Adrian Gonzalez Picks Up His Biggest Hit In A Red Sox Uniform-3-Run HR-As Red Sox Beat White Sox 5-1

Only the Red Sox in 2012 would pick up one of their best wins of the season but have it completely overshadowed by a freak injury to their most valuable player.

Adrian Gonzalez came through in the clutch and late in the game for once with a three-run homer in the eighth (his 7th of the season) as Boston (46-44, 23-24 home) began a seven-game homestand with a 5-1 win against the White Sox (49-40, 25-18 away) this evening at Fenway Park.

During Gonzalez's homer, over the Monster and off lefty reliever Leyson Septimo, David Ortiz (run, hit, walk) stumbled around second base and limped home. He walked gingerly to the dugout and was replaced. Mike Aviles (stolen base) followed up with an RBI single later in the inning but the Fenway crowd was stunned at another potentially serious injury to a Red Sox player. Ortiz will get an MRI tomorrow on his Achilles.

Aaron Cook dazzled for seven innings: one unearned run on five hits with no strikeouts or walks. Vicente Padilla (3-2) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with a strikeout for the win and closer Alfredo Aceves had a scoreless ninth despite the fact that he warmed up thinking they would need a save.

Cook was ultra efficient: 97 pitches (66 strikes), 15 out of his 21 outs were on ground balls and the game was over in two hours and 40 minutes. Can he pitch every game please?

Carl Crawford had a single, two runs and a walk in his first game of 2012 for the Red Sox. Batting ninth, Pedro Ciriaco heated up after a quiet weekend with three more hits including a double.

Kevin Youkilis (3 for 4, 2 doubles, run) did his best to star in his first return back to Fenway as a visitor. Unfortunately for Youk, his teammates couldn't do much (combining for two hits) other than starting pitcher Dylan Axelrod who went 6.2 innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with eight strikeouts.

After a classy and deserved standing ovation before his first at bat, Youk singled and eventually scored on an error by Gonzalez. It turned out to be Chicago's only run. They were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left four on base.

Gonzalez tied it with an RBI single in the bottom of the first. Boston went 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position, they left seven on base.

One positive for the Red Sox is that the Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays-the three teams they can realistically finish higher than in the AL East this season-all lost tonight.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Mr. Perfect Game turned bum Philip Humber (3-4) takes on Jon Lester (5-6). Even though Lester has been garbage this season, you have to think this is a good matchup for him since Humber has been repeatedly hammered since his fluke perfect game in April.

UPDATE 7/17: The MRI showed no tear in Ortiz's Achilles which is good news. He's wearing a boot and thinks he'll be out a week but the Red Sox are expected to make a decision tomorrow whether to put him on the DL or not (something they hate doing for some reason).

In other Red Sox news, Franklin Morales is being moved back to the bullpen so Boston will return to a 5-man pitching rotation.

UPDATE 7/18: Ortiz is on the DL and expected out for at least two weeks. Mauro Gomez was recalled from Pawtucket.

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One Last Kick In The Balls For Youk: Middlebrooks Named AL Player Of The Week

In what can only be called a stroke of perfectly ironic timing, Boston Red Sox rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks was named the American League player of the week today.

It's so fitting because former third baseman Kevin Youkilis was shipped to the Chicago White Sox yesterday afternoon, ending one era while another one just begins. For what it's worth, Youk is in the lineup tonight batting second and playing third base for Chicago as they face Cleveland.

To earn the award, sure to be the first of many for Middlebrooks, in six games last week against Miami and Atlanta, he went 10-for-16 for a batting average of .625, three home runs, 10 RBIs, three doubles and an insane 2.007 OPS.

His highlights for the week included a two-run bomb on Thursday against the Marlins that helped the Red Sox rally and he was a triple shy of a cycle in Saturday's win against the Braves.

In 2012, Middlebrooks is now hitting .326 with nine homers and a .949 OPS in 41 games. Prior to getting called up to the majors in early May, he was hitting .333 with nine homers in only 24 games for Triple-A Pawtucket.

Getting rid of Youk, letting Middlebrooks play third base everyday and shifting Adrian Gonzalez back to first base full-time and out of the outfield was one of the easiest decisions in recent Red Sox history. Let's see how the team responds to a more stable lineup and less negativity coming from Youk sitting on the bench, pouting and being a prick to the media.

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Kevin Youkilis's Time In Boston Mercifully Comes To An End Before It Gets Any Worse

Our long national nightmare is finally over: third baseman Kevin Youkilis has been traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox for utilityman Brent Lillibridge (he's played every position but catcher) and pitcher Zach Stewart. Personally, I'm psyched that I don't have to waste one more second of my life reading the endless rumors on Twitter about where Youk would end up. The Red Sox have to pay $5.5 million of what he's owed for the rest of the season, the White Sox are only on the hook for $2 million.

Today was his last game in Boston as he reached on an infield single in the second inning then hit an RBI triple in the seventh that scored Adrian Gonzalez. There were two particularly poignant moments involving Youk: he got a standing ovation before his first at bat then Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine had Nick Punto pinch run for him in the seventh ensuring that he'd get one more proper send-off from the crowd and plenty of bro hugs from his teammates before departing for Chicago.

It's not very often that a professional athlete gets a last moment like that (not that he's retiring yet) but you have to admit it was pretty awesome. It was a great run for Youk in Boston after he was an eighth-round draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati in 2001. He progressed through the minor leagues and made it to the big leagues in 2004. He was a member of two World Series champions (2004, 2007), a three-time All-Star (2008, 2009, 2011) and a Gold Glover in 2007.

The reason that this move was inevitable was because at 33-years-old, his body has really broken down. He has never played more than 147 games in a season and he hasn't played more than 136 since 2008. Due to a variety of injuries, he appeared in 102 games in 2010 and 120 in 2011. More importantly, he's already been replaced by rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks who is just starting out on what looks like it could be a very promising career. Youk is going to be a free agent this winter so it made the most sense to get some value in return for him since there was no way the Red Sox would sign his $13 million team option for 2013.

