It's Never A Good Sign When A Scrub Like Bruce Chen Shuts You Down

The Red Sox have made it a habit this season of coming from behind to win games. That has been thrilling for sure but it's not exactly how you want to play every night: finding yourself down by multiple runs and being forced to battle back. Tonight in the series opener at Kaufmann Stadium-home of the multi-colored water fountains-the Royals (59-53 overall, 30-25 home) topped the Red Sox (70-47 overall, 31-26 away) 5-1.

Kansas City only scored in two innings: the first and eighth but that was more than enough to beat Boston when the Red Sox chose to sit red-hot David Ortiz. Perhaps the most telling sign of their struggle at the plate was the fact that Bruce Chen (5-0), one of the only MLB pitchers that I think I could honestly get a hit off of, was dealing like you read about: 7.2 scoreless innings, five hits, two strikeouts and a walk.

This was not vintage Jon Lester (10-7) either, like when he no-hit the Royals back in 2008. Nope, this was the guy that throws way too many pitches (121) and gave up three runs right off the bat. Alex Gordon hit a sacrifice fly and Mike Moustakas (2 hits) drove in two with an RBI single. I'll give him credit for lasting seven innings (3 runs, 1 earned, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) but last time I checked this isn't Little League so he won't be receiving a trophy of any kind.

Chen made that hold up as Boston only managed seven hits, two each for Jacoby Ellsbury and Stephen Drew. Rubby De La Rosa looked great on Tuesday in Houston but predictably against a real MLB team, he struggled big time. Any chances of a Red Sox rally were put to bed as he served up solo homers to Billy Butler and Justin Maxwell.

The only embarrassment that Boston saved themselves from was avoiding a shutout. Jonny Gomes (who batted fourth) doubled with one out in the ninth and Drew (who batted fifth) knocked him in with an RBI single. No worries though as Mike Napoli (dropped down to 6th) proceeded to ground into a double play to end it. He continues to be mired in a soul-crushing slump.

Jake Peavy (9-4) will try to get his new team back on the right track tomorrow night (8:10, NESN) as he takes on Ervin Santana (8-6). Expect Ortiz to be back in the lineup and he'll probably produce too.

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Red Sox & Dodgers On Verge Of A Huge Trade; Boston Beats Kansas City 4-3

I know this sounds crazy but something actually overshadowed the excitement of a Red Sox-Royals game in late August when both can't even dream of the playoffs. Boston (60-66, 30-37 home) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 win in the series opener at Fenway Park this evening against Kansas City (55-69, 29-36 away).

The big news of the night (and the season for that matter) was that the Dodgers and Red Sox were about to make a huge trade. Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto (haha) would be sent to Los Angeles in exchange for first baseman James Loney, pitcher Rubby De La Rosa and prospects Allen Webster (RHP), Ivan DeJesus Jr. (INF) and Jerry Sands (OF). The whole purpose of the move for Boston would be to not only get out from under some awful contracts but also to become younger and most importantly, change the toxic culture in that clubhouse. The deadline for the deal to be completed is Sunday (1:30 p.m. ET) so stay tuned since it looks almost certain to happen because Crawford and Beckett have supposedly said OK (they had no-trade clauses).

Jon Lester (8-10) went seven innings before leaving with a leg cramp. I bet he wanted to share one last beer (or ten) and some Popeye's with the Texas Toughguy before he left for good. Maybe they were able to catch a few songs by Tim McGraw at Gillette Stadium (hate myself for knowing he was there). He allowed three earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

Former Red Sox great Bruce Chen continued to amaze the world simply by the fact that he's still in MLB. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and a walk.

My only takeaway from this win was that Andrew Bailey recorded his first career save for Boston after 1.1 scoreless innings. Alfredo Aceves is upset from losing his closer's job but he had to know it was only temporary until Bailey returned. This is why they traded for him last winter.

David Ortiz returned from the DL and immediately showed the Red Sox what they had been missing: he stroked a two-run single on the first pitch he saw in the first inning. He would later double.

Kansas City tied it in the third on an RBI double by Alex Gordon and solo homer by Eric Hosmer (12th of the season). A run scored on Johnny Giovatella's infield single in the fourth as the Royals went ahead 3-2.

No worries, we've got Pedro Ciriaco (2 hits, stolen base, run) who delivered a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh. Shoutout to Worcester's Tim Collins, a sneaky great lefty reliever for the Royals. He's tiny (5-foot-6) but he throws nearly 100 mph and he struck out Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run) and Ortiz to end the seventh.

