Thank God for Penthouse Pets and Deal or No Deal floozies

Don't look now but Clay Buchholz has positioned himself in the AL Cy Young discussion. Barring a ridiculous last month and change, he won't win because C.C. Sabathia and David Price have the inside track (on better teams) but nevertheless it's been an amazing season for Boston's young ace.

Two lengthy rain delays couldn't stop him yesterday as Buchholz (15-5) and the Red Sox (71-54) beat the Blue Jays (64-59) 5-0 at Fenway Park to take two out of three in the series.

Buchholz threw six shutout innings and lowered his AL-best ERA to 2.26. Filthy. He allowed five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Shawn Marcum (11-7) pitched well (7 innings, 3 earned runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts) for Toronto but he made three big mistakes in the fifth inning.

David Ortiz (2 hits) started the three-run frame with a triple, his first of the year (but he's had one in all 11 MLB seasons). Adrian Beltre drove him in with an RBI double then Bill Hall (3 for 4 with 3 homers lifetime vs. Marcum) hit a two-run bomb onto Landsdowne Street.

Victor Martinez added an RBI single in the eighth which drove in Ryan Kalish and Ortiz made it 5-0 with an RBI single that plated Marco Scutaro.

Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts then rookie Felix Doubront locked down his second MLB save with two scoreless innings including two strikeouts.

Boston is 6.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East and 5.5 behind the Rays for the wild card.

The good news is that the Seattle Mariners are in town for three games; the Red Sox won't have a better opportunity for a sweep in the rest of the season. The bad news is that it's pouring today and it's supposed to rain the next few days as well so who knows when these games will happen.

John Lackey faces Doug Fister tonight in the series opener. Seattle is miserable but they did split with the Red Sox in July at Safeco Field.

Bill bleepin' Hall

Remember when you wrote the Boston Red Sox off this season?

Well it's time to jump back on the bandwagon because this team is playing well and they're inching closer and closer to an improbable playoff spot.

The Sox (66-49) smoked the Blue Jays (59-54) 10-1 last night at the Rogers Centre.

Clay Buchholz (13-5) just did what he's been doing for the last year: embracing his role as the best Red Sox starting pitcher.

He allowed Jose Bautista's sacrifice fly in the first (scoring an unearned run) but other than that, he went eight innings, allowing five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Shawn Marcum (10-6) is a good pitcher but he was no match for Buchholz or Boston. In four innings, he allowed eight earned runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts. A 36-pitch first inning was a sign of ominous things to come for Marcum.

I don't know what it is about the Rogers Centre but the ball is flying out of there for the Blue Jays (most homers in MLB) and the Red Sox (second most homers).

Boston slugged four home runs last night, including two from Bill Hall (3 hits, 4 RBIs).

Mike Lowell (3 hits) walked with the bases loaded in the first as the Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead.

Hall hit two towering shots to left field in the second (solo) and fourth inning (two-run). The Sox knocked out Marcum and sewed up the result with five runs in the fifth: J.D. Drew had a solo homer, Adrian Beltre had an opposite field three-run bomb and Hall had an RBI single.

Victor Martinez (2 hits) closed out the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth.

Adam Lind had three hits for Toronto in the one-sided loss.

John Lackey opposes rookie Brad Mills this afternoon as the Red Sox look for the sweep. They enter today, 3.5 behind Tampa Bay in the wild card and five games behind the Yankees.

Damn it Beckett

Despite his past success in the playoffs in 2003 with the Marlins and 2007 with the Red Sox, Boston pitcher Josh Beckett has not been a big game performer for the last few seasons.

Facing one of the biggest games of the season last night at Yankee Stadium, Beckett couldn't get through the fifth inning as the Sox (63-49) lost 7-2 to New York (69-41) on a day when Tampa Bay lost its fifth straight game.

Beckett (3-2) went 4.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 11 hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Scheduled starter A.J. Burnett was scratched before the game with back spasms but Dustin Moseley (2-1) stepped in and pitched very well: 6.1 innings, two earned runs, six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

New York scored twice in the second inning on a throwing error by Bill Hall and an RBI single by Derek Jeter (2 hits, 3 RBIs).

