Red Sox Nearly Get No-Hit, Fall 1-0 to Tigers in Game 1 of ALCS

Well I guess that we should at least be happy the Red Sox didn't get no-hit in Game 1 of the ALCS vs. Tigers, that would have been even tougher to take than tonight's 1-0 loss at Fenway Park. Anibal Sanchez (6 IP, 12 Ks, 6 BBs) was brilliant and three Detroit relievers got it to the ninth where Joaquin Benoit pitched a scoreless ninth with a strikeout for the win.

Obviously Jon Lester (6.1 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER, 4 Ks, 1 BB) gave Boston exactly the type of ace start that they needed. Jhonny Peralta (2 doubles) provided the only run of the game on an RBI single that scored Victor Martinez in the sixth.

Benoit recorded the first out in the ninth before Daniel Nava blooped it into center field for what turned out to be Boston's lone hit. All the lights out pitching by the Tigers (17 Ks, 6 BBs) made this super intense and nearly four hours (3:56) because the Red Sox were basically doing the same thing.

Common sense says that tomorrow night's (8:07, Fox) game is a must-win for the Red Sox. They are at home where they play so well and they cannot afford to go to Detroit down 2-0 in the series. It could be another low-scoring game in Game 2 because Max Scherzer (he of 21 wins during the regular season) takes on Clay
Buchholz.

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Help Wanted: Red Sox Closer

Ever since the Red Sox decided not to pay Jonathan Papelbon two winters ago and let him sign with the Phillies, they have found very little success replacing him. Joel Hanrahan was terrible then out for the season months ago and now Andrew Bailey has blown four saves. This comes after missing most of 2012 with various injuries. At least they ruined Daniel Bard's promising career (the obvious next closer after Papelbon left) by stretching him out last season and trying to convert him into a starter. Ugh.

Tonight, Boston (44-31 overall, 21-16 away) led Detroit (40-31 overall, 24-12 home) 3-2 in the ninth inning of the series opener at Comerica Park. Bailey walked Victor Martinez then allowed a two-run walk-off homer to Jhonny Peralta. After the game Red Sox manager John Farrell alluded to the fact that the Red Sox will change closers, however he left out the important part about who he had in mind for this important job. I'd nominate Junichi Tazawa since Koji Uehara is perfect for the eighth inning and Andrew Miller is way too unpredictable to trust in that role.

Like every walk-off loss, it was a bitter setback since Boston played well enough to beat one of the best teams in the AL in their home park. David Ortiz hit a solo homer in the fourth, his 15th, then Jacoby Ellsbury drove in Jose Iglesias with an RBI single in the fifth. Iglesias had tripled.

Torii Hunter tied it with a bloop two-run single in the fifth for the Tigers. John Lackey had his sixth quality start in his last seven outings: 7 innings, 2 earned runs on 7 hits with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. For Detroit, former Red Sox prospect Jose Alvarez went five innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Detroit reliever Drew Smyley (3-0) went two scoreless innings with four strikeouts for the win. Ortiz put Boston ahead with an RBI single in the eighth after Shane Victorino doubled and stole third base.

Tomorrow night (7:08, NESN), Jon Lester (6-4) meets Doug Fister (6-4) in a game that at least on paper looks like a nice pitcher's duel. That's assuming Lester is the guy from early in the season and not the bum from the last month.

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I Called It Last Night: Red Sox Beat Justin Verlander To Finally Eclipse .500 In 2012

When the 2012 season is over for the Boston Red Sox and Bobby Valentine takes them all to Chuck E. Cheese's for one last going away party, tonight's game against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers will no doubt be a big topic of discussion.

It only took six tries (haha really) but Boston (25-24, 12-13 home) finally lurched over the .500 mark with a 6-3 win against Detroit (23-26, 12-14 away) at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox survived a 38-minute rain delay in the eighth inning to vanquish the undisputed best pitcher in baseball (the 2011 AL MVP). Verlander (5-3) lasted six innings, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.

