Red Sox Beat A's 4-2 In Series Opener With More Help On The Way-Matt Thornton

You couldn't possibly ask for anything more (within reason) from the Red Sox at the moment: thanks to their 4-2 win tonight against the A's at O.Co Coliseum, Boston (58-37 overall, 27-21 away) moved to a season-high 21 games over .500 while also opening up a 4.5 game lead over the Rays for first place in the AL East (Tampa Bay lost 2-1 to Houston). Oh by the way, they also flipped something called Brandon Jacobs (not the former Giants running back) and cash to the White Sox for reliever Matt Thornton. Damn.

Thornton will be 37 in September but he's still one of the better lefthanded relievers in MLB and a more than suitable replacement for Andrew Miller. He was an All-Star in 2010 and has a career line of 32-41 with 23 saves, 169 holds, 3.53 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. Keep in mind that it's hard to gauge numbers for setup men, especially ones that have been on some really bad teams-like this year's edition of the White Sox. He is a big guy (6-6, 235 pounds) that throws in the mid-90s and should be a welcome addition to Boston's ragtag bullpen that only had one lefty (Craig Breslow) remaining in it since Miller got hurt on Saturday.

It has gotten to the point where I'm actually expecting a good start from John Lackey (7-6) every time out. He went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts and four walks. Don't be surprised if a pitcher pulls out of the All-Star Game for the AL in the next few days that Lackey could be heading to Citi Field. Seriously.

Oakland (54-39 overall, 28-15 home) got a fine outing from Jarrod Parker (7 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits, 3 strikeouts) but reliever Sean Doolittle (3-3) was the weak link as he gave up a two-run single to Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) that made it 4-2 in the eighth. Former A's closer Andrew Bailey pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts for his eighth hold and Koji Uehara struck out the side for his eighth save of the season.

Boston never trailed as Brock Holt opened the scoring with a two-run single of his own in the second. The A's chipped away with an RBI single by John Jaso in the fifth and former Red Sox great (stop laughing) Jed Lowrie tied it with a solo homer off Lackey in the sixth.

Mike Napoli was 2 for 4 with a triple and run in the win, the fourth straight for the Red Sox who improved to 5-3 on this endless West Coast road trip.

Tomorrow night (10:05, NESN) Jon Lester (8-5) tries to end his first half on a good note as he takes on A.J. Griffin (7-6).

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I Know Results Don't "Matter" Anymore This Season For The Red Sox But Dear Lord

The Red Sox celebrated Labor Day 2012-the unofficial end of the summer-the only way that they know how to these days: with another forgettable defeat, their season-high seventh in a row. At this juncture, they have become that nasty turd that takes multiple flushes to get rid of; they won't just go away quietly into the night.

In the series opener, Seattle (66-70, 35-32 home) breezed past Boston (62-74, 30-36 away) 4-1 this afternoon at Safeco Field. Over their last 32 games, the Red Sox are 9-23. It's their worst 32-game stretch since August 22-October 2, 2001, when they went 8-24.

The Red Sox have been outscored 58-16 during their current 7-game losing streak which makes 0-9 on this West Coast road trip seem very likely. Conversely, the Mariners have a good chance to finish at or above .500 (which is a big accomplishment when you look at their roster) thanks to their great play at home-17-3 last 20 at Safeco.

Jason Vargas (14-9) continued to bolster his reputation as one of the most underrated starting pitchers in the American League. He went seven innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Josh Kinney had a scoreless eighth inning for his fourth hold while closer Tom Wilhelmsen wrapped up his 23rd save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Clay Buchholz (11-5) went seven innings but he allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with eight strikeouts and a walk.

Dustin Pedroia has become the only brightspot left for the Red Sox. He was 2 for 3 with a double, run, walk and two stolen bases. Ryan Kalish added two singles for Boston which only had six total hits.

Cody Ross drove in Pedroia with an RBI single in the first. It was all downhill from there as Seattle scored all four of its runs in the fourth inning. John Jaso and Justin Smoak had RBI singles then two runs scored on Jacoby Ellsbury's throwing error and a ground out by Carlos Peguero.

Washington state native Jon Lester (8-11) gets the ball tomorrow night (10:10 p.m., NESN) vs. Blake Beavan (9-8). I'm already falling asleep just thinking about that electrifying matchup.