Beckett (5-11) is scheduled to face Jeremy Guthrie (2-3) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN), but if he actually shows up on the mound I will definitely cry and throw things at whatever TV or radio I'm listening to. Please let this trade go through!

UPDATE 8/25: Daniel Nava went back to the DL with a sprained wrist. To take his spot and the three guys that went to the Dodgers, the Red Sox called up shortstop Jose Iglesias, outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin and pitcher Junichi Tazawa. Felix Doubront was activated off the DL and he'll start on Sunday.

Oh and Alfredo Aceves was suspended three games (starting tonight) for spazzing out last night after being passed over for the save opportunity. Haha the circus is still in town on Yawkey Way.

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Red Sox Suffer First Series Loss In Kansas City Since 2006

I think I speak for most Boston Red Sox fans when I say that we've become numb to all the poor results and terrible baseball that we have been forced to witness since last September. It's hard to keep track of new lows or rock bottom with this team since they seem to set those standards every series or every week.

Tonight, the Red Sox (12-18, 8-8 away) lost 4-3 to the Royals (11-19, 4-13) in the series finale at Kauffman Stadium. With the win, Kansas City took two out of three in the series, a big accomplishment for a squad that had two wins at home before Boston arrived.

For the Red Sox, a miserable 2012 season continues to get more bleak: they have lost seven of their last eight, they're 2-8 in their last 10 and they finished up a very winnable nine-game stretch against Oakland, Baltimore and Kansas City with a record of 2-7.

Save for a few guys (Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz & Alfredo Aceves), this is a team that still is severely lacking in heart or pride. It feels like they're already mailing it in and the month of May only began last week! Pair that with an aging roster, an overrated and underachieving pitching staff, over-the-hill manager, leaky bullpen, key injuries and here we are: last place in the AL East.

The whole game was basically summed up by the first inning: Kansas City had two outs when Marlon Byrd dropped a routine fly ball that would have been an out. That scored a run then two runs came home on Brayan Pena's double that went into Cody Ross's glove but popped out before he could secure it.

Other than that rocky first, Jon Lester (1-3) was fine but his pitch count (108) killed him. He could only last five innings, allowing the four runs (one earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Clayton Mortensen was great once again, throwing three scoreless frames in relief of Lester. He helped Boston stay in it.

The most unforgivable aspect of this whole rotten series is that Bruce Chen (1-4) picked up a win against Boston. He went 6.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks. This is the same guy that they scored 10 runs against last July.

All of the Red Sox runs came courtesy of Adrian Gonzalez's three-run double in the third. Other than that, they were blanked by Chen, Aaron Crow (hold, 1.1 innings, 1 strikeout) and Jonathan Broxton (seventh save of the season).

Alcides Escobar's RBI double in the fourth was the difference for the Royals.

The Red Sox put runners on first and second with no outs in the ninth but no surprise, they couldn't push across the tying run let alone the go-ahead run. Byrd appeared to get hit on the elbow on a bunt attempt but the umpire didn't call it; with another chance, Bobby V chose to give away an out with a sacrifice, moving the runners to second and third. From there, Ryan Sweeney had a nice at bat but lined out to Alex Gordon in left who made a great diving catch. Former Royal Mike Aviles (2 hits) couldn't be the hero as he grounded out to the shortstop to wrap it up.

The AL Central leading Cleveland Indians (17-13) come to Boston starting tomorrow night for a four-game series. After skipping a start and getting spotted golfing last week (I wish I was lying), expect Josh Beckett (2-3) to receive plenty of well-deserved boos when he faces former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe (4-1) tomorrow (7:10 p.m. NESN). Clay Buchholz (3-1) opposes Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2) on Friday (7:10 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (2-1) gets Josh Tomlin (1-2) on Saturday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Daniel Bard (2-4) faces another ex-Boston pitcher Justin Masterson (1-2) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN).

Starting a six-game homestand (Cleveland, Seattle (2)) would normally be a good thing but considering the Red Sox are 1-10 in their last 11 games at Fenway, I guess it doesn't really matter where Boston plays right now: they will lose anywhere against anyone.

On a serious note, Red Sox PA announcer Carl Beane tragically passed away this afternoon in a car accident so the team is planning to honor him before tomorrow's game. In addition, former outfielder Tom Brunansky is also scheduled to appear (celebrating his AL East clinching catch in 1990).

UPDATE 5/10: Outfielder Daniel Nava was called up from Pawtucket today, he'll bat sixth and play left field. Reliever Justin Thomas was designated for assignment while reliever Clayton Mortensen was optioned to Pawtucket. The Red Sox also released pitcher John Maine who was toiling in the minors, trying to make a comeback to MLB.

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