Daniel Bard (5-5) was much better than Verlander which isn't something you anticipate writing. In 5.1 innings, he allowed two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

David Ortiz (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) and Daniel Nava (3 RBIs) along with Scott Podsednik (2 for 4 with a double and run) supplied all the offense Boston would need and Alfredo Aceves shook off two bad outings in a row for his 12th save of the season.

Mike Aviles' fielder's choice in the second inning scored Ortiz and Nava cleared the bases with a three-run double on a 100 mph fastball from Verlander in the fourth.

Jhonny Peralta (4th of the season) homered for the second straight game but luckily this time it was only a solo shot to right center in the fifth. Ortiz had an RBI double off the Monster in the fifth as well.

Prince Fielder (8th of the season) absolutely destroyed a solo homer to right (437 feet) in the sixth then cut it to 5-3 (the closest the Tigers would get) with an RBI single in the seventh.

Ortiz hit his 11th homer of the season, a solo home run that just made it over the Monster in the eighth inning.

Vicente Padilla recorded four outs ahead of Aceves for his 12th hold of the season.

The Red Sox will try to make it three in a row against the Tigers tomorrow night (7:10 p.m.) as rookie Drew Smyly (2-1) takes on Jon Lester (3-4). After an awful outing in his last start against Tampa Bay, Lester is due for a quality start against a lineup that is not very good save for Prince and Miguel Cabrera. Boston might as well shoot for .500 at Fenway too while they're riding high.

Dustin Pedroia hasn't been placed on the DL yet because he's going to try play with a brace on his injured thumb. Fingers crossed (no pun intended) that it works since he could miss 3-4 weeks if it doesn't alleviate some of the pain.

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Red Sox Celebrate Memorial Day With A Win Vs. Tigers At Fenway

All you have to know about the Red Sox is that Felix Doubront has been their undisputed best starting pitcher thus far in the 2012 season.

Boston (24-24, 11-13 home) got back to .500 for the fifth time this season thanks to his solid outing in a 7-4 win over Detroit (23-25, 12-13 away) in the series opener this afternoon at Fenway Park on a picture perfect Memorial Day.

Two things overshadowed the final result: Tigers manager Jim Leyland was ejected in the third inning for arguing a completely bogus call (Mike Aviles struck out but the umpire said the ball hit the ground first so he got another chance and delivered along with two other two-out runs) and Dustin Pedroia hurt his thumb in the sixth and left. Bobby V wasn't very clear on Pedroia's injury after the game but it sounds like he's at least expected to miss tomorrow's game.

Doubront (5-2) was backed by a Red Sox lineup that banged out 13 hits. In six innings of work, he allowed two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk. His only blemishes were a pair of solo homers to random bums.

Doug Fister (0-3) is a good pitcher but he's off to a rough start this season for the Tigers. Today probably didn't help his confidence either since in five innings, Boston tagged him for six earned runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

The Red Sox scored in the first inning as David Ortiz (2 hits) had an RBI double. Delmon Young (3rd of the season) responded with a solo homer over the Monster in the second but Boston tacked on three in the home half of the second on Aviles' (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run) RBI single, Daniel Nava's RBI double and Pedroia's RBI single.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (9th of the season) hit his second homer of the long weekend, an opposite field shot over the Monster in the third which opened up a 5-1 Red Sox lead.

Gerald Laird (2nd of the season) had a solo homer in the fifth to cut it to 5-2 but Will Middlebrooks had an RBI single in the sixth and Aviles added an RBI double in the eighth.

Jhonny Peralta (3rd of the season) crushed a garbage-time two-run bomb over the Monster in the ninth against Alfredo Aceves. No idea why Valentine put Aceves out there in a non-save situation a day after he blew a save.

I also have to mention Scott Atchison's routinely excellent relief. He had two scoreless innings with four strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 0.93. Ryan Sweeney was 3 for 4 with a double and two runs in his first game back from a concussion.

It will be Boston's sixth chance to get over .500 tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and if you believe in reverse locks, this is your moment. Justin Verlander (5-2) faces Daniel Bard (4-5). Verlander is the top starting pitcher in baseball (just ask his MVP award from last season) and Bard has been a mess lately. So clearly Bard will pitch well and the Red Sox will knock around Verlander.

