Just When You Thought It was Safe to Root for the Red Sox Again, They Sign A.J. Pierzynski

You can say goodbye to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, his ridiculously greasy long curly hair, million strikeouts and almost that many blunders behind the plate. That's right, today the Red Sox elected to move on from their former starting catcher (who rightfully lost his spot to David Ross late in the playoffs) who was seeking a long-term deal. Boston agreed to a one-year deal with A.J. Pierzynski worth $8.25 million.

My natural reaction to this news (and probably your feelings as well) was to laugh mainly because Pierzynski is one of those guys who has been around MLB forever and seems to be a complete asshole. On the other hand, I felt much the same way about Jonny Gomes when the Red Sox signed him last offseason and how'd that turn out? Keep in mind that Pierzynski's (a two-time All-Star) career (729 runs, 1782 hits, 356 doubles, 172 homers, 800 RBIs) has been much more impressive than the journeyman Gomes, he also won a World Series in 2005 with the White Sox.

At age 36 (turning 37 on Dec. 30) and coming into his 17th MLB season (14th full-time) on his fifth team (Twins, Giants, White Sox, Rangers), Pierzynski has way too many miles on his body to be expected to serve as an everyday catcher. The good news is that you could say the same thing about David Ross and while Pierzynski is a left-handed hitter, Ross bats right-handed. Hello platoon! Also of note is that Boston has some depth at catcher in its farm system with Christian Vasquez projected to be in Pawtucket to start the season and Ryan Lavarnway still kicking around (although he stinks).

Salty had a career year last season but Pierzynski put together a fine year in Texas: in 134 games, he hit .272 with .297 OBP (yuck), .425 SLG, 48 runs, 137 hits, 24 doubles, 17 homers and 70 RBIs. The other thing that A.J. does better besides being a more sound hitter than Jarrod is that he's a better defensive catcher. Granted, that's not saying much since Salty was borderline hopeless behind the plate (but he improved so much!).

By winning the World Series, the Red Sox have made us believers again in terms of trusting GM Ben Cherington's roster moves. When all is said and done, this will probably go down as a nice addition to another playoff team in 2014.

UPDATE 12/3: Salty signed a three-year deal with Miami worth $21 million.

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Tigers Dominate Game 4, 7-3, to even ALCS at Two Games Apiece

After three one-run games in a row, the 2013 ALCS was due for a blowout. Unfortunately, the Red Sox found themselves on the wrong side of that equation as they lost 7-3 to the Tigers in Game 4 this evening at Comerica Park. The all-important Game 5 is tomorrow night (8:07, Fox) back in Motown. This victory ensured that there will be another game(s) at Fenway in the series: Game 6 on Saturday afternoon (4:37, Fox).

The series is even at two now with Detroit's win which truthfully wasn't all that competitive. The Tigers went up 5-0 in the second inning and added two runs in the fourth before the Red Sox scored in baseball's equivalent of garbage time. Jake Peavy (0-1) just didn't have it in the biggest start of his MLB career although who knows how things would have gone if Dustin Pedroia had turned an inning-ending double play (that he usually makes in his sleep) when it was 1-0?

The two main takeaways from this are that Boston has to do something about the bottom of its batting order: Stephen Drew was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and Will Middlebrooks struck out in both of his plate appearances. To plead his case on the field, rookie Xander Bogaerts had a pinch hit double in the ninth and scored a run. Manager John Farrell admitted after the game that Bogaerts could very well be in the lineup for Game 5. Please do that!

Also, the media will prepare a tongue bath for Tigers manager Jim Leyland after he changed his lineup: having Torii Hunter (double, run, 2 RBIs) bat leadoff and Austin Jackson (2 hits, 2 RBIs, walk, run, stolen base) move to eighth couldn't have possibly worked out any better.

Doug Fister (6 innings, 1 earned run, 8 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk) wasn't as sharp as his numbers suggest but he was helped out by a Red Sox offense that went 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position. Boston had 12 hits including five extra base hits but they left 10 men on base.

One of the main positives for the Red Sox to take out of his mostly lifeless loss is that Jacoby Ellsbury (4 for 5, double, run, RBI), Mike Napoli (2 for 4, double, run) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 for 4, RBI) all broke out of their respective slumps at the plate. And yes, I remember Napoli's home run in Game 3.

Detroit's first two runs came on Jackson's bases loaded walk and a fielder's choice. Hunter's two-run double and Miguel Cabrera's RBI single (2 hits) made it 5-0. When Jackson's infield single scored another run and Cabrera added his second RBI single in the fourth for a 7-0 lead, you knew the Red Sox were done given their struggles at the plate by and large in this series.

Boston did show plenty of pride (no surprise there) with Salty's RBI single in the sixth, Shane Victorino's RBI double in the seventh and Ellsbury's RBI triple in the ninth. Leyland threw his embattled closer Joaquin Benoit out there in the ninth and he had to throw 21 pitches before retiring David Ortiz (irony) on a fly ball to right for the third out. Benoit should be tired or at least shaky if he gets used in Game 5 (ala Game 2).

