Blockbuster Trade Alert: Red Sox Send Lester & Gomes to Oakland for Cespedes

It is crazy that it came to this: somehow the Red Sox' front office screwed up things so badly by offering Jon Lester the laughable sum of four years and $70 million in spring training that now he's being shipped to Oakland along with Jonny Gomes for star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and a competitive balance draft pick.

Lester made all the right moves by putting off contract talk during the season and turning in the best year of his career (10-7, 2.52 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 149 strikeouts) while Boston continued to bumble their way through an awful season (48-60). The more time that went by as the Red Sox plummeted and nothing productive seemed to come on Lester's contract front, this was inevitable.

The fact that the Red Sox got Cespedes (.256 batting average, 17 homers, 67 RBIs, .303 OBP, .464 SLG and 12 outfield assists) in return is a nice haul. My head always starts spinning when we start talking about baseball prospects since the reality of the matter is that most of them never turn into anything above average. In the third year of his MLB career after coming over from Cuba, Cespedes is in the peak of his career at age 28 (29 in October, ok sure).

His best season was his rookie year in 2012: .292, 23 homers, 82 RBIs, .356 OBP, .505 SLG, 16 stolen bases and 3.4 WAR). He's a free agent after 2015 so now the question is what Boston will do with him since owner John Henry has publicly stated his disdain for handing out large contracts to players that are 30+. The only thing that worries me about him is his durability; I've noticed this from fantasy baseball (stay with me) but he gets a million little nagging injuries causing him to play 129 games in 2012 and 135 last season. He's only missed six so far for Oakland this season.

Lester said last weekend (after his final Red Sox start) that he'd re-sign here if he was traded but if you believe that, you are one gullible human being. I don't understand how the Red Sox could dust themselves off and suddenly give him a much better deal this winter when he's a free agent since basically half of MLB will be bidding for his services.

Seeing Lester on another team will certainly be strange, the Red Sox are the only professional team that's he ever known after getting called up in 2006. I wouldn't say this about many guys but he truly grew up here in the spotlight: beating Lymphoma and pitching the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2007 and 2013 (getting the clinching win both times). With a career record of 110-63 with 3.64 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 1386 strikeouts, he had become one of the top pitchers (lefty or righty) in MLB. You can make a good case for him being the best playoff pitcher in the game at the moment. He's 6-4 with 2.11 ERA and 1.04 WHIP including 4-1 last fall (2 wins vs. St. Louis) with 1.56 ERA and 0.95 WHIP that earned him the World Series MVP.

There are 54 pointless games left in this miserable season for the Red Sox but at least we can take heart in the fact that Lester being on the A's (66-41)-the top team in MLB-makes the postseason that much more interesting. As for Gomes (.234, 6 homers, 32 RBIs, .329 OBP, .354 SLG), Boston got what they could out of him last season but his tough guy/Captain America routine looked even more silly in 2014 when the team sucked and he played like the worst left fielder in baseball history (somewhere Wily Mo Pena smiles). He hadn't reached the level of that stiff Felix Doubront, who was traded to the Cubs yesterday for the mysterious player to be named later (or a tin of dip and a jock strap?), but I doubt anyone will miss Gomes let alone notice that he's gone.

For the next 3.5 hours, we wait to see if Boston makes some more moves. It sounds like John Lackey (Cardinals or Dodgers) and Andrew Miller (Braves or Dodgers) are also on the next flights out of Logan. Might as well make as many prudent trades that they can to reload for 2015 and beyond.



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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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Red Sox Take Opening Series With Orioles

After losing the season opener on Monday, the Red Sox bounced back to win on Wednesday and tonight 4-3 against the Orioles (a team that has owned them the last few years) at Camden Yards to take the series (2-1). Boston (2-1) showed that it can win a close game, on the road, versus a quality opponent.

This game shouldn't have been so close since once again the Red Sox struggled with runners in scoring position (2 for 10) and they left nine on base. However, they put up 14 hits as a team so they were able to do just enough to scratch out their second straight victory.

It was mostly about the youngsters as Xander Bogaerts was 3 for 4 with two runs, Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4 with a double and run while Jackie Bradley Jr. was 2 for 4 with a run and RBI. Felix Doubront (1-0) wasn't great (5.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 6 hits, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk) but David Ortiz was (3 for 5 with RBI) like always. I would say the most impressive contribution was Koji Uehara's 1-2-3 ninth for his first of the season; he threw only seven pitches and that included a strikeout!

