Red Sox Lose On Soul-Crushing Walk-Off Walk, Haha

There is no other way to say it: the Red Sox pissed away a game tonight against the lifeless Giants and as a result of San Francisco's (56-69 overall, 32-32 home) 3-2 win at AT&T Park over Boston (74-54 overall, 34-31 away), the Red Sox find themselves tied with the Rays (7-4 winners vs. Orioles) for first place in the AL East.

It doesn't get much more frustrating than losing on a walk-off walk. Throw in the added bonus that poor Brayan Villareal entered his first game as a Red Sox and proceeded to walk Marco Scutaro on four pitches. We'll never understand why Boston manager John Farrell went with a new player (who has major control issues) when the bases were loaded but there were two outs and closer Koji Uehara was available (and has pitched once in a week).

The opportunities that the Red Sox left on the table were best illustrated by uber prospect Xander Bogaerts (batting seventh and playing shortstop in his first MLB game): in the first, he came up with the bases loaded but grounded out. In the third, he had runners on second and third with two outs but once again he grounded out to end the threat.

Boston got a run in the first on Mike Carp's sacrifice fly and a run in the third on Shane Victorino's solo homer but they should have had way more against Ryan Voegelsong (7 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts) who seemed to have nothing when the game started. David Ortiz and Mike Napoli both found themselves on the bench, meaning that Boston's lineup predictably lacked much pop (Victorino's homer notwithstanding).

Jake Peavy (5.2 innings, 1 earned run, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts) was pitching well but Farrell decided to yank him after 92 pitches. Um? Joaquin Arias had driven in San Francisco's first run with an RBI triple in the fifth.

Six of the Giants' eight hits were by Brandon Belt (3 hits; double, triple) and something called Roger Kieschnick. Craig Breslow got four outs on seven pitches but Junichi Tazawa gave up the tying run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Buster Posey.

We can blame Villareal but he was put into that impossible situation by Farrell and more importantly, Franklin Morales (who still has no idea where his pitches are going).

A bright spot in the loss and these past few weeks has been Will Middlebrooks (2 for 4) who appears to gain confidence with each passing game.

There is day baseball tomorrow (3:45, NESN) for the series finale as Felix Doubront (8-6) faces Barry Zito (4-8), who was summoned from the bullpen. Boston desperately needs another victory (and series win) before their off day on Thursday and a much-hyped series with the Dodgers this weekend.

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Morales Wins 2013 Red Sox Debut, Boston Earns Split With Philadelphia (Twice)

He can never stay healthy for very long but as he showed last season when he was forced into the starting rotation, Franklin Morales (1-0) can pitch. He made his 2013 Red Sox debut tonight and it was a good one (5 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks) as Boston (33-22 overall, 16-10 away) beat Philadelphia (26-28 overall, 12-13 home) 9-2 at Citizens Bank Park in their series finale.

These teams won't see each other again this season, unless they meet in the World Series (dies laughing) in October. They each won a game at home and a game on the road in this weird four-game interleague home-and-home stretch.

Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 4, walk, run) set a Red Sox franchise record with five stolen bases. It's like he suddenly woke up last week and realized how much money he's losing by performing like an average player. Contract years for all!

Like their win vs. the Phillies on Memorial Day, the Red Sox jumped all over a helpless rookie pitcher-in this case Jonathan Pettibone (3-1). Boston scored four runs in the first, one in the sixth, one in the seventh and three in the ninth to make it look even more impressive.

Ellsbury scored on Dustin Pedroia's ground out, Mike Carp had an RBI single and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (run) added a two-run single for the 4-0 Red Sox lead.

Delmon Young had Philadelphia's only highlight of the game-a two-run homer in their first at bat. Jonny Gomes had a pinch hit homer in the sixth (his third homer of the season) and David Ortiz followed suit with his own solo home run in the seventh (his ninth of the season). Stephen Drew's ground out drove in a run then Salty and Jose Iglesias (2 hits) had back-to-back RBI doubles as it got out of hand for the Phillies in the ninth.

For the first time in two months, the Red Sox will square off with the Yankees (30-23 overall) this weekend at Yankee Stadium. Boston took two of three in the Bronx to start this season and they catch the Yanks at a good time considering New York has dropped five in a row including four straight to the Mets. Hahahaha!

