Anthony Ranudo Earns Win in MLB Debut, New Look Red Sox Beat Yankees 4-3

Even with Yoenis Cespedes on the bench (his flight from Oakland arrived late this afternoon in Boston), I have to say that I looked forward to tonight's Red Sox (49-60 overall, 27-29 home) game as much as any others that I can remember from this very forgettable season. Seeing a team that was basically half Pawtucket Red Sox beat the Yankees (55-53 overall, 30-27 away) 4-3 at Fenway Park was pretty gratifying. Anthony Ranaudo (1-0) made his MLB debut and it was a good one: 6 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 4 walks.

Former Red Sox Chris Capuano (1-2) got the start for New York and he continued to prove that he's nothing special at this stage in his overachieving career. They will probably lose a bunch of games from here on out but I'll give the Red Sox credit for addressing many (who needs pitching?) problems facing the team. You hear all the clichés but it really was cool to see new faces like Allen Craig (1st hit for Boston-a double) blend with youngsters such as Mookie Betts and Will Middlebrooks who are trying to win everyday jobs for next season.

Brock Holt tripled and Dustin Pedroia (2 for 4 w/run) drove him in with an RBI double in the third inning. David Ortiz knocked in Pedroia with an RBI single for a 2-0. Carlos Beltran cut New York's deficit in half with a solo homer in the fourth inning-his 13th of the season. Middlebrooks doubled in the fourth
and David Ross delivered an RBI single that ended with him limping off the field. Clearly his foot is in rough shape so he should be out for a while (DL?).

Beltran came through again with an RBI double in the sixth that scored another former Red Sox-Jacoby Ellsbury. Dustin Pedroia's RBI single in the 7th turned out to be the insurance that Boston needed as Derek Jeter hit a solo homer over the Monster in the eighth.

Another PawSox Tommy Layne pitched a 1-2-3 7th and Junichi Tazawa surrendered the homer to Jeter before Koji Uehara locked it down with a 1-2-3 9th (1 strikeout/13 total pitches) for his 22nd save of the season.

It's another wretched (at least on paper) pitching matchup tomorrow afternoon (4:05, NESN): Allen Webster (1-0) vs. Shane Greene (3-10). Did I mention that it's supposed to rain all day? So yeah, might want to skip out on the tickets that you know your friends, family and co-workers will be trying to dump on you.

UPDATE 8/2: The Red Sox sent Ranaudo back to Pawtucket (womp womp) and added Joe Kelly to the active roster. Additionally, Ross went on the DL and the Red Sox called up catcher Dan Butler from the PawSox. Finally, Yoenis Cespedes is in the lineup this afternoon and playing left field in his Red Sox debut.

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Another Crappy Weekend for the Red Sox, Who Dropped 3 of 4 in the Bronx

Nobody is really paying attention yet (and why should they?) but the Red Sox certainly aren't doing anything special to make us want to watch good old April baseball. By losing 3-2 to the Yankees on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, Boston (5-8 overall, 3-4 away) showed that they still lack any type of spark to get them going. They scored a combined total of 11 runs in the four games. Who knows, maybe manager John Farrell's ejection in the fourth inning-disputing a double play that ended up scoring a run for New York (7-6 overall, 4-3 home)-will be the start of something.

Dustin Pedroia was a late scratch to the lineup with a sore wrist (something that'll be checked in Boston tomorrow) while Derek Jeter was already out with a quad injury. So yeah, ESPN must have been thrilled that two of the biggest stars in the game were on the bench or in the clubhouse for a primetime game. Oh and Koji Uehara was still unavailable but he did throw long toss so that is a positive development.

It was a classic Felix Doubront (1-2) start as he looked terrible but somehow ended up with good numbers (6.2 innings, 3 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 strikeouts and 3 walks). Ivan Nova (2-1) was another guy coming off a horrid previous start yet he bounced back with 7.1 innings, two earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and zero walks.

You knew that it was going to be a strange game when Jonathan Herrera's RBI single in the second inning plated the first run. Carlos Beltran (3 hits, double) hit a two-run homer in the third, a Yankee Stadium special that went 353 feet (one or two rows deep in left field).