Listen, we all loved Kevin Youkilis at some point in time since he played the game the right way, hustled and was very versatile (playing first base and third base which was almost unheard of at that type of defensive level). However, in recent years his constant injuries and surly attitude made it harder to appreciate him. Once he started complaining about playing time this season, that more than sealed his fate. They had no choice but to get him out of here.

He ended his Red Sox career with impressive numbers: 594 runs, 959 hits, 239 doubles, 16 triples, 133 home runs, 563 RBIs and splits of .286 batting average/.388 OBP/.487 SLG. His two best seasons were 2008 (29 homers, 115 RBIs, 43 doubles; .312 batting average, .390 OBP, .569 SLG) and 2009 (27 homers, 94 RBIs, 36 doubles; .305 batting average, .413 OBP, .548 SLG) when he was an AL All-Star and finished third and sixth respectively for the AL MVP.

We'll always remember how much he sweats (more than any person in the world not named Shaq), his goofy batting stance and unathletic way he did things but above all, we have to be happy that we got to see almost the full spectrum of his career: rookie, veteran, All-Star to a guy nearing the end in MLB.

Red Sox fans actually won't have to wait long to see him return as the White Sox come to Fenway from July 16-18, the first home series after the 2012 All-Star Game. Expect all the frauds and pink hats to appear in full force for those games.

Don't expect much of anything for Lillibridge (a career .215 hitter that has never played in more than 97 games in a season) or Stewart who is 3-8 in his career with an ERA of 5.92 in 31 games (12 starts). Granted, he's only 25 and a former third-round pick of the Reds so I suppose he has some hope left. Lillibridge will join the Red Sox while Stewart jumps into the rotation at Pawtucket.

David Ortiz is now the only player left in Boston from the 2004 and 2007 World Series winners. I'm not saying that the Red Sox should have traded Youk last winter since who knew Middlebrooks would burst onto the scene like this but I'm totally in favor of a move to shake up the chemistry and get rid of some high-maintenance, underperforming and overpaid players. I only wish that Josh Beckett was long gone as well and then they could really get a whole new vibe for a team that has won nine of 11 and is playing its best baseball of the season.

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Red Sox Beat Braves 9-4 To Take The Series 2-1 & Finish 11-7 During Interleague Play In 2012

Obviously Kevin Youkilis's trade to the White Sox overshadowed what happened at Fenway Park this afternoon but I'll get to that in a subsequent post.

For now, let's take a minute to recognize another interleague series win for the Red Sox (38-34, 19-20 home) who moved a season-high four games over .500 with a 9-4 over the Atlanta Braves (38-34, 23-17 away).

Boston enjoyed its interleague experience in 2012 since they finished 11-7 against mostly National League East teams and the Cubs who more closely resemble a Triple A squad if I'm being generous. They won five out of six series 2-1 (plus a three-game sweep in Miami) while the Nationals (three-game sweep at Fenway) were the only team to beat them decidedly. It was the eighth straight season that the Red Sox have been over .500 against NL teams so don't tell me the National League is better because it's not.

Today's stars were Aaron Cook and Cody Ross. Cook (1-1) subbed for Clay Buchholz and picked up his first win in a Red Sox uniform after five innings, three runs (two earned) and six hits with no strikeouts and no walks. Ross had a three-run homer and a two-run homer.

Braves starter Mike Minor (3-6) didn't have much and an error on shortstop Andrelton Simmons led to three unearned runs. Minor went 4.2 innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. He also served up three home runs which never helps your pitching numbers.

The Red Sox offense got off to an exciting start as Ross (10th of the season) and Adrian Gonzalez (6th of the season) hit back-to-back homers in the fourth to give Boston a 4-0 lead. Ross's came with two runners on base.

Tatted up old friend Eric Hinske (2 hits, run) had a two-run triple in the fifth and Juan Francisco's groundout cut it to 4-3.

Boston responded right away to push the lead back to a comfortable four-run advantage (7-3) after five. Will Middlebrooks scored a run with a sacrifice fly and Ross hit another homer over the Monster, this time a two-run blast.

Jason Heyward's (3 hits, 2 runs) career seems to be back on track as he crushed a solo homer to center (his 11th of the season) in the sixth to trim it to 7-4.

Daniel Nava (2 hits, run) came through with an RBI double in the sixth and in his last at bat as a member of the Red Sox, Youk drove in Gonzalez with a generously scored "triple."

With interleague over, the Red Sox get back to facing the boring old American League. The Toronto Blue Jays (37-35, 5th place in AL East) visit Fenway starting tomorrow night for a three-game series. The teams have already played two series in Toronto with Boston going 3-3 thus far.

Felix Doubront (8-3) faces Henderson Alvarez (3-6) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2) gets Aaron Laffey (0-0) on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Jon Lester (4-5) opposes Ricky Romero (8-1) on Wednesday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) in the series finale and last game of a nine-game homestand for the Red Sox before they head to the west coast.

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Clay Buchholz Spins A Gem To Help The Red Sox Avoid Another Sweep By The Orioles

Don't look now ladies but Clay Buchholz (6-2) appears to have his swagger back in 2012 after a brutal beginning. He has made three quality starts in a row against worthy AL East competition (Blue Jays, Rays, Orioles).

Tonight, he submitted what will undoubtedly be one of the best starts of the season for the Boston Red Sox (29-28, 14-16 home) as he picked up his third career shutout against Baltimore (32-25, 18-12 away), 7-0 at Fenway Park.

It was a desperately needed win for the Red Sox since the Orioles had won the first two games of the series, five straight at Fenway this season and seven in a row dating back to 2011. Buchholz only allowed four hits and even though he had to throw 125 pitches, he had six strikeouts and just one walk. Most importantly, he gave Boston's overworked but effective bullpen a rare night off.

Boston was able to get an ineffective Brian Matusz (5-6) out in two plus innings. Adrian Gonzalez had a two-run double in the first, a run scored on Dustin Pedroia's fielder's choice in the second plus another came across on a throwing error on the same play and Daniel Nava drove in two with a single in the third.

Kevin Youkilis added an RBI double in the eighth which plated Nava (2 hits, 2 walks).

After one lone series against the Phillies in mid-May (Red Sox won 2 of 3 in Philly), Interleague play starts up again tomorrow night as the Nationals (32-23, 1st place NL East) come to Boston for three games. No longer a doormat, the Nationals look like they can make a serious playoff push this season with young talent like Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Strasburg, Gonzalez, Tyler Clippard, etc.