Tomorrow night (7:05, NESN) Jon Lester (6-1) faces C.C. Sabathia (4-4), Saturday night (7:15, Fox) Felix Doubront (3-2) takes on Phil Hughes (2-3)-that one might take six hours-and on Sunday Night Baseball (8:05, ESPN) Clay Buchholz (7-0) is tentatively scheduled to meet Hiroki Kuroda (6-3). New England is supposed to have dog days of summer type weather this weekend so why not be treated to Red Sox-Yankees games which always seem to last forever.

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They Don't Call Them The Bronx Bombers For Nothing (Jumps Off Tobin Bridge)

The series opener at Yankee Stadium tonight followed the same script that's been well-established in 2012: New York hit plenty of homers (5, haha all solo) while Boston lost the game. The only plot twist was that it was over in 2:49 which is about two hours shorter than a normal Red Sox-Yankees marathon.

The Yankees (71-48, 38-23 home) beat the Red Sox (58-62, 29-28 away) 6-4 in a contest that never really felt in doubt even though Dustin Pedroia's three-run homer in the third (his 10th of the season) gave Boston an ill-fated 4-3 lead. So far, New York is 7-3 against Boston this season.

The Red Sox find themselves 13.5 games out of first place, the most since they were 14 games back on September 19, 2001. Something to keep in mind when they plummet below that tomorrow and we look for the next mind-numbing, soul-crushing statistic.

New York tied a franchise record for most players (10) with 10+ homers in a season, they also did that in 1998.

For whatever reason, Franklin Morales (3-4) gets rocked every time he faces the Yanks. Tonight, he allowed five earned runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. He gave up the first four homers before reliever Clayton Mortensen served up the final one.

Nick Swisher (17th of the season) went deep in the first, Curtis Granderson (31st of the season) followed suit in the second inning and Russell Martin (13th of the season) went back-to-back to make it 3-0. The Yankees had nine hits, five of them were homers and they didn't have any other extra-base hits. I guess they love their home runs.

Boston got all four of their runs in the third as Pedro Ciriaco's ground out scored Mike Aviles (2 hits) then Pedroia hit a three-run homer on his 29th birthday.

Derek Jeter (10th of the season) tied it in the fifth with a solo homer then Jason Nix added an RBI single in the sixth and Swisher's second homer-in the seventh-gave New York a 6-4 advantage.

Phil Hughes (12-10) usually can't do anything against the Red Sox but even he gets it done against this sad-sack outfit these days. He went seven innings and allowed four runs (0 earned) on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk. The unearned runs were all the result of his throwing error, don't get me started on why that rule (pitchers not getting charged with runs on their own mistakes) doesn't make any sense.

David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth for his 17th save of the season and Rafael Soriano had a strikeout in a clean ninth for his 30th save of the season.

I'm psyched that I'm going to a wedding tomorrow afternoon/night so I'll probably miss all of the game (4:05 p.m., NESN) unless I get bored and check Twitter/my phone or it's on at the bar. Jon Lester (6-10) faces David Phelps (3-3) in the middle game of the three-game weekend set.

UPDATE 8/19: Felix Doubront was placed on the DL (retroactive to August 10) and infielder Mauro Gomez was recalled from Pawtucket to fill his roster spot in Boston.

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When You Can't Get Brent Lillibridge Out, It's Time To Forfeit The Rest Of The Season

You know the Red Sox are a joke when they let a complete scrub like Brent Lillibridge (a member of the team for 10 games earlier this season) tear them up. In 16 at bats with Boston, he had two hits (both singles).

Tonight, he went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs as he fell a triple short of a cycle in Cleveland's (53-61, 30-28 home) 5-2 win vs. Boston (56-59, 27-25 away) at Progressive Field. A part of me just died writing the first part of that sentence.

The Red Sox are 33-45 against right-handed pitchers this season, the second worst mark in the American League. That troubling trend continued as the legendary Zach McAllister (5-4) spun a gem against them. He went eight innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Closer Chris Perez got his second save (31st overall) in three games with a clean ninth inning.

Boston did their part to hand over the game by running into two crucial outs. Dustin Pedroia was thrown out at home by a mile in the fourth inning after Adrian Gonzalez's two-run double. All the runners were bunched up, not sure how that happened or why third base coach Jerry Royster decided to send him with one out in the inning. Then Jacoby Ellsbury (2 doubles, run) led off the sixth with a double that he tried to stretch into a triple. He was hustling so you can't hate on that too much but you never want to commit the first out especially in a tie game (2-2).

