Bill bleepin' Hall

Remember when you wrote the Boston Red Sox off this season?

Well it's time to jump back on the bandwagon because this team is playing well and they're inching closer and closer to an improbable playoff spot.

The Sox (66-49) smoked the Blue Jays (59-54) 10-1 last night at the Rogers Centre.

Clay Buchholz (13-5) just did what he's been doing for the last year: embracing his role as the best Red Sox starting pitcher.

He allowed Jose Bautista's sacrifice fly in the first (scoring an unearned run) but other than that, he went eight innings, allowing five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Shawn Marcum (10-6) is a good pitcher but he was no match for Buchholz or Boston. In four innings, he allowed eight earned runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts. A 36-pitch first inning was a sign of ominous things to come for Marcum.

I don't know what it is about the Rogers Centre but the ball is flying out of there for the Blue Jays (most homers in MLB) and the Red Sox (second most homers).

Boston slugged four home runs last night, including two from Bill Hall (3 hits, 4 RBIs).

Mike Lowell (3 hits) walked with the bases loaded in the first as the Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead.

Hall hit two towering shots to left field in the second (solo) and fourth inning (two-run). The Sox knocked out Marcum and sewed up the result with five runs in the fifth: J.D. Drew had a solo homer, Adrian Beltre had an opposite field three-run bomb and Hall had an RBI single.

Victor Martinez (2 hits) closed out the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth.

Adam Lind had three hits for Toronto in the one-sided loss.

John Lackey opposes rookie Brad Mills this afternoon as the Red Sox look for the sweep. They enter today, 3.5 behind Tampa Bay in the wild card and five games behind the Yankees.

I'm starting to love this team

They've been counted out for basically the whole season, the ratings are way down as the Pink Hats have jumped aboard the latest trend and the injuries have mounted at a ridiculous pace but through it all, the 2010 Boston Red Sox have survived. Kind of like Arnold in the Terminator 2.

The Sox (65-49) won 7-5 last night at the Rogers Centre over the previously hot Blue Jays (59-53).

Neither Daisuke Matsuzaka (5.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 6 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts) nor Ricky Romero (6 innings, 5 earned runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts) were on their game so this one was decided by the bullpens.

Felix Doubront (2-2) gave up a solo homer to Jose Bautista, his 35th (major league leader) in the seventh but he survived to get four outs and serve as the bridge to Manny Delcarmen (eighth) and Jonathan Papelbon, who pitched a scoreless ninth for his 29th save.

Boston jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning which qualifies as an explosion for them these days. Adrian Beltre had an RBI double, Jed Lowrie (2 hits, 2 RBIs) had a ground-rule RBI double and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits) kept the line moving with a run-scoring single.

Toronto leads MLB in homers so it was no surprise when Adam Lind (2 hits) crushed a solo shot in the bottom of the second.

Mike Lowell put the Red Sox up 4-1 in the third with a sacrifice fly but Travis Snider tied it up in the bottom of the third with a three-run bomb.

J.D. Drew hit a solo homer in the fifth but Bautista tied it in the seventh.

Lowell and Lowrie teamed up for the winning runs in the eighth. Lowell hit a solo homer and Lowrie had another RBI double.

Clay Buchholz faces Shawn Marcum tonight.

The Rays rolled last night but the Yankees lost so Boston is five games behind New York and 4.5 behind Tampa Bay.

Mike Lowell says "I'm not dead yet"

After losing on Monday night to the Indians and having Kevin Youkilis placed on the DL with a thumb injury (that might keep him out for the rest of the season if he needs surgery), the Red Sox needed a boost of energy or else they're done.

Last night, that came in the form of Mike Lowell who returned to the field, playing first base, and hit a two-run homer as Boston (61-46) beat Cleveland (45-62) 3-1 at Fenway Park.

Josh Beckett (3-1) had his third straight good start, actually this was his best one in a long time. He went eight innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth for his 25th save of the season. He also became the first closer to get 25+ saves in his first five MLB seasons.

Lowell cranked his two-run bomb off David Huff (2-10) in the second, taking the first pitch he saw in months in the big leagues over the Monster.

Lou Marson cut it to 2-1 in the third with a solo shot and Bill Hall (2 hits) pushed across the last run in the fourth with a solo homer of his own.