One of the best pitchers in the game gets the ball tomorrow for Washington as Stephen Strasburg (6-1) faces Felix Doubront (6-2) at 7:10 on NESN. Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-0) makes his 2012 debut (a year removed from elbow surgery) as he opposes Gio Gonzalez (7-2) Saturday afternoon (4:05 p.m., NESN) and Jon Lester (3-4) is against Jordan Zimmermann (3-5) on Sunday (1:35 p.m., NESN) in the series finale.

The next five series for the Red Sox are against National League teams: three home (Nationals, Marlins, Braves) and two away (Marlins, Cubs). It will be a tough stretch since of that group, only Chicago is under .500. Boston won't see another American League opponent until June 25 (Blue Jays).

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The Red Sox Are Finally Putting It All Together

I'm not sure what happened to the Detroit Tigers team that played the Red Sox in the opening series this season but Boston will happily continue to beat up on this current crappy version of the Tigers while they try to sort things out.

The Red Sox (26-24, 13-13 home) won their third straight against the Tigers (23-27, 12-15 away), 6-4 tonight at Fenway Park.

Jon Lester (5 quality starts in 11 outings) dug Boston a 3-0 hole but thanks to three home runs, Boston was able to rally and then close the door thanks to more fine work from one of the best bullpens in baseball.

This looked like a start from Lester's rookie year as he piled up pitches (120) but wasn't particularly effective. In 6.2 innings, he allowed four earned runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts.

Detroit starter Drew Smyly was about as up and down as you'd expect from a rookie in his first outing at Fenway. In six innings of work, he allowed four earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.

The Tigers didn't exactly pound the ball as Lester worked around plenty of baserunners. Detroit scored in the first on a groundout then got two in the third on a sacrifice fly and groundout.

David Ortiz (12th of the season) and Will Middlebrooks (6th of the season) both had two-run homers in the fourth to give Boston a temporary 4-3 lead.

Miguel Cabrera (4 hits, 3 doubles) tied it with an RBI single in the seventh but the Red Sox pushed ahead thanks to Adrian Gonzalez's (2 hits) ground-rule RBI double in the seventh then Kevin Youkilis' (4th of the season) solo shot over the Monster in the eighth.

Matt Albers (1-0) got the win despite only recording one out (Delmon Young's ground out) but it was a big one since Detroit had the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh.

Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts for his sixth hold of the season then Alfredo Aceves proved yet again what a freak he is on the mound. Appearing in his fourth straight game (three save opportunities), he proceeded to get a 1-2-3 ninth (15 pitches/13 strikes) for his 13th save of the season.

I will be at Fenway tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) for what could be my only Red Sox game of the season, so it better be a good one! Haha, of course I'm stuck with Josh Beckett (4-4) against Max Scherzer (4-3). Pink hats and little kids be damned, you know I'll take every chance I can to voice my displeasure with the Texas Toughguy. Boston will be going for the rare four-game sweep.

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The Rays (Minus Luke Scott & B.J. Upton) Are Way Too Easy To Root For

Yes friends, Memorial Day weekend (the unofficial start of summer) is here but the Boston Red Sox still haven't gotten over the .500 mark in the 2012 season.

They've had three chances (four if you count Opening Day) to get over that but they haven't done such a simple task that most mediocre baseball teams can do in their sleep. It's very possible that it might be June before it happens (if ever). Let that fully sink in and wash over you.

Tonight at Fenway Park, Tampa Bay (28-18, 11-11 away) opened up a 7-1 lead in the fourth inning before settling for a 7-4 victory in the series opener against Boston (22-23, 9-12 home).

Jon Lester's (3-4) outing was bad enough but this couldn't mercifully end without that wonderfully pointless exercise that's unique to baseball: intentionally hitting a guy with a pitch than both dugouts and bullpens emptying but absolutely nothing of consequence happening. The particulars of this event were Red Sox reliever Franklin Morales drilling Rays redneck racist Luke Scott on the hip in the ninth. It was all payback for drama earlier in the game (Burke Badenhop hitting Dustin Pedroia in the 6th). Things like that give me an ice cream headache. Nobody can be as sensitive as baseball players and the mock outrage when utterly predictable stuff like that occurs is equally pathetic. Who cares, as long as it's not hitting guys in the head.

Moving on, Lester was rocked. He lasted but four innings, allowing seven earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. He served up three homers in less than two innings, always a winning formula.

Rays rookie Alex Cobb (2-0) got the win and it's good to see Tampa Bay finally developing some young pitchers. They haven't had enough of those in recent years that have found any success. Cobb went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with two strikeouts and four walks.

This shouldn't even have been competitive but as they've done all season, the Red Sox bullpen stubbornly kept them in it. Scott Atchison threw three scoreless innings while Matt Albers and Morales followed him with scoreless frames of their own. Combined they allowed only two hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings of work. Maybe Bobby V should think about reversing roles and having them start the game since Boston's starters clearly couldn't be less consistent.

Kevin Youkilis gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single. Matt Joyce (9th of the season) put the Rays in front for good with a grand slam in the third inning. Elliott Johnson (3rd of the season) and new Tampa Bay leadoff hitter Carlos Pena (7th of the season) hit back-to-back homers in the fourth with Johnson's coming with Chris Gimenez on base too.

Boston mounted its ill-fated rally in the fifth as Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI double off the Monster to cut it to 7-2. Marlon Byrd had an RBI single in the sixth and Mike Aviles hit a sacrifice fly but Jake McGee was able to get David Ortiz to fly out to right (with two runners on) to end the frame.

Tampa Bay's bullpen was even more impressive (considering they had a lead) as McGee got four outs, Joel Peralta earned the hold with two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 eighth and Fernando Rodney had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his 15th save of the season. I bet you didn't know that Rodney's ERA is 0.38. Really.

I don't know what kind of deal with the devil Joe Maddon made but it's insane when you sit back and realize what he's getting out of things like Pena leading off, Red Sox castoff Drew Sutton (2 for 3 with a walk) and Rodney as a lights out closer. If everything seemingly works for the Rays (in the regular season at least before their lack of offense kills them in the postseason), nothing is ever right for the Red Sox, who take one step forward and two steps back every week.

