Another Game, Another Walk-Off Win (No. 11 of the season) for the Red Sox

As far as I know, tonight's incredible comeback win by the Red Sox occurred but for the life of me, I couldn't find a picture of it hence why I had to use a picture from Jake Peavy's press conference earlier in the day. Sorry! Boston (66-44 overall-season-high 22 games over .500, 37-20 home) was down 7-1 in the eighth and 7-2 in the ninth before mounting one of the craziest rallies you'll ever see in MLB. Daniel Nava (2 hits, double, run, walk) ended it with a walk-off single as the Red Sox beat the hapless Mariners (50-58 overall, 21-30 away) 8-7 at Fenway Park for a three-game sweep.

It was the 11th walk-off victory of the season for Boston which leads MLB (2 off their team record set way back in 1940) and is their most since 1978. Did I mention that they also have the most wins in MLB since the Pirates lost? I dare say that this is the most likable Red Sox team since 2004, care to disagree after they won in 15 innings and did this less than 24 hours apart?

For so many reasons, this will go down as one of the best wins of the season. Seattle had no business losing this game since Felix Hernandez (7 innings, 1 earned run, 6 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks) shut Boston down and Ryan Dempster (6 innings, 7 earned runs, 9 hits, 6 strikeouts, 5 walks) got shelled. Things got so bad for Dempster-why did they sign him again?-that he gave up a grand slam to scrub backup catcher Henry Blanco in the fifth for a 7-1 Mariners lead.

Kyle Seager's (2 hits, 2 runs, walk, stolen base) bunt single scored a run in the first and Justin Smoak (2 hits, run, walk) drove in another with an RBI single in the third. Boston got a run in the home half of the third on David Ortiz's sacrifice fly but nobody could have predicted what happened in the eighth and ninth. Kendry Morales' (4 hits, run) RBI single preceded Blanco's grand slam over the Monster.

Victorino's solo homer in the eighth was his sixth of the season, cutting it to 7-2. The Mariners couldn't have choked worse in the ninth: it started with closer Tom Wilhelmsen (4 earned runs) failing to get anyone out (closers are useless in non-save situations) and extended to interim manager Robbie Thompson (Eric Wedge had a minor stroke last week) bringing in the wrong reliever (Oliver Perez).

Brock Holt started the comeback with an RBI double in the ninth and Victorino greeted Perez with a two-run single. Dustin Pedroia brought the Red Sox within one thanks to an RBI single and Jonny Gomes (who made a diving catch earlier then had an outfield assist in the same inning) tied it with an RBI single of his own. By the time Nava came up with the bases loaded and one out, you knew it was over.

Steven Wright (2-0) earned the improbable win with three scoreless innings of relief. The knuckleballer only allowed two hits and struck out two on the same day that he was recalled. It's been that kind of season for Boston, everyone is positively contributing. Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 4 with two runs, a double and walk. Even Ryan Lavarnway was 2 for 4 with a run.

Boston gets another taste of interleague play with Arizona (55-53 overall, 2nd in NL West) coming to Fenway for three games this weekend. Say hi to the cheerful Cody Ross for me! Jon Lester (10-6) faces Randall Delgado (3-3) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN), Peavy makes his Red Sox debut on Saturday night (7:10, NESN) vs. rookie sensation Patrick Corbin (12-2) and Felix Doubront (7-5) wraps it up Sunday afternoon (1:35, NESN) vs. Brandon McCarthy (2-4).

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Red Sox Reclaim 1st Place in AL East With Epic 5-4 15-Inning Win Over Mariners

I try to steer clear of using tired clichés like "Team of Destiny"-haha what does that even mean? However, when it comes to this edition of the Red Sox and all the amazing wins they seem to pull out of their asses, you have to wonder if something special is brewing here. Tonight, they waged a 15-inning marathon (5:03) with the Mariners (longest game of the season so far) and lived to tell the tale after Stephen Drew's (2 hits, walk) walk-off single won it 5-4 at Fenway Park.

