowed an RBI single by Tyler Flowers in the home half of the frame. Things finally came together in the 14th as Chicago had run out of pitchers so they were forced to use Garcia who allowed a two-run double to Jackie Bradley Jr. Chris Capuano (1-0) had two scoreless innings of relief and he recorded the first two outs of the 14th before Burke Badenhop got the last out with a runner on first for the vultured save.

Boston led 1-0 in the first on Xander Bogaerts' (2 walks, stolen base) RBI single. Chicago tied it in their first at bats thanks to a throwing error by Ryan Roberts. Alexei Ramirez smoked a two-run homer in the sixth for a 3-1 White Sox advantage.

Dustin Pedroia returned to go 2 for 6 with three runs, two walks and a stolen base. The unsung heroes that made this all possible was Boston's bullpen: 8 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 9 strikeouts. Craig Breslow got four outs, Junichi Tazawa had two outs and Andrew Miller worked two scoreless innings.

It felt like it happened a week ago but Clay Buchholz (6 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 2 walks & 6 strikeouts) and John Danks (6 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts) were both pretty good on another chilly night in Chitown.

Both teams will be going for the series clincher tomorrow night (8:10) as young ace Chris Sale (3-0) faces Jon Lester (1-2). Runs have been at a premium for Boston all season but they'll really need to dig deep to get anything vs. Sale. Lester has only allowed two earned runs in each of his three starts. For your sake, I hope you haven't seen much if anything of the last two night's games. I know more playoff hockey is on but you should at least click over to what should be a wonderful pitchers' duel.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

RIP Andrew Bailey & Boston's Ability To Trade For Good Closers

At this point, the Red Sox deserve an intervention when it comes to their stupid idea to trade for closers on bad teams. My cat could write a detailed paper on how it's so obvious that method has been a disaster. Mark Melancon was awful last season then got traded to the Pirates where he became an All-Star set up man this season. Joel Hanrahan came over from Pittsburgh and got hurt almost immediately. With today's news that Andrew Bailey could be facing season-ending shoulder surgery, what else is there left to say but mercy?

We all thought it was time to let Jonathan Papelbon go when it came time to hit free agency but who wouldn't take him back with open arms (he's never been on the DL in his career) at this point? Boston's biggest issue (besides Clay Buchholz's health) heading into the second half of 2013, beginning tonight, starts and ends with their shaky bullpen. Along with Hanrahan and Bailey, Andrew Miller is done for the season with a foot injury and their former ace setup man Daniel Bard's career has reached Rick Ankiel territory in Portland (Double A).

Getting Matt Thornton last weekend was nice but it's hard to see them surviving while they keep shuttling in all these Triple A nobodies. Hey, no worries though since the Red Sox signed washed up scrubs Brandon Lyon and Jose Contreras this afternoon and sent them to Pawtucket. Haha what is it 2003?

The trade deadline is July 31 so you have to assume that the Red Sox aren't done making moves. I doubt that it'll be anything big involving their plethora of promising prospects (alliteration!) but you never know. It should be an interesting 65 games for the hometown team.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Red Sox Are 1st AL Team To 50 Wins This Season, Thanks To Walk-Off Error By Blue Jays

Who knows if they'll keep it up the rest of the season but for now, we can reasonably conclude that things are going the Red Sox' way when it comes to wins and losses. Boston (50-34 overall, 28-16 home) beat Toronto (40-41 overall, 18-24 away) 5-4 at Fenway Park to take three of four in the series and keep the best record in the AL. This is only the fourth time in franchise history that they've reached 50 wins before July, the last time was in 2008.

The Red Sox concluded June as the first team in the American League to reach 50 wins and it happened in bizarre fashion since Shane Victorino's easy chopper to first baseman Josh Thole (a defensive sub for Adam Lind who left with back tightness) went under his glove and allowed pinch runner/journeyman Jonathan Diaz to score the winning run. Did I mention that Brandon Snyder (2 for 4) had a two-run double in the second for Boston? Or how about how Ryan Dempster (5.1 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks) and Craig Breslow wiggled out of a bases loaded no out jam in the sixth without allowing a run?

Ryan Lavarnway fittingly began the strange game with an ground-rule RBI double in the second. Toronto cut it to 3-2 in the fourth on Colby Rasmus' (2 hits) RBI single and a ground out by Maicer Izturis.