Game 5 is a rematch of Game 2 as Jon Lester (0-1) faces Anibal Sanchez (1-0). As far as I'm concerned, it's easily the biggest game of the season thus far for the Red Sox. Going up 3-2 and heading home would be a great scenario to find themselves in. Either way, at this time tomorrow one of these teams will be one out away from advancing to the World Series.

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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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Rays Self Destruct Like You Read About In Humbling 12-2 Game 1 Loss To Red Sox

It had been too long. The Red Sox last appeared in a playoff game in 2009 and they hadn't won one since the previous season. It felt like they had been off basically that same amount of time since this season had ended but Boston put to bed any stupid questions about their extended rest by bludgeoning the Rays 12-2 in Game 1 of the ALDS this afternoon at Fenway Park.

Tampa Bay actually scored the first two runs as Sean Rodriguez (second inning) and Ben Zobrist (fourth inning) hit solo homers. From there, Jon Lester (1-0) settled in for a gem (7.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks) while Matt Moore (0-1) and his defense fell apart. The Rays' prized young lefty couldn't get out of the fifth inning, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in 4.1 innings.

Boston did most of its damage in the fourth (5 runs) and fifth (3 runs) before tacking on some runs in garbage time (4 in eighth). The Red Sox didn't hit any homers but who cares since they piled up 14 hits including five doubles and five walks. As a team they went 8 for 17 with runners in scoring position. Every Red Sox player had at least one hit and one run with Dustin Pedroia (2 runs, 2 hits) the only one without an RBI.

Leading the way in the win was Shane Victorino who went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, run and stolen base in his Red Sox playoff debut. Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5 with run and RBI while Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with three RBIs, double, run and walk. David Ortiz (double, walk) and Jonny Gomes (2 RBIs, double, walk) both scored twice.

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves and assume that the Rays will roll over and die after one loss after they won three elimination games in a row earlier this week. If there's one team in MLB that you can count on to bounce back from a blowout loss like this, it would be them. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they have David Price going tomorrow (5:37, TBS) vs. John Lackey in pseudo must-win game.

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Red Sox Spoil Todd Helton's Final Game at Coors Field

It seems apropos that Todd Helton's final game at Coors Field would more closely resemble a softball game, oh and also that his team lost since they were known to do that for many of his days (17 years) in Colorado. Tonight, the Red Sox (96-63 overall, 43-35 away) outslugged the Rockies (72-87 overall, 45-36 home) 15-5 in the series finale. The victory was extra sweet for Boston because this afternoon, the Angels beat the A's 3-1 putting the Red Sox two games up (with three to go) for the best record in the AL.

Helton did his part with a line straight out of a movie: solo homer, RBI double and sac fly. Unfortunately, the rest of his team weren't really on the same page. The Red Sox got most of their runs from extra-base hits: Will Middlebrooks had a grand slam and three-run homer; Shane Victorino hit a three-run homer and Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 4 for 5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs.

A nice footnote for Boston: David Ortiz's two-run double gave him an even 100 RBIs on the season. That's the seventh time he's done it in a Red Sox uniform, trailing only Ted Williams (9) and Jim Rice (8). The big news in this game for the Red Sox is that Jacoby Ellsbury returned after missing 16 games. He batted leadoff and was 1 for 2 with two runs scored before getting replaced in the fourth inning.

Jake Peavy (12-5) struggled mightily but still made it through six innings. This was the final interleague game of the season for Boston, the only other way they'll see an NL team in 2013 is if they reach the World Series. The Red Sox finished with the second best record (14-6) in Interleague play this season so they have no reason to fear anyone from the weaker league.

The Red Sox are coming back this way (relatively speaking) with an off-day tomorrow followed by a three-game series in Baltimore. The Orioles have been eliminated from playoff contention and perhaps after Friday, Boston will have wrapped up the top seed in the American League playoffs. You can't overstate the importance of that well-earned honor. The regular season concludes on Sunday.

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Red Sox Become 1st Team To 90 Wins After 8-4 Triumph Over Yankees

We are still a couple weeks away from the postseason but I'm already struggling to find new ways to state that the Red Sox are having an incredible regular season and I hope you're enjoying it half as much as them. Each game brings new heroes and highlights plus bushy beards to tug on. Tonight Boston (90-59 overall, AL-best 45-28 at home) beat the Yankees (79-69 overall, 35-38 away) 8-4 in their series opener at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox are 11-6 against the Yankees with two games left in the regular season. It looked like it was going to be a blowout in the first inning as Boston piled up four runs on Hiroki Kuroda (11-11). A run scored on Mike Carp's ground out, Daniel Nava (2 hits, run) drove in a run with an RBI single and Stephen Drew doubled off the wall which scored two teammates.

Boston starter John Lackey allowed a solo homer to light-hitting Brendan Ryan (2 hits, 2 runs) in the third inning then Lyle Overbay's sacrifice fly in the sixth cut it to 3-2. Robinson Cano (4 for 4 with 3 doubles, run) tied it for the Yankees in the seventh with a two-run double.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia stepped up big time with the deciding play: a grand slam to right center field in the seventh inning. That proved to be the difference, his third career grand slam and 13th homer of the season.