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Red Sox Rally But Still Fall Short Against The Tigers On Opening Day 2012

Even though they lost, I don't have many complaints today about the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day 2012.

The Detroit Tigers (1-0) won 3-2 on a walk-off single by Austin Jackson (3 hits, run, RBI) that scored pinch-runner Danny Worth in the bottom of the ninth against Alfredo Aceves at Comerica Park.

The main reason I'm not that mad is that Boston (0-1) trailed 2-0 going into the top of the ninth but they scored twice against Tigers closer Jose Valverde. He had been a perfect 49 for 49 last season in save situations, he hadn't blown a save since September 2010. Dustin Pedroia doubled and was knocked in by David Ortiz's sacrifice fly. Then Ryan Sweeney (2 hits) hit a two-out triple to tie it.

Justin Verlander and Jon Lester as expected had a nice pitcher's duel on a chilly afternoon in Detroit. Verlander was a little better, going eight solid innings and only allowing two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. He benefited from some a wide strike zone but that's what you have to expect from a reigning Cy Young winner not to mention an MVP. Lester went seven innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Lester lasted that long because he forced the Tigers to ground into three double plays.

Detroit built a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead with a run in the seventh and a run in the eighth. Alex Avila (2 hits) doubled in Jhonny Peralta (3 hits) in the seventh then Prince Fielder plated Jackson (who tripled) with a sacrifice fly in the eighth against Vicente Padilla.

Aceves (0-1) took the loss but he had to enter a really tough situation: runners on 1st and 2nd with one out after Mark Melancon gave up two singles. By hitting Ramon Santiago, Aceves basically made it a foregone conclusion that the Red Sox would lose.

There is absolutely no reason to panic yet. Truthfully, I didn't think Boston would beat Verlander on Opening Day. Lester pitched well enough but the offense (5 hits, 1 walk) was too quiet to expect a win against the best pitcher in baseball. For some reason, MLB chose to make tomorrow an off-day so the teams will be back at it on Saturday afternoon (4:05 first pitch on Fox) as Josh Beckett takes on Doug Fister, who had a remarkable run after getting traded from Seattle last season.

Normally, I would worry about this Red Sox team getting a night off during the season but other than avoiding getting shot, I don't think they can get into much trouble in Detroit.

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Call me a jerk but I honestly hope Dice-K and Lackey never return

When did the 2011 Boston Red Sox become such a wagon?

Holy shit, they've won 12 out of their last 14 games after a tidy 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers last night at Comerica Park.

As I said yesterday about Alfredo Aceves, spot starter Tim Wakefield (2-1) is doing an excellent job and at this point, I hope John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka never return. It's much more satisfying to watch two guys with low expectations succeed as opposed to overpaid bums that were never good fits here anyways.

The Red Sox (29-22) are also alone in the American League East after the Yankees lost last night in Seattle. The Tigers (25-25) haven't shown much of a pulse yet against Boston this season, falling to 0-4.

Wakefield went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Detroit's Rick Porcello (4-3) only lasted three innings as he allowed six earned runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first as he scored on wild pitch by Porcello.

Miguel Cabrera tied it up in the first with an RBI single which scored Austin Jackson. The Tigers took their only lead of the game in the second when Jhonny Peralta hit a bomb (solo) off Wakefield.

Any thoughts of a win for the miserable people in Detroit was quickly extinguished as the Red Sox hung five runs on Porcello in the third. Ellsbury hit a solo homer (his sixth), Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run double and Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer (his fourth of the season).

Daniel Bard threw a scoreless 1-2-3 eighth on six pitches but Peralta hit an RBI double off Jonathan Papelbon (non-save situation) in the ninth but who cares?

Clay Buchholz takes the mound tonight for Boston against Detroit rookie lefthander Andy Oliver (who was called up when Phil Coke rolled his ankle the other night). Good luck to you guy, Red Sox are mashing right now.