Jonny Gomes put Boston back up by two runs with an RBI double in the fifth. The Blue Jays tied it with solo homers for Jose Reyes in the seventh and Jose Bautista (3 hits) in the ninth which spoiled the fourth save in five days for Koji Uehara (1-0).

Daniel Nava was 2 for 4 with a run in the victory while Edwin Encarnacion (2 for 5 with run) and Rajai Davis (2 for 5 with run and stolen base) each had multiple hits in the loss.

Andrew Miller pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief for the Red Sox with a pair of strikeouts, his sixth hold of the season.

Boston gets tomorrow off before they wrap up the final series of this long and productive homestand (5-1) with an interleague matchup: three games against San Diego (40-42 overall, 3rd in NL West). John Lackey (5-5) faces rookie Robbie Erlin (1-0) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN), Jon Lester (8-4) is scheduled to take on Edinson Volquez (6-6) on Wednesday (7:10, NESN) and on the Fourth of July (1:35, NESN) rookie Allen Webster (0-2) gets the ball opposite Eric Stults (6-6).

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Koji Uehara Scoffs At Your Days Off As He Converts His Third Save In As Many Nights

Baseball seasons are so long that oftentimes you stumble into the right role for a player when it was only supposed to be a temporary solution. I don't want to get too ahead of myself here but by notching his third save in three games, I think that Koji Uehara looks very promising as a closer this season for the Red Sox. Boston (49-33 overall, 27-15 home) beat Toronto (39-40 overall, 17-23 away) 7-5 tonight at Fenway Park for their fourth straight win that put them a season-high 16 games over .500.

Staked to a 5-0 lead in the fourth, Red Sox rookie pitcher Allen Webster had everything lining up for his first MLB win. However, when he left after six innings the Blue Jays had cut it to 5-4 and Andrew Bailey (remember him?) allowed a solo homer to Edwin Encarnacion (2 for 3, 2 RBIs, walk) in the seventh that tied it at five and handed Webster a no-decision.

Boston manager John Farrell pushed all the right buttons against his former team as Jonny Gomes-pinch hitting for Daniel Nava (2 for 3, run)-came through with an RBI single in the seventh which put the Red Sox back on top for good. Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked with the bases loaded for the final margin.

Andrew Miller (1-2) got four outs in relief for his first win of 2013 then Uehara had his third consecutive clean ninth with two strikeouts for his fourth save of the season. Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with a triple and run plus Jose Iglesias was 2 for 4 with a run and stolen base. New London CT native Rajai Davis was 2 for 4 with two stolen bases and a run for the Blue Jays.

Stephen Drew had a two-run triple in the second but he left in the fourth with a hamstring injury following a double. It is truly shocking to see a warrior like one of the Drew brothers get hurt. I'm sure he'll be right back in the lineup tomorrow. Mike Napoli had an RBI single in the third and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 for 5, run) knocked out overrated Josh Johnson with a two-run single in the fourth.

For once, Toronto got back into a game by playing small ball and not simply relying on homers. Jose Bautista and Encarnacion had RBI singles in the fifth while Adam Lind added a sacrifice fly. Maicer Izturis trimmed it to 5-4 Boston with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Boston and Toronto face each other tomorrow afternoon in a rare 4:05 p.m. start on NESN. Felix Doubront (4-3) takes on mighty Esmil Rogers (3-3) and people have been talking about this matchup for weeks, haha yeah right.

UPDATE 6/29: Drew isn't on the DL (yet) but the Red Sox called up Jonathan Diaz from Pawtucket. Diaz is in the lineup today at third base, making his MLB debut. To make room on the roster, Clayton Mortensen was designated for assignment.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Red Sox Win Their Third Straight Game, Second In A Row Thanks To Their Final At Bat

Slowly but surely the Red Sox are starting to get their mojo back. They were down to their last strike but rallied for a 4-3 win last night in Tampa Bay then tonight they once again made a comeback that resulted in a solid win: 3-2 over the Twins in 10 innings at Target Field.

Jonny Gomes' sacrifice fly scored Dustin Pedroia (who made a couple outstanding defensive plays) with the winning run in the 10th for Boston (25-17 overall, 12-7 away). Koji Uehara was summoned for his first save opportunity with the Red Sox since Junichi Tazawa pitched two innings last night in Tampa Bay. Uehara got the job done with a 1-2-3 10th with two strikeouts against Minnesota (18-20 overall, 9-11 home).

