David Ortiz Saves the Day For the Millionth Time in His Red Sox Career

We all know that there currently is little reason to tune into Red Sox games. Still, once again David Ortiz proved to be must-watch TV whenever he steps to the plate. Boston (28-34 overall, 13-17 away) was headed to its sixth straight loss at Detroit's (33-26 overall, 16-15 home) Comerica Park until Ortiz connected for a go-ahead three-run bomb (his 14th of the season and 445th of his career) against former overhyped Yankee Joba Chamberlain (1-3). Joba rules got to be the Tigers closer for a night since Joe Nathan has been a mess this season.

They can't be too worried about the standings yet, however it should be noted that the Red Sox gained a game on all four of the other teams in the AL East since they all lost earlier in the day. Boston finally found a way to beat Detroit after starting 0-5 against everyone's pick to win the American League in 2014 (ever hear of Oakland?). It was the 27th game-tying or go-ahead hit in the ninth inning or later for Ortiz on Boston, the 16th that was a homer.

Ortiz will receive all the credit but a couple other guys kept the Red Sox in it, laying the foundation for his almost routine heroics (we are so spoiled). John Lackey (8 innings, 3 runs, 2 earned, 7 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk) is still Boston's best starting pitcher while Brock Holt (4 for 5 with a triple and run) has morphed into Pedro Ciriaco circa 2012 (let's hope the team's season is a little different). Meanwhile, Mike Napoli returned with a bang: 3 for 4 with a solo homer in the sixth that tied it at two (his sixth of the season) and his first stolen base of the season. Oh and Koji Uehara pitched a 1-2-3 ninth on 13 pitches for his 12th save of the season, haha his ERA is 0.68 so I guess 2013 wasn't a complete fluke.

Dustin Pedroia gave his team a 1-0 lead in the third with a sacrifice fly. After that, Anibal Sanchez (6 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks) kept the Red Sox in check except for Napoli's blast to right field. Tigers rookie shortstop Eugenio Suarez (great name) provided a boost with RBI singles in the third and seventh inning. Victor Martinez put Detroit up 2-1 in the fourth with an RBI single. The greatest hitter of his generation-Miguel Cabrera-was 2 for 3 with a double and run before he tapped out in the sixth with a tight hamstring. It's too much to ask for him to be in shape I guess, at least as far as we know he's not a drunk anymore.

This victory means nothing if the Red Sox can't build up some positive momentum. They have been so schizophrenic: losing 10 games in a row, winning seven and dropping the last five before tonight's Sunday Night Baseball. Here's an idea: be more consistent. Toronto (38-26) looks like the team to beat this season in the AL East while Baltimore (31-30) and New York (31-31) are the epitome of average. Tampa Bay (24-40) is the one team I think that you can completely write off in the division, assuming you haven't done that already with Boston.

The Red Sox can chip away at their 3.5 game gap behind the Orioles beginning tomorrow night (7:05, NESN) at Camden Yards. Boston plays three games against Baltimore, the Red Sox are 4-3 so far in 2014 against the O's. Jake Peavy (1-3) faces Bud Norris (4-5) in the opener, Brandon Workman (0-0) opposes Chris Tillman (5-2) on Tuesday (7:05, NESN) and Rubby De La Rosa (1-1) takes on Wei-Yin Chen (6-2) on Wednesday (7:05, NESN) in the series finale.

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Red Sox Are 1 Win Away from the 2013 World Series After Another 1-run Victory

All season long, one of the Red Sox' M.O. has been bouncing back from normally crushing losses. That has carried over to the postseason as Boston beat Detroit 4-3 in Game 5 of the ALCS tonight at Comerica Park. Koji Uehara recorded (2nd save of the series, 4th of the postseason) the first five-out save in MLB this October, which featured two strikeouts.

The Red Sox lead the series 3-2 with two chances to win at Fenway Park: Game 6 is Saturday and Game 7 would be Sunday but let's not hope it gets to that.