The game was so long that it started on Wednesday and ended on Thursday, even better it was July when the evening began and August when Drew wrapped it up. The Red Sox lead MLB with 10 walk-off wins in 2013, their most since they had 10 in 1996. They are also tied with the Pirates for most wins in MLB, haha who would have guessed that happening on August 1?

Boston (65-44 overall, 36-20 home) was rewarded with a Rays loss earlier in the night meaning that this victory propelled them back into first place in the AL East. It feels like a different guy steps up in nearly every win and along with Drew, we should also heap praise on rookie reliever Drake Britton (1-0) who picked up his first MLB win with two scoreless innings (2 strikeouts) to close it out.

John Lackey went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Mariners (50-57 overall, 21-29 away) hurler Hisashi Iwakuma was effective (5.2 innings, 2 runs, 7 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) but his pitch count was much too high (102) to last very long.

As is usually the case with extra innings games, there were some whacky numbers. Seattle had 16 hits to Boston's 12 but the Red Sox saw 44 more pitches (246-202). Boston left 13 men on base, one more than Seattle. The Red Sox were 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position while the Mariners were 3 for 11.

Kyle Seager (3 for 6, walk) and Kendry Morales (3 for 4) continued to rake against Boston. Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, walk), Shane Victorino (2 hits, run, walk), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 for 7) and Drew all had multiple hits in the victory.

Seager gave Seattle a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the fourth. Boston tied it on a gift by Nick Franklin (0 for 7 with 4 strikeouts)-an error-and it became 2-1 on Pedroia's ground out.

Morales drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth and the Mariners took their final lead (3-2) later in the frame on an RBI single by Raul Ibanez (2 hits).

Dustin Pedroia hit his second two-run homer in as many nights, his eighth of the season, in the sixth for a 4-3 Red Sox advantage. Seager tied it in the eighth with a solo homer.

Boston's bullpen was outstanding which was ironic since Red Sox GM Ben Cherrington didn't make any more moves at the Trade Deadline for relievers (like many expected) or anyone else for that matter. Koji Uehara threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Matt Thornton had a scoreless 11th then Craig Breslow pitched two scoreless innings and Britton did his thing.

The Red Sox should have ended it in the 14th when Brandon Snyder led off with a double then was bunted over to third by Jacoby Ellsbury. Victorino hit a shallow fly ball to center and Michael Saunders gunned out Snyder at the plate by a few feet. Why they felt the need to send him I'll never know, especially with Pedroia and David Ortiz due up next.

Jonny Gomes gave them a chance to win it in the Bottom 15th after he robbed Saunders of a hit then doubled up old man Raul Ibanez at second base by running it in himself for the ultra rare unassisted double play to end the Top 15th. I don't know if I've ever seen that happen before in MLB.

Boston goes for the series sweep tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) and it promises to be difficult to pull off since Felix Hernandez (11-4) takes the ball for the Mariners vs. Ryan Dempster (6-8). Jake Peavy is expected to make his Red Sox debut on Saturday night against Diamondbacks.

UPDATE 8/1: It was confirmed today that Peavy will start on Saturday and Jose De La Torre was sent down to Pawtucket. With last night's extra long contest, Boston needed another reliever so they sent Brandon Workman down and activated Steven Wright.

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Red Sox Rally For A Great Win In Extra Innings, Take 3 Out of 4 in Seattle

Ranking wins is always a useless exercise but I think most Red Sox fans would agree that today's come-from-behind 8-7 win over the Mariners in 10 innings at Safeco Field was one of Boston's (57-37 overall, 26-21 away) best victories of 2013. For starters, they rallied when they were down 5-1 in the third inning and took three of four in Seattle (40-52 overall, 22-25 home) to ensure that whatever happens this weekend in Oakland, they are guaranteed to lead the AL East at the All-Star break.

I'm not joking when I say that it feels like the Red Sox have a new hero nearly every game and this afternoon/early evening was no different as Steven Wright's (1-0) second career MLB appearance was a doozy (in a good way of course): 5.2 scoreless innings, three hits, three strikeouts and two walks. He bailed out Ryan Dempster who was terrible: 3.1 innings, seven runs (four earned) on nine hits.