Boston spread its runs out into four different innings. Middlebrooks killed a possible big inning with a double play ball in the second but a run still scored. Ortiz had an RBI single in the third and David Ross added one in the fourth for a 3-0 Red Sox lead.

Matt Wieters (3 for 4 with run and RBI) gave Baltimore its first run with an RBI double in the fourth, Delmon Young knocked him in with a single. Bradley Jr.'s RBI single in the sixth turned out to be important since Chris Davis (2 for 4 with double, 2 runs) scored a run on Brandon Workman's wild pitch. Things settled down from there as Springfield MA native Chris Capuano had a 1-2-3 seventh with one strikeout in his Red Sox debut. Junichi Tazawa worked around two hits for a scoreless eighth.

The action packed week continues for the Red Sox as they host the Milwaukee Brewers (1-2) this weekend at Fenway Park, the start of a six-game homestand that also includes three vs. Texas (2-1). Tomorrow (2:05, NESN) is the 2014 home opener where Boston will get their World Series rings and celebrate that team one last time.

As for the games, Jake Peavy faces Marco Estrada tomorrow, Clay Buchholz takes on Wily Peralta Saturday night (7:10, NESN) and Jon Lester (0-1) meets Yovani Gallardo (1-0) Sunday afternoon (1:35, NESN) in a battle of aces that should be awesome.

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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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Another Head-Scratching Brutal Loss By a Boston Sports Team, This Time in the World Series!

When the Patriots lost last Sunday on a call that had never been made before in NFL history, we shrugged our shoulders (after throwing things at the TV) and said, oh well "it's only October." It was a much different story tonight as the Red Sox lost 5-4 to the Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2013 World Series at Busch Stadium. St. Louis takes a 2-1 lead in the series with Game 4 tomorrow night (8:15, Fox).

The winning run came home on an obstruction call against Will Middlebrooks vs. Allen Craig that negated what would have been one of the most famous double plays (Pedroia to Salty to Middlebrooks and back to Salty). It's impossible to make a full-proof case either way on that plus Salty was dumb to throw it to third to begin with; what I'm more interested in is the fact that it apparently had only decided a game once before in MLB history (a 2004 regular season game: Tampa Bay vs. Seattle) so it will keep us up at night wondering why this had to happen?

Of course, this ignores the fact that Boston was lucky to be hanging around in many ways. They are struggling to hit again like in the ALCS (aside from Game 1's blowout). The Red Sox only had six hits tonight while the Cardinals had 12. Likewise, St. Louis left 12 men on base and Boston only left six. In the biggest start of his career, Jake Peavy could only give his team four lousy innings. You get the point.

St. Louis wasted no time grabbing a pair of runs in the first on RBI singles by Matt Holliday (double, run) and Yadier Molina (3 hits, walk). Joe Kelly (5.1 innings, 2 earned runs, 2 hits, 6 strikeouts, 3 walks), another child that throws nearly 100 MPH for St. Louis kept Boston scoreless through the first four innings before Xander Bogaerts tripled to lead off the inning and pinch-hitter Mike Carp drove him in with a fielder's choice.

Starting in place of Jonny Gomes, Daniel Nava proved his worth with an RBI single in the sixth that tied it at two. Holliday hit a clutch two-run double in the seventh to put the Cardinals back on top at 4-2. The Red Sox refused to die as they scored twice against Carlos Martinez on Nava's fielder's choice and Bogaerts' chopper up the middle.

Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal blew the save but picked up the cheap win. The good news for the Red Sox is that both Martinez and him threw 20 pitches apiece in high leverage situations; that should tax them if they're used in Game 4. Keep in mind Craig Breslow, Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara all worked as well but Breslow (5) and Uehara (3) were kept to a minimum amount of pitches.

Both leadoff hitters had two hits as Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5 with a run (they've gotta find a way to get him running) while Matt Carpenter was 2 for 5 with two runs. Fat lard Matt Adams was 2 for 5 with a double for St. Louis.

I'm confident in terming tomorrow night's game a must-win for the Red Sox; they won't win three in a row (facing elimination) against the Cardinals, they're too good and I doubt that their pitching would crack like that. If you're positive, Boston's most talented pitcher Clay Buchholz takes the ball and they've been so resilient all season. However, he's been shaky in this postseason plus all these rumors swirl about his bizarre health status. Another kernel of positivity: St. Louis starter Lance Lynn stinks so maybe Boston's bats from Game 1 will reappear. All I do know is that it should be another hell of a game, let's just hope this time it doesn't end on some cheesy call (either way) that makes us want robot umpires.

