Red Sox Beat Orioles 3-2 on Walk-off Bloop Hit by Xander Bogaerts

Built like a Beer League softball team with a powerful lineup and nothing close to a No. 1 or No. 2 starting pitcher, Boston's flaws are painfully obvious but few would complain about the results from the first 10 games of the 2015 season.

The Red Sox (7-3 overall, 3-1 home) beat the Orioles (5-5 overall, 2-2 away) 3-2 tonight at Fenway Park in the 1st of 19 meetings this season. Xander Bogaerts' bloop single scored Mike Napoli for the walk-off win. The hit itself was nothing to write home about but Napoli's baserunning was impressive as he broke for the plate from second right away.

It was a strange game since Ubaldo Jimenez (3.2 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks) was ejected in the fourth inning after he drilled Pablo Sandoval in the back with a fastball. This was retaliation for Sandoval's hard slide on Baltimore second baseman Jonathan Schoop earlier in the contest. Since Sandoval was in the baseline, I didn't see the problem with it. Jimenez's mistake was hitting him so high (near his head), if it had been on his side or ample backside, nobody would have cared. Oh baseball.

Joe Kelly had a decent start for the Red Sox (5.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks) but he was done too early with a crazy pitch count (118) that was shades of Dice-K in his painfully mediocre prime. The teams combined for eight pitchers (four apiece) which was nearly as many hits as they produced (9), that's why the game took so long (3:13) without much action.

Baltimore took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when a run scored despite the fact that Chris Davis grounded into a double play. The Orioles made it 2-0 the following inning when catcher Caleb Joseph homered to right (barely out of the reach of Shane Victorino). His first homer of the season was trumped by Ryan Hanigan's two-run blast over the Monster in the home half of the frame. It was the Andover, MA native's first bomb as a Red Sox which had to be a special feeling.

Edward Mujica was first out of Boston's bullpen and he got four outs. Junichi Tazawa pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts and Koji Uehara (1-0) was credited with the win after striking out two batters of his own in a 1-2-3 ninth (10 pitches!).

Literally anything could happen tomorrow afternoon (4:05, NESN) as Clay Buchholz (1-1) faces Chris Tillman (1-1) in a battle of "aces" who are nothing of the sort.

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Well At Least Brock Holt Cares

The Red Sox absolutely still can't score runs but that's ok at the moment since their pitching has been great and they're playing the Twins who are equally terrible. After last night's 1-0 victory, Boston (33-38 overall, 19-19 home) took the middle game of the series 2-1 tonight at Fenway Park vs. Minnesota (32-37 overall, 17-20 away). It was the third time in a week that they'd scored less than three runs but won, that's pretty hard to do.

Brock Holt (2 for 4, double, 2 runs, stolen base) continued to be one of the only reasons to tune in to the Red Sox at least so this season. He made his MLB debut in center field this evening and obviously turned in a web gem with a diving catch after Jonny Gomes lost the ball in the twilight sky. Magically, he has turned into the leadoff hitter that the team desperately needed.

Jon Lester (8-7) is over .500 for the first time in 2014. He threw 33 pitches in the rocky first inning but hung in there to go 6.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Can Boston just sign him to the long-term deal that he deserves already?

Dustin Pedroia's (2 for 4) RBI double in the first scored Holt and Xander Bogaerts' sacrifice fly in the third plated Holt for the 2-0 lead. Joe Mauer's RBI double in the sixth provided Minnesota's lone run. Former Yankees bust Phil Hughes (7-3; 8 innings, 2 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks) is really coming into his own with the Twins, not that anybody in the world has noticed.

Burke Badenhop and Craig Breslow each notched an out in the seventh before Junichi Tazawa struck out the side in the eighth for the hold (his 7th of the season). Koji Uehara was unavailable (rest) so Edward Mujica was called on for the save. Naturally the compete opposite of what you'd expect actually occurred: he had a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts for his second save as a Red Sox.

It isn't officially summer until Saturday but I say go with it since the weather is finally cooperating. This series wraps up tomorrow afternoon (1:35, NESN) with John Lackey (8-4) facing Kyle Gibson (6-5). Skip work, school or whatever and go to this matchup, mostly to enjoy the sun and see if the Red Sox can earn a rare sweep.

Boston won't return to Fenway until June 30 (vs. Cubs) since they head out on a 10-game road trip after tomorrow's matinee: four in Oakland, three in Seattle and three in New York vs. Yankees. That is a very tough stretch and if they hope to go anywhere this season, they have to at least win half of them.

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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?

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Who Needs Ellsbury or Uehara When You've Got Sizemore and Mujica, Wait What?

Does it get any better than Red Sox-Yankees in April? The cold temperatures, empty seats at Yankee Stadium and games that really don't mean that much. With that said, Boston's (5-6 overall, 3-2 away) 4-2 win over New York (5-6 overall, 2-3 home) tonight in the Bronx sure was pleasing. Jon Lester (1-2) had his worst (6.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) of three starts this season but at least the Red Sox won for a change.

