With Hours To Go Until The Trade Deadline, Sox Finally Did Something: Trading For Kyle Schwarber

 

    I don't know about you but I will admit that I was getting pretty antsy tonight since tomorrow's MLB Trade Deadline (4 pm ET) was quickly approaching and the Red Sox (63-41 overall) still hadn't made a single deal while many other playoff and World Series contenders like them were quite busy. Thankfully that all changed late this evening as Red Sox chief baseball nerd Chaim Bloom woke up from his slumber and actually did something productive: he flipped some 20-year-old pitcher named Aldo Ramirez (ranked the club's #19 prospect by MLB Pipeline) to the Nationals for left fielder Kyle Schwarber. You might remember him as a key part of the 2016 World Series champion Cubs and he was also the hottest player in baseball earlier this season before he strained his right hamstring on July 2. To make room on the 40-man roster, Boston designated reliever Brandon Workman for assignment. 

    Technically, Schwarber is a rental since he will be a free agent after 2021 who figures to make a boatload of money because he was an All-Star this summer for the first time in his career and he's hitting .253/.340/.570 with 25 home runs and 53 RBIs. He originally started out as a catcher but almost exclusively in the past five seasons, he has been a full-time left fielder (playing his entire career in the National League). Boston's outfield is currently pretty full with Alex Verdugo in left, Jarren Duran in center and Hunter Renfroe in right not to mention J.D. Martinez is primarily a DH so where does that leave Schwarber to play? A new first baseman is arguably the biggest need for the Red Sox so perhaps they hope to have Schwarber try and fill that black hole. 

    Boston lacked lefty hitters so at the very least, Schwarber should immediately help to fix that. He will never win a batting title (his career batting average is .233, yuck) but he has legit power which is hard to find: 146 HRs and 332 RBIs in 623 games. Kyle also has a proven track record of postseason success where he has hit .288/.405/.576 with six homers and 11 RBIs in 24 playoff games. He has reached 25+ home runs four times in seven MLB seasons (6 with Chicago, 1 with Washington) with his best year being 2019 with 38 HRs, 92 RBIs and .250/.339/.531. He strikes out a ton (679 times in 2071 career at bats) so we'll need to get used to that but what do you expect from a guy that's shaped like a fire hydrant at six-feet-tall and 229 pounds? He is in the prime of his career at the age of 28 and the former first-round draft pick (4th overall in 2014) will want to cash in after he bet on himself and signed a modest one-year deal (worth $7 million) last winter with the Nationals. 

    This was a nice start for Bloom and hopefully he continues to work the phone lines tomorrow morning and afternoon to find a true first baseman, a reliever and possibly a starting pitcher as well. Over the last few days, many top MLB reporters had mentioned that the Red Sox were in on Nationals ace Max Scherzer (who is now going to the Dodgers in a blockbuster trade) and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (headed to the Yankees, ugh) and while they missed out on both of those guys, Schwarber is better than a consolation prize. Assuming that he's not a complete disaster these next few months in Boston, he would be another nice piece to help Bloom build a World Series contender year after year. We are not sure exactly when he will make his Red Sox debut, they have a huge three-game series at Tampa Bay (61-42 overall)-who is only 1.5 games back with a game in hand-starting tomorrow night (7:10, NESN)-but he has been lightly jogging and taking batting practice lately so it should not be too far away. 

UPDATE 7/30/21:  Welp, the Red Sox made two other trades today but they were for a pair of awful relievers: righty Hansel Robles was acquired from the Twins for minor league righty Alex Scherff and infielder Michael Chavis went to Pittsburgh (poor bastard) for lefty Austin Davis. 

Martin Perez Throws A Gem To Help The Red Sox Avoid A Four-Game Sweep In Houston & Win 5-1

 

    After losing their first three games of the series in Houston (31-25 overall, 20-13 home) and scoring a grand total of four runs in said defeats, the Red Sox (33-23 overall, 17-10 away) were in desperate need of a win this afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Boston's fifth starter Martin Perez (4-2)-who has been sneaky good all season-picked a great time to have his best outing in two years with the Sox. He went 7.2 scoreless innings (his longest outing since May 2, 2019), striking out four and walking only one as Boston won 5-1. Considering that this week-long road trip continues this weekend in New York with their first series against the Yankees (31-26 overall), this was one of the more meaningful victories so far in 2021 for the Red Sox. 

    Astros starter Jake Odorizzi (3 IP, 3 ER, 2 Ks, 3 BBs) wasn't nearly as economical with his pitches as Perez was, Boston's starter only needed 82 pitches to come four outs away from a complete game while the former Ray and Twin labored through 76 pitches in less than half as many innings of work. All of the Red Sox' offense came from two swings of the bat: second baseman Christian Arroyo hit a three-run home run to left field in the second inning that just reached the seats. Third baseman Rafael Devers (2B, two BBs) and right fielder Hunter Renfroe (1B, BB) scored on Arroyo's first homer of the season/as a Red Sox. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts was in his first extended slump of this campaign (0-for-24) at the plate but hopefully he broke out of it with a two-run double in the seventh inning that plated DH J.D. Martinez (two 2Bs) and left fielder Alex Verdugo (two BBs, 1B). 

    Red Sox manager Alex Cora got ejected earlier in the game for dumping on home plate umpire Lance Barrett's terrible strike zone. I mention this only because bench coach Will Venable was in charge when the time came to either pull Perez or let him try to get out of his first jam of the day (runners on 1st and 2nd). Venable took the cautious approach and lifted Perez in favor of Northeastern's Adam Ottavino who got Houston star Alex Bregman to fly out to center to end the threat. Brandon Workman is back with the Red Sox and he made his first appearance of the season in the ninth. Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel (3-for-4) hit a solo home run to left (his 8th of the season) but it only meant that the Sox would not get a shutout, oh well. 