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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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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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Red Sox Return Home Just In Time To Throw Orioles A Beating Like You Read About

Shane Victorino's career-high seven RBIs (2 HRs-his 10th and 11th of the season, 2B, 4 runs, BB) pushed Boston (78-55 overall, 41-23 home) to an easy 13-2 blowout win tonight at Fenway Park over Baltimore (70-60 overall, 32-31 away) in the series opener and start of a critical nine-game homestand. The good vibes continued after the game as the Rays choked away a 5-1 lead to the Angels, losing 6-5. That gave the Red Sox a 2.5 game lead in the AL East (their highest in two weeks).

They had a day off in between but Boston picked up right where they left off on Sunday night-the 8-1 stomping of the Dodgers. Victorino wasn't the only Red Sox to go nuts at the plate as Jacoby Ellsbury was 3 for 5 with three runs and a double while Dustin Pedroia went 3 for 5 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run.

Porn stars take note: the Mike Napoli of this past April has returned, he smacked his 17th homer of the season. Pedroia and Jonny Gomes had two-run doubles and Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4 with two runs. It's easy to overlook because of the lopsided final score but Felix Doubront (10-6) had his second quality start in a row: 6.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts and 1 walk.

David Ortiz's sacrifice fly in the first inning gave Boston a 1-0 lead but Baltimore actually scored twice in the third (on a bases loaded walk and sacrifice fly) to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Red Sox exploded for 10 runs over the next three innings to put this way out of reach. The Orioles only managed four hits on the night.

The second and final night of the Jimmy Fund telethon (donate!) wraps up tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) with John Lackey (8-11) taking on Bud Norris (9-10).

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At This Point, Barry Zito Is Straight Up Stealing Money From the Giants

The Giants have already mailed it in for 2013 and the Red Sox were able to take advantage of that clear fact this afternoon with a 12-1 pounding at AT&T Park in their interleague series finale. Boston (75-54 overall, 35-31 away) had the pleasure of teeing off on piñata Barry Zito (4-9): 3.2 innings, 6 earned runs, 7 hits. San Francisco (56-70 overall, 32-33 home) lost two of three in the series and they remain in last place in the weak NL West.

The Red Sox also received some help (finally) from the Orioles as they beat the Rays 4-2, giving Boston a one-game lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay. By pounding out 12 hits (6 for extra bases), they were able to go into tomorrow's off day with some smiles. Felix Doubront (9-6) was excellent, he went eight innings and allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

Three players on Boston had multiple hits led by Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 4 with 2 runs, double and MLB-leading 46th steal), Shane Victorino (3 for 5 with run, double and RBI) and Dustin Pedroia (2 doubles, 2 runs and RBI). As they have usually done this season after a humbling loss, the Red Sox bounced back immediately with an important victory.

Will Middlebrooks (2 runs, walk) started the barrage with a two-run homer in the second, his 11th of the season. Light-hitting Joaquin Arias (2 hits) provided the Giants' only run with a solo shot in the second. Pedroia had an RBI double in the third and Jonny Gomes notched a two-run single.

San Francisco had totally checked out by the time they let Victorino's harmless fly ball drop in for an RBI double in the fourth. The only bad news of the day for Boston is that David Ortiz left in the fifth inning with lower back tightness. Yikes, hopefully he'll be alright for this weekend in Los Angeles. The Red Sox poured it on in the seventh with five runs on a two-run single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew's three-run blast (his 10th of the season). The Giants gave Boston one more parting gift-an error in the eighth that plated their final run.

This weekend's series against the Dodgers (74-52, 1st in NL West) will be really hyped and for once, I'll say that it totally should be. Since their poor start, the Dodgers have been on fire and they feature rookie Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig-possibly the most exciting player in MLB this season. Oh and who could forget former Red Sox greats Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto (RIP Josh Beckett) who were traded to LA basically at this time last year.

Boston is lucky to miss both Clayton Kershaw (who pitches tomorrow vs. Miami) and Zach Greinke (who pitched today). Instead, it'll be John Lackey (8-10) vs. Ricky Nolasco (9-9) on Friday (10:10, NESN), followed by Jon Lester (11-7) vs. Hyun Jin Ryu (12-4) on Saturday afternoon (4:05, FOX) and culminating with Jake Peavy (9-5) against Springfield Mass native Chris Capuano (4-6) on Sunday night (8:05, ESPN).

Boston should have swept San Francisco but I'd take two out of three at Dodger Stadium in a heartbeat. This truly could represent a World Series preview for this fall and promises to be one of the best series of the regular season.