Junichi Tazawa offered a glimpse of what he had been earlier in 2013: a 1-2-3 eighth inning on 10 pitches (9 strikes!). It wasn't a save situation, ugh, but closer supreme Koji Uehara still appeared and recorded his own 1-2-3 ninth inning on 9 pitches (8 strikes) which included a strikeout. I've never seen a Red sox closer or pitcher for that matter on this type of roll, it's amazing.

Dustin Pedroia (2 for 5 with run) continued to bat leadoff with Jacoby Ellsbury out indefinitely. In a matchup that feels like it's happened a bunch of times this season, tomorrow afternoon (1:05, NESN) Jon Lester (13-8) takes on C.C. Sabathia (13-12). Every game is life or death for New York because they are only two games behind Tampa Bay for the second AL Wild Card spot. The Red Sox might not be in it but the chase for the wild card is intense: Cleveland is half a game up on the Yankees, Baltimore is half a game behind New York and the Royals are 3.5 behind the Rays. Got it?

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Red Sox Keep Finding Ways To Win & Quiet The Few Remaining Naysayers

Everyone enjoys winning and the Red Sox have done plenty of that this season but one of the things that has made them so extra enjoyable to watch is that it feels like they're competitive in every single game. Indeed, the Orioles (70-61 overall, 32-32 away) led 3-1 in the seventh inning tonight at Fenway Park but choked that two-run lead away as Boston (79-55 overall, 42-23 home) won their fourth straight contest by a score of 4-3.

There were plenty of heroes for the Red Sox' cause: pinch hitter Mike Carp drove in the winning run-Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run, walk, 2 stolen bases) with a bloop RBI single to left field. Craig Breslow (4-2) sneaked away with the win after getting the last two outs in the eighth and Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his 14th save of the season.

Early on it was the Chris Davis and Manny Machado show. Davis had an RBI double in the first and he clocked his MLB-best 47th homer in the sixth for a 3-1 O's lead. Machado (2 hits, 2 runs) had a solo homer of his own in the third inning. Boston hung around as Shane Victorino got them on the board with an RBI single in the third and Dustin Pedroia (2 walks) came through with a clutch two-run single in the seventh.

Stephen Drew doubled, walked twice and scored two runs while Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with a double and run. The Red Sox chased Bud Norris after 5.1 innings, he had only allowed one earned run on five hits but his pitch count was 105. John Lackey lasted two innings more and threw 13 less pitches. It wasn't his best performance but as always, he gave them innings and didn't walk anybody (1 walk).

Boston will try to sweep the series tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) and throw a serious wrench into any plans Baltimore had of making the playoffs for the second year in a row. Jon Lester (12-7) meets Chris Tillman (14-4).

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Red Sox Prove That The Dodgers Are Overrated (When Kershaw and Greinke aren't pitching)

Before this trip started, I recognized that the Red Sox were lucky to miss both Matt Cain and Ryan Bumgartner in San Francisco then Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke in Los Angeles. Boston (77-55 overall, 37-32 away) took advantage of their favorable schedule by going 4-2 on their West Coast swing. They ended their stay at Dodger Stadium with a 8-1 stomping of the Dodgers (76-54 overall, 38-27 home) on Sunday Night Baseball. LA hadn't lost a series in over two months and came in as the hottest team in MLB.

Jake Peavy (10-5) was the story since he improved to 14-2 lifetime against the Dodgers with his 16th career complete game: 3 hits, 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. His only blemish was a solo homer/bomb to former Red Sox great Adrian Gonzalez in the fourth.

Boston's pitching was top notch all series, allowing five total runs to a legit National League lineup (normally an oxymoron) and finally their bats came alive this evening. The Red Sox had 12 hits including three homers and four doubles.

Possibly dating a porn star seems to have reinvigorated (see what I did there?) Mike Napoli's 2013 season. He bookmarked the win for Boston with an RBI double in the first and a two-run homer (his 16th) in the ninth. In between those, Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, double, run) notched a sacrifice fly in the third, Xander Bogaerts (2 hits) recorded his first MLB RBI with a run-scoring double in the fifth then Jarrod Saltalamacchia (two-run homer; his 11th of the season) and Shane Victorino (solo homer; 9th of the season) brought the power in the sixth and seventh innings respectively.

They only went 9-10 but the Red Sox survived a brutal stretch where they played 16 of their last 19 games on the road. Boston originally left town one game up in the AL East on Tampa Bay and ironically enough, they return in the exact same position. Their reward is that their next nine games: 3 vs. Baltimore (70-59 overall, 3rd in AL East), 3 vs. White Sox and 3 vs. Tigers are all at Fenway Park. In fact, they won't play another road game until September 5 (the same night the NFL regular season begins) and don't look now but there are only 30 games left in the regular season.

After tomorrow's much-needed off day in Boston, on Tuesday (7:10, NESN) Felix Doubront (9-6) takes on Wei-Yin Chen (7-6). Wednesday (7:10, NESN) finds John Lackey (8-11) vs. Bud Norris (9-10) with the series finale on Thursday (7:10, NESN): Jon Lester (12-7) against Chris Tillman (14-4).