    While the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry isn't what it used to be, it is still one of the best in MLB, especially when they haven't met for the first two months of the regular season. Just like the old days, it will get the primetime TV slots: Nathan Eovaldi (6-2) goes for the Sox tomorrow night (7:05, NESN) vs. TBA; on Saturday night (7:15, FOX), it will be the struggling Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4) against Jameson Taillon (1-4); for Sunday Night Baseball (7:08, ESPN) Garrett Richards (4-4) takes on Domingo German (4-3). Boston enters the three-game set with a 2.5-game lead on New York with a game in hand. After today's 9-2 loss to the first-place Rays (36-22 overall and 2 games ahead of the Sox), the Yanks are 3-7 in their last 10 games while the Red Sox are 5-5 in their last 10. Boston also lucked out that NY's ace Gerrit Cole (6-3) pitched this afternoon so they won't being seeing him in action this weekend. Two out of three wins in the Bronx is what I'm realistically wishing for and I think that is an attainable goal for the Red Sox.

Let The Red Sox Rebuild Begin As They Flip Brandon Workman & Heath Hembree To Phillies

 

    There is a simple reason why I haven't mentioned the Red Sox once since their truncated 60-game regular season began on July 24: they are absolutely terrible but that's the whole point. Despite tonight's 8-5 win at Baltimore (12-14) which extended Boston's (9-18) season-high win streak to a pathetic three games, they are no doubt tanking to try and "earn" the No. 1 draft pick in the 2021 MLB Draft (something which the franchise has never had). There were rumors of a Red Sox-Phillies trade in the works this afternoon and with the Trade Deadline coming on August 31, they wasted no time getting it done this evening: Boston dealt closer Brandon Workman and set-up guy Heath Hembree to Philadelphia (9-13) for right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta and minor league right-hander Connor Seabold. 

    Vanderbilt stud starting pitcher Kumar Rocker (what a name!) is expected to be the next top overall pick and the Red Sox are in desperate need for starting pitching after David Price was traded to the Dodgers, Rick Porcello signed with the Mets and Eduardo Rodriguez got Covid-19 then opted out of this cursed season with understandable worries about a previously diagnosed heart condition. We can all agree that Boston's new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has inherited a tricky situation. Of course, unlike lame-duck manager poor Ron Roenicke who will be out of here next season (with Alex Cora's triumphent return from suspension?), Bloom won't be going anywhere else for awhile. After all, he's 37 and his work making Tampa Bay a contender year after year on their shoestring budget proved that the Yale alum knows a thing or two.

    Workman is the only real notable name of this group, unless Seabold becomes something but he's probably (at least) a few years from making a real impact in MLB. Brandon was a surprisingly key part of Boston's 2013 World Series champion as a rookie then he missed 2015 and 2016 following Tommy John surgery. Props for him though for sticking with his rehab when many would have given up as he became an important piece of the Red Sox bullpen the last four seasons including the 2018 World Series champs. His value only increased in 2019 as he proved he could be a closer in the majors-something the Phillies desperately need right now-with a 10-1 record, 16 saves, 1.88 ERA and 104 strikeouts/45 walks in 71.2 innings. 

    Also a World Seris champion in 2018, Hembree had been here for longer than you probably think since he was a part of the Jake Peavy (remember him?) trade to the Giants way back in July 2014 at the Trade Deadline. In seven seasons with the Red Sox, he combined to go 15-5 with two saves, a 3.70 ERA and 270 strikeouts/97 walks in 257.2 innings pitched. Pivetta is 27 and his career record-mostly as a starting pitcher-is 19-30 with a 5.50 ERA. The Phillies have been awful for most of his four seasons there but he struggled so much that they demoted him to the bullpen and he had already been sent to their alternate site this year after three miserable appearances where he had a 15.88 ERA! Yikes. I won't waste your time or mine talking about Seabold since who has any clue whether a prospect will ever pan out in baseball? 

    I read far-fetched stories this week about the Red Sox possibly trading J.D. Martinez or god forbid Xander Boegarts. Martinez is an incredible hitter but that's really all he can do on a baseball field and he actually turned 33 today so his trade value isn't nearly as high as you would assume given his amazing stats the last few years. Bogey is the face of the franchise in his prime so I would puke if he changes teams anytime soon ala Mookie Betts. A player like outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr. or Andrew Benintendi (who is currently on IL with a fake injury to cover for how hopeless he's been at the plate in 2020) make way more sense to be the next players to be dealt from Boston. You know that Chaim can't wait to have some more deals too since that is specifically why he is here.

      

    

    

    

Let The Red Sox Fire Sale Begin, Enjoy Your Duckboat Jake Peavy!

We've known for weeks, maybe months, that the 2014 Red Sox were circling the drain and there would be no postseason baseball this fall for the defending World Series champs. Their recent four-game slide has sent Boston (47-56 overall) back to the basement in the AL East-10.5 games behind first place Baltimore and seven games back in the Wild Card. The non-waiver trade deadline is looming on Thursday so the Red Sox finally made a move as they flipped veteran starting pitcher Jake Peavy to the Giants for minor league pitchers righty Heath Hembree and lefty Edwin Escobar.

He's had some bad luck and no run support for months (2 runs or fewer in his last 8 starts) but the fact is that in 20 starts this season, Peavy is 1-9 with 4.72 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. At 33, he looks pretty washed up but the funny thing is that he could look like a different guy when he gets to the friendly confines of AT&T Park along with the weak West (3 teams at least 10 games under .500) in the JV National League. Plus he has 7.5 years of experience with San Diego so that should count for something.