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If Buchholz Ever Decides To Return This Season, The Red Sox Would Have Some Kind of Rotation

They are doing it in many different ways and the bottom line is that the Red Sox continue to stack up victories and series wins in 2013, a far cry from 2012 (only 1 win away from last year's pathetic total). Boston (68-45 overall, 39-21 home) moved to a season-high 23 games over .500 with a 4-0 shutout of the Diamondbacks (56-55 overall, 26-31 away) this afternoon at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox have the most wins in MLB, one more than the Braves and Pirates, and they won the series (2-1) while wrapping up a memorable homestand (5-2 with a pair of walk-off wins and Jake Peavy's debut being the main highlights besides today). They also lead MLB with 23 series wins.

There was a time when Felix Doubront (8-5) could be counted on for short outings and high pitch counts. This latest quality start marked 15 straight outings where he's given up three runs or less, not bad right? He went seven solid innings, allowing five hits with five strikeouts. My two favorite numbers for him: 95 pitches and zero walks.

Rookie Drake Britton still hasn't allowed a run in MLB, he pitched a scoreless eighth and Koji Uehara had a scoreless ninth (don't ask me why he appeared with a four-run lead). Matt Thornton left with an oblique injury, he was the first guy out of Boston's bullpen.

Brandon McCarthy (2-5) kept Boston off the scoreboard for four innings but Jacoby Ellsbury changed that with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Dustin Pedroia added an RBI double two batters later.

The Red Sox added two more runs in the sixth which was more than enough. Ellsbury and Shane Victorino (2 hits) each had RBI singles. I'd say that the top of the lineup got it done today for Boston. Ellsbury owed his RBI to Arizona right fielder Gerardo Parra who lost his easy fly ball in the sun, this came after a first inning error by Parra.

Cody Ross and Martin Prado each had a pair of singles for the Diamondbacks in the loss.

Boston will play 16 of its next 19 games on the road. There next 10 contests are all away from Fenway (longest road trip of the season), starting with three in Houston (36-74, 5th in NL West)-MLB's worst team-beginning tomorrow night (8:10, NESN) with Texas native John Lackey (7-8) vs. rookie Brett Oberholtzer (1-0). Knuckleballer Steven Wright (2-0) makes his first career MLB start on Tuesday (8:10, NESN) vs. Jordan Lyles (4-5). Ryan Dempster (6-8) closes it out at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday (8:10, NESN) against another rookie-Jarred Cosart (1-0). The Red Sox swept a four-game series with the Astros April 25-28 at Fenway.

That's followed by four against the red-hot Royals (seriously) in Kansas City and three in Toronto against the hapless Blue Jays. Boston's next game at Fenway isn't until August 16 vs. Yankees.

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Red Sox Can't Beat David Price or Jerry Meals

In any sport, I hate to blame the refs/umpires/officials since I think it's a juvenile thing to do that's both lazy and petty. However, once in a while you have to acknowledge particularly awful calls. Tonight in a makeup game from last Thursday's rain out, Tampa Bay (63-43 overall, 29-24 away) beat Boston (63-44 overall, 34-20 home) 2-1 at Fenway Park. This put the Rays back on top in the AL East by a half game over the Red Sox.

David Price (6-5) was excellent for the second time in a week against the Red Sox: 7.1 innings, 1 earned run on 2 hits with 8 strikeouts. Felix Doubront's (7-5) old and bad habit of racking up pitches early crept back into his game as he only last five innings because he threw 104 pitches.

The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Sean Rodriguez's RBI double that scored Yunel Escobar (2 for 3). Wil Myers' (single, walk, stolen base) fielder's choice made it 2-0 in the following frame. Evan Longoria was 2 for 5 with a double and run.

Getting a rare start, Brandon Snyder cut it to 2-1 in the sixth inning with a sliced shot off Pesky's Pole in right. The controversial play happened in the eighth as Daniel Nava was called out on what would have been a sacrifice fly by Snyder. It was a bang bang play at the plate but replays showed that Nava's foot touched the plate before he was tagged. John Farrell was thrown out for arguing the bogus call which home plate umpire Jerry Meals later admitted was a mistake on his part. Nava also deserves some blame from the previous play when he should have scored a run on Stephen Drew's double to right.

Boston threatened in the ninth as Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a single, stole second base and eventually ended up at third base with Jose Iglesias (who pinch ran for David Ortiz) on second. Fernando Rodney struck out Mike Napoli to end it for his 26th save of the season.