With Celtics-Sixers Game 7 on tap tomorrow night (8 p.m., ABC) and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat on the line, I'm pretty sure about five people will watch all of the Red Sox-Rays game tomorrow (7:15 p.m., Fox). Four of them will be old folks that fall asleep in the third inning with the TV on. That's probably best since Josh Beckett (4-4) faces David Price (6-3).

I can already smell a Rays sweep this weekend while everyone is more tuned into parties, barbecues and the beach.

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Red Sox Clinch Series With Orioles Thanks To Some Unlikely Power

The beauty of baseball and what keeps us tuning in despite a regular season that's way too long (162 games) and tedious is the chance to see something crazy that you'll surely never witness again.

This afternoon was one of those type of contests as the Red Sox (22-22, 13-11 away) beat the Orioles (28-17, 13-11 home) 6-5 at Camden Yards.

The win clinched the series for Boston (2-1) while also keeping them hot (10-3 in their last 13 games). Best of all, they completed their absurd 20 games in 20 days stretch (11-9) and eight-game road trip (5-3) in good shape. This is the third time that the Red Sox have reached .500 this season, hopefully now they'll take the next step and get over it-something they haven't done yet.

I'm very confident that Daniel Nava (2 hits), Kelly Shoppach (2 hits) and Scott Podsednik (2 hits, 2 runs) will never all hit home runs in the same game again but that's exactly what they did today. Boston needed all those longballs since Daniel Bard (4-5) didn't give them anything more than an average start. In 5.1 innings, Bard allowed two earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and four walks. As always, I ask: why isn't he in the bullpen? He's not nearly the same guy when he starts, he's lost his velocity and he can't put any batters away.

Jake Arrieta (2-5) wasn't good either for the O's. He went 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

The Red Sox had 13 hits, including two from Kevin Youkilis (run, walk) and Will Middlebrooks (RBI). The Orioles were limited to seven, basically by three players Xavier Avery (2 hits, run), Adam Jones (2 hits) and Nick Johnson (3 RBIs, 2 hits, 2 runs), who hit not one but two home runs. I said it was a strange day, right?

Alfredo Aceves had his third straight perfect outing as he got four outs for his 11th save of the season.

Baltimore went up 1-0 in the first on Chris Davis's sacrifice fly. Boston tied it on Podsednik's double play ball in the second. Johnson (3rd of the season) hit a solo shot in the second. Middlebrooks tied it with an RBI double in the third although Youk was easily gunned down at the plate to end the inning on the same play.

Nava (2nd of the season) and Shoppach (2nd of the season) both went deep in the sixth, Shoppach's was a two-run blast. Johnson answered with his second home run, in the sixth, but Podsednik made it 6-4 with a solo homer in the eighth-his first since Sept. 2010 with the Dodgers.

The Orioles threatened in the eighth and pulled a run back on Wilson Betemit's sacrifice fly (that would have been more if not for a great diving catch by Che-Hsuan Lin in right field) but Aceves struck out Johnson to end the frame.

After a much needed day off tomorrow, the Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays for three games this weekend then the Detroit Tigers for four games at Fenway Park. Tampa Bay (27-18, 2nd place AL East) has already played Boston six times with the Red Sox going 4-2 so far.

Jon Lester (3-3) faces rookie Alex Cobb (1-0) on Friday night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Josh Beckett (4-4) gets David Price (6-3) on Saturday night (7:15 p.m., FOX) and Clay Buchholz (4-2) opposes Jeremy Hellickson (4-1) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN).

It's Memorial Day weekend in a few days so it's about time that the Red Sox get over the hump and don't look back to their pitiful start to 2012.

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The Red Sox Might Never Go Over .500 This Entire Season

Remember the good old days when the Baltimore Orioles were a complete joke? The Boston Red Sox could always count on two things: 1) Camden Yards was Fenway South and 2) they beat up on the O's every year like it was going out of style.

I keep waiting for Baltimore (28-16, 13-10 home) to come back to Earth in 2012 but they continue to play very well as they beat Boston (21-22, 12-11 away) 4-1 tonight at Camden Yards. The crowd might not be showing up yet (don't ask me why) but the Orioles are looking like a legit contender in the AL East this season.

With the win, Baltimore improved to 4-1 against Boston this season while also kicking the Red Sox back under .500 (this is the latest it's taken them to get over that mark since 1996). They have already had two chances to reach that mediocre level but Boston cannot even do that right so far in this forgettable campaign. To make matters worse, the Yankees won tonight so the Red Sox are back in sole possession of fifth-place in the AL East.

After a nightmare 2011, young Orioles lefty Brian Matusz (4-4) appears to have found his game once again. He went 6.2 innings, allowing one earned run on two hits with a career high nine strikeouts and one walk. He turned it over to the lights out Baltimore bullpen which completed the task in style.

Darren O'Day struck out the two batters he faced in the seventh, Pedro Strop struck out one in a scoreless eighth for the hold and Jim Johnson got a 1-2-3 ninth for his MLB-leading 16th save of the season (on 8 pitches!).

Felix Doubront (4-2) pitched very well but it wasn't enough since he received barely any run support. In six innings, he allowed two earned runs on four hits with a career high nine strikeouts and two walks. His only mistake was a two-run homer to Scott Tolleson (1st of the season) in the second inning.

Boston managed only two hits, one was a solo homer by Kevin Youkilis (remember him?) in the fourth inning, his third of the season. Wilson Betemit put it away with a two-run shot off former Oriole Matt Albers in the eighth.

The Red Sox will try to win the series tomorrow afternoon (12:35 p.m., NESN) as Daniel Bard (3-5) faces Jake Arrieta (2-4). It's the culmination of a 20 games in 20 days stretch and an eight-game road trip. Before Boston hops on the plane, it would help them greatly if they show up for tomorrow's game. I'm sure they're dead tired and sick of being on the road but another win in Baltimore would be fantastic.

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The Rangers Are Unbeatable, At Least To The Red Sox

Thank God the Texas Rangers were only in town for two games because this could have gotten pretty ugly.