Franklin Morales (3-3) was alright, his biggest flaw was racking up a Dice-K-esque 108 pitches in 5.1 innings. His stuff wasn't bad since he allowed three earned runs on two hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

Lillibridge hit his first home run in over a year, a no-doubter to left field in the third which gave the Indians a 1-0 lead. He tied it in the fifth with an RBI single which was followed by single runs for Cleveland in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Michael Brantley had a sacrifice fly, Lou Marson sacrificed to the pitcher and Ezequiel Carrera added an RBI single.

Boston goes for the four-game split tomorrow afternoon (1:05 p.m., NESN) and Cleveland attempts to win the series (3-1) as Jon Lester (5-10) opposes rookie Corey Kluber (0-0). If this Red Sox team has taught us anything, it is to expect the absolute worst in any situation both on and off the field. So yeah, that is where my head is at.

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Remind Me Again Why Franklin Morales Isn't In The Red Sox Rotation Full-Time?

Never fear folks, Franklin Morales (3-2) won't let the Red Sox get swept by the lowly Twins in the worst series so far of the neverending 2012 season.

He went six superb innings (1 run, 3 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks) in his first start since July 13 as Boston (54-55, 28-32 home) held on for a 6-4 win vs. Minnesota (47-61, 24-29 away) this afternoon at Fenway Park. The Red Sox snapped a four-game losing streak overall and they had lost the first three games to the Twins.

Vicente Padilla did his best Alfredo Aceves impression from Saturday's night's debacle as he allowed a solo homer to Josh Willingham (28th of the season) and a two-run bomb to Ryan Doumit (11th of the season) in the ninth that made a 6-1 game 6-4 in the blink of an eye. Luckily, Aceves shook off his struggles to get a 1-2-3 ninth (on 9 pitches) for his 23rd save of the season. That ability to bounce back sums up his main talent-he's fearless and incredibly durable.

Birthday boy Carl Crawford (who turned 31 on Sunday) had a solid performance, going 3-for-5 with two runs, an RBI and a stolen base. Best of all for the impatient Crawford, he saw a team-high 22 pitches. Adrian Gonzalez (3 RBIs, run, walk), Cody Ross, Will Middlebrooks (stolen base) and Mike Aviles (run, walk) all had two hits in the win as Boston outhit Minnesota 14-6.

The Red Sox scored twice in the third on Crawford's groundout and Gonzalez's RBI single. Ben Revere (hit, stolen base, 19-game hitting streak, 1 incredible over-the-shoulder catch) got the Twins on the board with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, cutting it to 2-1.

Gonzalez hit a two-run homer (his 11th of the season) over the Monster in the fifth, Ross had a run-scoring single in the seventh and Jacoby Ellsbury tacked on a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Is it too soon to lock up Ross with a multi-year deal before he becomes a free agent this winter? He's earned that pay day.

Things are about to get real at Fenway as the American League's best team-tied with the Yankees-comes to town. The Texas Rangers (63-44, 1st in AL West) play the Red Sox three times to end Boston's longest homestand (10 games) of 2012. The Red Sox lost two of three in the Lonestar State two weeks ago and looking at the pitching matchups, I fully expect a sweep by the two-time defending AL champions.

Aaron Cook (2-5) faces Yu Darvish (11-7) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (5-9) gets new Ranger Ryan Dempster (5-5) on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) then the Texas Toughguy (5-9) is scheduled to oppose Matt Harrison (13-6) on Wednesday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) if his bad back and fat ass will allow it.

In other Twins-Red Sox news, the teams made a minor trade this afternoon as Minnesota dealt third baseman Danny Valencia to Boston for Single A outfielder Jeremias Pineda. Valencia had a promising rookie season in 2010 (7 homers, 40 RBIs, .311 batting average in 85 games) and reasonably productive 2011 (15 homers, 72 RBIs in 154 games) but he fell off the map this season (.198 in 34 games). He will report to Pawtucket and look for him to get called up September 1 when the rosters expand.

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The Umpires Gift A 4-1 6-Inning Win To The Red Sox Against The Tigers In A Rainstorm

There is no other way to describe tonight's rain-shortened game at Fenway Park than bizarre. The Red Sox (53-51, 27-28 home) earned a very cheap 4-1 win (their fourth straight) vs. the Tigers (54-50, 26-29 away) in six innings.

Justin Verlander's (11-7) 63-game streak of going 6+ innings ended thanks to Mother Nature and a high pitch count (107). Truth be told, he didn't have it either (5 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 6 strikeout, 4 walks).

Detroit said they would file a complaint with the commissioner's office (Bud Selig should get that memo in about four months) since the game was called when they had the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the sixth. I can't say I've ever seen a contest end prematurely with the go-ahead run at the plate, it was very shady.