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Jon Lester Looks Like An Ace Again: In A Pitcher's Park Against a Crappy Lineup

After losing three series in a row and going 3-7 in their last 10 games, not to mention holding on by the skin of their teeth (1 game lead on Tampa Bay) to first place in the AL East, tonight the Red Sox desperately needed a win. Jon Lester (11-7) delivered the goods with his best performance of the season (8.1 shutout innings, 6 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks) as Boston (74-53 overall, 34-30 away) began a six-game road trip with a 7-0 pasting of the Giants (55-69 overall, 31-32 home) at AT&T Park. The Rays opened their pivotal series in Baltimore with a 4-3 win to remain one game back of the Red Sox.

The ghost of Tim Lincecum (6-13) stopped by for a little while (5 innings, 5 earned runs, 9 hits, 104 pitches) but he turned out to be an imposter with short hair and nothing but junk pitches in his arsenal. For whatever reason, he's not fooling anyone these days and Boston made him pay rather quickly for being no better than average. The Red Sox plated three runs in the second inning on Will Middlebrooks' sacrifice fly, Daniel Nava (3 hits, 2 runs, RBI, walk) scored on a wild pitch and Shane Victorino (3 hits) drove in Stephen Drew (2 hits) with an RBI single.

Drew added an RBI double in the fifth then Jacoby Ellsbury scored on another wild pitch (this time by reliever Guillermo Moscoso) in the sixth. Jarrod Saltalamacchia's (2 hits, 2 runs, walk) RBI double in the ninth and Nava's RBI single served to pad their stats. The Red Sox ended up with twice as many hits (12-6) as the Giants, who it's safe to say won't be winning their third World Series title in four seasons this fall.

John Farrell wanted Lester to get the complete game but he was lifted after allowing back-to-back singles with one out in the ninth and throwing 115 pitches. Brandon Workman came on to strike out the last two San Francisco batters to secure the shutout.

Tomorrow night (10:15, NESN) Jake Peavy (9-5) faces Ryan Vogelsong (2-4); Xander Bogaerts was called up today along with David Ross and both are expected to be in the lineup for the middle game. That would be the MLB debut for Boston's top positional prospect who has been tearing it up all summer at Portland (Double-A) and Pawtucket (Triple-A).

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Napoli Returns From The Abyss With Clutch 2-Run HR But Red Sox Still Fall 4-3 in 10

Moral victories are for losers but I feel like if the Red Sox are going to go anywhere the rest of this season, they can take something (Mike Napoli not striking out in a key spot) from tonight's 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Boston (72-50 overall, 33-29 road) couldn't win its second extra innings game in as many nights but Toronto (55-65 overall, 30-32 home) made it way tougher on themselves than it had to be.

The Red Sox were down to their last out in the ninth but Napoli cranked a two-run opposite field home run, his 15th of the season, against Brett Cecil. The Blue Jays bounced back by scoring the winning run in the 10th on Brett Lawrie's infield single which plated Rajai Davis (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 doubles).

Scrub Esmil Rogers completely flummoxed Boston for six innings: one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Jon Lester was decent-6.1 innings, three runs (two earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks-aside from his two errors (one which cost him a run).

In honor of the Little League World Series which begins tomorrow in Williamsport, PA, Boston handed Davis a Little League style home run in the third. His infield single went off Lester's leg then the pitcher made a throwing error to first and after heading for third, Davis' blazing speed forced another error-this time by right fielder Shane Victorino-that allowed the New London, CT native to score.

Mark DeRosa made it 2-0 Toronto in the fourth with a bloop RBI double. David Ortiz got the Red Sox back into it with a solo homer to right center, his 23rd of the season, in the sixth inning. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had two doubles but Boston wasn't able to push another run across until the ninth when Jonny Gomes walked and his buddy Napoli finally showed some of his elusive power.

Edwin Encarnacion had a pair of doubles, scored two runs, walked and stole a base for the Blue Jays.

In tomorrow night's (7:07, NESN) series finale, it is a battle of former White Sox: Jake Peavy (9-4) vs. Mark Buehrle (8-7). Both teams are looking for the series win after splitting the first two contests. Plus, Boston tries to go .500 (5-5) on this lengthy road trip through three cities (Houston, Kansas City and Toronto) that are really spread out.

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Red Sox Blow 3 Different Leads, Lose 9-6 To Royals

After witnessing the very good side of Jake Peavy last Saturday in his Red Sox debut, tonight we were treated to the mediocre version of the former 2009 NL Cy Young winner that has been kicking around MLB the last few years (except for last year's contract drive). Already in two nights, the Royals (60-53 overall, 31-25 home) have proven that they can win with pitching (5-1 last night) or hitting-the example being tonight's 9-6 win over the Red Sox (70-48 overall, 31-27 away) at Kauffman Stadium.

There is a reason that Kansas City is 4-1 against Boston this season including four straight victories, they are a good ballclub. What they lack in great pitching, they seem to make up for in clutch hitting and timely plays. In a way they are a poor man's version of the Orioles from last season. With this win, the Royals pulled within 4.5 games of the Wild Card and only a half game behind the Indians.