Boston took this wacky series by scoring 34 runs including 30 in the past three games (all wins). The Red Sox had 10 hits and seven walks. Daniel Nava contributed the most important one with an two-out RBI single that scored Jackie Bradley Jr. in the 10th. Koji Uehara-who got snubbed in the Final Vote for the All-Star Game-shrugged it off to get a 1-2-3 10th with two strikeouts for his seventh save of the season.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 walks) extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a leadoff homer-the eighth of his career and the third home run of the season. Seattle put up four runs in the second on Kyle Seager's (2 hits, 2 RBIs) solo homer, a ground-rule RBI double by Billy Butler and two-run single by Endy Chavez. An RBI single by Michael Saunders in the third gave the Mariners a 5-1 lead which the immortal Erasmo Ramirez promptly coughed up.

Brock Holt (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run), Jose Iglesias (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Ellsbury all kept the line moving with two-out RBI singles that cut it to 5-4. Dempster couldn't do anything right as he allowed RBI singles to Kendry Morales and Seager for a 7-4 Mariners lead in the fourth.

From then on thanks to Wright's incredible relief and Uehara, the Red Sox were able to shut down Seattle's mighty (haha yeah right) batting order. Boston tied it with three runs in the fifth on Mike Carp's sacrifice fly and more RBI singles from Holt and Iglesias.

Beating up on shitbums like the Mariners is all well and good but I'm excited to see how Boston reacts to playing a great team like Oakland (54-38, 1st in AL West this weekend at that dump O.co Coliseum. The A's are one of the best teams in baseball but don't ask me to explain how that's possible with their mostly unimpressive roster. The sum is greater than the parts I guess.

John Lackey (6-6) faces Jarrod Parker (6-6) tomorrow night (10:05, NESN) in the series opener. Jon Lester (8-5) will try to bounce back from an awful few months on Saturday night (10:05, NESN) against A.J. Griffin (7-5). The unofficial end of the first half comes on Sunday afternoon (4:05, NESN) as former Red Sox great Bartolo Colon (12-3)-who is an All-Star-faces TBA.

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Red Sox Decide To Give That Winning Thing A Try

Get the Duck Boats ready, the Red Sox won't go 0-9 on this West Coast road trip! Boston (63-74, 31-36 away) dug itself a 3-0 hole (which to them is more akin to 30-0) before rallying for a 4-3 victory tonight at Seattle's (66-71, 35-33 home) Safeco Field. That snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Red Sox which had sucked the life out of an already dead team.

Jon Lester (9-11) went six innings, allowing three earned runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and two walks. The real heroes were Junichi Tazawa (2 outs to wiggle out of a jam in the seventh), Vicente Padilla (scoreless 8th, 23rd hold) and Andrew Bailey who recorded his second save with a clean ninth.

The immortal Blake Beavan (9-9) couldn't get the job done for the Mariners. He went 5.2 innings and allowed four earned runs on eight hits with one strikeout and no walks.

Jesus Montero (3 for 5) had an RBI single in the first then Franklin Gutierrez (3rd of the season) and Kyle Seager (16th of the season) went back-to-back in the third for the 3-0 advantage.

Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, run, walk, stolen base) extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the sixth. Even better, Cody Ross blasted his 20th homer-a 3-run shot-and two batters later Ryan Lavarnway (1st of the season) went deep in that frame. Things were going so well that Jose Iglesias (previously 0 for 17) notched his first hit of the season: a double.

James Loney was 2 for 4 with a double in the extremely rare Red Sox victory. Dustin Ackely was 2 for 5 with a run and stolen base for Seattle. Him, Seager and Montero are a nice trio, if only the Mariners would spend some money and surround them with proven veteran hitters.

In the finale of this torturous road trip, Aaron Cook (3-8) faces Kevin Millwood (4-12) tomorrow night (10:10 p.m., NESN). Make sure to flip over when there are commercials during the Giants-Cowboys game. Watching that instant classic pitching matchup should be almost as entertaining as seeing Tony Romo and the Cowboys pee down their legs like always.

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