After not being traded, lazy slug Josh Beckett responded by pitching 2.2 innings then leaving with "back spasms." Shocking that such an incredible, well-conditioned athlete that never breaks down could fall victim to that. I can't hate on a guy for being injured but with his checkered history, who knows what the real story might have been.

Luckily, Clayton Mortensen (1-0) wanted to pitch and he threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Franklin Morales recorded one out and appeared to be in trouble after an infield hit and walk loaded the bases. However, he ended up getting credit for his first save of the season which should go down as one of the cheapest in MLB history.

Miguel Cabrera walked with the bases loaded in the third to make it 1-0 Tigers but Mortensen put out Beckett's fire by getting Prince Fielder to fly out to end the inning.

The Red Sox scored all of their runs in the fourth on Pedro Ciriaco's RBI single, a bases loaded walk by Jacoby Ellsbury and two runs scored on Carl Crawford's infield hit/Omar Infante's error.

In their last regular season meeting of 2012, Aaron Cook (2-4) faces Rick Porcello (7-6) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) as the Red Sox go for a three-game sweep and their fifth win in a row.

UPDATE 8/1: Daniel Nava was placed on the DL with a left wrist sprain. Catcher Ryan Lavarnway was called up from Pawtucket to take his place in Boston. Also, Craig Breslow arrived and is active which means that Mortensen was optioned back to the PawSox.

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Tell Me Again Why Felix Hernandez Is Still Wasting Away With The Mariners

There is nothing worse in life than wasted talent and that is precisely why I can't believe that Felix Hernandez is still employed by the Seattle Mariners.

One of the best pitchers in MLB is reduced to playing for a perennially mediocre team in a division (AL West) that they'll never win anytime soon since the Texas Rangers are loaded and the Los Angeles Angels aren't that far behind. Oh and the stadium was less than half full tonight as Hernandez showed just what the big market teams are missing by throwing a five-hitter as the Mariners (33-45, 14-21 home) beat the Red Sox (40-36, 19-15 away) 1-0 at Safeco Field.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter and former Ray John Jaso singled to right. Casper Wells had doubled and ended up scoring the winning run on the play even though he should have been out. Red Sox right fielder Cody Ross had a good throw to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia who had time to brace himself for Wells. There wasn't a big collision yet Salty dropped the ball for some reason. The umpire called Wells out initially but once the ball popped loose, it was over. A truly awful way to lose this game and start a seven-game road trip in Seattle and Oakland.

King Felix (6-5) tied a career-high with 13 strikeouts in his fifth career shutout. He had one walk and threw a career-high 128 pitches (84 strikes including 22 swinging strikes which is silly).

The crazy part is that Boston starter Franklin Morales (7 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts) has been lights out since he entered the rotation and he nearly matched the former American League Cy Young winner.

Andrew Miller had a 1-2-3 eighth on seven pitches but Atchison (2-1) wasn't able to send it to extra innings after Wells got the only extra-base hit of the contest.

The Red Sox squandered their only real chance to score, in the top of the ninth. With one out, David Ortiz singled and Salty walked. Hernandez finally seemed to be tiring and after a good at bat, Adrian Gonzalez flew out to center where Michael Saunders made an outstanding running catch. Will Middlebrooks could have put Boston ahead but he popped out to let Felix off the hook.

Aaron Cook (1-1) faces Hector Noesi (2-9) tomorrow night (10:10 p.m., NESN) in a game that the Red Sox really need to win. Tonight's game is the only one that they should honestly lose to the Mariners, who are one of the worst hitting teams in the AL.

Boston missed a great opportunity to move up on everybody else in the AL East last night as the Yankees, Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays all lost. What's more, if you look at the other teams at the moment, they are all messes. The Yankees rotation is in shambles, the Rays and Orioles have lost seven of nine and the Blue Jays are 4-6 in their last 10 with few healthy starting pitchers left standing as well. This all means that the Red Sox need to take advantage; they're playing better and they have a favorable schedule while all their main rivals are scuffling to varying degrees.

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Franklin Morales Picks Up A Win, Will Middlebrooks Continues To Rake

The funny thing about trade rumors in any sport now with Twitter in our lives is that the rumor mill works 24/7. That means we read about Kevin Youkilis getting dealt from the Red Sox basically every waking moment for the past few weeks. Make it stop!

Youk's replacement Will Middlebrooks was 3-for-4 with a double, solo homer, two RBIs and a run as the Red Sox (37-34, 18-20 home) beat the Braves (38-33, 23-16 away) 8-4 tonight at Fenway Park.