Two themes from the entire series continued in Boston's favor: they won their third one-run game and it's all thanks to their top-notch relievers. After being basically unhittable in Game 1, Anibal Sanchez (1-1; 6 IP, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 9 hits, 5 strikeouts, 0 walks) came back to Earth in a big way. Jon Lester (1-1) was also better in Game 1 but tonight was all about surviving. He went 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

The Red Sox scored all their runs in the first three innings, specifically three in the second and one in the third. Suddenly red-hot Mike Napoli (3 for 4, double, 2 runs) started the surge with a solo homer (his second of the ALCS) to dead center that was estimated to travel 460 feet. Lester's personal catcher David Ross even helped himself at the plate with two hits including an RBI double. Jacoby Ellsbury (walk, 2 stolen bases) reached on an infield single that scored rookie Xander Bogaerts (who batted eighth, started at third base and hit a double). Napoli made it 4-0 on a wild pitch by Sanchez.

Napoli's last run, which turned out to be huge, was a quality baserunning play. Completely different from Miguel Cabrera getting thrown out by Jonny Gomes at home plate in the first to end the first inning. Detroit has to be the slowest team in MLB, that's one thing the Red Sox have tried to exploit. Cabrera did what he does best: he kicked off Detroit's rally with an RBI single in the fifth.

Ross had run over Tigers catcher Alex Avila so he had to leave in the fourth inning with a knee strain. Enter backup catcher Brayan Pena who drove in a run with a single in the sixth. A run scored but Junichi Tazawa did his job by getting Cabrera to ground into a double play in the seventh-one of three turned by the Red Sox in Game 5. Craig Breslow got two outs, one of which was the hopeless Prince Fielder (1 for 4, saw 10 pitches) before Tazawa retired the last five Detroit batters in the game.

Game 6 is a rematch of Game 2 with Max Scherzer taking on Clay Buchholz. Scherzer was incredible but his bullpen totally let the team down as Boston rallied for the 6-5 win. I still like Buchholz's chances to have a good outing given his talent level. You have to feel like the Red Sox have the momentum too since they've won three out of the last four games (2 of 3 in Detroit) to put the Tigers on the brink of elimination.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Red Sox Pull Off a Comeback for the Ages: Rallying to Beat Tigers 6-5 in ALCS Game 2

Let me just get this out of the way first since honestly, I hate humblebrags: I was lucky enough to attend my first Red Sox playoff game tonight, as a fan not a sportswriter. Wouldn't you know that ALCS Game 2 vs. Detroit turned out to be an unforgettable experience as Boston rallied from down 5-0 to tie it in the eighth on David Ortiz's grand slam then win it in the ninth on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's walk-off single.

The Red Sox evened the series at one, sending it to Detroit for three games in three days beginning on Tuesday (4:07, Fox) afternoon. Being there first-hand, I can admit a few things: 1) plenty of people left when it was 5-1 heading to the bottom of the eighth (who leaves a playoff game during a long weekend?), 2) nobody could have expected this since the Red Sox had one hit in the first 15.2 innings and 3) Ortiz could be the most clutch player in MLB history.

It was hard to fathom after Detroit came two outs away from a no-hitter the night before in Game 1 but Max Scherzer (7 innings, 1 earned run, 2 hits, 13 strikeouts, 2 walks) was even more locked in than Anibal Sanchez since the latter walked six batters. Clay Buchholz (5.2 innings, 5 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks) on the other hand, came completely unraveled in the sixth.

Detroit had gone up 1-0 on Alex Avila's (2 hits, run, walk) RBI single in the second inning. They pushed four across in the sixth on Miguel Cabrera's solo homer, Victor Martinez's (2 doubles, 2 runs) RBI double and a two-run bomb by Avila. Brandon Workman (scoreless IP) and Felix Doubront (scoreless 1.1 IP) settled things down as the bats finally woke up.

Shane Victorino recorded Boston's first hit then came around to score on a wall ball double by Dustin Pedroia. Still the Tigers were comfortably ahead 5-1 in the eighth but somehow things lined up for Ortiz with the bases loaded and two outs. Detroit manager Jim Leyland played to win, bringing in closer Joaquin Benoit for a four-out save but Ortiz hit a missile on his first pitch in the Red Sox bullpen. It was topped off by Torii Hunter flipping over the wall in vain trying to grab it.

