Red Sox Beat Indians 5-2 in Series Opener at Fenway, See That Wasn't So Hard Guys

It still doesn't feel like summer (come on weather!) and the Red Sox are still scuffling like there's no tomorrow but at least they played well tonight. Boston (30-36 overall, 16-17 home) began a four-game series with Cleveland (33-34 overall, 12-23 away) and seven-game homestand at Fenway Park with a rare (in 2014) easy 5-2 victory.

Jon Lester (7-7) pitched like an ace, going 7.2 innings and allowing only two runs (one earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and one walk. After Jason Kipnis (2 for 4) singled with two outs in the eighth, Lester was lifted after 109 pitches. Junichi Tazawa struck out the ghost of Carlos Santana (the baseball player) before a 1-2-3 ninth with one strikeout for Koji Uehara's 14th save (in 14 opportunities) of the season.

After the mediocre Indians swept the Red Sox last week in dumpy Cleveland, it was nice to see Boston come out with somewhat of a pulse as former Indians star Grady Sizemore had a ground-rule double in the second that scored Mike Napoli (2 for 4) for a 1-0 lead.

If any opposing manager in MLB could understand the danger of pitching to David Ortiz, you'd figure it would have to be Cleveland's Terry Francona (that still doesn't sound right) but for some odd reason, he let Josh Tomlin (4-3) go after him with two outs in the fifth and Jackie Bradley Jr. (single, walk, stolen base, 2 runs) on third base with first base open. You'll never guess what happened next! OK, a baby could, as Ortiz went deep to center for his 15th home run of the season and a 3-0 Red Sox advantage.

Cleveland's two runs in the sixth were a gift by multiple Red Sox as Lester couldn't handle a relatively easy throw at first base from Napoli then Kipnis lined a two-run single (generous ruling) under Dustin Pedroia's glove, a play that the Gold Glover normally makes in his sleep. Bradley Jr. made up for those miscues with an awesome catch of Michael Bourn's sinking line drive to center in the seventh then he doubled off "Friendly" Mike Aviles at first base for the third out.

Boston added a pair of insurance runs in the home half of the sixth on a two-run double by Brock Holt (2 hits). Daniel Nava was 3 for 4 in the win which is a monumental achievement given his alarming struggles in 2014. Even Jonathan Herrera got in on the act, well kind of, going 2 for 4 with a triple (his second extra base hit of the season!) and scoring a run.

It is supposed to rain all day tomorrow but if they get the game in, it will be John Lackey (7-4) vs. Justin Masterson (4-4) scheduled for a 7:10 p.m. start. Masterson pitched a gem (7 scoreless innings in a 3-2 win) against his former team last week at Progressive Field. He can't do that twice in a row, right?

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Things The Red Sox Don't Like This Season: Sweeping Other Teams & Being At .500 or Better

Listen, coming into the weekend I thought there was no chance that the Red Sox would sweep the A's-the AL's best team-at Fenway Park. However, after Boston (15-17 overall, 8-11 home) won on Friday and Saturday, I was hoping that they could beat Oakland (19-12 overall, 13-6 away) on Sunday for two simple reasons: 1) It would be the first sweep of the season in Boston's favor and 2) they would finally reach the elusive .500 mark (they were 0-7 coming into Sunday afternoon in games where they could get to .500). Naturally, the A's won 3-2 in 10 innings to salvage something from the three games.

Sonny Gray (6 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks) and John Lackey (6 innings, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks) were both good while each offense conversely couldn't get much going. Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the first on former Red Sox great Brandon Moss' (2 for 4, double) RBI single. Grady Sizemore (2 for 2) tied it with an RBI double in the fifth.

Once again, the A's pulled ahead with an RBI double by Yoenis Cespedes in the sixth. A.J. Pierzynski answered with a solo homer, his third of the season and first at Fenway, in the seventh. Andrew Miller, Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara all pitched scoreless innings before Chris Capuano (1-1) ran into a little trouble in the 10th. Oakland's winning run was pushed across on an infield single by Cespedes. Boston was shut down by former Orioles closer Jim Johnson (3-2) who got the last five outs of the game.

It is a weird schedule for the Red Sox this week since they are off tomorrow then host Cincinnati (15-16 overall, 3rd in NL Central) for two games before another off-day on Thursday. Felix Doubront (1-3) faces Homer Bailey (2-2) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN) and Jake Peavy (1-1) meets Mike Leake (2-3) on Wednesday (7:10, NESN).

For their sake, the not ready for primetime Red Sox better hope that the Bruins keep advancing in the playoffs, the Celtics win the first pick in the NBA Draft and something interesting happens with the Patriots. Otherwise, people will turn their attention to the Red Sox and as they've proven so far, they are not worth keeping close tabs on so far in 2014.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Edward Mujica Picked the Right Day to Shit The Bed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ready or Not, the 2014 MLB Regular Season is Upon Us

In all honesty, I hadn't thought about the Red Sox basically since they won the 2013 World Series in October vs. St. Louis. Baseball season is way too long and involved that by the time it's over, we all need a break from it in the worst possible way. Well guess what everybody, it's back! Yes, despite it being rainy and in the 30s in New England today, the Red Sox opened up the 2014 regular season with a 2-1 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards.

I can't get too worked about Boston (0-1) until at least the weather gets nice in say June. Likewise, I am happy that baseball is back for the sole reason of what it represents-the end of the miserable winter-but I'm not ready to devote much attention to it what with the Final Four, Frozen Four, NBA and NHL playoffs not to mention World Cup in the way and more important than MLB games in April and May.

Jon Lester (0-1) pitched well (7 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 8 strikeouts, 1 walk) but the Red Sox went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 on base. Is that bad? Baltimore (1-0) received a decent outing by Chris Tillman (5 innings, 1 earned run, 7 hits, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk) and their shaky bullpen (one of the reasons I can't see them being better than the Red Sox, Rays and maybe even Yankees) patched together four scoreless innings. Zach Britton went two scoreless frames for the win.

Other than Lester's fine work, the only real memorable part for Boston was Grady Sizemore (single). Yes the guy who hadn't hit a homer in MLB since 2011 provided the Red Sox' only run with a solo homer to right in the fourth. Can't wait to read a million stories about him being back to the same guy he used to be (yeah right). That tied it at one after a run scored on a double play for Baltimore in the second. Adam Jones was 2 for 4, Baltimore only had six hits as a team but they won so who cares?

Nelson Cruz led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer to left. The Red Sox had a chance to rally in the ninth against new Orioles closer Tommy Hunter (really) as Will Middlebrooks was hit by a pitch leading off then Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) had a one-out single. Hunter got David Ortiz to fly out and Jackie Bradley Jr. struck out looking to end it.

There is an off-day tomorrow where Boston gets to visit the White House to celebrate their World Series title (insert terrible Tim Thomas joke here). These teams are back in action on Wednesday (7:05, NESN) when I bet way fewer people will be watching closely since the Bruins are in Detroit at the same time. John Lackey faces Ubaldo Jimenenz in his Baltimore debut.

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