Peavy was never right in this contest, he went only 5+ innings, allowing six earned runs on 10 hits with one walk and no strikeouts. Royals starter Ervin Santana was actually worse since he lasted 3.2 innings and also gave up six earned runs. Boston's bullpen completely melted down in the sixth inning as Peavy, Drizzy Drake Britton and Pedro "Not Martinez" Beato combined to allow six runs.

Boston had been up 6-3 after Mike Napoli's (2 hits, walk, run) three-run double in the fourth. Kansas City responded with an RBI single by Alcides Escobar (2 hits, 2 runs), a sacrifice fly by David Lough, two-run single by Eric Hosmer (3 hits, run), RBI double by Billy Butler (3 hits, run) and RBI single by Justin Maxwell.

Fireballer Kelvin Herrera pitched a scoreless seventh, Worcester's Tim Collins walked the first two batters he faced in the eighth but managed to get out of the frame unscathed and closer Greg Holland recorded his 31st save with a 1-2-3 ninth on 11 pitches (2 strikeouts).

In the early going, both teams traded runs. Daniel Nava opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first and the Red Sox had been 46-9 coming into tonight when they scored first. Maxwell homered in the second to tie it and Lough's RBI single put Kansas City up 2-1. David Ortiz (2 hits, 2 runs) tied it in the third with a solo homer to right, his 22nd of the season. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) put Boston back in front with an RBI double that made it 3-2. Alex Gordon tied it with a solo homer in the home half of the third.

More than anything tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) besides a win (duh!), the Red Sox desperately need a good start from Felix Doubront (8-5) against Jeremy Guthrie (12-7). Boston caught a huge break after this humbling loss as the Rays choked away a 6-0 lead and 6-3 advantage in the ninth for a 7-6 loss to the Dodgers. Tampa Bay has lost three in a row so they are stuck two games behind the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. Baltimore won its third game in a row(5-2 over the Giants in 10 innings), trimming their deficit to 4.5 games back of Boston.

UPDATE 8/10: Brandon Snyder went on the DL with a fake elbow injury and Will Middlebrooks makes his triumphant (we hope) return from Pawtucket. Middlebrooks is in the lineup tonight, batting ninth and playing third base. Also, Franklin Morales was recalled with Pedro Beato being sent down to Pawtucket.

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Jake Peavy Makes Quite The Positive Impression In His Red Sox Debut

The natural fanboy/honk reaction to Jake Peavy's excellent start tonight is to think "see, that's why the Red Sox traded for him!" Clearly I'm excited that he looked really good but let's pump the brakes before we start anointing him as the starter for Game 1 of the World Series this October.

Boston (67-45 overall, 38-21 home) beat Arizona (56-54 overall, 26-30 away) 5-2 at Fenway Park as Peavy (9-4) was able to outduel young Diamondbacks ace Patrick Corbin (12-3). It was 1-1 in the seventh until Jacoby Ellsbury (40th stolen base) drove in Stephen Drew (2 hits) with an RBI single and Shane Victorino (2 hits) scored Brock Holt with a sacrifice fly.

Aaron Hill (2 hits) cut it to 3-2 in the eighth with an RBI single but Junichi Tazawa was able to get out of an inherited bases loaded and no outs jam by only allowing one run. Jonny Gomes-who is making a late run at a Gold Glove (haha)-threw out Cliff Pennington at home to keep the Red Sox ahead by a run. That was Tazawa's 18th hold of the season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia added two important insurance runs with a two-run homer to center, his 10th of the season, in the home half of the eighth. From there, Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th save of the season. Uehara walked a batter (his ninth of the season) but I guess he's excused since he has 70 strikeouts and a 1.43 ERA.

Let's be real, Peavy is not an ace anymore but maybe he can catch lightning in a bottle (cliché alert) for a few months and get the Red Sox deep into the playoffs. Who is Clay Buchholz? The native of Alabama (Roll Tide!) went seven plus strong innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Corbin matched him most of the way, he went six innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks. As a lefty, his stuff is nasty so there is a reason he looks destined to win many awards this season and in his entire MLB career.

Paul Goldschmidt has enjoyed his weekend at Fenway, he cranked his second homer in as many nights. This time it was to straightaway center, for a 1-0 Arizona lead in the fourth. Victorino answered with a rocket that just found its way into the first row of the Monster seats, his seventh homer of the season, in the fifth inning to tie it at one.

Diamondbacks catcher Wil Nieves was 2 for 3 with a run in the loss.

Both teams go for the series victory tomorrow afternoon (1:35) as Felix Doubront (7-5) takes on Brandon McCarthy (2-4), who is coming off the DL.

UPDATE 8/4: Daniel Nava will go on the paternity list for the Astros series and Brandon Workman will replace him on the active roster.

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Workman Picks Up 1st MLB Win, Red Sox Bats Come Alive Against Lifeless Mariners

To state the obvious: Joe Saunders (9-10) is not David Price. The Red Sox (64-44 overall, 35-20 home) must have been thrilled to get away from Tampa Bay's ace ( who stymied them twice in less than a week) as Boston beat up on Seattle (50-56 overall, 21-28 away) 8-2 tonight at Fenway Park in the series opener.