Texas (10-2, 5-0 away) rang up its sixth straight win, 6-3 tonight at Fenway Park against the going nowhere Boston Red Sox (4-8. 3-3 home). The Rangers swept the two-game series, outscoring the Red Sox 24-6 in just 18 innings.

Boston has now lost three in a row. At least they got some good news earlier in the day when it was revealed that Jacoby Ellsbury won't need surgery on his shoulder.

Two things best sum up my feelings about the hometown team and also how poorly they're playing: 1) my favorite time is off-days (like tomorrow) for this miserable squad. I'm serious too, that's not a line. 2) They made some noise in the ninth against Rangers closer Joe Nathan-in a non-save situation-but Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined into a double play for the final two outs as he pulled it right to first basemen Brandon Snyder, who was able to touch the bag. Salty represented the tying run after Boston had scored once.

It was the Josh Hamilton (3 hits, run, RBI, walk) and Mike Napoli (4 RBIs, 3 hits, run) show as the Red Sox pitchers did their best to enshrine that powerful tandem in Cooperstown, NY before the series was even over.

Josh Beckett (1-2) actually gave Boston a good start considering the loaded lineup he had to face: seven innings, three earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. The problem was that the Red Sox scored the first runs of the night for the second game in a row, but then the Rangers proceeded to pummel them with a monster surge of their own.

Mr. Hustle aka Kevin Youkilis hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot off Derek Holland (2-0) in the second inning. Holland (2-0) predictably settled down after that and ended up lasting seven innings himself. He allowed two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.

Hamilton drove in Texas' first run on an infield single in the third. They added five more before Boston scored one meaningless run in the ninth. Napoli hit a two-run homer in the fourth (his fourth of the season) then Franklin Morales unraveled with the bases loaded in the eighth. He hit Craig Gentry then allowed a two-run double by Napoli.

Ryan Sweeney had a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth that scored Cody Ross.

In case you forgot, and how could you, the 100th anniversary of Fenway will be celebrated on Friday. What great timing huh? The New York Yankees will also be in the house and the teams will wear throwback jerseys on Friday afternoon (3:05 p.m., NESN). It's Red Sox vs. Yankees so you know the drill: Saturday afternoon game on Fox then Sunday Night game on ESPN.

The Yanks (6-6) aren't exactly lighting the world on fire either but they look much better than the Red Sox (who doesn't?). Clay Buchholz (1-0) faces Ivan Nova (2-0) on Friday. Felix Doubront (0-0) goes against Freddy Garcia (0-1) on Saturday and Daniel Bard (0-2) meets C.C. Sabathia (1-0) Sunday in a game which might take five hours.

With no Red Sox tomorrow, only Bruins-Capitals in Game 4, let's be thankful that the NHL playoffs exist and the B's are great which takes away much of the focus from the trainwreck on Yawkey Way.

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Red Sox Roll Over The Rays In Home Opener But Ellsbury Got Seriously Hurt

Well this was one busy Opening Day at Fenway that potentially could have repercussions for a long time this season.

The Red Sox (2-5) scored eight runs in the eighth inning to put away the Tampa Bay Rays (4-3) in a 12-2 afternoon matinee. It was the eighth straight home opener that Boston has captured (a franchise record).

Josh Beckett (1-1) was excellent but that shouldn't be much of a surprise when you consider that he's 4-0 with an 0.84 ERA in his last six starts against Tampa Bay. He looked nothing like the chump that was throwing batting practice slop to the Tigers last Saturday. He went eight innings-he could have gone the whole way-allowing one run (earned) on five hits with one strikeout and one walk on an economical 94 pitches.

Boston put up 16 hits, 12 runs, 12 RBIs and six walks. The negative part which I think overshadowed everything else was that Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run, RBI) left in the top of the fifth inning with what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury. He slid into second base and Rays shortstop Reid Brignac landed awkwardly on Ellsbury with his right shoulder taking the brunt of the fall. He appeared to be in plenty of pain and as he walked off the field, he was holding his arm to his chest. Gulp.

David Price (1-1) pitched like a guy with an injury or something else on his mind. He only lasted three innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

Fittingly against his former team, new Red Sox backup catcher Kelly Shoppach (Beckett's personal catcher?) led Boston with three runs, three hits, two RBIs and the first stolen base of his career that was completed like a belly flop. Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, run, RBI), Kevin Youkilis (3 RBIs, 2 hits, run) and David Ortiz (2 hits, 2 RBIs) were the other Red Sox with multiple hits.

Tampa Bay actually scored the first and last runs of the game but ironically, that's all they had. Jeff Keppinger had an RBI double in the second and Ben Zobrist (2 hits, 2 runs) crushed a solo homer in garbage time-ninth inning-against Mark Melancon. You read that right, Melancon has already been delegated to mop-up duty.

Boston scored three times in the third inning, one in the fourth then they exploded for eight in the eighth.

Tomorrow afternoon, Clay Buchholz takes on Jeremy Hellickson at 4:05 p.m. Just like Beckett, the Red Sox need Buchholz to show that they can count on him this season. Otherwise, they have a huge hole-No. 3 starter-to fill. Hellickson is expected to start even though he got hit in the head during batting practice yesterday. Who knew pitchers had it so tough shagging flies in the outfield?

UPDATE 4/14: Ellsbury could miss 6-8 weeks and he was placed on the 15-day DL today with a partially dislocated right shoulder. Pawtucket outfield Che-Hsuan Lin was called up to take his place on the 25-man roster.

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Oh, You Didn't Hear? Four Red Sox Players Finalists For 2011 Gold Glove Awards

We can all agree that MLB's Gold Glove awards became a complete joke when New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter kept winning it despite having some of the worst defensive ratings at his position.

Gold Gloves are seemingly all about rewarding big name players and turning a blind eye to common thought and empirical data (like only baseball can). With that said, I found it shocking that until this morning, I didn't even know that the 2011 Boston Red Sox have four finalists for 2011 Gold Gloves.

This is the first time that MLB has announced the finalists at each position and not simply winners, "see, progress!"-Bud Selig. The awards will be handed out tonight at 10 p.m. on ESPN2, talk about riveting television.