Boston has won their last three games and they improved to 3-1 in extra innings this season. They are also 3-1 on this current road trip.

Clay Buchholz received his third straight no decision but he should deserved to snap that streak with a win. At least his team found a way to come out on top even if they didn't help his own statistics. Buchholz went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with nine strikeouts and three walks. When the Red Sox have a guy pitching this well, they basically have to win every start he makes. Through the first month and a half of the season, Buchholz is on a short list of the best pitchers in MLB with Mets youngster Matt Harvey, Diamondbacks rookie Patrick Corbin, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and Mariners ace Felix Hernandez

Twins starter Vance Worley pitched well (6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks) but Boston's bullpen was better than Minnesota's and that was the main difference in the final outcome. Andrew Miller went 1.2 perfect innings with three strikeouts, Alex Wilson (1-0) got the last out in the ninth which was enough for his first MLB win then Uehara closed it out.

Former Twins great David Ortiz (3 for 4, walk) drove in Daniel Nava (2 hits, walk) with an RBI single in the first inning. Pedro Florimon must love playing the Red Sox since he hit his second homer of the season-both against Boston-a two-run shot in third which gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead. The Red Sox tied it in the seventh on Jacoby Ellsbury's (stolen base) RBI single.

I wasn't really paying close attention when it happened last week but the Twins won three of four games at Fenway Park. Truth be told, Minnesota is not good so Boston can't let something like that happen again this weekend. Ryan Dempster (2-4) has a chance tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) to clinch the series for the Red Sox against Scott Diamond (3-3)-a distant cousin of former WCW star Diamond Dallas Page.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Clay Buchholz Flirts With Another No-Hitter, Settles For 8 Shutout Innings Vs. Rays

As we all know, Cy Young awards and World Series titles aren't won in April but damn it if Clay Buchholz wouldn't have wrapped up at least the former with the way he has begun 2013. He improved to 3-0 this season with eight shutout innings as Boston (7-4 overall, 3-2 home) blanked Tampa Bay (4-7 overall, 1-4 away) 5-0 at Fenway Park this afternoon.

Buchholz, who has allowed one earned run in 22 innings, had a no-hitter heading into the eighth inning but Kelly Johnson ended his bid for a second (2007 vs. Baltimore) with a single to start the frame. A no-hitter would have been cool except that Buchholz's pitch count was rising too high and it would have been very risky to send him out in the ninth. He finished with a career-high 11 strikeouts, four walks and two hits on 109 pitches.

Dustin Pedroia was the only guy on either team with multiple hits, he went 3 for 4 with two doubles, a run and stolen base. Boston scored two runs off Alex Cobb (1-1) in the third on Mike Napoli's two-run double. The Red Sox received a gift later that inning as Stephen Drew hit what could have been a double play to end it but Yunel Escobar's throwing error allowed two more runs to score. Boston tacked on its final run in the eighth via Will Middlebrooks' sacrifice fly.

Andrew Miller closed out Boston's second shutout of the season (13-0 at Toronto last Sunday) with a scoreless ninth inning of relief.

After getting rained out on Friday night, Boston won in 10 innings on Saturday then had today's victory. They can complete the sweep against Tampa Bay tomorrow afternoon (11:05 a.m., NESN) as Ryan Dempster (0-1) faces Jeremy Hellickson (0-1) in the annual Patriot's Day matinee.

UPDATE 4/16: Closer Joel Hanrahan was put on the DL with a hamstring injury while knuckleballer Steven Wright was called up from Pawtucket.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

The Only Guys On The Red Sox That Should Show Their Faces In Boston Before April

So after last season's meltdown, I felt the need to review every player that was on the Red Sox' roster when it all ended. After this season's long and slow death, I don't have the patience or desire to recreate that tedious exercise. Instead, I want to identify the small group of players that deserve positive recognition for various reasons. Above all, they mostly overachieved based on whatever small expectations we had for them.

Scott Podsednik-19 runs, 60 hits, 7 doubles, 12 RBIs, 8 stolen bases, .302 batting average, .322 OBP and .352 SLG in 63 games.
When they signed Podsednik off the scrap heap, naturally I laughed thinking that he had nothing left in his washed up body. He proved me wrong and at 36, he can still play in MLB.