Even though they lost on what should have been an off day, the Red Sox catch a break with six more games at Fenway during this homestand against teams from outside the AL East that they need to beat: 3 vs. Seattle (50-55, 3rd in AL West) and 3 vs. Arizona. Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) Brandon Workman (0-1) faces Joe Saunders (9-9). On Wednesday (7:10, NESN) hours after the non-waiver trade deadline passes, John Lackey (7-8) takes on Hisashi Iwakuma (10-4). Finally, Thursday (7:10, NESN) Ryan Dempster (6-8) battles Felix Hernandez (11-4).


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David Price Throws Tampa Bay's Second Gem In 3 Days

There are plenty of reasons for Red Sox fans to fear the Rays: they are fearless, overachievers, energized, they always seem to have great chemistry and Joe Maddon is an outstanding manager. Perhaps foremost on that list is Matt Moore and David Price. When they're right, neither Boston nor almost any other team in the AL has the arms to match them. Coming two nights after Moore blanked the Red Sox (3-0), Price (5-5) almost matched it as he threw a 5-hitter in Tampa Bay's (60-42 overall, 26-23 away) 5-1 win vs. Boston (61-42 overall, 34-19 home).

The win for the Rays guaranteed at least a split in this pivotal series and more importantly, they can vault into first place in the AL East with a victory tomorrow night. Price's only mistake was a solo homer by Mike Napoli (his 14th of the season) over the Monster in the seventh. Other than that, he struck out four and didn't walk anyone in 97 economical pitches. It was his eighth career complete game and second against the Red Sox for the reigning AL Cy Young winner.

Felix Doubront (7-4) took the loss although it was the 13th straight start that he has allowed three runs or less meaning that he has really come into his own now. In 6.2 innings, he allowed three earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks. On most nights with the way Boston scores runs, that's more than enough.

Wil Myers (2 hits, walk, stolen base) had a two-run single in the third and Luke Scott drove in Ben Zobrist (2 hits, stolen base) for a 3-0 lead. The Rays tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on RBI singles by James Loney (2 hits) and Jose Molina. Tampa Bay had 11 hits and scored five runs without the use of an extra base hit which is impressive.

Napoli also had a double and Shane Victorino contributed two singles so that pair of guys accounted for 80% (4/5) of Boston's hits.

John Lackey (7-7, 2.95 ERA) faces Jeremy Hellickson (9-3, 4.62 ERA) tomorrow (7:10, NESN) which favors the Red Sox given Lackey's top-notch performance this season.

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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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Red Sox Sweep Day-Night Doubleheader With Rays, Continue To Own Tampa Bay This Season

It was a particularly long but ultimately enjoyable day of baseball at Fenway Park as the Red Sox beat the Rays 5-1 and 3-1 in a day-night doubleheader. With the pair of victories, Boston (44-29 overall, 23-14 home) is a mind-blowing 9-2 against Tampa Bay (36-35 overall, 15-19 away) this season. So the Red Sox own the Rays and the Orioles own the Red Sox in 2013, got it?

Alfredo Aceves (4-1) had another good spot start in the first game before the rain came. After a 2:59 rain delay, Boston extended its 4-1 lead with an RBI triple by Shane Victorino (2 hits, 2 runs, stolen base) in the sixth inning. Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, 3 runs) had tripled before Victorino's three-base hit.

The Red Sox never trailed in the first game as Dustin Pedroia had a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Crazy Luke Scott tied it with an RBI double in the second inning but David Ortiz answered with a two-run single in the third then an RBI single in the fifth.

Aceves didn't return after the rain delay (obviously) so Junichi Tazawa, Andrew Miller, Koji Uehara and Craig Breslow each pitched in with a scoreless frame for Boston.

Game 2 was the Felix Doubront show with appearances by Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes. Doubront pitched the best (and longest) game of his MLB career: 8 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 6 strikeouts and 0 walks. At 93 pitches, it was surprising when Red Sox manager John Farrell lifted him for closer Andrew Bailey (3-0). Predictably, Bailey blew his third save of the season on Kelly Johnson's solo homer.

No problem, Nava walked to start the bottom of the ninth against Joel Peralta (1-3) which set the stage for a two-run walk-off homer by Gomes (his 5th of the season) over the Monster. Nava's solo homer in the second, his 10th of the season, looked like it might be the only run.

David Ross (concussion) went on the 7-day DL and Clay Buchholz (neck) was placed on the 15-day DL so catcher Ryan Lavarnway and reliever Alex Wilson were called up from Pawtucket. Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as we all get ready for Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final, Ryan Dempster (4-7) opposes Jeremy Hellickson (4-3) in the series finale.