I don't have fresh numbers from Carmine to prove it but I feel like teams that rally from big deficits in baseball usually win, meaning that Salty's hit was a formality. Albeit a very exciting one for the home crowd. Koji Uehara (1-0) had pitched a 1-2-3 ninth on nine pitches (8 strikes) including a strikeout.

Jonny Gomes led off the bottom of the ninth against Rick Porcello (0-1) and hit an infield single that Jose Iglesias threw wide of first. One-dimensional slugger Prince Fielder butchered it, why I think he should have been charged with an error and not Iglesias. After a wild pitch, Gomes moved to third then he scored on Salty's opposite field single to left. The Red Sox chased him to second base in celebration, it was truly one of the best sporting events I've ever been to in my life.

If anything, these two games have shown us how razor thin the margin is between these two great teams. I expect the series to come back to Boston for Game 6 and possibly Game 7 since it's hard to see either team rattling off three wins in a row. John Lackey gets the tall task (no pun intended) of trying to beat Justin Verlander on Tuesday. On paper, it's a bad matchup for Boston but after tonight, it's hard to count them out in any situation.

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Red Sox & Umpires Conspire To Help Tigers Gain 7-5 Win In Series Finale

It figures that on a day when the Red Sox made Justin Verlander look ordinary, they still couldn't come out on top as they lost 7-5 to the Tigers at Comerica Park. Detroit (42-32 overall, 26-13 home) won the series 3-1 as Boston (45-33 overall, 22-18 away) limps home for a nine-game homestand.

After the best outing of his career, Felix Doubront had his typical performance: five innings, three runs (two earned), four hits, two strikeouts and four walks on 104 pitches.

Not sure what's up with Verlander but he's not himself. He went five innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

Boston was going to blow the game anyway since it was tied 4-4 in the eighth with Andrew Miller (0-2) on the mound but they got no favors from four blind umpires who ruled that Daniel Nava's catch wasn't actually a catch. It was enough to get John Farrell ejected and from there, Detroit tacked on three more runs with Torii Hunter's sacrifice fly and Prince Fielder's (2 hits, 3 RBIs) two-run single.

The Red Sox tried to rally in the ninth as Jonny Gomes had an RBI double but new Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit (2-0) was able to escape thanks to Hunter's diving catch on Stephen Drew's liner to end it.

Miguel Cabrera (2 hits, walk) had a ground-rule RBI double in the first and Fielder drove in another run with a ground out in the first for a 2-0 Tigers lead.

Boston tied it with two runs in the second on Ryan Lavarnway's RBI single and Jacoby Ellsbury's (2 hits, double, stolen base) sacrifice fly. Detroit went back ahead on Lavarnway's passed ball in the home half of the second.

Mike Napoli's ground out in the third and Shane Victorino's ground out in the fourth put Boston up a run (4-3). Things started to unravel in the seventh as Miller hit Jhonny Peralta with the bases loaded to tie it at four.

Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with two runs and a walk while David Ortiz was 3 for 5. Austin Jackson reached base five times going 2 for 2 with three runs, three walks and a double.

Boston gets a day off tomorrow then they will enjoy a nine-game homestand until July 4: two games vs. Colorado (39-38, 2nd in NL West), four vs. Toronto (38-36, 4th in AL East) and three vs. San Diego (38-38, 4th in NL West). It should be a sneaky challenge since all three teams are .500 or better with the Rockies and Padres representing two of the biggest surprises in MLB while the Blue Jays have currently won 11 games in a row.

Ryan Dempster (4-8) faces Juan Nicasio (4-3) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN) and John Lackey (4-5) opposes Roy Oswalt (0-1) on Tuesday afternoon (4:05, NESN). It's a 2007 World Series rematch with very few of the same guys left on the respective teams!

UPDATE 4/25: A flurry of moves for the Red Sox today as infielder Brandon Snyder was called up from Pawtucket, Will Middlebrooks went to the PawSox and David Ross was moved to the 60-day DL.