Hey gang, did you know that CC Sabathia (1-2) lost a ton of weight? 'Tis true, he also has a dead arm and is a sliver of what he used to be on the mound (literally and figuratively). For a while it looked like the ghost of CC would get the win as Alfonso Soriano's (2 hits) solo homer in the second was the only run through five innings. Boston's bats finally woke up in the sixth thanks to Jonny Gomes' (2 hits) solo homer, his first of the season.

That was nothing though compared to Grady Sizemore's (2 hits) three-run blast later in the inning, his second homer of the season. Sabathia went seven innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and two walks. Boston still needs to improve its hitting with runners on base: they were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.

Lester was cruising until the seventh when a tight strike zone caught up to him. Kelly Johnson's RBI single cut it to 4-2 Red Sox and ended Lester's night. Junichi Tazawa got four outs then turned it over to Edward Mujica. Yes, the guy that was so shaky in the home opener got a chance to close since Koji Uehara's shoulder was stiff. Yikes!

Naturally, Mujica had a 1-2-3 ninth with one strikeout on 13 pitches. Why did we ever doubt him? After splitting the first two games, the teams meet tomorrow afternoon (1:05, NESN) as John Lackey (2-0) takes on Hiroki Kuroda (1-1).

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Edward Mujica Picked the Right Day to Shit The Bed

If ever there was a day for the Red Sox to fall apart in the ninth inning with very few repercussions, this was it. You see today was the final celebration of the 2013 World Champions as Boston faced Milwaukee in its 2014 home opener at Fenway Park. It was a perfect celebration with the ring ceremony while Boston Marathon victims and the Boston firefighters that were killed last week were all honored as well.

A 2-2 game heading into the ninth turned into a 6-2 win for the Brewers (2-2) after they hung four runs on Edward Mujica in the ninth. In truth, the Red Sox (2-2) had no business winning this game anyway as they only managed five hits as a team. They continued to struggle with runners on base, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and leaving five on base.

Jake Peavy still looked very hittable but he went six innings and only allowed two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Something called Marco Estrada basically matched him (5.2 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 6 strikeouts, 3 walks). Milwaukee's underrated catcher Jonathan Lucroy (double, 2 walks) hit a solo homer in the second inning and Carlos Gomez (4 singles) added an RBI single for a 2-0 Brewers lead.

Boston tied it on an RBI single by Ted Williams I mean Grady Sizemore in the second followed by a solo homer for Will Middlebrooks in the third. His first homer of the season went over the Monster, no doubt somewhere Jenny "Boom Boom" Dell smiled while shooting a show on NESN that'll never air. Former Brewers reliever Burke Badenhop (fantastic name) pitched two scoreless innings in his Red Sox debut. Mujica had pitched a scoreless frame at Baltimore on Wednesday but today he simply didn't have it as Milwaukee knocked him around to the tune of four earned runs on four hits.

Bet you didn't know that Lyle Overbay (who was cut in spring training last year with the Red Sox) was still in MLB. He had the go-ahead two-run double in the ninth for the Brewers while Gomez and Aramis Ramirez-who I think has played for every NL Central team-kept the line moving with RBI singles.

Francisco Rodriguez is Milwaukee's closer and even though it wasn't a save situation, he was summoned for the ninth. He got a 1-2-3 inning including one strikeout in 13 pitches.

Boston's enigmatic fifth starter (really) Clay Buchholz makes his first start of 2014 tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) vs. Wily Peralta. As always with Buchholz, he could pitch a no-hitter or also be out for the rest of the season with a sore throat or broken nail. I guess we'll have to wait and see, the good news for the Red Sox is that they don't have any more openers (0-2) this season as far as I know.

UPDATE 4/6: Will Middlebrooks went on the 15-Day DL with a Grade 1 calf strain (whatever that means). Brock Holt was called up from Pawtucket to take his place.

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The Hot Stove Is Really Heating Up On Yawkey Way, Red Sox Add Edward Mujica

In many ways, the offseason of MLB can be far more interesting than much of the predictable monotony of the tedious regular season. The Red Sox continued to tinker with their roster for 2014 as today they added reliever Edward Mujica, formerly of the NL champion Cardinals. The righty signed a two-year deal worth $9.5 million.

Fantasy baseball fans will know Mujica because he came out of nowhere last season to save 37 games for St. Louis (it's funny how that seems to have frequently there). Next season will be his ninth in MLB and fifth team (Indians, Padres, Marlins & Cardinals). He was an All-Star for the first time in 2013 and chugged along as the Cardinals' very solid closer until groin and shoulder injuries derailed his performance level in September. He only appeared in two playoff games for the Cardinals and didn't pitch in the World Series.

Still, at 29 Mujica has a chance to be a good reliever for many additional years. In 65 appearances last season, he was 2-1 with 2.78 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 64.2 innings. He struck out 46 and walked only five so he obviously has great control. Where he fits in Boston's bullpen, we won't know until the spring but you can never have too many good arms. Outside of Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa and Craig Breslow, the Red Sox have plenty of innings to fill from its bullpen if you believe that Brandon Workman will either be a starter or possibly traded. Welcome aboard Chief (his nickname).

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