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Red Sox Take 3 of 4 From Indians Thanks To Ellsbury's Walk-off 2-Run Double

Every good season in MLB features at least a few signature wins and memorable moments. Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) provided the best win of 2013 for the Red Sox with a walk-off two-run double against the Indians for a 6-5 Red Sox victory. It was the team's fourth walk-off win of the season.

With the Red Sox win and a Yankees loss, Boston and New York are now tied atop the AL East.

Boston (31-20 overall, 16-11 home) ripped Cleveland's (27-22 overall, 12-12 road) heart out in back-to-back games with a pair of improbable comebacks (their bullpen had been 8-0 going into Saturday's contest) which led to a series win (3-1) and three consecutive wins for the home team. The Red Sox finished the season series 5-1 against former manager Terry Francona's new squad.

Boston trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the eighth before Jose Iglesias' sacrifice fly cut it to 5-2. Mike Napoli and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each had RBI ground outs to bring Boston within a run in the ninth. Indians closer Chris Perez (0.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 hits, 3 walks) was the main scapegoat for Cleveland even though Joe Smith came in for one pitch-Ellsbury's two-run double-that cost the Indians the game. Making matters worse, Perez had to leave the game with an arm/shoulder injury.

Felix Doubront pitched well (6 IP, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks) but the immoral Corey Kluber (6.2 IP, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk) was even better for the Indians.

Ellsbury and Stephen Drew (3 for 4 with double, triple, 3 runs) cost Boston a pair of runs in the first as they let Carlos Santana's pop up to center drop in for two runs.

Daniel Nava got the Red Sox started with an RBI single in the third inning. Jason Kipnis (3 runs, 2 hits) hit the cheapest homer you can get in Fenway, 319 feet around Pesky's Pole, for a solo shot in the fifth and Nick Swisher (2 hits) added a solo homer of his own in the sixth but at least his went well over the Monster-a little more impressive. Swisher's sacrifice fly in the eighth made it 5-1 as Cleveland looked poised to get a series split.

Alex Wilson pitched a scoreless seventh for the Red Sox and Craig Breslow (2-0) went the last two innings and earned the win despite allowing Swisher's sac fly.

The weather is finally supposed to get nice tomorrow-fittingly for Memorial Day-and Boston begins Interleague play for this season with two games at Fenway against the Phillies (24-26, 3rd in NL East) then two in the City of Brotherly Love. Clay Buchholz was scratched from tomorrow night's (7:10 p.m., NESN) start after he slept wrong on his collarbone holding his baby (haha OK?) and Alfredo Aceves (1-1) will make a spot start against rookie Tyler Cloyd (1-0). On Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Ryan Dempster (2-5) faces Cliff Lee (5-2). Wednesday night (7:05 p.m., NESN) at Citizens Bank Park, John Lackey (3-4) takes on Kyle Kendrick (4-3) and on Thursday night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (6-1) meets rookie Jonathan Pettibone (3-0).

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Red Sox Use The Long Ball (Grand Slam, 3-Run HR) To Beat A's 9-6

The Red Sox probably won't be one of the American League leaders in home runs this season but tonight, they couldn't have asked for much more timely power. Mike Napoli hit a grand slam and Will Middlebrooks added a three-run shot as Boston beat Oakland 9-6 in the series opener at chilly Fenway Park.

Boston (13-6 overall, 9-4 home) had lost both games in a day-night doubleheader on Sunday to Kansas City so this was a nice way to bounce back against a quality opponent. The A's were swept in Tampa Bay last weekend so they have now lost four games in a row.

Felix Doubront (2-0) threw a career-high 113 pitches in 6.2 IP. He allowed three earned runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and five walks. Oakland (12-8 overall, 6-4 road) scored a pair of runs in the second inning on a wild pitch and former Red Sox great Josh Reddick's RBI single.

Napoli (who leads the AL with 25 RBIs, seriously) got the Red Sox on the board with an RBI double in the second then Middlebrooks crushed his homer (5th of the season) over the Monster in the fourth off A.J. Griffin (2-1). After Chris Young's sacrifice fly in the fifth, Napoli responded with his grand slam (fourth homer of the season) in the home half to end Griffin's night and Jarrod Saltalamacchia added an RBI double for the 9-3 lead.

Boston appeared to be on their way to an easy win but Clayton Mortensen allowed a two-run double to Josh Donaldson in the eighth and Reddick chased him with an RBI double of his own. This meant that Junichi Tazawa had to come in and get the last two outs of the eighth (no problem) for his fifth hold of the season. Working his third day in a row (meaning that he won't possibly be available tomorrow), closer Andrew Bailey pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts for his fourth save of the season.