To say the rookie third baseman is swinging a hot bat is an understatement. In his last five games, he's 10-for-14 with three homers, three doubles and nine RBIs. I think that'll do just fine.

The other two biggest storylines from the victory: Franklin Morales (1-1) picked up a win in his second start while Dustin Pedroia (3 for 4, double, two RBIs, run, walk) finally looked like himself at the plate after scuffling since he hurt his thumb the first time.

Morales went six innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. His impressive stuff in two outings illustrates the point about how some guys just aren't made to start (cough, Daniel Bard) while others can pick it up no problem.

Randall Delgado (4-8) lasted only 1.1 innings as he allowed four earned runs on six hits. Boston built an insurmountable 5-1 lead by the third inning.

Atlanta scored first as Brian McCann's infield single plated Michael Bourn (3 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 stolen bases) in the first inning.

The Red Sox went ahead in their first at bat and never looked back. Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits, run) tied it with an RBI single then Middlebrooks' RBI double made it 2-1.

Pedroia had a two-run double in the second then Middlebrooks hit a solo homer to left (his 9th of the season) in the third for the 5-1 advantage.

Bourn's RBI single in the fifth cut it to 5-2 for Atlanta but Cody Ross (2 doubles, run) drove in Gonzalez with an RBI double in the home half of that frame.

Atlanta continued to hang around as old man Chipper Jones produced an RBI double in the sixth and Bourn knocked in another run, this time with a groundout in the seventh.

Daniel Nava gave Boston some breathing room with a two-run single in the seventh.

After Scott Atchison allowed a run (something which has very rarely happened this season), the Red Sox bullpen picked him up as Andrew Miller induced a double play, Vicente Padilla pitched a scoreless eighth and Alfredo Aceves had a 1-2-3 ninth in a non-save situation.

Mike Aviles was 2-for-4 with a double and run. Boston was 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position while Atlanta was 2-for-11.

Apparently Clay Buchholz picked up the plague or something since he was sent home from the ballpark today and his start tomorrow was cancelled. Instead, Aaron Cook (0-1) was called up from Pawtucket and he'll make his second start of the season against Mike Minor (3-5) tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN).

It is the rubber game of the series and the final installment of interleague play. Cook has nothing to lose after his first start on May 5 was a complete disaster: 2.2 innings, six earned runs, eight hits and he had to leave early after getting a nasty gash on his leg.

UPDATE 6/24: Buchholz went on the DL (intestinal bleeding, ahhhhh!) with Cook taking his spot.

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Franklin Morales Strikes Out 9, Red Sox Beat Cubs 7-4 To Win The Interleague Series

The injuries continue to pile up at an alarming rate for the Red Sox but at least tonight, they got two unexpected contributions from Franklin Morales and Ryan Kalish that allowed them to beat the Cubs 7-4 at Wrigley Field.

With the win, Boston (33-33, 19-14 away) took the rubber game of the interleague series in Chicago (22-44, 14-19 home) and were able to return home back at .500 again with a day off on Monday.

Morales hadn't started in three years but that didn't stop him from pitching great all things considered. In only five innings, he struck out nine while allowing two earned runs on four hits with no walks. He did more than enough to earn another start next week against Atlanta.

Kalish hadn't played for the Red Sox since 2010 when he suffered a shoulder injury. He returned as Ryan Sweeney went on the DL this morning with inflammation in his broken toe. Kalish played center field and he came through with an RBI single in the seventh which put Boston up 4-3. He also scored the run that made it 6-3 later in the frame.

Befitting a contest that featured two last-place teams in their respective divisions, it was sloppy with both making two errors which was the result of generous scoring-Boston should have been charged with three. The Red Sox had four more hits than the Cubs (12-8) and their bullpen was better.

Paul Maholm was decent for Chicago. In six innings, he allowed three earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and a walk.

Surely because it wasn't a save situation, Boston's closer Alfredo Aceves had to make it difficult when he appeared to start the ninth up 7-3. He allowed three straight singles by the Cubs before David DeJesus had a long sacrifice fly to center. Aceves settled down to strike out Reed Johnson and force Darwin Barney to pop up for the final out.

Boston gave Morales some early breathing room in the first as Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) drove in Scott Podsednik with an RBI double. David Ortiz (2 runs, walk) followed with an RBI single that scored Pedroia.

The one untouchable player on the Cubs-Starlin Castro-hit like a guy that deserves that type of unwavering respect. He was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run shy of a cycle. He tied it with an RBI triple in the first and RBI double in the third.