Pedro Ciriaco-33 runs, 76 hits, 15 doubles, 19 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 293 batting average, .315 OBP and .390 SLG, in 76 games.
He was the buzz in Spring Training and amazingly enough, a guy that was released by the Pirates turned out to be a diamond in the rough. It seemed like he always made something happen when he was in the lineup and he'll be a great utility guy off the bench.

Dustin Pedroia-81 runs, 163 runs, 39 doubles, 15 homers, 65 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, .290 batting average, .347 OBP and .449 SLG in 141 games.
Numbers wise, it was about an average season for Pedroia but I mention him since he played the last two games with a broken finger. If there was any doubt, he's still the heart and soul of this team and somebody we can all root for/be proud of.

Will Middlebrooks-34 runs, 77 hits, 14 doubles, 15 homers, 54 RBIs, .288 batting average, .325 OBP and .509 SLG in 75 games.
After tearing it up in Pawtucket, Middlebrooks was called up to Boston in May and promptly took Kevin Youkilis' job. One of the worst moments of this season was when he broke his wrist in Cleveland after getting hit by a pitch. His future seems limitless.

Cody Ross-70 runs, 127 hits, 34 doubles, 22 homers, 81 RBIs, .267 batting average, .326 OBP and .481 SLG in 130 games.
A blueprint of a player that can handle things in Boston. He had a great first season individually with the Red Sox. The rare baseball player that seems to be a good guy while also consistently productive. Any day now, he should get an extension.

Junichi Tazawa-37 appearances, 1 win, 1 loss, 1 save, 5 holds in 44 IP; 0.95 WHIP and 1.43 ERA.
It is hilarious that the player that was a complete afterthought has turned into a better pitcher than the supremely hyped Daisuke Matsuzaka, at this point in their respective careers. He should be a big part of the bullpen moving forward.

Scott Atchison-42 appearances, 2 wins, 1 loss, 5 holds in 51.1 IP; 0.99 WHIP and 1.58 ERA.
Who knows how much longer old man Atchison's bionic arm will stay attached to his body? He was great before his forearm injury but he shocked everyone by returning late in the season. Ride the wave.

Clayton Mortensen-26 appearances, 1 win, 1 loss, 1 hold in 42 IP; 1.21 WHIP and 3.21 ERA.
A mystery man, he was what the Red Sox received from the Rockies for Marco Scutaro. He was the mop-up guy but he proved that he is deserving of a better role than that.

Andrew Miller-53 appearances, 3 wins, 2 losses, 13 holds in 40.1 IP; 1.19 WHIP and 3.35 ERA.
We've all accepted long ago that Miller will never live up to his crazy potential. Still, this season was a step forward for him. He proved to be a capable lefty set-up guy.

Craig Breslow was good after coming over from the Diamondbacks but he only made 23 appearances and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit 25 homers but he batted .222 with a .288 OBP plus 139 strikeouts in 121 games (yikes!).

Hopefully all these guys find themselves back with the Red Sox next spring, they all earned another chance and proved they were winners amid all the drama and losing.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

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.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

The Red Sox Are Finally Putting It All Together

I'm not sure what happened to the Detroit Tigers team that played the Red Sox in the opening series this season but Boston will happily continue to beat up on this current crappy version of the Tigers while they try to sort things out.

The Red Sox (26-24, 13-13 home) won their third straight against the Tigers (23-27, 12-15 away), 6-4 tonight at Fenway Park.

Jon Lester (5 quality starts in 11 outings) dug Boston a 3-0 hole but thanks to three home runs, Boston was able to rally and then close the door thanks to more fine work from one of the best bullpens in baseball.

This looked like a start from Lester's rookie year as he piled up pitches (120) but wasn't particularly effective. In 6.2 innings, he allowed four earned runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts.

Detroit starter Drew Smyly was about as up and down as you'd expect from a rookie in his first outing at Fenway. In six innings of work, he allowed four earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.

The Tigers didn't exactly pound the ball as Lester worked around plenty of baserunners. Detroit scored in the first on a groundout then got two in the third on a sacrifice fly and groundout.

David Ortiz (12th of the season) and Will Middlebrooks (6th of the season) both had two-run homers in the fourth to give Boston a temporary 4-3 lead.