If the rain holds off enough to play a baseball game, Alfredo Aceves (1-0) is scheduled to face Bartolo Colon (2-0) tomorrow night (6:35 p.m., NESN). The game-time temperature was 45 tonight and it's expected to be even colder tomorrow with rain all day.

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Red Sox Win Their Fourth Straight, 7-2 Over Indians In First Game After Marathon Bombings

The Red Sox will lose plenty of games this season but it was nice that they could do their very small part to bring some smiles to a stunned region tonight. Since the Bruins' game was postponed last night and the Celtics' game tonight was cancelled, the Red Sox had the honor of being the first Boston team to play after the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Boston (9-4 overall, 5-2 away) opened up a three-game set at nearly empty Progressive Field with a 7-2 win over Terry Francona's Indians (5-7 overall, 2-4 home). It was their fourth straight win after sweeping Tampa Bay. The game took 3:30 but really the second inning was all that mattered. Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) couldn't get out of it as the Red Sox batted around and scored all seven of their runs. Part of the reason it took so long was that Boston struck out 16 times and walked nine times.

Felix Doubront (1-0) was the lucky recipient of the offensive explosion/Jimenez's meltdown. He had his usual five inning outing with two earned runs on four hits, seven strikeouts and four walks on 104 pitches.

David Ross walked with the bases loaded to start the onslaught in the second. Pedro Ciriaco hit a sacrifice fly then Jacoby Ellsbury (run, stolen base) knocked in a run with a single. Dustin Pedroia walked with the bases loaded then Mike Napoli (double, run) cleared the bases with a wall ball double.

Former Red Sox great "Friendly" Mike Aviles provided Cleveland's first run with a sacrifice fly in the second. Their other run came in the fifth on Ross' passed ball. It was a reunion of old Red Sox as Milton, MA native Rich Hill pitched a scoreless eighth for the Indians.

Clayton Mortensen and Alex Wilson both had two scoreless innings of relief for Boston.

Good seats are still available if you want to fly out (haha yeah right) to Cleveland tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN) as Justin Masterson (3-0) faces Alfredo Aceves (0-0). Another former Red Sox, Masterson is off to a brilliant start with an ERA of 0.41, 0.82 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 22 innings.

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John Farrell Must Be Psyched To Be Out Of That Dump Aka Toronto

It is adorable how Toronto is pretending to care about the Blue Jays for a few days while their old manager-John Farrell-is in town with his new team. FYI the Blue Jays haven't made the playoffs in 20 years, since they won the World Series in 1993. Tonight in the series opener at a nearly sold out (which never happens) Rogers Centre, Boston (3-1 overall, 3-1 away) beat Toronto (1-3 overall, 1-3 home) 6-4.

The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-1 lead by the fifth inning but the Blue Jays tied it in the seventh before Boston scored single runs in the eighth and ninth.

Neither Felix Doubront (5 IP, 3 runs, 9 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks) nor Josh Johnson (6 IP, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 9 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) were on top of their games but who could blame them since Boston pounded out 12 hits (including 5 extra base hits) and worked six walks while Toronto had 12 hits (8 for extra bases).

The story for the Red Sox was their first two homers of the season along with some more stellar relief. Jacoby Ellsbury plated the first run of the game, in the second inning, with an RBI single. Mark DeRosa tied it with a sacrifice fly in the home half of the inning but Pedro Ciriaco (2 hits, stolen base) had an RBI single in the fourth after Jose Iglesias left the game (he was hit by a pitch on the elbow).

In the fifth inning, Mike Napoli's first homer (a two-run bomb) for Boston was a memorable one for a couple reasons: 1) it went to the opposite field and 2) it was the first Red Sox home run of 2013. Those runs proved to be vital since DeRosa cut it to 4-2 with a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth and Jose Reyes (4 for 5, 2 doubles, 2 runs) made it 4-3 with an RBI double. Reyes tied it with a solo homer in the seventh off Junichi Tazawa (1-0), who still ended up with the win.

Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 sixth with two strikeouts for the Red Sox, Andrew Bailey had a scoreless eighth and Joel Hanrahan submitted a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season. Boston scored its last two runs with a ground out by Napoli in the eighth and a solo homer by Will Middlebrooks (double) in the ninth.