Ortiz put Boston back on top with a solo homer (his 16th of the season) to center in the fourth inning which made it 3-2.

Chicago scored a run in the sixth on a botched fielder's choice from Matt Albers (2-0) to Mike Aviles at second base.

After Kalish's single, Will Middlebrooks pinch hit (can't believe he sat again!) and drove in Jarrod Saltalamacchia with a sacrifice fly. Kalish came home on Daniel Nava's suicide squeeze. Salty tacked on the last Boston run with a fielder's choice in the eighth.

The Red Sox relief before Aceves was excellent. Andrew Miller got the first two outs in the seventh before Mark Melancon shut the door. Scott Atchison had a 1-2-3 eighth on eight pitches.

Boston finished 4-2 in their last two intereleague series on the road. They are 6-6 overall (how fitting) during interleague this season with two series remaining at Fenway Park. The Miami Marlins (33-33, 4th in AL East) come for three games starting on Tuesday and then the Atlanta Braves will be here this weekend for the last three interleague games of 2012. The Toronto Blue Jays close out the nine-game homestand with three games of their own next week. The Red Sox won't have to leave Boston until June 27.

The Red Sox won two of three in Miami last week (June 11-13) and it will be like the Twilight Zone as two of the exact same pitching matchups occur once again: Clay Buchholz (7-2) faces Mark Buehrle (5-7) on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (7-3) opposes Ricky Nolasco (6-5) on Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) then Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2) closes it out against Carlos Zambrano (4-5) on Thursday night (7:10 p.m., NESN). Boston won Buchholz and Doubront's starts against Miami the first time around so they'll hope for that same success in the second meeting.

Scott Podsednik left in the fifth inning tonight with a groin injury. If it's serious, the Red Sox have Cody Ross about to return (possibly on Tuesday) anyway.

The weirdest thing is that Boston is 19-14 on the road this season and 14-19 at Fenway. It's time for them to start winning at home and taking advantage of what should be comfortable surroundings.

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Dice-K Returns, Red Sox Fall Back Under .500

While you were enjoying a beautiful early summer day, the Boston Red Sox were busy falling back under the .500 mark.

Daisuke Matsuzaka made his 2012 debut after last appearing in May 2011 but he wasn't able to help the Red Sox (29-30, 14-18 home) enough as they fell 4-2 to the Washington Nationals (34-23, 16-13 away) this afternoon at Fenway Park.

Dice-K was limited to five innings (80 pitches) as he was eased back into action. He allowed four earned runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.

Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez (8-2) looks like an All-Star and he continued his excellent season with 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

Former Red Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche (10th of the season) hit a solo homer to right center in the second inning for a 1-0 Washington lead. The Nationals scored their other three runs in the fourth thanks to Michael Morse's RBI ground rule double and Ian Desmond's two-run single.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia provided Boston's only runs with a pinch-hit two-run single in the seventh.

The Red Sox only had five hits, they were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Sean Burnett got a 1-2-3 eighth for his 10th hold of the season and Tyler Clippard recorded his seventh save of the season (second in two games) with a scoreless ninth.

Jordan Zimmermann (3-5) faces Jon Lester (3-4) tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as the Nationals go for the sweep of the Red Sox in this three-game series.

UPDATE 6/10: Rich Hill was put on the DL with elbow soreness and Mark Melancon's exile in Pawtucket is over, he's back with the Red Sox.

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Daniel Bard Isn't Cut Out To Be A Starting Pitcher In MLB, That Much Is Clear

Outside of bad Little League games (where a kid that never pitches briefly tries to), I'm pretty sure I've never seen a starting pitcher meltdown quite like Daniel Bard did this afternoon in Toronto.

The Red Sox (28-26, 15-12 away) had a chance to sweep the Blue Jays (28-26, 16-12 home) but Bard (5-6) never gave them a chance as they lost 5-1 at Rogers Centre. Boston enjoyed exactly one day in fourth place, now they are back in the AL East basement tied with Toronto.

Bard lasted 1.2 innings (55 pitches/24 strikes), allowing five earned runs on one hit with two strikeouts and six walks. He also hit two batters. To say he didn't have control would do a great disservice to Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn in Major League and Rick Ankiel. It got to the point where you felt bad for the Blue Jays hitters that had to step in against him since he throws so hard but he had absolutely no clue where it would end up. Yunel Escobar was hit on the hand and Edwin Encarnacion was hit on the wrist and ended up leaving later in the game.