Hall (3 hits) atoned for his usual fielding blunder with a solo homer in the fifth, cutting it to 2-1 Yankees.

The bottom of the fifth was when the wheels fell off for Beckett and the Red Sox. Mark Teixeira led off the inning with a solo bomb. Lance Berkman (3 hits, 2 runs) hit an RBI double, Kevin Cash made a throwing error which led to another run and Jeter sent Beckett to the clubhouse with a two-run double.

Boston got one more run, on an infield hit by pinch hitter Mike Lowell in the seventh. A ball that looked like a double play ball by Alex Rodriguez that he couldn't corral.

Needless to say, today is the biggest game of the season for Boston. They have Jon Lester on the mound, he's lost four straight starts and he needs to get right. Also, they can't lose more ground to New York and I'm sure the Rays will turn around soon despite all their injuries.

Phil Hughes takes the ball for the Yankees in the afternoon matinee.

The Sox are seven games behind the Yankees in the AL East and 4.5 behind Tampa Bay. This is the start of a ten-game road trip and it figures to remain very difficult with three in Toronto (who is playing great) and in Texas (who are legit and Arlington is always a tough place to play in the summer heat).

Mike Lowell says "I'm not dead yet"

After losing on Monday night to the Indians and having Kevin Youkilis placed on the DL with a thumb injury (that might keep him out for the rest of the season if he needs surgery), the Red Sox needed a boost of energy or else they're done.

Last night, that came in the form of Mike Lowell who returned to the field, playing first base, and hit a two-run homer as Boston (61-46) beat Cleveland (45-62) 3-1 at Fenway Park.

Josh Beckett (3-1) had his third straight good start, actually this was his best one in a long time. He went eight innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth for his 25th save of the season. He also became the first closer to get 25+ saves in his first five MLB seasons.

Lowell cranked his two-run bomb off David Huff (2-10) in the second, taking the first pitch he saw in months in the big leagues over the Monster.

Lou Marson cut it to 2-1 in the third with a solo shot and Bill Hall (2 hits) pushed across the last run in the fourth with a solo homer of his own.

Ryan Kalish continued to impress, adding two more hits out of the ninth spot in his fourth MLB game. He's hitting .538.

Things got crazy in the eighth when Indians reliever Jensen Lewis threw behind Adrian Beltre. Beckett came out of the dugout and started barking at anyone in a Cleveland uniform, especially Shelley Duncan, who he plunked earlier in the game.

Beckett, Lewis and Indians third base coach Steve Smith were all ejected. Terry Francona was fired up too, yelling at Smith. However, it was a typical baseball "fight" with both benches emptying but not much actually happening other than some pushing and name-calling.

Former Red Sox Justin Masterson takes on Jon Lester tonight at steamy Fenway.

Scutaro's slam helps Red Sox sweep the Angels

It's time for everyone to jump back on the Boston Red Sox' bandwagon.

They're still seven games behind the Yankees and five behind the Rays for the wild card but at least now, it looks like August and September will be competitive as they went 6-4 on their West Coast trip and wrapped it up with a nice 7-3 win and a sweep of the Angels yesterday afternoon in Anaheim.

Josh Beckett (2-1) was solid in his second start back from the DL. Beckett went seven innings, allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

In a game that both Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon were promised a day off, Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings respectively.

Just before the series finale began, the Angels (52-52) found out starter Joel Pineiro was scratched with an oblique injury (which will keep him out 6-8 weeks). The Red Sox (58-44) caught a big break by facing five Angels relievers but for most of the contest, it didn't seem like they'd fully take advantage of that.

Adrian Beltre and Bill Hall hit solo homers in the second for the early 2-0 lead.

Bobby Wilson and Reggie Willits were both credited with RBI singles in the bottom of the second but they didn't deserve them since Boston fielders made mistakes on both plays. Jeremy Hermida, who is brutal in the field, hesitated on Wilson's liner to left and Hall lost Willits' pop-up in the sun.