Franklin Morales is going back to the DL and Pedro Beato is being recalled from the PawSox.

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The Aaron Cook Experiment Settles Into A Predictable Fate

After four good starts in a row since returning from the DL, the wheels have started to fall off for sinkerballer Aaron Cook (2-5). He's struggled in his last three starts (especially the past two) and as a result, hasn't recorded a win since June 29.

Boston (53-52, 27-29 home) weren't able to complete the three-game sweep of Detroit (55-50, 27-29) as the Tigers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the fifth tonight vs. Cook and held on for a 7-5 win at Fenway Park. It also snapped the Red Sox' four-game win streak.

Cook doesn't walk anybody (4 walks all season) but he also doesn't strike anybody out (4) which means he's pitching to contact. Lately, he's been leaving fastballs and hanging curveballs up in the zone, leading to many home runs. The game got out of reach when Miguel Cabrera (2 hits) hit a two-run homer (26th of the season) over everything in left in the fifth which was followed by Prince Fielder's (2 hits) solo homer to center (17th of the season), making it 6-1 Detroit.

In 4.2 innings, Cook allowed six earned runs on nine hits. Rick Porcello (8-6) usually struggles against the Red Sox and he wasn't great this evening (5.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) but he handed it over to a nearly flawless bullpen.

Phil Coke allowed a solo homer to Carl Crawford (2nd of the season) in the seventh to make it 6-5 Detroit but Octavio Dotel (1 inning, 1 strikeout), Joaquin Benoit (1 inning, 1 strikeout) and Jose Valverde (1 inning, 2 strikeouts; 21st save) combined for three perfect innings.

Cody Ross (2 hits) gave Boston a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first. Brennan Boesch tied it with an RBI single in the fourth then the Tigers scored five runs in the fifth. Austin Jackson added an RBI single and a run scored on Quintin Berry's ground out before the long balls from Cabrera and Fielder.

The Red Sox showed signs of life with three runs in the sixth. Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounded into a double play but a run scored. Pedro Ciriaco and Will Middlebrooks kept the inning alive with RBI singles.

In the eighth, Delmon Young's (2 hits) homer to right (12th of the season), that wrapped around Pesky's pole proved to be a valuable insurance run.

Adrian Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with a run and walk in the loss. Craig Breslow made his first appearance back with the Red Sox (he played with them briefly in 2006) as he was the first guy out of the bullpen. He went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

The schedule does the Red Sox a huge favor as the terrible Minnesota Twins (44-60, AL Central) come to Fenway this weekend and they will meet four times. I would normally say that they have to take at least three but we all know that the middling Red Sox will probably win twice.

Jon Lester (5-8) faces rookie Samuel Deduno (2-0) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) to open the series. Felix Doubront (10-5) gets Brian Duensing (2-6) on Friday night (7:10 p.m., NESN). Clay Buchholz (9-3) opposes rookie Cole De Vries (2-2) on Saturday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Josh Beckett (5-9) meets Nick Blackburn (4-6) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN). If Lester and Beckett can't beat the Twins, they might not win another game respectively in 2012.

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Detroit Tigers Avoid Four-Game Sweep By The Red Sox Thanks To Josh Beckett's Dud

Josh Beckett and the Red Sox weren't able to complete a four-game sweep of the Tigers tonight at Fenway Park. Detroit (24-27, 13-15 away) beat Boston (26-25, 13-14 home) 7-3 in a pretty lifeless game witnessed first-hand by my girlfriend and I.

It marked the second time (White Sox, April 29) this season that Beckett lost when the Red Sox had a chance at a four-game sweep. Boston might be safely over .500 at last but the fact that their home record (where they usually excel) is still under .500 is a troubling sign of things to come.

Beckett (4-5) went seven innings but he wasn't fooling many hitters as they touched him up for four earned runs on 10 hits with one strikeout and one walk. While I'd like to pile all the blame on the Texas Toughguy, mostly because it's so fun, the truth was that relievers Franklin Morales (1 run) and Rich Hill (2 runs) were also off their games.