Of course, the one hit Bard allowed was a three-run bomb by Jose Bautista (14th of the season) in the first inning. I've said all along that moving Bard to the rotation was pointless but still, I never wished this on him. He went from being one of the top setup men in MLB and top young arms to a complete mess as a fifth starter in a mediocre rotation on an average team. Don't ask me how to fix this huge problem since I don't have a clue. His confidence must be completely shot.

The Blue Jays added two runs in the second on Bautista's bases loaded walk and Encarnacion's painful hit by pitch.

Kelly Shoppach (3rd of the season) provided the only Red Sox run with a solo home run in the fifth inning.

Boston played like a team in the last game of a series on the road (aka getaway day), with tomorrow off. Although no excuse since it was only a three-game road trip. They managed just six hits against rookie Drew Hutchison (5-2) and a trio of Toronto relievers. Hutchison went seven easy innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk.

Franklin Morales went an absurd 4.1 innings, he was the first reliever out of Boston's bullpen and he submitted his longest relief work in his MLB career. He didn't allow a run with only two hits and four strikeouts. Morales as a starter? Haha just kidding but he was awesome.

Fenway Park will have a distinct DC-Metro area feel this week as Baltimore comes for three games beginning on Tuesday then the Washington Nationals restart Interleague play with a visit next weekend for three.

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Lester Outduels Peavy In An Instant Classic

Games like this are the reason that you flip to MLB on a cold April night, when there are so many other better sporting options (NHL playoffs and NBA playoffs) on television. Moreover, maybe it is MLB's way of rewarding its fans.

The Boston Red Sox (10-10, 7-5 away) climbed to .500 for the first time this season with a scintillating 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox (10-11, 3-7 home) at U.S. Cellular Field, their sixth consecutive victory overall.

It was a pitcher's duel as both teams combined for just 10 hits (6 for Chicago, 4 for Boston). Jon Lester (1-2) picked up his first win of the season despite the fact that Jake Peavy (3-1) was even slightly better than him. In seven innings (122 pitches, 78 strikes), Lester allowed five hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. Peavy went the distance-all nine innings-but he allowed one earned run on four hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.

The Red Sox' run came in the fourth thanks to Adrian Gonzalez's RBI single that scored Ryan Sweeney (2 hits).

Franklin Morales got the first two outs of the eighth before Vicente Padilla walked Paul Konerko (2 doubles) but forced Alex Rios to ground out with runners on first and second. Alfredo Aceves picked up his fifth save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth that included a strikeout.

Boston will look to complete a remarkable road trip at 7-0 tomorrow afternoon (2:10 p.m., NESN) as Josh Beckett (2-2) faces Gavin Floyd (1-3). Chicago should be desperate to get a win while the Red Sox look for the series sweep and perfect trip.

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Red Sox Pick Up First Sweep Since July 22-24

I can't say I could concentrate on the few innings of the game that I watched (since the Bruins' season ended abruptly) but the Boston Red Sox did something tonight that they hadn't accomplished since July 22-24, 2011: they swept a three-game series!

It took the lowly Minnesota Twins (5-14, 2-7 home) to accomplish the modest feat but hey, the Red Sox (7-10, 4-5 away) will take it at this point. Boston wrapped it up with a 7-6 victory at Target Field.

Clay Buchholz (2-1) and the Red Sox were ahead 7-1 in the sixth but they nearly gave it all away as the Twins scored five runs in the frame to cut it to 7-6. Matt Albers was able to get the last two outs of the sixth then Vicente Padilla (1-2-3 seventh), Franklin Morales (1-2-3 eighth) and Alfredo Aceves (4th save) were able to calm things down and avoid a meltdown like the one on Saturday against the Yankees. Granted, Aceves loaded the bases in the ninth but he struck out Denard Span (2 hits) to end it.

It's a joke that Buchholz has a winning record even this early since he has been nothing short of awful. In 5.1 innings of work, he allowed five earned runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

Luckily for him, he faced Minnesota rookie Liam Hendriks (0-1), who at this pace won't be in MLB for very long. Hendriks was charged with seven earned runs on nine hits in four innings with three strikeouts and two walks.

Boston opened with four runs in the second on a Cody Ross RBI single and Mike Aviles' three-run homer to left (his fourth of the season).

Alexi Casilla (3 hits, run) knocked in Ben Revere with a single in the second to cut it to 4-1 but Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a two-run single in the third and Adrian Gonzalez knocked in Dustin Pedroia (2 runs, 3 hits-2B,3B) with an RBI single in the fifth to make it 7-1 Red Sox.