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 3 with a double, run and walk while Shane Victorino was 2 for 5 with two runs. Rajai Davis was the only other Blue Jay with multiple hits, he was 2 for 4 with a double and run. The two teams combined to go 2 for 29 (seriously) with runners in scoring position but at least Boston made a few count (2 for 19) whereas Toronto was 0 for 10. Ouch.

Much like I boycotted Josh Beckett's starts last season, I plan to take the same action beginning tomorrow afternoon (1:07, NESN) as John Lackey makes his 2013 debut against J.A. Happ.

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Red Sox Serve As A Small Speed Bump As Orioles Tie Yankees For 1st Place In AL East

Once in a while in MLB, there is a great team that defies explanation. The Orioles are 28-9 in one-run games and 72-0 when leading after seven innings in 2012.

After the O's (91-67, 46-34 home) beat the Red Sox (69-89, 35-42 away) 4-3 tonight at an extremely rare sold-out Camden Yards, Baltimore is tied with New York (who lost 3-2 in Toronto this afternoon) for first place in the AL East with four games remaining.

Two more unlikely stars in a season full of them stepped up tonight for the Orioles as rookie Manny Machado and Chris Davis provided all the offense for a team that seems to be firing on all cylinders headed into October. Machado had an RBI single in the second and Davis hit a two-run homer (his 30th of the season) in the fourth inning for a 3-0 Orioles lead.

Boston tied it on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's two-run homer (his 25th of the season) in the fifth and a sacrifice fly by Cody Ross in the sixth. Machado's solo homer (his 7th of the season) provided the winning run in the seventh.

In his last start of the season, Felix Doubront (11-10) had his typical up and down performance which is how you could describe almost all of his starts in 2012. He went seven innings and struck out 10 which is good. However, he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits including a pair of homers. Hopefully over the off-season, he realizes that strikeouts are overrated and innings/outs are way more important.

Steve Johnson (who?) went five innings for Baltimore, he allowed three earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Tommy Hunter (7-8) threw two scoreless innings of relief for the win and Orioles closer Jim Johnson had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his MLB-high 49th save.

Joe Saunders (8-13) gets the ball tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m.) as Baltimore wraps up a sweep of the three-game set with Boston. Zach Stewart (1-3) plays the role of sacrificial lamb in his second start for the Red Sox. Godspeed son.

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Now Seems Like A Perfect Time For Felix Doubront's Best Start Of His Career

I thought Felix Doubront should have been shut down weeks ago since what was the point of still running him out there? He's one of Boston's few pitching prospects that has a bright future.

For one day, the Red Sox (69-85, 34-45 home) proved there was some method to their madness as he helped them beat the Orioles (87-65, 45-33) 2-1 this afternoon at Fenway Park.

The win allowed Boston to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of Baltimore which wasn't hurt too badly since New York lost to Oakland, keeping them one game back in the AL East and one game ahead of the A's for the top AL wild card spot.

Doubront received a no-decision but that won't stop me from raving about his outing which I saw about three seconds of: he went seven innings and allowed one earned run on four hits with 11 strikeouts (a career-high) and two walks.

Junichi Tazawa (1-1) had a 1-2-3 eighth inning on six pitches and closer Andrew Bailey survived two hits and a walk (loading the bases) to record his sixth save. He forced Manny Machado into a fielder's choice then struck out Ryan Flaherty to end it.

Chris Tillman gave Baltimore a solid start: six innings, one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk. Today the thing that will likely bury them in the playoffs-their lack of offense-bit them in the ass.

Cody Ross scored on Robert Andino's throwing error in the fourth as Boston led 1-0. Machado tied it with an RBI single in the fifth but Ross responded with an RBI double in the eighth which plated Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, double).

Scott Podsednik added two hits in the win. Afterwards, Ross admitted that he has already started negotiations with the Red Sox on a new contract since he's currently playing on a 1-year deal. It would be one of the only smart decisions Boston has made in the last few seasons, Ross has done everything and more you could ask of him in this trying year (his first here).

The Red Sox are off tomorrow then they host the Rays (83-70, 3rd in AL East; 3.5 out in wild card) for two games. Mercifully, it's the last series at Fenway in 2012. Personally I can't wait for Spooky World to open there in October, forget playoff baseball. That's way more fun and important.

Clay Buchholz (11-6) will face David Price (18-5) on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) for the second time in a week. Jon Lester (9-13) takes on Alex Cobb (9-9) on Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN). Boston won two of three in Tampa Bay last week at the Trop.

UPDATE 9/24: Yesterday, the Red Sox recalled outfield Che-Hsuan Lin. I don't know why they didn't do this earlier since he's just been sitting around since Pawtucket's season ended last week. Weird.

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