UPDATE 8/4: Red Sox acquired minor-league catcher Guillermo Quiroz from the Mariners for cash considerations. He has had cups of coffee with Toronto, Texas, Baltimore and Seattle; he was added to the Red Sox roster before Tuesday's game. He hit .278 with 15 doubles and 15 home runs in 89 games with Triple-A Tacoma this season.

Additionally, Boston brought up Clayton Mortensen for the sixth time this season. Despite that number, he's earned at least a long look in next year's spring training. He's basically a younger Scott Atchison which is a compliment.

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Heartless In Seattle: Red Sox Suffer 2nd Walk-off Loss In 3 Nights To The Shitbum Mariners

If they're going to lose, the Red Sox should at least have the decency to get it over with in nine innings when they are out on the West Coast.

Tonight, Boston (41-37, 20-16 away) fell to 0-5 in extra innings (0-2 on the road) as they lost 3-2 in 11 innings to Seattle (34-46, 15-22 home) at Safeco Field.

Chone Figgins's sacrifice fly scored Dustin Ackley (2 hits) with the winning run. Much like John Jaso's walk-off single two nights ago, right fielder Cody Ross made a fine throw to home but once again catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia couldn't handle it. Guess he didn't practice that between games. This was a tougher play (less time, bad hop) but he's still got to make it if he is to ever going to be considered an All-Star.

For those keeping track at home, Seattle has scored a total of four runs in the first three games of this series yet they are 2-1. Boston can do no better than a split provided that they win tomorrow afternoon.

Before the game, outfielder Darnell McDonald was designated for assignment which means the Red Sox have 10 days to trade, release or send him to Pawtucket. With all the young outfielders that have come up plus Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford rehabbing, it was simply a numbers decision. D-Mac was a good teammate but his lack of production didn't justify a spot with Boston anymore. Good luck to him moving forward.

This game couldn't have fallen much more in the Red Sox' favor since Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez left in the third inning with an injury. That meant that Seattle had to use six relievers to close it out. Somehow it all worked with Shawn Kelley (2-2) getting a 1-2-3 11th with two strikeouts to earn the win.

Boston's closer Alfredo Aceves (0-5) ended up going 2.1 innings (25 pitches) which means he could be unavailable tomorrow in a save situation.

Josh Beckett's first start in 19 days was about all you could positively expect: six innings, two earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

The Red Sox' inept offense killed them this evening as they went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 guys on base, brutal numbers for a team that had pounded the ball on its most recent homestand (7-2).

John Jaso gave Seattle a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the sixth. Boston tied it with two in the seventh on Ryan Kalish's ground out and a passed ball by Miguel Olivo which allowed Will Middlebrooks to score.

Adrian Gonzalez was 3-for-5 with a run but he also got gunned out at second base in the eighth inning trying to stretch a single into a double. Making it sting more, that was the third out.

Cody Ross had two hits and a walk for Boston while Ichiro (run, stolen base) and Olivo each produced two hits for Seattle.

Felix Doubront (8-4) faces Jason Vargas (7-7) tomorrow afternoon (4:10 p.m., NESN) in the series finale. It's a must-win for the Red Sox because losing a series 3-1 to the Triple-A worthy Mariners would be an absolute disaster.

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Tell Me Again Why Felix Hernandez Is Still Wasting Away With The Mariners

There is nothing worse in life than wasted talent and that is precisely why I can't believe that Felix Hernandez is still employed by the Seattle Mariners.

One of the best pitchers in MLB is reduced to playing for a perennially mediocre team in a division (AL West) that they'll never win anytime soon since the Texas Rangers are loaded and the Los Angeles Angels aren't that far behind. Oh and the stadium was less than half full tonight as Hernandez showed just what the big market teams are missing by throwing a five-hitter as the Mariners (33-45, 14-21 home) beat the Red Sox (40-36, 19-15 away) 1-0 at Safeco Field.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitter and former Ray John Jaso singled to right. Casper Wells had doubled and ended up scoring the winning run on the play even though he should have been out. Red Sox right fielder Cody Ross had a good throw to catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia who had time to brace himself for Wells. There wasn't a big collision yet Salty dropped the ball for some reason. The umpire called Wells out initially but once the ball popped loose, it was over. A truly awful way to lose this game and start a seven-game road trip in Seattle and Oakland.