Rookie Brandon Workman (1-1) earned his first MLB win but will likely be sent to the bullpen (more on that in a subsequent post). He went six innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. Kendry Morales (2 hits) actually gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single but they wouldn't score again until Henry Blanco's garbage time RBI single in the ninth.

Boston had 11 hits, led by Shane Victorino's (3 for 4 with 3 hits, 2 doubles and 2 runs) sixth three-hit game of the season, Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 runs, 3 RBIs) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) both notched a pair of hits as well.

The Red Sox scored twice in the first to take the lead for good. Victorino came home on a passed ball and David Ortiz had an RBI single. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a solo homer into Seattle's bullpen in the second, his fifth homer of the season, and two batters later Pedroia cranked a two-run bomb (his 7th) into the Monster seats.

Pedroia added an RBI single in the fourth and Jarrod Saltalamacchia crushed a two-run homer to right center in the eighth (his 9th).

Tampa Bay stayed red hot with a 5-2 win over Arizona and Baltimore beat Houston 4-3 meaning things at the top of the AL East remained the same. The Rays lead the Red Sox by half a game and Boston is up 4.5 games on the Orioles.

Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) John Lackey (7-8) takes on Hisashi Iwakuma (10-4) in the middle game of the series.

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Red Sox Retake Lead In AL East Over Rays With Mere 56 Games Left

Since 2011, the Orioles have completely owned the Red Sox. Baltimore (58-48 overall, 30-22 home) is 6-4 against Boston (63-43 overall, 29-24 away) this season but the Red Sox have started to make some progress by winning their first series against the Orioles since July 2011 (following six series losses).

Coming on the heels of last night's 7-3 victory at Camden Yards last night, this afternoon Boston blanked Baltimore 5-0 thanks to Jon Lester's (10-6) best outing of the season to take two out of three this weekend.

Lester went seven innings, allowing only four hits and tying a season-high with eight strikeouts and two walks. Matt Thornton pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Pedro Beato had a 1-2-3 ninth for the shutout.

As they've fallen five games behind the Red Sox for control of the AL East, the O's clearly need to make a move or else they will probably be left in the dust by Boston and Tampa Bay. Baltimore's rotation is a mess and it's hard to see them making the playoffs for the second year in a row with bums like Jason Hammel (7-8) being counted on. Who would have thought that their unexplainable success would tail off a bit?

The Red Sox went up 1-0 in the first inning on Mike Napoli's (2 doubles, run) RBI double. David Ortiz (4 for 4 with 2 runs) hit a two-run homer in the third which gave him 12 straight seasons of 20+ homers (11 w/Boston).

Playing in back-to-back games even though the day game followed a night game, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) made Red Sox manager John Farrell look good with a two-run single in the eighth for the 5-0 Boston lead. Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5 with a run in the win.

Rain moved last Thursday's Red Sox-Rays game to Monday night (6:10, NESN)-a mutual off day for both teams-in Boston. Tampa Bay (62-43 overall, 2nd in AL East) lost 6-5 to the Yankees this afternoon so Boston is half a game ahead of the Rays once again. Felix Doubront (7-4) faces David Price (5-5) as the Red Sox go for the series split (2-2). You'll remember Price from his complete game 5-1 win at Fenway last Wednesday.

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You Know Things Are Going Well When Jonny Gomes Is Hitting Walk-Off Bombs

So have you jumped back on the Red Sox bandwagon yet? If not, you're missing out on a fun team that seems to get better by the game. Tonight, Boston (52-34 overall, 30-16 home) delivered its MLB-best (tied with Giants) eighth walk-off win of 2013, 2-1 over San Diego (40-45 overall, 15-27 away) at Fenway Park on Jonny Gomes' solo homer just over the Monster.

Gomes pinch-hit to start the bottom of the ninth and came through with his sixth homer of the season. It was also his third walk-off hit of 2013 (2 homers) which is pretty remarkable for a guy that I thought was completely useless when they signed him. He's not a great player by any means but he obviously has a clear role as a clubhouse leader and pinch-hitting specialist. In the last two nights alone, I've had to admit that John Lackey is pitching really well and Gomes is the perfect fit for a squad like this.

Jon Lester got a no-decision but that shouldn't hide the fact that this was his best start in a month and a half. He went seven innings, allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He threw 31 pitches in the first inning and gave up an RBI single to Kyle Blanks in the frame so lasting that long and getting into a rhythm was key.

The Padres had been playing well up until a few weeks back but now they've lost five in a row and haven't scored more than two runs in any of those contests. Edinson Volquez (6 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk) was good and Nick Vincent pitched a scoreless seventh but Luke Gregerson (4-4) choked when Bud Black tried to coax another inning out of him.

The Red Sox tied it at one in the fourth on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's RBI single which drove in Mike Carp (2 for 4, double). Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a double and stolen base while Carlos Quentin was 3 for 4 with a double and run in the loss.

Junichi Tazawa had maybe his best outing of the season as he struck out the side in the eighth and Koji Uehara (2-0) continued his magical first half with a 1-2-3 ninth including a strikeout for the win.

Boston is 7-1 on this excellent homestand and they'll try to close it out tomorrow afternoon (1:35, NESN) with a sweep of San Diego on the Fourth of July. Red Sox rookie Allen Webster (0-2) looks for his first MLB win against Eric Stults (6-6).