Miguel Cabrera (4 hits, 3 doubles) tied it with an RBI single in the seventh but the Red Sox pushed ahead thanks to Adrian Gonzalez's (2 hits) ground-rule RBI double in the seventh then Kevin Youkilis' (4th of the season) solo shot over the Monster in the eighth.

Matt Albers (1-0) got the win despite only recording one out (Delmon Young's ground out) but it was a big one since Detroit had the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh.

Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts for his sixth hold of the season then Alfredo Aceves proved yet again what a freak he is on the mound. Appearing in his fourth straight game (three save opportunities), he proceeded to get a 1-2-3 ninth (15 pitches/13 strikes) for his 13th save of the season.

I will be at Fenway tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) for what could be my only Red Sox game of the season, so it better be a good one! Haha, of course I'm stuck with Josh Beckett (4-4) against Max Scherzer (4-3). Pink hats and little kids be damned, you know I'll take every chance I can to voice my displeasure with the Texas Toughguy. Boston will be going for the rare four-game sweep.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Salty's 1st Career Walk-Off HR Gives Boston A Thrilling 3-2 Win Vs. Tampa Bay

I guess all we can surmise from tonight's final result is that the Boston Red Sox flourish the most when the pressure is not on them, namely in terms of viewing audiences.

Like most, I wasn't watching it live; I actually first noticed it on my stattracker for Yahoo fantasy baseball (on my laptop) and then Twitter but it counts just the same as the Red Sox (23-23, 10-12 home) beat the Rays (28-19, 11-12 away) 3-2 on a walk-off (1st of his career) two-run homer by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

It was the 10th comeback win for the Red Sox this season, a good sign that they might not be as average as their record suggests.

The pinch-hit bomb to right center (his 8th of the season) put Boston back at .500 (for the fourth time this season) while also causing the first blown save of the season for Rays closer Fernando Rodney (2-1), who had 15 saves in a row to start 2012.

It was a pitcher's duel as Josh Beckett and David Price both performed very well even though neither factored into the final decision. Price went seven innings, allowing one earned run on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Beckett also went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He had 15 swinging strikes which has to be a season high.

As always, the only thing you can count on this season for Boston is their bullpen and tonight was no exception. Andrew Miller threw a clean eighth with a strikeout then Rich Hill (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth and ended up getting the win.

The Red Sox broke the deadlock in the sixth on Will Middlebrooks's (2 hits) RBI single. The Rays scored both of their runs in the seventh on Ben Zobrist's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Luke Scott.

Boston gets its fourth chance (5th if you count Opening Day) to go over .500 tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as Clay Buchholz (4-2) takes on Jeremy Hellickson (4-1). It would be a shock if Buchholz is the one to get them there since he's been a complete mess basically all season despite somehow notching four fraudulent wins.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Red Sox Reach The .500 Mark For First Time Since April 30

As usual, with Clay Buchholz on the mound this season, it was all hands on deck for the Red Sox bullpen (1.59 ERA since April 23). They were the key to the game as Boston (21-21, 12-10 away) won its series opener at Balitmore's (27-16, 12-10 home) 8-6 this evening at Camden Yards.

The win was the ninth in the last 11 games for Boston and they reached the .500 mark for the first time since April 30. More importantly, their good stretch of play has allowed them to climb out of the AL East basement since now they're tied with the Yankees in fourth-place. Finally, this was also good for their psyche since the Orioles swept them at Fenway two weeks ago.

Buchholz ran into serious trouble in the third as he allowed four runs then and another in the fourth. He lasted 5.1 innings, giving up five earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts and four walks. On his 27th birthday, Andrew Miller (1-0) picked up the win after he was the first reliever for Boston. He recorded five outs with no hits and two strikeouts. I am shocked, he's been a totally different guy this season since he was called up.

Rich Hill allowed a run but Vicente Padilla bailed him out by getting the last two outs of the eighth. Alfredo Aceves locked up his 10th save with a 1-2-3 ninth. He's really settled into his new role as the closer after a terrible start.

To his good fortune, Buchholz was matched up with Tommy Hunter again (they faced each other at Fenway in the previous series). Boston had no trouble roughing up Hunter who went six innings but allowed five earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts.