Maicer Izturis hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to give Los Angeles a momentary 3-2 lead but Kevin Youkilis tied it up with a solo homer in the seventh.

Finally, Marco Scutaro (3 hits, 2 walks, career-high five times on base) came through with one of the biggest plays of the season: he hit a grand slam off Fernando Rodney with no outs in the top of the eighth.

Eric Patterson (3 hits, run) also had a good game hitting out of the ninth spot.

Boston comes home and gets a three-game set beginning tomorrow against the sinking Tigers.

Lackey nearly throws no-hitter, Sox almost suffer worst loss in years but end up winning in 13 innings

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Friday, July 23, 2010
Lackey nearly throws no-hitter, Sox almost suffer worst loss in years but end up winning in 13 innings


To nobody's surprise, John Lackey has largely been a disappointment for the Boston Red Sox so far this season.

Last night though, he was on and he nearly threw a no-hitter. Lackey went 7.2 innings before giving up a hit and left with a 6-1 lead after eight innings (2 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts). Game over right? Not so much with this car crash version of the Sox.

Boston (54-42) gave up five runs in the ninth to the awful Mariners (37-59) but somehow recovered to win 8-6 in 13 innings after Safeco Field thanks to Eric Patterson's two-run double.

Milton Bradley had walked, stolen second base, moved over on a grounder then scored in the second on a passed ball so Seattle had a 1-0 lead without a hit. It was crazy that they almost got no-hit after that.

Bill Hall gave Boston a 2-1 lead in the third with a two-run homer and David Ortiz (2 hits) drove in Marco Scutaro (2 hits, 2 RBIs) with an RBI single.

J.D. Drew added to the Red Sox tally with a two-run bomb in the sixth and Scutaro notched a solo shot in the seventh.

Manny Delcarmen completely melted down in the ninth against Seattle's pathetic lineup. Delcarmen gave up four runs (three earned), two hits and a walk; he didn't record an out.

Franklin Gutierrez cut it to 6-3 with a two-run homer and Casey Kotchman notched an RBI double. Jack Wilson grounded into a fielder's choice, allowing Bradley to score but then Hall threw away the relay to first and the tying run scored. With that, Jonathan Papelbon blew the save.

Hideki Okajima (3-2) pitched his best game of the year, getting two scoreless innings in the 11th and 12th, including wiggling out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the 12th.

Ramon Ramirez pitched a clean 13th, with a strikeout to get his second save of the season.

So this game went from a revelation from Lackey, to the worst loss in years and then finally, an incredible win when it looked over.

Josh Beckett returns tonight and faces Jason Vargas, a quality lefty.

Crippled Sox close out 2010 interleague play with 13-5 record

After beating Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum and doing everything but grab a win vs. Ubaldo Jimenez, the 2010 interleague season for the Boston Red Sox was a complete success as they wrapped up their domination over the NL with a 5-1 win over the Giants yesterday afternoon at AT&T Park.

As they usually do in baseball, the expected pitcher's duel between Lincecum and Jon Lester never panned out. We'll have to see if it's because of an injury or maybe just a severe case of the munchies but Lincecum (8-3) was off in his meager three innings of work. He gave up four earned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Conversely, Lester (9-3) put up a good case for why he just might be the best starting pitcher in baseball. He threw a complete game, giving up one earned run on five hits with a walk and nine strikeouts.

It's hard to believe how well the Sox are playing given their absurd rash of injuries: on top of Josh Becket and Jacoby Ellsbury missing most of the season, in San Francisco this weekend, Dustin Pedroia broke his foot (Friday), Clay Buchholz pulled his hamstring running the bases (Saturday) and yesterday Victor Martinez broke his thumb.

Pedroia is going to be out for at least a month you'd have to assume. That's a fatal blow for the Sox since he's the heart and soul of the team. Buchholz should be fine and who knows if Martinez will go on the DL or try to play through his injury.