At first base, Red Sox star Adrian Gonzalez (who won 2 with the Padres) is up against Casey Kotchman (Rays) and Mark Teixeira (Yankees). At second base, Dustin Pedroia (a 2008 Gold Glover) faces Robinson Cano (Yankees) and Ian Kinsler (Rangers). At third base, Kevin Youkilis is pitted vs. Adrian Beltre (Rangers) and Evan Longoria (Rays). Finally, Jacoby Ellsbury faces Austin Jackson (Tigers) and Peter Bourjos (Angels).

Without troubling myself by taking the time to look up UZR (ultimate zone ratings) and similar defensive stats, I have to say that Pedroia and Ellsbury are most deserving of the honor for Boston. They were excellent all season for the Red Sox and they seemingly played every game. Gonzalez was very good but first basemen are pretty subjective and Youk was solid but he missed a ton of time so it's hard to justify him getting it. At least if Gonzalez and Youkilis don't get Gold Gloves, we can take solace in the fact that two former likable Red Sox (Kotchman and Beltre) have a 50% chance to get them.

UPDATE 11/1: Didn't see I minute of the show, since I watched the Bruins then "Unguarded" the ESPN documentary on Fall River's Chris Herren, but I read on Twitter that Ellsbury, Pedroia and Gonzalez all won Gold Gloves. So there you go. Who said the Gold Gloves were worthless?

This is only the third time (Burleson, Lynn and Evans in 1978; Scott, Yaz, Reggie Smith in 1968) that a trio of Red Sox won Gold Gloves in the same season. It's also the first time since 2008 that a member of the team captured the coveted defensive award. Other Boston winners in the last decade include Jason Varitek (2005) and Youk (2007).

UPDATE 11/02: Gonzalez, David Ortiz and Ellsbury won Silver Slugger awards (best hitter at their positions). Ellsbury and Gonzalez are the first Red Sox teammates to win Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger awards in the same season.

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A Laugher, Just What The Red Sox Desperately Needed

Let's be honest, yesterday's loss given the length (11 innings) and outside factors (Beckett getting hurt, Yankees winning) was one of the worst ones of the second half for the Boston Red Sox.

Their annual August choke job seems to have taken a vacation and begun a few weeks later, in early September. Therefore it was nice that for one night at least, thoughts of Beckett's ankle and Clay Buchholz's back were put aside for a moment as Boston (85-56) absolutely crushed Toronto (70-72) 14-0 at the Rogers Centre.

With Jon Lester (15-6) on the mound, the Red Sox were heavily favored especially with the Blue Jays countering with a bad reliever that they're trying to convert into a starter-Luis Perez (3-3)-does that ever work?

Lester's ERA has dipped below 3.00 (2.93) as he has really found a groove in the stretch run. He went seven crisp innings, allowing three hits with one walk and 11 strikeouts in 100 pitches. Rookie Kyle Weiland threw two scoreless innings, getting his feet wet for another start on Saturday (in Tampa Bay; for Beckett).

This was over almost immediately as Perez was tagged for eight earned runs on ten hits in 2.2 innings.

Boston put up two or more runs in each of the first five frames.

The offensive stars in the 20-hit, 14-RBI night included Marco Scutaro (4 hits, 4 RBIS, 2 runs), David Ortiz (4 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), Kevin Youkilis (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, RBI), Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, 2 hits) and Darnell McDonald (2 hits, RBI).

Ironically, with all those runs (two touchdowns and PATs) the Red Sox only had two home runs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (two-run; his 15th) and Josh Reddick (solo; 7th) had the honors.

Tim Wakefield faces Brandon Morrow in game three of the series tomorrow night.

As of this post, Boston trails New York by two games. Believe it or not, the Yankees are currently in the sixth (leading 3-2) vs. the Orioles. Their game started at 11pm in the Bronx due to the rain. Really. I'm sure the Bombers will pull it out, all you can count on from the Orioles is a whole bunch of losing.

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Mariners Take Two Out Of Three From The Red Sox (Jumps Off Tobin Bridge)

If you're enough of a degenerate to wager on regular season MLB games, I've got a hot tip for you: bet the house against the Red Sox every time Tim Wakefield makes a start.

That might sound like crazy talk but it's hard to explain how the best team in the American League continues to find ways not to give the old guy his 200th career win. It also marked the first series since June 28-30 (at Philadelphia) that the Red Sox had lost.

This afternoon marked the fourth straight start that Wakefield (6-5) has pitched ok but has received a loss or no-decision. He pitched a complete game (eight innings) which saved Boston's taxed bullpen. Wake allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Likewise, I'd love to hear a non-homer explanation for why Boston (73-46) can consistently do well against MLB's best pitchers like CC Sabathia, Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez, etc. but time and again they get shut down by mediocre bums.

However, if the Red Sox are going to get completely embarrassed by a nobody, I'm happy it's one from South Portland, ME and with as cool a name as Charlie Furbush.

An LSU product (he has to be the only person in the history of Maine to attend LSU), Furbush (3-4) went seven strong innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Kevin Youkilis made it exciting for about as long as it took him to round the bases when his two-run homer (his 17th of the season) in the eighth cut Seattle's lead to 5-3. However, Mariners closer Brandon League got his second straight 1-2-3 inning and save (his 28th of the season) in the span of about 17 hours and change.

The best part about this forgettable game was that it clocked in at two hours and 14 minutes, sure to be one of the fastest of Boston's season. In other words, as long as a Dice-K first inning or two innings of Yankees-Red Sox.

Seattle got three runs in the third as Jack Wilson (infield single), Franklin Gutierrez and Mike Carp (RBI single) all produced runs.

Jed Lowrie's sacrifice fly in the fourth got Boston on the board at 3-1 but the M's got one in the fifth (on Dustin Ackley's RBI single) and Casper Wells took Wakefield deep with a solo shot in the sixth.

Adrian Gonzalez had two hits and a run in the loss while Ichiro had two hits and a run in the win.

The Red Sox have tomorrow off as they return to the East Coast. They host a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays starting with a day-night doubleheader (Lester vs. Shields and Bedard vs. Niemann) on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Then it's back on the road with four in Kansas City and four in Texas, two miserable places to play in well always but especially during the August heat.

Let's all spend the time between now and then wisely, by washing off the stink of from awful series in Seattle.