Minnesota's five-run sixth came on an RBI double by Span, Joe Mauer's two-run single, Justin Morneau's RBI double and Trevor Plouffe's RBI single.

There is no off-day tomorrow as Boston visits Chicago to face the White Sox (10-8) for four games at U.S. Cellular Field. Tomorrow night (8:10 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (0-0) faces Philip Humber (1-0) who is coming off of a perfect game on Saturday against the Mariners. Daniel Bard (1-2) faces John Danks (2-2) on Friday night, Jon Lester (0-2) gets Jake Peavy (3-0) on Saturday night and the series ends on Sunday afternoon with Josh Beckett (2-2) vs. Gavin Floyd (1-3).

I feel like the Red Sox always have trouble in Chitown but at least they've seemingly started to figure things out over the last few days.

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Jarrod Saltalamacchia Avoids Arbitration, Inks 1-Year Deal With The Red Sox

Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is in for a nice raise after proving himself in 2011, his first full season in Boston.

He avoided arbitration with the team as they agreed on a one-year, $2.5 million contract today. Saltalamacchia made $750,000 last season.

In only 103 games, he threw out 28 potential basestealers, the most by a Red Sox catcher since Jason Varitek had 29 in 2002.

Still only 26-years-old, Saltalamacchia's best days are ahead of him and Boston made a shrewd move earlier this winter by signing free agent Kelly Shoppach (a former Red Sox prospect) to back up Salty. On paper, they appear to form the perfect platoon since Shoppach crushes right-handed pitchers and Saltalamacchia struggles against them. Plus, Shoppach is a quality defensive catcher which is something the Red Sox finally seem to be valuing rather than ignoring completely.

When you add in promising youngster Ryan Lavarnway, who will likely start the season in Pawtucket, Boston's catcher position is in better shape than it has been for years in terms of depth.

UPDATE 1/17: The Red Sox agreed to terms with lefty reliever Franklin Morales on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. They avoided arbitration and terms were not disclosed.

After getting traded to Boston in May from Colorado, Morales had 28 scoreless outings in 36 appearances. Between the Rockies and Red Sox, he had career-highs in innings pitched (46.1), strikeouts (42) and holds (10) while having an ERA of 3.69 (19 ER).

At 25, he's a low risk guy that seems to have a decent arm. Since he's a lefty, it makes sense to give him a full season before moving on.

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Ellsbury's First Career Walk-Off Hit Propels Red Sox To Win

A day that started out with promising news-Clay Buchholz won't need surgery on his back and could return late in the season-ended on a high note as well with Jacoby Ellsbury knocking in Jarrod Saltalamacchia with a walk-off single in the ninth for a 3-2 Red Sox win over the Indians at Fenway Park tonight.

It was the first career walk-off hit of Ellsbury's career and six overall for Boston (67-41) this season. The start of the game was delayed an hour and 45 minutes by rain; I can't ever remember this many rain delays in one season, it's getting absurd.

Cleveland (54-53) starter David Huff pitched well but the Red Sox got his pitch count over 100 in the fifth inning to ensure it would be a short outing. In five full innings (102 pitches), he allowed one unearned run on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Josh Beckett lasted a little longer but he was done after six innings (85 pitches) since Terry Francona didn't feel like risking him after he had warmed up twice (during the rain delays). He gave up two earned runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

The two runs for the Indians were provided by a pair of rookies that truthfully, I'd never even heard of before. The latter day Mantle and Maris, Jason Kipnis (first inning) and Lonnie Chisenhall (fourth inning) both had solo home runs.

David Ortiz scored in the second on a wild pitch before Kevin Youkilis tied it up with a blast, his 16th of the season off the Sports Authority sign over the Monster in the sixth.

After Jason Varitek singled with one out in the ninth against Vinnie Pestano (1-1) and Josh Reddick's bloop single fell in for a hit, Ellsbury smoked a single up the middle. There was a play at the plate with Saltalamacchia pinch running for Varitek but a nice headfirst slide helped him avoid Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana's tag.

Franklin Morales had the best outing of his short Red Sox career by pitching a scoreless seventh and eighth. He allowed one hit and struck out three. Jonathan Papelbon (3-0) looked dominant in the ninth as he got a 1-2-3 inning punctuated by a strikeout which led to Ellsbury's heroics.

The win was especially vital since the Yankees shut out the White Sox to remain only one game behind the Red Sox for first-place in the AL East.

History will be on the line tomorrow night as I will be in the ballpark and Tim Wakefield goes for his 200th win against Carlos Carrasco.

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