Peavy will make his Giants (57-46) debut tomorrow night on Sunday Night Baseball (8:07, ESPN) at home vs. Dodgers. Being on a good team in a pennant race should also give him a boost for a few months, similar to what happened basically a year ago when he came over from the White Sox to the Red Sox.

With Brandon Workman waiting in the wings in Pawtucket, Boston probably won't miss anything Peavy could bring anymore on the field. However, not to sound too cheesy here but he seemed like a great dude that everybody loved. This is the same guy that bought a Duck Boat after the World Series win, he immediately embraced his new team and what it meant to play in such a special environment. Those things that you can't measure in endless baseball stats is what the Red Sox and their fans will miss most about Jake Peavy, he is the rare baseball player that isn't a dink.

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The Longest Losing Streak In 20 Years For the Red Sox Deserves a Mention

Believe me, there have been so many times in the last few weeks that I have wanted to write a Red Sox post but by the time their game ends (in a depressing loss), I am so disgusted that I don't bother. Well after losing 8-5 to the Rays this afternoon at Tropicana Field, I feel like I need to acknowledge Boston's (20-29 overall, 10-12 away) worst losing streak (10 games) in 20 years.

Tampa Bay (23-28 overall, 12-14 home) started the weekend series in last place in the pathetic AL East but after sweeping the Red Sox, they are now two games ahead of them. If that wasn't all bad enough, Boston became a disgrace (and I don't throw that word around lightly) in today's series finale by taking exception to stupid Yunel Escobar and starting one of those lame "baseball brawls."

Jonny Gomes was the main culprit for Boston as he came over and tried to get at Escobar who had been yelling and pointing in Boston's dugout after stealing third up 8-3 in the seventh (who cares?). Gomes could be suspended which wouldn't help the Red Sox who also put Mike Napoli on the DL earlier in the day with his finger injury (which surprise surprise hasn't magically worked itself out). There are many things in life I have no use for and baseball's unwritten rules along with fake tough guys (Gomes, Escobar, A.J. Pierzynski) are enough to make me cringe.

During the losing streak, Boston has been swept by Detroit, Toronto and Tampa Bay. This series was particularly painful since as I mentioned, the Rays are equally terrible plus Boston lost on a walk-off hit on Friday (1-0), on an error in the 15th inning on Saturday then capped off by this monstrosity. It's reached the point, much like 2012, where I tune in solely to see what new way they'll find to lose a game.

Brandon Workman made his first start of the season, taking Felix Doubront's place. He went five innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks. The issue, as it's been for much of this slide, has been Boston's awful offense. The immortal Jake Odorizzi went six innings and held them to one earned run on four hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

Brock Holt gave Boston a short-lived 1-0 lead in the third with a sacrifice fly. Tampa Bay scored twice in the fourth on Evan Longoria's (3 for 5, 2 runs) solo homer and an RBI single by Logan Forsythe. Two runs came across in the fifth for the Rays on ground outs.

Before he had to be a hero, Gomes actually did something useful on the field with a two-run homer in the seventh (his 5th of the season) that tied it at three. The wheels came off for the Red Sox in the seventh as light-hitting Sean Rodriguez crushed a three-run homer and Escobar added a two-run double. Xander Bogaerts (2 for 4, double) had a two-run single in the ninth but that meant absolutely nothing.

All we keep hearing is that it's still early and the Red Sox are better than this. Fair enough but no team has lost 10 games in a row then won the World Series that same season. I don't know what it would be specifically but if things don't improve drastically, like in the next few days, it's up to GM Ben Cherington to make a big trade to shake things up. Otherwise, this team is going nowhere and it promises to be a miserable summer.

It is a funky schedule this week as they play two in Atlanta (28-21 overall, 1st in NL East) starting tomorrow afternoon (1:10, NESN) then host the Braves for two games at Fenway Park followed by three games next weekend at home vs. Tampa Bay. Another win before May ends would be nice. Clay Buchholz (2-4) faces Ervin Santana (4-2) tomorrow at Turner Field followed by Jon Lester (4-6) vs. Aaron Harang (4-4) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN).

UPDATE 5/26: The Red Sox sent Alex Wilson back to Pawtucket and called up catcher/1st baseman Ryan Lavarnway (with Napoli out).

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Red Sox Complete an Incredible Turnaround in 1 season, Capturing Their 8th World Series Title

If you had told me in 2003 right after the Red Sox lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS that the next year they'd win the World Series (for the first time in 86 years) then twice more in the next decade, I would have laughed for about an hour. Tonight was one of those special moments that sports singularly provides as Boston beat St. Louis 6-1 in Game 6 of the 2013 World Series to win the series 4-2. They are the first team in MLB to win three titles in the 21st century.

The Cardinals finally figured out they didn't have to pitch to David Ortiz, he walked in four out of five plate appearances (two intentionally) but still scored two runs and picked up the World Series MVP trophy. John Farrell became only the sixth manager in MLB history to win a title in his first year with a club (last one ironically was Terry Francona here in 2004). Red Sox became only the second team in MLB history (Twins, 1991) to finish in last place in their division one season then win the World Series the following season.

This was the first time since 1918 that the Red Sox had won the title at Fenway Park, giving the night some legit historical significance. Red Sox also became the first team in MLB to win three times in the past decade and this was their eighth title in franchise history. You can't help but be astounded at how much changed in one season: Boston was the worst team in the AL in 2012 and now they're back on top for the eighth Boston sports title since 2000 (3 for Patriots and Red Sox; 1 for Bruins and Celtics).