Francisco Cervelli hurt his hamstring on the play but he was ruled safe at first in the fourth which allowed Brian McCann to score a run. Mike Napoli cut it to 3-2 with a solo shot (his 3rd of the season) in the sixth inning.

The Red Sox had enough chances to score again but they couldn't take advantage. Public Enemy No. 1 in that regard was Mike Carp who struck out with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning. You have to wonder if his days are numbered here, especially when Shane Victorino returns. They also hit many balls that landed on the warning track or that Yankee outfielders (Jacoby Ellsbury and Ichiro) made great plays on. David Robertson is on the DL and Mariano Rivera is retired but Shawn Kelley retired Boston 1-2-3 in the ninth with two strikeouts for his third save of the season.

Boston gets a day off on Monday, only their second of the season and first since the day after Opening Day when they went to the White House. I'd say that this team needs another break. They'll return on Tuesday for three games in Chicago against the White Sox (7-6 overall, 2nd in AL Central). All 8:10 p.m. starts, Jake Peavy (0-0) faces his former club and rookie Erik Johnson (0-0) on Tuesday, Clay Buchholz (0-1) takes on John Danks (0-0) on Wednesday and Jon Lester (1-2) meets fellow ace Chris Sale (3-0) on Thursday in what should be a beauty of a pitcher's duel.

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As They Have All Season, Red Sox Bounce Back With Win-This Time in Game 4 of the World Series

Even in professional sports, the best teams-ones that win championships-often defy logical explanation, that's what makes them so fun to follow. Isn't that how you would describe the Red Sox in 2013? An overachieving group that consistently finds ways to squeeze everything out of their diverse talents. In the biggest game of the season, Clay Buchholz was limited to four innings but five relievers helped Boston hold off St. Louis 4-2 in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series at subdued Busch Stadium.

The Red Sox' win tonight makes it 2-2 and guarantees a Game 6 back at Fenway Park, now the question is who will be playing for a title in that one. Game 5 is tomorrow night (8:07, Fox), the third game in three nights in St. Louis with Jon Lester (1-0) facing Adam Wainwright (0-1). After Game 3's bizarre ending, Game 4 staked its claim in baseball history as pinch runner Kolten Wong was picked off first base by Koji Uehara (1st save) to end it.

Boston received contributions from many guys as usual but Felix Doubront (2.2 innings of relief, 3 strikeouts) picked up the win and Jonny Gomes hit the deciding three-run homer in the sixth inning. Carlos Beltran gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single but ironically he was the guy at the plate when Wong committed his most unforgivable of mistakes. It was only Uehara's third successful pickoff of his MLB career.

Naturally, Stephen Drew tied it in the fifth with a sacrifice fly that scored David Ortiz (3 for 3, double, 2 runs, walk) who is hitting 8 for 11 (.727) in the World Series. Lance Lynn (0-1) cruised through the first four innings but he started to fall apart after Boston forced him into long at bats and increased his pitch count.

If the Red Sox win two more games, Gomes' three-run blast in the sixth will go down in Boston sports lore. It was a no-doubter and he celebrated right out of the box but don't tell Braves hardo catcher Brian McCann about that fun detail. He was a last-minute addition to the lineup since Shane Victorino's back tightened up on him.

Craig Breslow's magic is gone but Red Sox manager John Farrell hasn't seemed to figure that out yet. He keeps throwing him out there which isn't resulting in positive outcomes for Boston. Tonight he allowed an RBI single to Matt Carpenter (2 for 5, run) that cut it to 4-2. Junichi Tazawa was summoned to face Matt Holliday with runners on first and second but he retired him on a grounder to second to end the threat.

The last time John Lackey pitched in relief was in 2004 and he hadn't done it in the playoffs since his rookie year (2002) but this evening, he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth for the hold. Who could have imagined that scenario the last few years with all of his drama and poor performances for the Red Sox?

Lester will need to give Boston's taxed bullpen some innings tomorrow night but he should be up to the task after pitching very well in his previous postseason outings. They are at home but now the pressure falls squarely on St. Louis because if they lose Game 5 then they'd have to win twice in Boston which is a tall order for any team even one as good as they have proven to be this October.

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