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Hey, Let's All Gather Round The Dumpster Fire-I Mean The Los Angeles Angels In 2013

The Angels are proof that you can spend a shit ton of money in MLB and assemble an All-Star lineup yet come nowhere close to being .500. Every time you see Los Angeles (haha them or the Dodgers) you think "hey, they'll turn it around at some point." This weekend at Fenway Park is a statement that no, they probably won't.

The teams split a day-night doubleheader yesterday (after Friday's game was rained out) but Boston (39-25 overall, 21-14 home) beat Los Angeles (27-36 overall, 12-18 away) 10-5 this afternoon. With the win, the Red Sox moved a season-high 14 games over .500, improved to an MLB-best 13-6 in day games and 13-6-2 in all series. Oh and they have the best record in the American League.

I'm not saying it's all Angels manager Mike Scioscia's fault since by and large, I think that baseball managers are mostly useless but after 14 years in charge (longest tenured in MLB), hey maybe it's time for a new voice. Just a thought.

Whatever is going on with the Angels, it's clear that this current group isn't working. They missed the playoffs last season and at this pace, they look like they'll out of contention by the All-Star break this year. Explain to me how that's possible with Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, Mark Trumbo, Howie Kendrick, Jered Weaver, etc on your club. Weird.

Anywho, Boston took the rubber game by smashing four home runs. Pujols (.241) showed that he's not completely washed up with a solo shot to right center in the first inning but Joe Blanton (1-10) was given the task of winning a game. Haha yeah good luck with that. In five innings of batting practice, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts and a walk. He allowed three of the four homers by the Red Sox.

Daniel Nava tied it with an RBI single in the third then David Ortiz crushed a three-run bomb, his 13th of the season, to right center that gave Boston a 4-1 lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Ryan Dempster (4-6) got the ball for Boston and he did enough: six innings, three earned runs, six hits, six strikeouts and two walks. He notched his 2000th career strikeout (which I never would have guessed), only the second Canadian to have done that in MLB (what up Ferguson Jenkins?). If there's one thing that Dempster loves more than strikeouts, it's solo homers. He gave up another one, this time to Alberto Callaspo in the fourth.

Jacoby Ellsbury (walk, run, stolen base) answered with an RBI triple (his sixth of the season) in home half of the fourth. Mark Trumbo (2 hits, 2 walks) had an RBI single in the fifth but that's all the Angels would get until garbage time in the eighth.

Blanton gave up back-to-back solo homers to Mike Carp (6th of the season) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (8th of the season) in the sixth. Salty added a two-run bomb in the seventh.

J.B. Shuck-the guy with one of the best names in MLB had a two-run single in the eighth for Los Angeles. What a waste of Mike Trout's (3 for 5 with 2 doubles, run) many talents.

Boston finished 4-2 on this homestand vs. Rangers and Angels with two more series victories against AL West opponents. Looking ahead, their next 14 games are no joke: three at Tampa Bay (34-28, 4th in AL East), four at Baltimore (35-28, 3rd in AL East) then three at Fenway vs. Rays and four in Detroit. Ouch babe.

The Red Sox are 5-1 against the Rays this season but I don't really expect that to stay so one-sided. Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN), John Lackey (3-5) faces Alex Cobb (6-2)-Tampa Bay's next great young pitcher. On Tuesday (7:10, NESN) Jon Lester (6-2) faces the artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona (now Roberto Hernandez who is 3-6) and Wednesday (7:10, NESN) is Clay Buchholz's spot in the rotation but at the moment he's TBD vs. rookie Chris Archer (1-1).

UPDATE 6/10: Will Middlebrooks was recalled from Pawtucket and Pedro Ciriaco was designated for assignment.

Franklin Morales will start on Wednesday for the Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay. Buchholz is supposedly questionable for a start on Friday which doesn't sound very promising.

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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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"Dear God, I Think That's Alfredo Aceves' Music!" (Jim Ross Voice)

At this moment, it's all good on Yawkey Way. The Red Sox debuted hideous new camoflauge jerseys & hats in honor of Memorial Day (cha-ching) and Alfredo Aceves had a solid start (shocking I know) in a 8-3 win over the Phillies at Fenway Park. With Boston's (32-20 overall, 17-11 home) victory over Philadelphia (24-27 overall, 13-15 away) in its first interleague game of the season, the Red Sox regained first place in the AL East since the Yankees fell to the Mets.

Boston has won four games in a row, five of its last six and 10 of its last 13 to go a season-high 12 games over .500. With Clay Buchholz temporarily sidelined, Aceves (2-1) stepped in and pitched six innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Philadelphia is a bit of a mess but anytime Aceves can pitch that well, you have to be thrilled since it doesn't happen that often anymore.

Poor rookie Tyler Cloyd (1-1) was a sacrificial lamb for the Phillies. In 2.1 innings, he allowed six earned runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Thanks for showing up Tyler.

Boston had 15 hits, led by Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, 2 doubles, run, RBI), Mike Napoli (homer, double, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, walk), Stephen Drew (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 walks), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits, RBI) and David Ortiz (2 hits, double, walk, RBI).

Not sure if you've noticed yet but Dustin Pedroia is playing at an MVP level and yes, I know it's still only May so who cares? He hit a two-run homer around Peskey's Pole in the first inning (his third homer of the season) and two batters later, Napoli followed with an opposite field bomb of his own (his eighth of the season) for a 3-0 Red Sox advantage.

Something called an Erik Kratz hit a solo homer in the third inning but that was Aceves' only real mistake. Boston added three runs in the home half of the frame on Napoli's RBI double, Drew's RBI single and Ellsbury's RBI double. Salty had an RBI single in the fifth and another run scored on the play thanks to a Phillies error.

Domonic Brown hit a two-run homer in the eighth for Philadelphia and Drew rounded out the long but satisfying game with a bases loaded walk later in the eighth.

The struggling Ryan Dempster (2-5) faces a big challenge tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in the form or Cliff Lee (5-2) who is still one of the best pitchers in MLB. It's the last game of this home-and-home set at Fenway, meaning under the superior AL rules. Get ready to see Ortiz in the field starting on Wednesday along with the pitchers being forced to bat!

UPDATE 5/28: Franklin Morales was activated and Aceves was sent back to Pawtucket, thanks for playing Alfredo!

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All Good Things Must Come To An End: Red Sox & Jon Lester Edition

The Red Sox came into Chicago tonight having won an MLB-best five games in a row. They had Jon Lester on the mound against something called Dylan Axelrod. Of course the reverse lock was in effect as Boston (27-18 overall, 14-8 away) fell 6-4 to the White Sox (20-23 overall, 9-9 home) at US Cellular Field.

It was never really close or particularly interesting since Chicago jumped all over Lester (6-1) from the start. Adam Dunn hit a three-run bomb to right in the first inning, Alejandro De Aza had an RBI double and Alexei Ramirez added another RBI double (3 in a row for Chicago) for a 5-0 lead in the second.

Boston got on the board in the third via Jarrod Saltalamacchia's (2 hits) two-run homer (his fifth of the season) to left center but Dayan Viciedo tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single in the fifth. Middlebrooks atoned for his earlier error in a sense, although by then it was too late, with a two-run double in the seventh.

Lester's final line was ugly: six innings, six runs (five earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts and three walks. I guess that he was due for a loss. Axelrod (2-3) threw junk but it worked tonight: six innings, two earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts and a walk. White Sox manager Robin Ventura for some reason decided to take him out after only 83 pitches and he immediately paid for that curious decision since Matt Thornton served up Salty's homer.

The back end of Chicago's bullpen was solid though as Jesse Crain pitched a scoreless eighth for his 13th hold of the season and closer Addison Reed had a scoreless ninth with a strikeout to earn his 15th save of the season.

In the nightly injury to Shane Victorino segment, our favorite crippled Hawaiian left in the sixth inning with hamstring tightness. Listen, we all love the hard-nosed style he plays but it's clear that his body is completely breaking down on him. Oh well, at least the Red Sox signed him to a three-year deal. Ugh!

I'm not ready to fully devote my attention to baseball so I'm thrilled that the Bruins are still alive and playing well. Tomorrow night's Bruins-Rangers Game 3 will certainly distract me from the big Felix Doubront (3-1) vs. Jose Quintana (2-1) matchup (8:10 p.m., NESN) on the Southside of Chicago.

UPDATE 5/21: I forgot to mention yesterday that closer Andrew Bailey was activated and reliever Jose De La Torre was sent down to Pawtucket.

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Lester's Gem Breaks Red Sox Out of Their Slump

In their first prolonged bad stretch of the 2013 season, the Red Sox needed somebody to step up and turn things around after losing three straight games to the lowly Twins and six of their last seven overall. Enter Jon Lester who threw a one-hitter tonight as Boston beat Toronto 5-0 at Fenway Park.

Not only did Lester (5-0) save the Red Sox' (22-14 overall, 13-8 home) exhausted bullpen but he turned in one of the best outings of his stellar career. Don't forget he had a no-hitter against the Royals in 2008 at Fenway and had the clinching win in Game 4 against Colorado in the 2007 World Series. After taking no decisions in his last two starts, he had great control as he struck out five and didn't walk anybody.

The Blue Jays (13-24 overall, 6-12 away) are one of the worst teams in MLB, that's the only thing that tempers this gem a bit. They could make many pitchers look like Cy Young in his prime at the moment. Their starting pitcher Ramon Ortiz (0-1) only allowed one earned run in five innings but he was still charged with the loss. It's a tough life buddy. Reliever Brett Cecil was the real culprit since he allowed three earned runs, in that case he should have taken the loss in my opinion.

The Red Sox had 10 hits and Shane Victorino was 2 for 3 with two walks and a run. Boston scored a run in the second on a ground out by Will Middlebrooks (2 doubles) then they put it away with four runs in the seventh. Dustin Pedroia (2 for 3, run, walk) had an RBI single, Daniel Nava (2 runs, walk) added a two-run double and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) closed it out with an RBI double.

It could be another long day for the Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m.) as Clay Buchholz (6-0) faces Mark Buehrle (1-2), another pitching matchup which totally favors the home team.

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