The easy storyline is John Lackey (6.2 innings, 1 earned run, 9 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk) who picked up the clinching win. I think that's well established by now so I'd rather focus on Koji Uehara getting the last three outs in a 1-2-3 9th capping his insane run as Boston's closer. You want more unlikely heroes? How about Stephen Drew (2 hits) hitting a solo homer and Shane Victorino driving in four runs after he missed Games 4 and 5 with back problems.

Michael Wacha is a great young pitcher, one of the best in MLB, but his magic carpet ride came to a screeching halt as he allowed six earned runs in 3.2 innings. Boston actually scored all the runs they needed on Victorino's bases-loaded double in the third to make it 3-0. The Red Sox tacked on three more runs in the fourth on Drew's solo homer into their bullpen, Mike Napoli's RBI single and an RBI single by Victorino. In past years, you'd worry about something bad happening to the Red Sox but I have to admit that once they got up five or six runs, I was very confident that it was all but over.

In probably his last game for the Red Sox, Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 4 with a double, walk and two runs scored. St. Louis' only real chance to threaten (or at least make it interesting) came in the bottom of the seventh, Junichi Tazawa came in with the bases loaded and two outs but he got one-legged Allen Craig to ground to first. Did you know his foot was hurt? The only run for the Cardinals came on Carlos Beltran's RBI single earlier in the seventh.

Rookie Brandon Workman had a 1-2-3 eighth which set the table for Uehara's last appearance of the season. Fittingly, this incredible journey ended with him striking out Matt Carpenter (3 for 5, double) to end it.

Every championship is different and I hate to compare them; you have to appreciate each one and I think we will certainly do that after all the garbage and drama of the last few seasons on Yawkey Way. 2004 is what everyone will always remember for obvious reasons, 2007 was complete domination and this year was about restoring pride in this beloved team. Mission accomplished, what else can you say? The Red Sox exceeded all expectations except their own, they were a likable team that had fun playing baseball and enjoyed being around each other. What more do you want? Enjoy the parade on Saturday.

UPDATE 11/2: The Red Sox picked up Jon Lester's option for 2014 ($13 million) and declined Matt Thornton's.

UPDATE 11/4: Boston made qualifying offers (1 year, $14 million) to Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew. They didn't make offers to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Joel Hanrahan and John McDonald so they are free agents that can sign with any team and that club doesn't have to give up a draft pick.

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Red Sox Punch Ticket to Their 3rd World Series in 10 Years

The Red Sox are going to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 World Series, a rematch of 2004, after Boston knocked out Detroit in six truly thrilling games. Tonight at Fenway Park, the Red Sox beat the Tigers 5-2 thanks to a clutch grand slam by Shane Victorino in the seventh inning that put them ahead 5-2. Craig Breslow got a 1-2-3 eighth and ALCS MVP Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts for his third save of the series (plus 1 win). Game 1 of the World Series is Wednesday (8:07, Fox) at Fenway.

The themes built up over the previous five games continued one more time: Max Scherzer (0-1) was excellent (6.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 4 hits, 8 strikeouts, 5 walks) but his bullpen was not. Boston's bullpen was superb, well other than Franklin Morales who allowed a two-run single to Victor Martinez that temporarily put Detroit ahead 2-1 in the sixth. I don't blame Morales as much as John Farrell for that mind-numbing move since Morales is terrible. Oh well, no reason to worry about that blunder too much now. Haha let's just hope Morales isn't on the World Series roster.

Clay Buchholz (5 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) pitched at a snail's pace but he was better than Game 1. After Morales failed, Brandon Workman (who should have been the first reliever) got five outs and Junichi Tazawa (1-0) retired Miguel Cabrera for the third time in the ALCS, in this instance there were runners on first and second with two outs.

Compared to Prince Fielder though, Cabrera had the greatest ALCS in history. Prince proved what a dog he is by hitting .182 in six games with no RBIs. He's gone 20 postseason games without a homer or RBI, how's that even possible? His series was best summed up by him getting caught too far off third then belly flopping five feet short of the bag for a soul-crushing double play.

Jacoby Ellsbury drove in budding superstar Xander Bogaerts (double, two runs, two walks) for a 1-0 Red Sox lead in the fifth. The rookie also drew a key walk vs. Scherzer in the sixth that led to him getting pulled a few batters later and Victorino's memorable grand slam over the Monster. Bogaerts will start every game in the World Series and deservedly so. I'd love to see Will Middlebrooks at third base and Bogaerts at third but Stephen Drew's excellent dive and throw to first likely earned him more leeway despite him being 1-for-20 (even Prince thinks that's bad) with nine strikeouts in the ALCS.

You can't say enough about the importance of not going seven games with Detroit. The Cardinals eliminated the Dodgers last night so they don't have much of a headstart on Boston plus thanks to the stupid All-Star Game, the Red Sox have homefield advantage. Both teams are gunning for their third World Series crown in the last decade and Boston swept St. Louis in 2004 (you might have heard about that). Anything can happen in the World Series but I expect it to be extremely competitive, think ALCS, but the Cardinals are deeper and more fundamentally sound than the Tigers who self-destructed much like the Rays in the ALDS.

This is the 11th time in franchise history that the Red Sox have made the World Series (6-4) and fourth time it is against St. Louis: Cardinals beat them in seven games in 1946 and 1967 before Boston returned the favor nine years ago. Four more wins!

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Red Sox Pull Off a Comeback for the Ages: Rallying to Beat Tigers 6-5 in ALCS Game 2

Let me just get this out of the way first since honestly, I hate humblebrags: I was lucky enough to attend my first Red Sox playoff game tonight, as a fan not a sportswriter. Wouldn't you know that ALCS Game 2 vs. Detroit turned out to be an unforgettable experience as Boston rallied from down 5-0 to tie it in the eighth on David Ortiz's grand slam then win it in the ninth on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's walk-off single.

