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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Well This Has Certainly Become Painful, Wakefield Goes Sixth Straight Start Without Picking Up Win No. 200

At what point do we agree that the novelty of reaching a milestone in baseball has worn off and it's time to pull the plug on a player's seemingly futile quest?

In the case of Tim Wakefield and the Boston Red Sox, that day gets closer and closer as he started his sixth straight game on the cusp of 200 career wins and once again he couldn't get it done.

This would be one thing if Dr. Creepy and Co. were trying to milk some more money out of Red Sox Nation but this team is in the middle of a pennant race (that means so much for determining playoff opponents).

This one was over early tonight as the Oakland A's (60-71) put a damper on what should be a long couple days with a 15-5 win over the Red Sox (80-51).

Boston got a run in the first as Adrian Gonzalez drove in Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, 2 hits, stolen base) for a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately, Oakland didn't let yesterday's ridiculous loss to the Yankees affect them as they scored twice in the second inning and six times in the fourth. David DeJesus (3 RBIs, 2 runs, 2 hits) and Cliff Pennington (3 hits, 2 RBIs) had RBI singles in the second before the roof completely caved in on Wake and the Red Sox.

Scott Sizemore and Josh Willingham had two-run homers, sandwiched around a two-run single by Hideki Matsui.

That was it for Wakefield (6-6) as he departed after four depressing innings. He allowed eight runs (four earned) on eight hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia (17th of the season) and David Ortiz (3 hits; 26th of the season) went back-to-back in the fourth, giving Boston some hope that they could comeback on Gio Gonzalez (11-11) and the A's but it wasn't to be.

Gonzalez wasn't particularly good but compared to Wakefield, he looked like Cliff Lee. In 5.2 innings, he allowed four earned runs on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Things got even more embarrassing in the late innings as Oakland piled up insurance runs (1 in the seventh, 4 in the eighth) on Scott Atchison (recalled from Pawtucket) and Matt Albers (4 earned runs). It was so bad that Darnell McDonald was summoned to pitch in the ninth and Willingham greeted him with a two-run double.

Josh Reddick got a two-run double of his own in the ninth, maybe that will get him going at the plate again. He's been lifeless lately.

Tomorrow promises to be a long day at Fenway, weather permitting. Jon Lester faces Guillermo Moscoso at high noon while Erik Bedard and rookie Graham Godfrey will try to conclude the shortened series at 5 p.m. before Hurricane Irene wreeks havoc on Massachusetts.

The Yankees similarly got smoked tonight, at Baltimore, so the Red Sox are still up a game on their main rivals in the AL East.

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Will the Red Sox be toast by the trade deadline?

If you've learned anything from fantasy baseball (and hopefully I have since I currently run an obnoxious five teams), it's that when a starting pitcher returns, it always takes him at least a few starts to find his form. I don't know why hitters can seemingly adjust faster but Clay Buchholz proved this point once again yesterday afternoon.

He was at the top of his game on June 26 when he left a game in San Francisco with a strained hamstring (running the bases, don't get me started with the JV NL rules).

The Sox (53-42) desperately needed a win from him and a series victory over Oakland (48-47) but he couldn't deliver as the A's won 6-4 to take two out of the three from the free-falling Sox.

You can't blame Buchholz (10-5) for his sub par performance: 4 innings, 6 hits, 5 earned runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts.

The A's have won seven of eight and they were able to scratch away despite an average start by Gio Gonzalez (9-6): 6 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts.

Adrian Beltre (3 hits, 3 RBIs, run, stolen base) continued to show why he's been the Sox MVP, keeping their patchwork lineup intact during all the lineup shuffling.

Shortstop Jed Lowrie (2 walks, hit, run, RBI) made his 2010 debut for Boston and he played well. To say the guy has been cursed with injuries and other problems (mono) would be an understatement. Hopefully he can stay healthy and get his career back on track.

Beltre gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single which knocked in Lowrie.

Buchholz had only given up three runs this season coming into yesterday but Matt Watson hit a solo shot in the second to tie it up then Jack Cust put Oakland ahead 3-1 in the third with a two-run bomb that scored Kurt Suzuki (2 hits, 2 runs).

Lowrie cut it to 3-2 A's in the fifth with an RBI single but Oakland added three in the home half of the inning. Mark Ellis had an RBI single and Rajai Davis knocked in two with his two-run single.

Beltre closed out the scoring with a two-run blast in the sixth.

Michael Wuertz had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his second save of the season.

Rumors are swirling about who the Red Sox are trying to acquire: Jayson Werth, David DeJesus, Chris Snyder, relievers. Theo Epstein has to go for it now or else he can raise the white flag ala 2006 and admit this season is going nowhere fast.

Boston begins a four-game series at Safeco Field in Seattle tonight. The Mariners are one of the worst teams in baseball so realistically the Red Sox need to win at least three of these games even though it seems like they always struggle in the Pacific Northwest. The good news is that they miss King Felix who pitched last night.

John Lackey opposes Ryan Rowland-Smith tonight at 10:10 p.m. EST.