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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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Wakefield Records A Milestone, Mariners Hit New Low In Red Sox' Sweep

Tim Wakefield and the Boston Red Sox sent the Seattle Mariners out of town with basically the Scarlet Letter for their inept team.

With Boston's (62-37) 12-8 win yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park, Seattle (43-58) was not only swept in the three-game series but they set a new low for the franchise with its record 15th straight loss.

It's basically impossible to see a pitcher get two standing ovations after getting knocked around for seven earned runs on 10 hits in 6.1 innings (with a walk and four strikeouts) but that was the strange scene at Pink Hat Central.

Wakefield (6-3) got the extra dose of love since he became just the second pitcher in Red Sox history, joining Roger Clemens, to put up 2000+ strikeouts.

The win also gave Wake 199 in his Boston career, putting him on the cusp of even more history the next time he starts (Friday in Chicago against the White Sox).

Mariners rookie Michael Pineda (8-7) was a surprise All-Star this season but he was anything but in that type of form yesterday. In 4.1 innings, he allowed seven earned runs on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

The conveyor belt (somewhere Claude Julien smiles) that is the Red Sox lineup continued to churn out double-digits with 17 hits in the game.

Jarrod Saltlamacchia led Boston with three hits and four RBIs. Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez each had three hits, two runs and two RBIs. Josh Reddick had two hits, two runs and an RBI, David Ortiz had two hits and two runs while Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits, a run and an RBI.

Kevin Youkilis smacked a two-run homer and scored two runs while Dustin Pedroia's double extended his hit streak to a career-high 21 games (an AL high this season) and he's reached base in 32 consecutive games (tops in the majors).

Brendan Ryan led Seattle with two hits and five RBIs. Franklin Gutierrez had two hits and three runs while Ichiro (run), Dustin Ackley (RBI) and Mike Carp all had two hits apiece.

Miguel Olivo gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead with a two-run bomb in the first.

No surprise, the lead was short-lived as the Red Sox put up a five-spot in the home half of the inning. Gonzalez drove in Ellsbury with an RBI single and Youk put Boston up 3-2 with a two-run shot (his 14th of the season). Salty's two-run single made it 5-2.

Ryan's RBI double in the fifth cut it to 5-3 in favor of the Red Sox.

Once again, Boston put up five runs, this time in the fifth inning. Crawford hit a two-run single to left (all three of his hits were to the opposite field, a good sign), Reddick had an RBI double and Saltalamacchia had another two-run single.

Gonzalez's RBI single in the sixth made the lead balloon to 11-3 for Boston.

Ryan's grand slam in the seventh cut it to 11-7, not that you had to worry since it was the M's. It also signaled the end of Wakefield's outing. Alfredo Aceves got the last eight outs of the contest.

Ellsbury added an RBI single in the seventh before Ackley closed out the scoring with an RBI double in the ninth.

The Kansas City Royals, a team that has an even worse record than Seattle, comes to Boston for their first meeting with the Red Sox this season. Jon Lester gets his first start since July 5 when he left a game early with the injury to his left latissimus muscle.

Facing Kyle Davies (1-9) and a team that he's 4-1 against all-time (including a no-hitter) with a 1.22 ERA seems like the perfect matchup for Lester to get back on his feet. Needless to say, he's a huge piece of the Red Sox' playoff hopes in this season which gets brighter as each day passes by. Boston remains three games ahead of New York for first-place in the AL East.

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The AL West Is And Has Always Been A Complete Joke, Just Ask John Lackey

I think I solved a riddle last night: how John Lackey was a successful MLB pitcher before coming to the Boston Red Sox last season.

Answer: he played in the AL West with the likes of the A's, the Mariners and the Rangers (before they were good). With only four teams, the AL West is the worst division in baseball without question. If you needed more empirical evidence, Lackey (8-8) got back to the .500 mark last night as the Red Sox (60-37) beat the Mariners (43-56) 7-4 at the sauna known as Fenway Park.

Last night was the start of a long homestand: 14 of Boston's next 17 games are at home and almost all of them are against bad teams so it's an opportune time for them to create some more distance between themselves, the Yankees and the Rays.

Seattle crawled into town on a 12-game losing streak and now they're just one loss away from tying the franchise mark for futility.

Lackey went seven solid innings, allowing one earned run on eight hits with no walks and four strikeouts. As I always say with a good start from Lackey, let's see him do it consistently and against good teams before I start buying stock in him.

Poor Felix Hernandez (8-9) must hate his life in Seattle. You know the world isn't fair when you're one of the best pitchers in MLB-albeit having a down year-and Lackey has a better record than you.

Sporting a Fe-Hawk (haha the Mariners official Twitter told me that last night after I made a remark about it; guess they have some time on their hands), King Felix was roughed up in 6.1 innings to the tune of six earned runs on 11 hits with four walks and two strikeouts.

The Mariners actually grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first as Ichiro (2 hits) singled on the first pitch, then stole second and third base before rookie stud Dustin Ackley drove him in with a single.

Kevin Youkilis tied it in the bottom of the first as his RBI single scored Dustin Pedroia (who extended his hit streak to 19 games). Youkilis had two hits, two RBIs and a walk before leaving in the seventh with a right hand injury (not serious). Pedroia was 3 for 3 with two runs, a walk and a stolen base (his 19th!).

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 runs) gave Boston a lead it wouldn't give back with his 16th homer of the season, a solo shot in the third to right field.

The Red Sox poured it on with five runs in the seventh. Adrian Gonzalez had a two-run single, Youk had a two-run double and David Ortiz made an impact in his first game back from his three-game suspension with an RBI single.

Seattle made it sort of interesting as Mike Carp hit a three-run bomb off Franklin Morales in the eighth but Daniel Bard got the last out in the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 22nd save with a 1-2-3 ninth (including a strikeout).

Miguel Olivo and Jack Cust each had two hits in the loss for the Mariners.

M's rookie Blake Beaven has the unenviable task of taking on Red Sox ace Josh Beckett tonight at Fenway and trying to snap Seattle's lengthy losing streak. Good luck guy.