The Red Sox' already severely undermanned outfield suffered a further blow this afternoon when word came out that Cody Ross is likely to miss 6-8 weeks after breaking a bone in his foot. Ryan Sweeney is out with a concussion and could be put on the seven-day DL. Kevin Youkilis is expected to return to the team tomorrow which means that Will Middlebrooks will stay around too, the issue will be how to get their bats along with Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz all in the same lineups.

Che-Hsuan Lin started for the first time in his MLB career, in right field, and he registered his first hit along with his first run.

Middlebrooks (3 hits, run, RBI) has done more than enough to prove he belongs but he had another big night just in case. Boston had 14 hits (every starter had at least one hit) as a team with Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 RBIs), Mike Aviles (2 hits, run, RBI) and Daniel Nava (2 hits, run, RBI) all collecting multiple hits in the win.

Chris Davis (2 hits), last seen closing out the Red Sox in that absurd 17-inning win at Fenway, was the only Oriole to have more than one hit.

Aviles' RBI single in the third made it 1-0 Boston and Pedroia followed with a sacrifice fly.

Buchholz completely lost his command in the third as Baltimore scored its four runs on a walk, infield single, walk and a double play ball. Davis's (6th of the season) solo homer in the fourth gave the O's a 5-2 lead.

Ortiz got the rally started in the sixth with an absolute blast (442 feet) to right, a solo shot that was his 10th of the season. Nava added a run on a sacrifice fly and Middlebrooks tied it at five when he scored on Hunter's balk.

Boston put two more runs on the board in the seventh, thanks to Adrian Gonzalez's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Middlebrooks.

Matt Wieters had an RBI single in the eighth but Hill got Davis to ground out with two runners on. Padilla forced Betemit to fly out to shallow left and he struck out Nick Johnson to end the threat. Padilla has surprisingly become a very reliable set-up man for the Red Sox, he's stranded all 15 inherited he's faced this season.

A pair of young lefties meet tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN) as Felix Doubront (4-1) faces Brian Matusz (3-4) in the middle game of this three-game series that could shake up the AL East.

UPDATE 5/22: Ross went on the DL and Scott Podsednick was called up from Pawtucket to take his spot in the outfield. Sweeney went to the seven-day DL for his concussion, Youkilis was activated and Dice-K was moved to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Hooray, Red Sox Win Their Second Straight Game Over The Indians

It figures that one of the few Red Sox games that I've missed so far this forgettable season turned out to be A) a convincing win and B) a tidy two hours and 30 minutes.

No complaints though as Boston (14-19, 6-11 home) beat Cleveland (18-15, 10-5 away) 4-1 last night at Fenway Park. Felix Doubront (3-1) pitched six strong innings for the Red Sox and a trio of relievers held the Indians hitless over the final three frames.

Doubront allowed one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Andrew Miller (7th), Vicente Padilla (8th, 1 strikeout) and Alfredo Aceves (9th, 1 strikeout in his 7th save) were all superb as they didn't allow a hit or walk.

For the game, Cleveland was limited to three total hits. Josh Tomlin went on the DL so Zach McAllister (1-1) got the last minute call-up and start for the Indians. He went seven innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts and no walks.

The Red Sox scored twice in the third inning with Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) knocking in Mike Aviles with an RBI double and David Ortiz scored Pedroia with a double of his own.

Boston tacked on a run in the fourth as Daniel Nava (2 hits) scored on Aviles' sacrifice fly. Cleveland scored its lone run in the sixth on Jason Kipnis' infield single that plated Lou Marson. Cody Ross (6th of the season) added an insurance run with a solo homer over everything in left in the home half of the sixth.

The Red Sox will try to win only their second home series of the season (Tampa Bay, nearly a month ago) this afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as Daniel Bard (2-4) takes on former Boston pitcher Justin Masterson (1-2). The young sinkerballer has pitched well the few times he's faced his first MLB team.

UPDATE 5/13: Darnell McDonald was placed on the DL with an oblique strain and Mauro Gomez, a first baseman, was called up from Pawtucket.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Hey, Andrew Miller Is Coming Back!

This is to tide us over until David Ortiz accepts arbitration tonight or tomorrow and the Boston Red Sox hopefully trade for Oakland closer Andrew Bailey. Today, the Sox signed left-handed pitcher Andrew Miller to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for the 2012 season.