Max Scherzer (5-3) won his third straight start, an adequate outing that lasted six innings. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

It should come as no surprise that a makeshift Red Sox lineup (hello Scott Podsednik leading off) without Dustin Pedroia (injured thumb) and Will Middlebrooks (not in the lineup, don't ask me why) struggled to produce much offense. In fact, the Tigers doubled up (14-7) the Red Sox in total hits.

Quintin Berry (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases, RBI), Delmon Young (3 hits, 2 RBIs, run), Prince Fielder (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run) and Miguel Cabrera (2 hits, run, RBI) all had multiple hits for Detroit. Only Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits, 2 RBIs), who should get serious All-Star consideration if he keeps this up (.373, 6 HRs, 14 RBIs in his last 16 games), had more than one hit for Boston.

Detroit nearly scored in the second inning but Young was thrown out at home on a nice throw by Ryan Sweeney in right field. Not sure why they sent him since Young isn't fast and he was the last out of the frame. Dumb move.

The Red Sox grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to Salty's (10th of the season) solo homer to right center and Podsednik's RBI double.

Beckett coughed it right up as the Tigers scored three times in the third to take a 3-2 lead. Berry had an RBI single, Brennan Boesch had a sacrifice fly and Fielder plated Berry with an RBI single.

Saltalamacchia tied it at three with an RBI single in the third but Cabrera's RBI single in the fifth put Detroit ahead for good. Young (4th of the season) crushed a meatball from Morales over the Monster in the eighth.

Against Hill in the ninth, Fielder had an RBI triple (no joke) and Young ended his memorable night with an RBI single.

I'm calling it right now, June will be the toughest month of the season for the Red Sox: seven of the nine series are against teams with winning records. Boston begins that arduous task with three games in Toronto this weekend. The Blue Jays (27-24, 1 game ahead of Red Sox, 4th in AL East) took two of three from the Red Sox back on April 9-11 at Rogers Centre.

Clay Buchholz (4-2) faces Henderson Alvarez (3-4) tomorrow night (7:07 p.m., NESN) in the opener. Felix Doubront (5-2) opposes Kyle Drabek (4-5) on Saturday afternoon (1:07 p.m., NESN) and in the finale on Sunday afternoon (1:07 p.m., NESN), Daniel Bard (5-5) is against rookie Drew Hutchison (4-2).

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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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Nothing Has Changed The Fact That The Red Sox Are Still A Disaster

It only took three games but the Boston Red Sox' offense finally awoke in 2012. They mashed out 18 hits, 12 runs, 11 RBIs & four walks today; they also went 8 for 21 with runners in scoring position.

What's that? This isn't your shitty softball league, you need to pitch well too in order to win? Boston (0-3) apparently missed that tutorial in Spring Training as they lost 13-12 to the Tigers (3-0) this afternoon at Comerica Park in 11 innings, giving Detroit the Opening series sweep.

The Red Sox bullpen is a complete mess as Alfredo Aceves blew a three-run lead in the ninth when Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer (his 3rd of the season) and Mark Melancon (0-2) blew a two-run lead in the 11th. Alex Avila (2nd homer of the season) ended it for the Tigers with a two-out, two-strike, two-run bomb off Melancon.

In a game when Boston needed innings and a quality start, Clay Buchholz (4 innings, 8 hits, 7 runs, 7 earned) could give them neither. Well at least he was better than Detroit's starter Max Scherzer (2.2 innings, 8 hits, 7 runs, 7 earned).

Bobby Valentine made the curious decision to have Nick Punto lead off but it turned out to be a great move as he had three hits and three RBIs in his first start for the Red Sox. Another player that needed a boost, Mike Aviles, delivered with three hits, three RBIs and two runs of his own. David Ortiz added three hits, two runs and an RBI while Jacoby Ellsbury (run, walk) and Dustin Pedroia (walk, stolen base) notched two hits as well. Boston's backup catcher Kelly Shoppach was the only player in either starting lineup to not record a hit.

Detroit showed all series why they should have one of the top lineups in the American League this season. In the finale, they slugged 17 hits, 13 runs and 12 RBIs for the win. Austin Jackson led the Tigers, going 4 for 6 with three RBIs. Miguel Cabrera drove in five RBIs with three runs and three hits. Prince Fielder (2 runs) and Brennan Boesch both had two hits.