The Red Sox evened the series at one, sending it to Detroit for three games in three days beginning on Tuesday (4:07, Fox) afternoon. Being there first-hand, I can admit a few things: 1) plenty of people left when it was 5-1 heading to the bottom of the eighth (who leaves a playoff game during a long weekend?), 2) nobody could have expected this since the Red Sox had one hit in the first 15.2 innings and 3) Ortiz could be the most clutch player in MLB history.

It was hard to fathom after Detroit came two outs away from a no-hitter the night before in Game 1 but Max Scherzer (7 innings, 1 earned run, 2 hits, 13 strikeouts, 2 walks) was even more locked in than Anibal Sanchez since the latter walked six batters. Clay Buchholz (5.2 innings, 5 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks) on the other hand, came completely unraveled in the sixth.

Detroit had gone up 1-0 on Alex Avila's (2 hits, run, walk) RBI single in the second inning. They pushed four across in the sixth on Miguel Cabrera's solo homer, Victor Martinez's (2 doubles, 2 runs) RBI double and a two-run bomb by Avila. Brandon Workman (scoreless IP) and Felix Doubront (scoreless 1.1 IP) settled things down as the bats finally woke up.

Shane Victorino recorded Boston's first hit then came around to score on a wall ball double by Dustin Pedroia. Still the Tigers were comfortably ahead 5-1 in the eighth but somehow things lined up for Ortiz with the bases loaded and two outs. Detroit manager Jim Leyland played to win, bringing in closer Joaquin Benoit for a four-out save but Ortiz hit a missile on his first pitch in the Red Sox bullpen. It was topped off by Torii Hunter flipping over the wall in vain trying to grab it.

I don't have fresh numbers from Carmine to prove it but I feel like teams that rally from big deficits in baseball usually win, meaning that Salty's hit was a formality. Albeit a very exciting one for the home crowd. Koji Uehara (1-0) had pitched a 1-2-3 ninth on nine pitches (8 strikes) including a strikeout.

Jonny Gomes led off the bottom of the ninth against Rick Porcello (0-1) and hit an infield single that Jose Iglesias threw wide of first. One-dimensional slugger Prince Fielder butchered it, why I think he should have been charged with an error and not Iglesias. After a wild pitch, Gomes moved to third then he scored on Salty's opposite field single to left. The Red Sox chased him to second base in celebration, it was truly one of the best sporting events I've ever been to in my life.

If anything, these two games have shown us how razor thin the margin is between these two great teams. I expect the series to come back to Boston for Game 6 and possibly Game 7 since it's hard to see either team rattling off three wins in a row. John Lackey gets the tall task (no pun intended) of trying to beat Justin Verlander on Tuesday. On paper, it's a bad matchup for Boston but after tonight, it's hard to count them out in any situation.

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Down 8-3, Red Sox Rally For 12-8 Victory Over Yankees; Boston Now Has Most Wins in MLB

Don't look now but the Red Sox are suddenly the team to beat this October in the American League. It's hard to recall a team that has rallied so many times and pulled out one improbable win after another in a single regular season. Tonight, Boston (86-57 overall, 39-32 away) trailed New York (75-66 overall, 43-30 home) 8-3 after five innings but they managed to score five runs in the seventh and four in the eighth for a soul-crushing 12-8 triumph.

This was Boston's fourth win in a row and 11th in their last 13. Last night and this evening show what makes the Red Sox so tough to beat: they can win any style of game. Their offense usually carries them (see: tonight) but they get enough pitching and help from the bullpen to be in almost every contest. It also helps when they compete in a glorified Little League park like Yankee Stadium (foreshadowing!).

Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, double, walk, run) started the rally in the seventh with an infield single that scored David Ross (2 hits, RBI). Mike Napoli (3 hits, 3 runs, double, 2 walks) flied out to right, I mean got extremely lucky to hit a grand slam (sixth of his career; third this season) just over the reach of a leaping Ichiro to tie it at eight. It was his 19th homer of the season.

New York's clownshow bullpen lived up to that moniker (which I just created): Shane Victorino (2 hits, 2 runs)-playing center field and batting leadoff with Jacoby Ellsbury resting-hit a two-run homer (his 14th of the season), Daniel Nava aka Mr. OBP (.392) walked with the bases loaded and Stephen Drew (2 RBIs) made it 12-8 with an opposite field single.

Brandon Workman (5-2) got the win after playing the role of Junichi Tazawa and recording four outs (2 strikeouts). I'm not a fan of using Koji Uehara's precious right arm in non-save situations but he didn't seem to mind, retiring the Yankees 1-2-3 in ninth on 12 pitches/11 strikes (2 strikeouts). What do I know?

Earlier highlights were Alfonso Soriano's two-run homer in the first, his whopping 13th since he was traded to New York. Will Middlebrooks (2 hits, 2 runs) continued to rake out of the nine-hole with a solo shot in the fifth (his 14th of the season).

In a shocking development, both games this weekend are 1:05 p.m. starts. It's almost as if these teams are telling you to enjoy college football on Saturday and the glorious NFL on Sunday. Tomorrow afternoon (NESN), John Lackey (8-12) faces converted reliever David Huff (2-0).

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Red Sox Sweep White Sox & Rays Get Swept By A's, Nice Weekend

At this point with only 24 games left in the regular season, I'm comfortable in saying that reaching the playoffs is almost a foregone conclusion for the Red Sox. Boston (82-56 overall, 45-24 home) swept the hapless White Sox (56-79 overall, 24-45 away) in three games this weekend, culminating with a 7-6 victory this afternoon at Fenway Park. The sweep felt that much better since the Rays dropped all three of their games in Oakland so suddenly they trail Boston by 5.5 games for first place in the AL East.