The team avoided salary arbitration with Miller and who knows, in Spring Training he might get a chance to earn a spot in the back of the rotation. Miller's contract is worth $1.04 million. He would receive an additional $50,000 if he makes 20 starts and another $50,000 if he makes 25 starts.

Before you get too excited, let's remember how much of a project the former first-round pick appeared to be last season.

Miller appeared in 17 games with the Red Sox in 2011, including 12 starts, and went 6-3 with a 5.54 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 65 innings. The left-hander allowed three runs or fewer in eight of his 12 starts and Boston was 9-3 in those outings. However, Miller's production fell off a cliff late in the season. His ERA in the 7-20 September was 11.70, the highest for a Sox pitcher with at least 10 innings pitched in the post-World War II era.

Miller was signed by the Red Sox as a minor league free agent prior to the 2011 campaign, he also pitched in 17 games (12 starts) with Triple-A Pawtucket last season, going 3-3 with a 2.47 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings, holding opponents to a .181 batting average (42-for-232).

He's cheap which is good but other than that, who's to say if he'll ever truly pan out. Miller throws hard but he really struggles with his control. When it looked like he might have turned the corner in the AL East in August, he had a nightmare of a September, along with the rest of his mostly loser teammates.

Daniel Bard, Miller's teammate at the University of North Carolina as well, said that he would welcome a spot in the rotation but I beg the Red Sox to think twice about that. They still need a closer, they don't need to start looking for a setup man too. Unless you're a No. 1 or 2 starter-which Bard wouldn't be on this team-there is no need to switch up a guy's role.

Some more ugly numbers for Miller: his 1.82 WHIP was the second-worst in the AL for pitchers with over 60 innings (Mitch Talbot, 1.85). Miller has been with three MLB teams in six seasons and the former first-round's pick has a career ERA of 5.79.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

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.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Andrew Miller Returns From Nowhere And Submits His Best Performance Of The Season

Andrew Miller hadn't made a start since July 31. He had only come out of the bullpen twice since then so it would be easy to excuse him for having a poor start tonight against the Kansas City Royals.

Instead, Miller (5-1) put up his best effort of the season as the Boston Red Sox won 7-1 at Kaufman Stadium (home of the 2012 MLB All-Star Game), their second victory in as many nights in Missouri.

Terry Francona wanted to hold Miller to a Little League World Series style 85 pitches and thankfully, the lefty was efficient with his pitches for once (departing after 83). He went 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Red Sox (76-48) were able to get to Royals (51-75) starter Jeff Francis (4-14), like seemingly everyone else in MLB that has faced the former Colorado Rockie this year.

In five innings, the soft-throwing Canadian allowed five earned runs on 11 hits with two walks (both intentional to Dustin Pedroia) and a strikeout. What are the odds Francis and Bruce Chen's lockers are next to each other in the Royals clubhouse? They have so much in common, namely throwing junk and looking out of place at the highest level of baseball.

Despite a lineup that was without David Ortiz (heel) and Kevin Youkilis (on the DL with a back injury), Boston was able to churn out 13 hits led by Adrian Gonzalez (3 for 4, RBI), who snapped an 0-for-14 slump in style (are you listening Carl Crawford?) and Jed Lowrie (3 hits, run, walk).

Former Royal Mike Aviles added two hits, a run and a stolen base while rookie Ryan Lavarnway-a Yale product-got his first MLB hit with his family in the crowd.

Alex Gordon's sacrifice fly in the third gave Kansas City a 1-0 lead but Boston went ahead once and for all with two in the fourth. Darnell McDonald hit an RBI triple which scored Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in McDonald with a sacrifice fly.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia put it in the win column with a three-run homer (his 12th of the season) in the fifth off Francis.

The Red Sox pushed across two more runs in the eighth on Gonzalez's sacrifice fly and a Royals error.

Alfredo Aceves picked up his second save of the season after going 3.2 innings, allowing only one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. His 45 pitches means he's probably done for a few days but as always he did yeoman's work by saving the rest of Boston's bullpen in what turned out to be a lopsided win.

The Yankees smoked the Twins 8-1, meaning the Red Sox remain .5 games behind New York for first-place in the AL East and that all important division crown.