In the top of the first, David Ortiz continued his resurgence with a solo homer (16th) into the water in right, the 53rd splashdown in AT&T Park history.

Aubrey Huff tied it up in the bottom of the first with an RBI groundout but that's all the offensively challenged Giants would get. With their pitching, imagine if they had any type of lineup?

With the bases loaded and one out in the second, Lester gave it a ride (would have been well gone at Fenway) but he had to settle for a long sacrifice fly. Marco Scutaro (2 hits) added an RBI single in the inning.

Bill Hall (2 hits) had an RBI single in the third and finally Adrian Beltre notched a solo homer (his 12th) in the ninth.

The Sox came home last night and gratefully had today off. They have two against the reeling Rays at Fenway and then some more AL East matchups (vs. Toronto and Baltimore) before the All-Star break in two weeks.

Old Yeller starring Tim Wakefield

Earlier this season, I praised Red Sox greybeard Tim Wakefield so I can't go back now and bash the guy, that would be too easy.

I will say however, that when Wakefield's knuckleball isn't working, look out. You're in for an ugly game.

Such was the case yesterday afternoon as the A's (29-26) salvaged a 9-8 win at Fenway, avoiding sweep at the hands of Boston (31-24).

Wakefield (1-4) didn't have it as six earned runs on eight hits in six innings with four strikeouts will attest to. More than anything though, this was a game the Sox shouldn't have lost since they slugged 18 hits.

Third base coach Tim Bogar was enemy number one since he had two runners thrown out at home and both times they were the first out of the inning. To make it even worse, it was Victor Martinez (who has a toe injury) and Darnell McDonald (who had twisted his ankle at first base in the same inning).

Oakland starter Brett Anderson left after two innings with a sore elbow and the four relievers that followed him all gave up runs but they did enough. Closer Andrew Bailey even pitched two innings for his 12th save of the season.

Bill Hall went 4-for-5 with four runs, two RBIs and a solo homer off Bailey in the ninth. Jeremy Hermida was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in the sixth. Kevin Youkilis had three hits, Dustin Pedroia and Martinez added two hits and Marco Scutaro had a solo homer in the eighth and three RBIs.

The A's were led by Kurt Suzuki who had two homers and three RBIs off Wakefield. Jack Cust was 3-for-5 with three runs and solo homer off Manny Delcarmen in the eighth. Mark Ellis, Gabe Gross and Eric Patterson each had two hits for Oakland which checked in with 14 hits.

Boston embarked on a seven-game road trip with three in Baltimore and four in Cleveland, the two worst teams in the American League.

Clay Buchholz takes the hill tonight against Orioles rookie Chris Tillman, who's making his second major league start. Baltimore is a mess as usual with reports that they're about to fire manager Dave Tremblay.

The Red Sox played last night, really?

Last night's Red Sox game vs. the Angels had to have been Boston's lowest rated game in years.

Not only did they go up against a Bruins playoff game and a Celtics playoff game but the Sox have gotten off to a terrible start for what looks to be a very forgettable season.

I won't bore you with all the tedious details but Boston (12-14) beat Los Angeles (12-15) 17-8 at Fenway, snapping a three-game losing streak.

The Sox pounded out 20 hits, led by Mike Lowell (4 for 4, 4 RBIS), J.D. Drew (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs), Adrian Beltre (3 RBIs, 3 runs. 2 hits), Kevin Youkilis (3 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks), Bill Hall (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Dustin Pedroia (3 RBIs).

Pedroia cranked a three-run homer, Youk had a solo shot while Hall and Beltre both collected their first home runs for Boston with two run bombs.

Clay Buchholz (3-2) didn't pitch well (5.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts) but that's much more than can be said for LA's Joe Saunders (1-5), who gave up seven earned runs in four innings or relievers Matt Palmer and Brian Stokes who combined to give up ten runs in three innings of work.

With the Bruins and Celtics off tonight, the spotlight will fall back onto the Red Sox. We'll see what they can do as Jon Lester faces Ervin Santana.