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Even On No Sleep, The Red Sox Pummel The Orioles

Just as I've exhausted all ways of bashing John Lackey and J.D. Drew, I've come to a similar crossroads with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Boston Red Sox arrived in Baltimore at 6 a.m. yesterday but that didn't seem to matter for their offense as they won a slugfest 15-10 over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Boston (58-36) has now won seven straight over Baltimore (38-55). The O's are completely hopeless against the Red Sox, no matter what big talk they provide to the media.

Even though David Ortiz (and Kevin Gregg) started their three-game suspensions, the Red Sox offense came one run away from a season-high along with 16 hits.

Jacoby Ellsbury paced them with three hits, three runs, a walk and a run. Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis had three RBIs, two hits and a run. Carl Crawford returned and added two hits, two runs and an RBI while Josh Reddick (4th) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (7th) notched home runs.

Marco Scutaro had two runs and two hits while Darnell McDonald cleared the bases with a three-run double.

Neither Tim Wakefield (4.2 innings, 9 hits, 7 runs, 3 earned, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts) nor O's starter Brad Bergesen (5 innings, 8 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned, 3 strikeouts) stuck around long.

Baltimore put up 12 hits, including three RBIs and two hits by JJ Hardy (including his 14th homer) and two hits, two runs and an RBI (his 16th homer by Adam Jones). Matt Wieters (two runs) and Derrek Lee (two RBIs) had two hits while Nolan Reimold added two RBIs.

Dan Wheeler (2-1) got the win with 2.1 scoreless innings. The Warwick, RI native had a brutal start to the season but since returning from an injury he seems to have found the form he had with the Tampa Bay Rays all those years. He walked one and struck out three.

Tonight figures to be another shootout as Jeremy Guthrie (3-13) takes on Red Sox rookie Kyle Weiland (0-0) in his second MLB start.

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Red Sox Sweep Orioles, Head Into All-Star Break Up 1 Game On New York

After one more win (8-6) over the Baltimore Orioles (36-52), completing a four-game sweep at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox (55-35) head into the All-Star break on a real high.

The Red Sox have won 10 of their last 11 games, including six straight, and they hold a one-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees. Most importantly as they sit a season-high 20 games over .500, they've made the 0-6 and 2-10 starts to the season a distant memory that's pretty much laughable now.

Boston is the powerhouse that we all knew they would be. They lead the AL in most offensive categories: batting average, runs, hits, total bases, doubles, doubles, RBIs, slugging percentage and OBP. This is the sixth time in the last seven seasons that they've led the AL East at the All-Star break (showing how irrelevant that stat can be).

They're sending six players (Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester) to represent the team in the All-Star Game in Arizona.

Kyle Weiland made his MLB debut yesterday afternoon for Boston and it was memorable, albeit not for positive reasons on a personal level. In four innings, he gave up six earned runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He was ejected in the fifth after hitting Vlad Guerrero with an errant pitch. Terry Francona was also tossed since both managers had been warned.

Later, Orioles manager Buck Showalter and reliever Mike Gonzalez were thrown out in the sixth after Gonzalez threw behind Ortiz.

Baltimore jumped out to a 6-2 lead on Weiland with six runs in the second but predictably, they couldn't hold on as Mitch Atkins was gone after 1.2 innings and Jeremy Guthrie (3-12) took the loss.

Boston went up 2-0 in the first on an RBI single by Ortiz and a sacrifice fly by Josh Reddick.

The Orioles put up six thanks to a two-run bomb by Derrek Lee and four RBI singles (three of the infield variety).

The Red Sox immediately tied it up at six in the second as Marco Scutaro (fourth), Dustin Pedroia (11th; 3 runs, 2 hits) and Youkilis (13th, two-run) all went deep.

Ortiz walked with the bases loaded in the fourth and Ellsbury (2 hits) produced an RBI single in the seventh for an insurance run.

As he's been most of the first half, Red Sox jack of all trades pitcher Alfredo Aceves (4-1) was the unsung hero. He pitched three scoreless innings with no hits allowed and four strikeouts.

Daniel Bard got his AL-leading 21st hold in the eighth, extending his career-long scoreless streak to 19 1/3 innings, before Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 20th save (out of 21 chances) with a walk and two strikeouts in the ninth.

The best team in the American League earned its four days off while everyone scatters to different parts of the country. If possible, enjoy Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game. The Red Sox get back to work on Friday with three games in Tampa Bay (who are six games behind Boston) then three in Baltimore.

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The Orioles Are A Complete Disgrace To the AL East & MLB

The Baltimore Orioles do not deserve any respect. They are a joke and it's been that way for about as long as I can remember.

Manager Buck Showalter can talk tough in the off-season and Kevin Gregg can cry to the press after he gets thrown out of a one-sided game (following his "fight" with David Ortiz on Friday) but the bottom line is that the team has money yet they always find ways to spend it on the wrong players and managers while their talented young guys seem to slip into a parallel universe at some point, never to be heard from again.

As if you needed any more proof that Baltimore (36-51) is a complete mess, they got shutdown by John Lackey (6-8) last night. Boston (54-35) won its third straight against the Orioles, 4-0 at Fenway Park.

One of the worst pitchers in MLB went 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. As always with Lackey, I refuse to get the least bit excited until either A) he does this consistently or B) he does it against a worthy opponent.

Alfredo Simon (1-2) was the starting pitcher for the Orioles. You might remember him as their former closer or from his mysterious trial Dominican Republic (somebody got killed by a gun that might have been his).

Kevin Youkilis celebrated his addition to the American League All-Star team (replacing the injured Alex Rodriguez) by going 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run.

He produced the first Red Sox run with an RBI double in the fifth that scored Dustin Pedroia.

Josh Reddick continued to play great with Carl Crawford out and J.D. Drew getting fitted with his cement cleats. Reddick is hitting .414 and he went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. He added a two-run double in the fifth which scored Adrian Gonzalez and Youk.

Youk put up another RBI double in the seventh, again scoring Pedroia.

Daniel Bard continued his hot streak (his ERA is down to 2.09) with four outs, including two strikeouts.

Jonathan Papelbon got a rare 1-2-3 in a non-save situation in the ninth.

The last game before the 2011 All-Star game is this afternoon. Boston goes for its sixth straight win (and tries to maintain its one-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees) as Kyle Weiland makes his MLB debut against journeyman Mitch Atkins.

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