For the fifth time, Tim Wakefield goes for career win number 200 tomorrow night. Kansas City will start Felipe Paulino (1-9) but I'm not going to jinx it, just going to post his awesome win-loss record and let you draw your own conclusions.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Jacoby Ellsbury Has Become The Player We All Dreamed About

It was all too easy to make fun of Jacoby Ellsbury last season as he suffered through a variety of injuries and only played 18 games in the entire season (somewhere J.D. Drew nods his approval).

That all seems like ancient history as Ellsbury has become an absolute beast and the undisputed best leadoff hitter in MLB this year. He's playing his typical Gold Glove defense, a terror on the base paths, getting on base and he's added completely unexpected power.

Yesterday afternoon, he had a pair of solo homers (No. 14 and 15-six over his career-high) as the Red Sox (59-37) concluded their six-game road trip 4-2 with a 4-0 shutout of the Orioles (39-56).

Andrew Miller (4-1) submitted an erratic performance-walking a career-high six in 5.2 innings-but he limited Baltimore to only two hits. He added three strikeouts as Boston won two out of three at Camden Yards, just like they won two of three at the Trop.

Matt Albers (1.1 innings), Daniel Bard (1 inning) and Jonathan Papelbon (1 inning) teamed up for the last 10 outs of the contest and most impressively, none of them allowed a hit or walk. It was Bard's club-record 21st scoreless outing, he hasn't given up an earned run since May 24.

After his post All-Star game slump, it was nice to see Adrian Gonzalez get back to his usual results of crushing the ball. He went 4 for 5 in the win while Josh Reddick (run, walk) and Carl Crawford (RBI, walk, stolen base) both notched two hits.

O's starter Jake Arrieta (9-7) wasn't that bad but his teammates couldn't pick him up on this day. He went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

After Miller walked three straight in the second yet escaped unscathed thanks to a double play ball by Craig Tatum, Ellsbury hit his first bomb in the third for a 1-0 Red Sox lead.

Jason Varitek's ground out in the fourth scored Reddick in the fourth then Ellsbury crushed his second homer to right in the seventh.

Crawford's bases loaded walk in the eighth provided the last run for Boston.

The Red Sox returned to Boston today for an off day and then they play three games against the Seattle Mariners and four against the Kansas City Royals. Honestly, if someone offered me free tickets the next few days with this brutal heat and these shitbums in town, I would probably say no. That's how unappealing it is to sit in Fenway this weekend.

John Lackey faces Felix Hernandez tomorrow night in the series opener. With any luck, Lackey will melt into a puddle and Boston can hold King Felix hostage before Seattle makes a deal for him to the Red Sox.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Red Sox Snap Four-Game Losing Streak, Salvage Series Finale Vs. Pittsburgh

I missed pretty much all of the Red Sox-Pirates games on Friday and Saturday due to a couple concerts (Dispatch, Matisyahu). Clearly, those were better options than watching bad losses by Boston.

Yesterday afternoon was the first game of the series I actually paid attention to and no surprise, they turned things around (pats self on back). Andrew Miller made his second start for the Red Sox (45-32) and it was a good one as he helped Boston snap a four-game losing streak and leave Pittsburgh's (39-38) PNC Park with a 4-2 win.

To say this game was sloppy and Little League-esque, would be an insult to shitty Little Leaguers around the country. The Pirates made four errors while the Red Sox had two.

Miller (1-0) didn't seem to mind too much as he went six innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Alfredo Aceves (seventh), Daniel Bard (eighth) and Jonathan Papelbon (ninth) combined for three scoreless innings as Boston walked out of Pittsburgh with a little pride after a rough couple days.

Pirates starter James McDonald (first cousin of Boston's Darnell McDonald) went six innings, allowing two runs (zero earned) on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

This truthfully might have been the most boring win in Red Sox history. Their four runs scored on two sacrifice flies, an error and a ground out.

Pittsburgh didn't exactly set the world on fire either, scoring on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.

Oh well, Boston has today off and then they get to the main course of interleague play: a three-game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies (the NL's best team and easily one of the best teams in baseball). Say it with me: Possible World Series preview!

While we wait for tomorrow, let's all pray for J.D. Drew who had to leave yesterday's game in the second inning after suffering a black eye bunting during batting practice. I think I'm going to write a book, start a blog or twitter handle chronicling all of Drew's ridiculous injuries (haha vertigo?). Either way the guy is a joke: he's the most accident prone person in the world or the biggest pussy.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet