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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Red Sox Take 3 of 4 From Indians Thanks To Ellsbury's Walk-off 2-Run Double

Every good season in MLB features at least a few signature wins and memorable moments. Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) provided the best win of 2013 for the Red Sox with a walk-off two-run double against the Indians for a 6-5 Red Sox victory. It was the team's fourth walk-off win of the season.

With the Red Sox win and a Yankees loss, Boston and New York are now tied atop the AL East.

Boston (31-20 overall, 16-11 home) ripped Cleveland's (27-22 overall, 12-12 road) heart out in back-to-back games with a pair of improbable comebacks (their bullpen had been 8-0 going into Saturday's contest) which led to a series win (3-1) and three consecutive wins for the home team. The Red Sox finished the season series 5-1 against former manager Terry Francona's new squad.

Boston trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the eighth before Jose Iglesias' sacrifice fly cut it to 5-2. Mike Napoli and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each had RBI ground outs to bring Boston within a run in the ninth. Indians closer Chris Perez (0.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 hits, 3 walks) was the main scapegoat for Cleveland even though Joe Smith came in for one pitch-Ellsbury's two-run double-that cost the Indians the game. Making matters worse, Perez had to leave the game with an arm/shoulder injury.

Felix Doubront pitched well (6 IP, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks) but the immoral Corey Kluber (6.2 IP, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk) was even better for the Indians.

Ellsbury and Stephen Drew (3 for 4 with double, triple, 3 runs) cost Boston a pair of runs in the first as they let Carlos Santana's pop up to center drop in for two runs.

Daniel Nava got the Red Sox started with an RBI single in the third inning. Jason Kipnis (3 runs, 2 hits) hit the cheapest homer you can get in Fenway, 319 feet around Pesky's Pole, for a solo shot in the fifth and Nick Swisher (2 hits) added a solo homer of his own in the sixth but at least his went well over the Monster-a little more impressive. Swisher's sacrifice fly in the eighth made it 5-1 as Cleveland looked poised to get a series split.

Alex Wilson pitched a scoreless seventh for the Red Sox and Craig Breslow (2-0) went the last two innings and earned the win despite allowing Swisher's sac fly.

The weather is finally supposed to get nice tomorrow-fittingly for Memorial Day-and Boston begins Interleague play for this season with two games at Fenway against the Phillies (24-26, 3rd in NL East) then two in the City of Brotherly Love. Clay Buchholz was scratched from tomorrow night's (7:10 p.m., NESN) start after he slept wrong on his collarbone holding his baby (haha OK?) and Alfredo Aceves (1-1) will make a spot start against rookie Tyler Cloyd (1-0). On Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Ryan Dempster (2-5) faces Cliff Lee (5-2). Wednesday night (7:05 p.m., NESN) at Citizens Bank Park, John Lackey (3-4) takes on Kyle Kendrick (4-3) and on Thursday night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (6-1) meets rookie Jonathan Pettibone (3-0).

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Josh Beckett Cements His Place In The Boston Sports Scumbag Hall Of Fame

It is hard to believe how far both the Boston Red Sox and Josh Beckett have fallen off the map in the last few months (going back to September). The ringleader of last season's chicken and beer fiasco, who should have been traded over the winter, has completely given up on his career. Or so it seems. There's no other way to explain it since a guy with his talent should never be this consistently awful.

The Cleveland Indians (18-13, 10-3 away) beat the Red Sox (12-19, 4-11 home) 8-3 tonight in the series opener at Fenway Park. Boston has now lost three games in a row and eight out of nine overall plus 11 of its last 12 games at Fenway.

Beckett (2-4) had his shortest start in nearly four years as he couldn't make it out of the third inning, against a weak hitting team. In the first start since his golf trip last week, the Texas Toughguy showed his true colors by folding easier than anyone could have possibly imagined. In 2.1 innings, he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

The best part was that Bobby Valentine had to take him out of the middle of the third so that allowed the crowd to really get on Beckett. If the Red Sox are going to go down in flames like this, at least we can all enjoy booing the hell out of a worthless piece of shit like him.

Cleveland scored two runs in the second and four in the third. Former Red Sox first baseman Casey Kotchman opened the floodgates with a sacrifice fly. Jack Hannahan (3rd of the season) hit a two-run homer to right.

It only got worse for Beckett as Jason Kipnis (6th of the season) hit a solo homer to right in the third, followed by Shin-Soo Choo's RBI double and Michael Brantley's (4 hits) double that scored two.

Former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe (5-1), who is a few weeks away from his 39th birthday, proved that some guys are winners and never lose the desire to compete in MLB. The sinkerballer went six easy innings, allowing two earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk. And to think, the Red Sox easily could have picked him up with a throwaway trade to the Braves.

Daniel Nava had an RBI double in the fifth, his first game in 2012 with Boston, then Dustin Pedroia (5th of the season) homered to right in the seventh. Pedroia actually came to the plate as the tying run with two outs in the eighth and the bases loaded but he popped up.

Carlos Santana tacked on one more Indians run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly.

The main reason that the Red Sox have been so brutal is that their starting rotation is nothing less than a nightmare. You keep waiting for somebody to step up and throw a gem but other than Lester's win in Chicago, that has been severely lacking. I've said the bullpen has sucked (and it has at times) but who can blame them when they've been forced to throw 3+ innings every single game.

Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2) faces Clay Buchholz (3-1) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and if you want to make some money: bet against Boston. I'm serious, for whatever reason they were pretty big favorites tonight. We might as well get something tangible from this lost season, it's only a matter of time before Vegas figures out that this team is hopeless and changes up the lines.

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Yawn, Another Walk-Off Hit For Jacoby Ellsbury Vs. Cleveland

For a player that had never felt the joy of a walk-off hit in the majors, Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is sure getting used to the feeling as he had his second in a row against the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park.

Whereas last night's single won it in the ninth, Ellsbury ratcheted up the excitement this evening with a solo homer (his 18th of the season) with two outs in the ninth against Cleveland (54-54) reliever Joe Smith (2-2).

As a fun footnote, the ball landed in the first row of the center field bleachers about 10 rows in front of where I was sitting with my girlfriend and other friends from college. That makes it 2-for-2 for my girlfriend and I this season in terms of Red Sox (68-41) wins of the walk-off variety in both games we've attended (also Carl Crawford's single vs. Seattle on May 1).

For the second straight outing, Tim Wakefield pitched well enough to notch his 200th career win on most nights but he got a no-decision after 6.2 innings of work. He allowed three earned runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Hey, what's another few days to MLB's oldest player (he just turned 45 yesterday)?

Indians starter Carlos Carrasco also got a no-decision. He went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Reddick all had two hits as Boston outhit Cleveland by a 2-to-1 margin (10-5) overall.

David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first with a two-run single which scored Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis.

Jason Kipnis put a run up for the Tribe with a solo homer (second night in a row he's done that) in the fourth followed later by an RBI double by Travis Hafner in the same frame that tied it at two.

Ortiz scored on Marco Scutaro's fielder's choice in the fourth.

Ezequiel Carrera's ground-rule double to right scored Lonnie Chisenhall in the seventh but Ellsbury sent everyone home happy with his blast in the ninth.

Like Ellsbury, Jonathan Papelbon (4-0) had another notable performance as he picked up his second win in as many nights with a 1-2-3 ninth complete with a strikeout. The unsung hero (and who thought I'd ever say this in my life) was Randy Williams. Yes, that one. He served as the bridge between Wakefield and Papelbon, getting four very important outs including no hits and two strikeouts.

Tomorrow night's series finale is an intriguing one as Erik Bedard makes his Red Sox debut against former Boston hurler Justin Masterson (who consistently pitches well against his old team). The Red Sox will look to win the series 3-1 and gain some steam going into a huge weekend meeting with the Yankees, who sit only one game back in the AL East.

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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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