The Red Sox can be excused for going up 5-0 on the White Sox by the third inning then putting it on cruise control, they are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have won seven of their last eight games. Chicago cut it to 5-4 in the fourth and 7-6 in the eighth but they couldn't come all the way back. Felix Doubront (3.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 7 hits, 90 pitches) was the main reason why this was way tighter than it had to be. Staked to the big lead, he just couldn't put guys away.

Brandon Workman (4-2) got the win in relief but the real stars out of the bullpen today for Boston were Franklin Morales (4 outs), Junichi Tazawa (got out of bases loaded jam to end the seventh) and of course Koji Uehara who recorded a 1-2-3 ninth for his 16th save of the season.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, walk, stolen base) started the scoring with a two-run single in the second and David Ortiz came through with a two-run double in the same frame. Stephen Drew made it 5-0 with his 11th homer of the season, a solo shot to left center in the third.

White Sox kept getting on base in the fourth and Jeff Keppinger "put in on the board!" (Hawk Harrelson's deranged voice) with a sacrifice fly. Dayan Viciedo followed with an RBI double and Conor Gillaspie trimmed Boston's lead to 5-4 with a two-run single.

The game took so long (3:39) because there were numerous delays: White Sox manager Robin Ventura was ejected for arguing a call, the Red Sox used six pitchers and Shane Victorino left with a hip injury. Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, run, walk) reached base on an infield hit in the fourth and Ellsbury scored on Gillaspie's throwing error. Ortiz knocked in another run in the inning with an RBI single.

Paul Konerko (2 hits, run, walk) drove in Alexei Ramirez (3 hits, w runs, 2 stolen bases) in the fifth with a single and Tyler Flowers (2 hits) smashed a solo homer in the eighth.

It being September 1, the Red Sox made numerous moves since the rosters expanded: for me the two important ones were the trade for Providence College (my alma mater) alum John McDonald (East Lyme, CT native who lives in Scituate, MA) and designating Daniel Bard for assignment. McDonald is a spectacular shortstop and second basemen that should give them some options in the postseason and down the stretch while Bard's career is truly at a crossroads now.

Thankfully the next five series for the Red Sox are all against teams above .500, that should be good preparation for October not to mention way more entertaining contests. The Tigers (80-57, 1st in AL Central) come to Fenway for a marquee three-game series starting tomorrow afternoon (1:35, NESN)-Labor Day. The possible ALCS preview begins with John Lackey (8-11) vs. Doug Fister (11-7). Max Scherzer (19-1) goes for his MLB-leading 20th win of the season on Tuesday (7:10, NESN) against Jon Lester (12-8) and Ryan Dempster (7-9) wraps it up on Wednesday (7:10, NESN) vs. Rick Porcello (11-7) in what could be a real life version of Home Run Derby.

Boston has experienced incredible luck in the past few weeks in terms of missing top pitchers (Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke and Chris Sale) and that continues against Detroit since Justin Verlander pitched today vs. Cleveland. Additionally and perhaps more importantly, Miguel Cabrera has sat out the last two games with an injury so who knows his status for these three games. The baseball fan in me wants to see him out there but since the Tigers have such a huge lead (7.5 games over Indians), it would be silly to throw him out there at less than 100%.

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Middlebrooks Returns To The Red Sox & They Finally Beat the Royals Again

It only took five tries but the Red Sox (71-48 overall, 32-27 away) managed to beat the Royals (60-54 overall, 31-26 home) again, 5-3 this evening at Kauffman Stadium to snap a four-game losing streak (two games in this series). The three easy to use storylines coming out of this win for Boston was Will Middlebrooks' (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) triumphant return from purgatory I mean Pawtucket RI, Jacoby Ellsbury's (4 hits, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, stolen base) great night at the plate and five scoreless innings by the Red Sox bullpen (4 pitchers).

Compared to last night, this was a pitcher's duel except for the fact that Felix Doubront only lasted 4+ innings (not long enough for the win) while Jeremy Guthrie went six innings but allowed five earned runs on 10 hits. Brandon Workman (3-1) got four outs in relief (including three strikeouts), Craig Breslow retired the two men he faced to end the sixth, Junichi Tazawa (19th hold) struck out two in two scoreless innings and Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth (on 12 pitches!) for his 12th save of the season.

After no runs in the first three innings, the Red Sox looked like they were about to pull away when they scored four times in the fourth (it was meant to be!). Stephen Drew had an RBI double, two runs scored on Middlebrooks' bloop single down the right field line and Ellsbury notched his first of two RBI doubles.

Kudos to the Royals for fighting back right away and nearly tying it in the fifth. Eric Hosmer (2 hits) started the pseudo-rally with an RBI double, Billy Butler (3 hits, 2 doubles) continued to own the Red Sox (he's 7 for 12 in the series) with an RBI double and old man Miguel Tejada greeted Workman with an RBI single.

With Boston's bullpen on lockdown mode after that one inherited run scored in the fifth, Ellsbury added another RBI double in the sixth which scored Middlebrooks. Mike Carp was 2 for 3 with a run and walk in the victory.

Thanks to Tampa Bay and Baltimore's losses today, the Red Sox improved to three games and five games respectively ahead of their biggest competition this season in the AL. Haha with their loss the Yankees fell 11 games behind the Red Sox which is fantastic if you think about it. Tomorrow's game (2:10, NESN) is so important to both teams psychologically because the Royals have been on fire and they could win the series (3-1) while the Red Sox are looking to get out of town with a hard-earned split. John Lackey (7-9) faces former Rays star James Shields (6-8) in what should be a close contest.