King Felix (6-5) tied a career-high with 13 strikeouts in his fifth career shutout. He had one walk and threw a career-high 128 pitches (84 strikes including 22 swinging strikes which is silly).

The crazy part is that Boston starter Franklin Morales (7 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts) has been lights out since he entered the rotation and he nearly matched the former American League Cy Young winner.

Andrew Miller had a 1-2-3 eighth on seven pitches but Atchison (2-1) wasn't able to send it to extra innings after Wells got the only extra-base hit of the contest.

The Red Sox squandered their only real chance to score, in the top of the ninth. With one out, David Ortiz singled and Salty walked. Hernandez finally seemed to be tiring and after a good at bat, Adrian Gonzalez flew out to center where Michael Saunders made an outstanding running catch. Will Middlebrooks could have put Boston ahead but he popped out to let Felix off the hook.

Aaron Cook (1-1) faces Hector Noesi (2-9) tomorrow night (10:10 p.m., NESN) in a game that the Red Sox really need to win. Tonight's game is the only one that they should honestly lose to the Mariners, who are one of the worst hitting teams in the AL.

Boston missed a great opportunity to move up on everybody else in the AL East last night as the Yankees, Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays all lost. What's more, if you look at the other teams at the moment, they are all messes. The Yankees rotation is in shambles, the Rays and Orioles have lost seven of nine and the Blue Jays are 4-6 in their last 10 with few healthy starting pitchers left standing as well. This all means that the Red Sox need to take advantage; they're playing better and they have a favorable schedule while all their main rivals are scuffling to varying degrees.

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Yo John Lackey, You Mad Bro?

If you stopped paying attention to the Red Sox weeks ago, who could blame you? A playoff spot seemed like a sure fire bet and all you had to worry about was if they'd play the Tigers or the Rangers in the ALDS.

Well after dropping eight of their last 11 games, Boston (85-59) is suddenly fighting for their postseason lives as they stave off an epidemic of injuries. This is the first time they've lost three in a row since June 21-25.

Tampa Bay (79-64) won the series opener tonight at Tropicana Field 7-2 to pull within 5.5 games of the Red Sox for the AL wild card. The Yankees lost their third game in a row tonight so they remained only 2.5 games up on Boston, not that the AL East looks attainable at all.

With Kevin Youkilis back in Boston with a sports hernia, Dustin Pedroia ice cold, not to mention Josh Beckett and Erik Bedard pushed back with injuries, it fell on John Lackey to give the Red Sox something positive.

What do you know, he fell flat on his face as always. Lackey's (12-12) latest shit sandwich was one of his most gruesome since he left after only three innings after taking a liner off his calf. He still managed to give up five earned runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. I'm done making fun of Lackey, it's too easy and it's all been said before at this point.

On the other side, Wade Davis (10-8) pitched a complete game. He allowed two earned runs on six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Even more unlikely than Davis' gem was the offensive performance from John Jaso, a backup catcher who will never be confused with Mike Piazza or Johnny Bench. Jaso's three-run homer in the second off Lackey got Tampa Bay off to a great start; he later added a double and scored his second run.

The Rays added a pair of runs in the third on Johnny Damon's infield single and Matt Joyce's single.

Boston showed some signs of life with two runs in the sixth on Jacoby Ellsbury's infield single and a sacrifice fly by Marco Reddick (who has been red hot on this awful 1-4 trip).

Luckily, Tampa Bay took any intrigue out of this one in their next at bats as Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria (2 hits) both had RBI doubles.

Josh Reddick had two hits and scored a run. He has one of the few good things lately for the Red Sox. His batting average has creeped back up to .299.

The man saddled with the pressure to break this tailspin by the Red Sox is rookie Kyle Weiland, who makes his third career start tomorrow night against fellow rookie Jeremy Hellickson (12-11, 2.90 ERA).

The odds are still overwhelmingly in Boston's favor, they are going to make the playoffs (right?) but for the love of god, they need a win sooner rather than later. Do I have to mention that including tomorrow they play the Rays six more times? That means if Tampa Bay could run the table or go 5-1, they could very likely leap over the Red Sox for the wild card.

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