Befitting a contest that went four hours and 45 minutes, this one had some wild momentum swings. Detroit went up 4-0 in the first on Cabrera's RBI single and Jhonny Peralta's three-run double that Ellsbury dropped (very tough play). Aviles' two-run double in the second cut it to 4-2 Tigers but Cabrera added a sacrifice fly in the home of the inning.

Boston scored more runs (5) in the third than they had combined for in the previous 20 innings. Ortiz got it started with an RBI double, Aviles had an RBI single, Punto hit a sacrifice fly, Aviles scored on Scherzer's balk and Ellsbury had an RBI single which put the Red Sox up 7-5.

In the fourth, Buchholz gave it right back as Boesch hit an RBI single and a run scored on Cabrera's double-play ball.

Gonzalez crushed Boston's first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the sixth to give the Red Sox a 9-7 advantage. Punto's infield single in the ninth gave Boston an insurance run as Darnell McDonald scored.

Punto and Pedroia had RBI singles in the 11th but Detroit answered one more time with a sacrifice fly by Delmon Young and Avila's homer.

Vicente Padilla (4 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts) was great in the 5th-8th innings while Franklin Morales (2 innings, 1 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts) in the 9th-10th was also very good. Unfortunately, nobody will remember their valuable contributions in this instance. Such is the life of a middle reliever.

Tigers reliever Duane Below (2-0) got his second win of the season by recording the last out of the 11th which at the time didn't seem like a big play whatsoever.

So where do the Red Sox go from here? They traveled to Toronto after the game and they play three against the Blue Jays (2-1) starting with tomorrow night as Felix Doubront faces Henderson Alvarez (one of Toronto's top pitching prospects). Daniel Bard gets his first start on Tuesday against youngster Kyle Drabek and then Jon Lester opposes Ricky Romero on Wednesday afternoon in what should easily be the best pitched game of the series.

At this juncture, it's hard to argue that Bard shouldn't be the Red Sox closer. He would have way more value there than as a fifth starter but maybe he just doesn't have the fortitude and mental toughness to get the job done. All I know is that Boston needs to get a win, in any manner possible before the roof really starts to cave in on Valentine and Co.

It was a weird weekend in the AL East as Baltimore is off to a 3-0 start after sweeping Minnesota while Tampa Bay is also 3-0 after sweeping the Yankees. It's the first time since 1966 that the Red Sox and Yankees have both started 0-3. So yeah, it's still always about us even when we suck.

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Tigers Hit 5 Homers, Roll Over Beckett & Red Sox

What a promising start to the season for Josh Beckett.

The Texas Toughguy gave up a career-high (he did it in 2009 vs. the Yankees too) five home runs this afternoon as the Detroit Tigers (2-0) stomped on the Boston Red Sox (0-2) 10-0 at Comerica Park.

Detroit starting pitcher Doug Fister left after 3.2 innings (and later went on the DL with an injury) but it didn't matter since the Tigers pounded Red Sox pitching for 12 hits, including seven against Beckett (0-1) in only 4.2 innings. Duane Below (1-0) went 2.1 innings after Fister to earn the win.

Miguel Cabrera (3 RBIs) and Prince Fielder (2 RBIs) both had two homers while Alex Avila added a two-run bomb of his own.

Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney both had two hits for the Red Sox but Boston only had one extra-base hit (a double by Jarrod Saltlamacchia). In two games, the Red Sox have scored just two runs and those were each in the ninth inning on Thursday.

Cabrera hit a two-run shot in the first inning before Fox had even made excuses for Beckett by talking about his phantom thumb injury. In the fourth, Fielder hit a solo homer then Avila crushed a two-run blast. In the fifth, the AL's most dynamic power duo went back-to-back as Cabrera and Fielder hit solo homers in a matter of a few pitches, turning it into a complete joke of a game.