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Red Sox Trade Away Future (Iglesias) For Present (Peavy) In 3-Way Deal With Tigers & White Sox

We are still roughly 13 hours away from the 2013 MLB non-waiver trade deadline (that was a mouthful) but the Red Sox have likely already left their mark on this important day on the baseball calendar. Tonight after they trounced the Mariners, they traded for starting pitcher Jake Peavy from the White Sox and they also received Triple-A reliever Brayan Villarreal from the Tigers. To complete the three-team deal, Boston sent shortstop Jose Iglesias to Detroit and three Single-A prospects to Chicago.

I'm not a huge Peavy fan, I think that he's injury prone and overrated but the guy did win the 2007 NL Cy Young with the Padres (19-6, 2.54 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 254 strikeouts). It seems like he's been around forever and he made his MLB debut in 2002 with San Diego but Peavy is only 32. After not going over 200+ innings since 2007, he performed well in a contract year (surprise surprise) last season: 219 innings, 11-12 with 3.37 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 194 strikeouts. The best part of this is that he's not a rental and the three-time All-Star will be under contract through next season with an option for 2015.

This season he was on the DL for almost two months with a broken rib. In 13 starts, he is 8-4 with 4.28 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 76 strikeouts but keep in mind that the White Sox are one of the worst teams in MLB. This is a depth move for the Red Sox who realize that they need a sharp rotation to reach the playoffs for the first time in four long years and then do damage against loaded teams like the Rays and Tigers. Brandon Workman has looked real good in three starts but he'll go to the bullpen with Peavy aboard. Another factor in this move had to be the health of Clay Buchholz. I assume the Red Sox are worried that he might not return this season so this gives them more veteran experience and skill.

Seeing Boston dump Iglesias appears cold but when you think about it, probably a wise decision. In the few months where he was getting on base and piling up hits, we fooled ourselves into thinking that he'd really improved at the plate. The huge slump of the last few weeks shows that he's still the same guy for the most part and that hot streak was completely out of character. We would all rather have him than Stephen Drew but the Red Sox screwed themselves by overpaying that sack of crap. Furthermore, Iglesias has been playing third base but his natural position is shortstop (where I predict one day he'll win a Gold Glove).

Boston was about to have a logjam on the left side of the infield anyways with Will Middlebrooks hopefully returning to the club later this season if he continues to work out his issues on the field with the PawSox. Plus, the franchise's top prospect-Xander Bogaerts-is already knocking at the door and likely to make his MLB debut any day now. It should be some consolation to Iglesias that he's likely to fall into a great situation since the Tigers are a World Series contender (again) and their starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta is expected to be suspended (as soon as later this week) 50 games for his shady ties to Biogenesis.

Veteran third baseman Michael Young is still on the Phillies and the Red Sox have been mentioned in plenty of rumors involving him earlier this week. I don't know if they'll pull the trigger on that but I'm thinking Peavy will be their biggest new player. I hope they trade for another reliever though since their bullpen could certainly use some help.

UPDATE 7/31: Brock Holt was called up by the Red Sox to presumably play third base, not Middlebrooks.

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Workman Picks Up 1st MLB Win, Red Sox Bats Come Alive Against Lifeless Mariners

To state the obvious: Joe Saunders (9-10) is not David Price. The Red Sox (64-44 overall, 35-20 home) must have been thrilled to get away from Tampa Bay's ace ( who stymied them twice in less than a week) as Boston beat up on Seattle (50-56 overall, 21-28 away) 8-2 tonight at Fenway Park in the series opener.

Rookie Brandon Workman (1-1) earned his first MLB win but will likely be sent to the bullpen (more on that in a subsequent post). He went six innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. Kendry Morales (2 hits) actually gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single but they wouldn't score again until Henry Blanco's garbage time RBI single in the ninth.

Boston had 11 hits, led by Shane Victorino's (3 for 4 with 3 hits, 2 doubles and 2 runs) sixth three-hit game of the season, Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 runs, 3 RBIs) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) both notched a pair of hits as well.

The Red Sox scored twice in the first to take the lead for good. Victorino came home on a passed ball and David Ortiz had an RBI single. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a solo homer into Seattle's bullpen in the second, his fifth homer of the season, and two batters later Pedroia cranked a two-run bomb (his 7th) into the Monster seats.

Pedroia added an RBI single in the fourth and Jarrod Saltalamacchia crushed a two-run homer to right center in the eighth (his 9th).

Tampa Bay stayed red hot with a 5-2 win over Arizona and Baltimore beat Houston 4-3 meaning things at the top of the AL East remained the same. The Rays lead the Red Sox by half a game and Boston is up 4.5 games on the Orioles.

Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) John Lackey (7-8) takes on Hisashi Iwakuma (10-4) in the middle game of the series.

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Matt Moore Tosses 1st Career Shutout And Here Come The Rays

Death, taxes and the Rays playing well in the second half: three things you can count on in life. Tampa Bay (59-41 overall, 25-22 away) pulled to within half a game of Boston (60-41 overall, 33-18 home) with a 3-0 win in the series opener at Fenway Park tonight. The Rays have won an astonishing 18 of their last 20 contests and this victory made them 4-9 against the Red Sox in 2013.

Matt Moore (14-3) was brilliant, showing why he's firmly in the conversation for the AL Cy Young this season by throwing his first career shutout-a two-hitter no less-with four strikeouts and one walk. Brett Anderson (Oakland, 2009) was the only other visiting lefty to throw a two-hit shutout at Fenway since 1990 which shows you how difficult it is.