Boston will try to leave the Motor City with some semblance of dignity as Clay Buchholz takes on Max Scherzer tomorrow afternoon in an Easter matinee. The Red Sox desperately need a win but be aware that the first 15 games are pretty much guaranteed to be ugly: at Tigers, at Blue Jays, Rays, Rangers, Yankees. Yikes.

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Sorry Justin Verlander, even you cannot stop the Boston Red Sox right now

Another game, another win for the Boston Red Sox. Carl Crawford continues to toil at the bottom of the lineup but he still delivered his third walkoff hit in May as Boston beat Detroit 4-3 last night at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (23-20) have won a season-high six in a row thanks to contributions from everybody: great starting pitching, timely hitting, excellent relief and plain old luck.

The Tigers (22-21) came into Boston hot but left after a two-game sweep with interleague play starting for everybody this weekend.

A pitcher's duel between Detroit ace Justin Verlander and Red Sox stud Josh Beckett was overshadowed by Crawford's heroics. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Crawford (2 hits) crushed a single over the head of Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson which plated pinch runner Darnell McDonald. Detroit porn star and reliever Al Alburquerque (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Neither starter got a decision as Verlander went eight innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs with nine strikeouts. Beckett departed after six innings (with a stiff neck, man baseball players are warriors), five hits, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts.

Andy Dirks (what is with these names?) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second.

J.D. Drew tied it up in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Things looked to be turning in Boston's favor as Drew hit a solo homer in the fourth and David Ortiz (3 hits, quietly having a very solid season) followed with a solo shot of his own in the seventh.

Matt Albers got a scoreless seventh (1 hit, 2 strikeouts) but Detroit hit a pair of solo homers off Daniel Bard in the eighth. Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera did the honors.

No worries though, the Red Sox are finding every possible way to win right now and this time, it didn't even take extra innings. Just another ho hum walkoff.

The Chicago Cubs come to Fenway for a three-game series which kicks off tonight. It's the first time since the 1918 World Series (remember that classic?) that the Cubbies have been to Boston. I can feel the collective boners from all the baseball nerds across the world. It promises to be a memorable weekend in Boston.

Red Sox do nothing meaningful at trade deadline but produce two straight walk-off wins

As expected, the Boston Red Sox did nothing substantial (sorry Ramon Ramirez, you bum) at the non-waiver trade deadline (Saturday) but that mundane news was tempered with the excitement of two straight walk-off wins over the Tigers on Saturday and Sunday.

I was lucky enough to be sitting on the Monster with some buddies from college on Saturday night as David Ortiz came through with a bases-loaded, three-run double. It's the first walk-off I've seen in person (as far as I can remember) so it was a cool moment.

Yesterday's didn't have quite the same panache since it came when Marco Scutaro (2 hits, steal) bunted and Tigers (52-52) reliever Robbie Weinhardt threw it away, allowing Darnell McDonald to score for the 4-3 Red Sox (60-45) win.

Truthfully, it shouldn't have come to that since Clay Buchholz (8 innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts) completely silenced Detroit until the ninth when a lucky bounce led to an infield hit and he walked the last batter he faced.

Jonathan Papelbon (4-4) was summoned and on the first pitch, Miguel Cabrera cranked a two-run double (that missed being a homer by a few feet) as Detroit cut it to 3-2. Then Papelbon blew his fifth game of the season when Jhonny Peralta tied it with a groundball up the middle.

Making the win even more impressive is that the Sox beat Tigers ace Justin Verlander (7 innings, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts).

Eric Patterson gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second with an RBI single and Adrian Beltre (2 hits) doubled the Sox advantage with an RBI single in the third. Rookie Ryan Kalish (who went 2-for-4 in his MLB debut on Saturday) added a sacrifice fly in the third for the surprising 3-0 lead.

The time is now for the Red Sox, they're still 6.5 games behind the Yankees and 5.5 in back of the Rays for the wild card. The good news is that the miserable Indians come to Fenway for four games beginning tonight. For any chance to make the playoffs, Boston has to pretty much at least split every series and when they play garbage like this, they need to win three or sweep them.

Tonight John Lackey takes on Fausto Carmona as Lackey tries to keep his streak of three straight great starts going down the stretch.