Brandon Workman (0-1) made his second MLB start and once again, he did more than enough to earn another turn in the rotation. He went six innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Former Red Sox great James Loney drove in the first two runs for Tampa Bay with a sacrifice fly in the first that scored Ben Zobrist (3 for 5, run, stolen base) then an RBI single in the fifth. Desmond Jennings gave Moore an insurance run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly of his own, not the young lefty needed it. Moore wrapped it up in 109 pitches and a tidy 2:52 which was all you could ask for after Sunday's marathon win over the Yankees in 11 innings.

Neither team had an extra base hit and the Red Sox only recorded singles by David Ortiz and Mike Napoli. Another loss by Boston tomorrow night as Jon Lester (8-6) faces Roberto Hernandez (5-10) would put Tampa Bay in first place in the AL East.

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Red Sox Lose 3-2 In 11 innings To A's In 1st Half Finale But There Is Plenty To Be Excited About

Technically we're well past the halfway point of the 2013 MLB regular season but this afternoon in Oakland represented the unofficial end of the first half as the A's (56-39 overall, 30-15 home) snuck away with a 3-2 win in 11 innings over the Red Sox (58-39 overall, 27-23 away) thanks to Josh Donaldson's walk-off bloop single. Despite losing the series to the A's (2-1), Boston only needs to go 32-33 after the All-Star break to reach 90 wins which is a good marker for possible playoff squads.

With the most wins in MLB, Boston is up 2.5 games on Tampa Bay and 4.5 games on Baltimore for first place in the American League East. Nobody expected them to play this well so far and I mean absolutely nobody. Losing the final two contests in Oakland and scoring a grand total of two runs in those games means that the Red Sox hit the All-Star break at the perfect time.

In his first MLB start, Brandon Workman had a no-hit bid ended in the top of the seventh and no outs when Coco Crisp legged out an infield single. Workman's day was over soon after that but he should be proud of what he accomplished: 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. Former Red Sox legend Bartolo Colon (6.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 hits, 4 strikeouts) was nearly as sharp which is impressive since the 2013 All-Star must have been daydreaming about all the food he'll throw down in New York this week.

Boston was 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and they left nine runners on base so it's not hard to figure out why they lost. Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 5, run) wrapped up an excellent (minus the vanishing power) first half with another three-hit game. Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, double, walk) put the Red Sox up 1-0 with an RBI single in the sixth and Brock Holt made it 2-0 with an RBI single of his own in the seventh.

The A's only managed five hits as a team with Donaldson providing all the thunder: he tied it with a two-run bomb (438 feet) to dead center off Workman in the seventh.

Fittingly, the Red Sox bullpen was busy. Craig Breslow got five outs and Koji Uehara pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Matt Thornton's (0-4) Red Sox debut was not a memorable one, at least for the right reasons, as he walked two and allowed Donaldson's game-winning single.

Sean Doolittle got five outs for Oakland then Grant Balfour struck out the side in the ninth. Ryan Cook (2-2) was shaky but he ended up with two scoreless innings after striking out Holt (looking) to end the Top of the 11th with the bases loaded.

I wouldn't say this about many teams in MLB but the Red Sox definitely earned a four day break. Clay Buchholz (still on the DL), David Ortiz and Pedroia head to New York for the All-Star Game at Citi Field while the rest of the team gets a short vacation.

Boston just survived a 10-game road trip (5-5) so when they return to action on Friday, it'll be the start of two series at Fenway Park: three vs. Yankees (51-44 overall, 4th in AL East) and four vs. Rays. Their next home game isn't until July 26 at Baltimore which is only five days before the trade deadline.

Enjoy your time away from baseball (I'm not counting the silly Home Run Derby and All-Star game) although these next four days have to be the worst in the sports calendar every single year with so little going on of any importance.

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David Ortiz: Greatest DH In MLB History? He's Got the Hits To Back it Up

One of the best parts about baseball is the history, none of the other major sports in America can instantly conjure up so many memories of past legends like MLB. That's what makes routine 11-4 blowout wins for the Red Sox (56-37 overall, 25-21 away) like tonight against the Mariners (40-51 overall, 22-24 home) at Safeco Field more memorable than you'd think.

David Ortiz was 2 for 3 with a two-run homer, double, sacrifice fly and two runs as he became the all-time leader in hits (1670 after tonight) for a designated hitter. He passed Harold Baines while former Mariners great Edgar Martinez is generally regarded as the best DH even though he's not in the Baseball Hall of Fame (he should be). Let the endless debates begin!

Ortiz's amazing season and by extension career was the obvious individual storyline but for the Red Sox as a team, it was the continued improvement of Felix Doubront (7 innings, 1 earned run, 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) who notched his third quality start in a row. Like John Lackey, Boston really needs Doubront (6-3) to pitch well since Jon Lester has been awful after April and Clay Buchholz hasn't pitched for over a month now.

It always helps when the Red Sox score double-digit runs (for the second straight game and the 11th time this season) with 12 hits and seven walks. In fact the winning team in the first three games of this series has scored 11 runs each time.

Jacoby Ellsbury was 3 for 4 with two runs, a double and RBI, extending his hitting streak to an MLB-best 18 games. Shane Victorino went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run.

Boston went up 9-0 by the sixth inning so they were able to comfortably withstand rookie reliever Brandon Workman's shaky MLB debut. He allowed three runs in the eighth including a solo homer to light-hitting Brendan Ryan-the first batter he faced. He rebounded nicely though to get a 1-2-3 ninth and more importantly, save Boston's patchwork bullpen.

The Red Sox will try to win the series (3 out of 4) tomorrow afternoon (3:40, NESN) as Ryan Dempster (5-8) faces Erasmo Ramirez (0-0) who's making his first start of 2013.

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