Ryan Kalish continued to impress, adding two more hits out of the ninth spot in his fourth MLB game. He's hitting .538.

Things got crazy in the eighth when Indians reliever Jensen Lewis threw behind Adrian Beltre. Beckett came out of the dugout and started barking at anyone in a Cleveland uniform, especially Shelley Duncan, who he plunked earlier in the game.

Beckett, Lewis and Indians third base coach Steve Smith were all ejected. Terry Francona was fired up too, yelling at Smith. However, it was a typical baseball "fight" with both benches emptying but not much actually happening other than some pushing and name-calling.

Former Red Sox Justin Masterson takes on Jon Lester tonight at steamy Fenway.

The Red Sox played last night, really?

Last night's Red Sox game vs. the Angels had to have been Boston's lowest rated game in years.

Not only did they go up against a Bruins playoff game and a Celtics playoff game but the Sox have gotten off to a terrible start for what looks to be a very forgettable season.

I won't bore you with all the tedious details but Boston (12-14) beat Los Angeles (12-15) 17-8 at Fenway, snapping a three-game losing streak.

The Sox pounded out 20 hits, led by Mike Lowell (4 for 4, 4 RBIS), J.D. Drew (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs), Adrian Beltre (3 RBIs, 3 runs. 2 hits), Kevin Youkilis (3 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks), Bill Hall (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Dustin Pedroia (3 RBIs).

Pedroia cranked a three-run homer, Youk had a solo shot while Hall and Beltre both collected their first home runs for Boston with two run bombs.

Clay Buchholz (3-2) didn't pitch well (5.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts) but that's much more than can be said for LA's Joe Saunders (1-5), who gave up seven earned runs in four innings or relievers Matt Palmer and Brian Stokes who combined to give up ten runs in three innings of work.

With the Bruins and Celtics off tonight, the spotlight will fall back onto the Red Sox. We'll see what they can do as Jon Lester faces Ervin Santana.

Nothing like a baseball "brawl"

If you're not a fan of the Boston Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis is probably the Sox player you hate the most. He talks a lot of shit, complains a ton about balls and strikes (he does have a Rainman like eye at the plate) and on top of it all is one ugly mofo.

It's no surprise then that Youk was in the middle of the action last night as the Red Sox beat the Tigers, 7-5 at Fenway.

In the second inning, Tigers (59-53) starter Rick Porcello hit Youk on the shoulder with a pitch. It was clearly intentional since Detroit star Miguel Cabrera was hit in the first inning by Red Sox rookie Junichi Tazawa (not intentional, it was 0 and 2).

Youk had also been hit the night before and he is always near the top of the league lead for hit by pitches so it was enough to set him off. He charged Porcello, threw his batting helmet at him and then took him down with a tackle before they rolled around on the infield grass.

Baseball fights are usually pretty weak (lots of posturing and talk) and this was no exception. However, it seemed to spark the Red Sox (64-48) who were down 3-0 at the time.

After Youk and Porcello were tossed and order was restored, a few batters later Jason Bay tied it with a three-run homer over the Monster seats.

MIke Lowell, who was subbed in for Youk, hit a solo homer in the third then a two-run bomb in the fifth.

After the disastrous first inning, Tazawa settled down and stuck around for five innings, grabbing his first win in his first start (and second appearance). Only one run was earned, he gave up four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury scored on a balk in the seventh and the Sox looked they were cruising after enduring the fight delay and a rain delay.

Curtis Granderson hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. I guess the rationale for him being in there in a non-save situation was that he needed the work.

Boston tries to make it three in a row tonight with ace Josh Beckett going against Armando Galarraga.

Dude can rake

Nothing like a weekend sweep of the Orioles to make life feel good. After shutting out the Birds 4-0 on Saturday night, the Red Sox set a season-high in runs and hits as they destroyed Baltimore, 18-10 yesterday at Camden Yards.

Hitting in the No. 3 spot, new Sox (62-42) slugger Victor Martinez proved what a beast he is: the Ed Hardy t-shirt wearing, crying catcher, formerly of the Indians tied a career-high with five hits, four RBIs and a run.

The Red Sox had 23 hits and seven walks in this wacky game. Mike Lowell (3 hits, 3 RBIs, run), Kevin Youkilis (3 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, 2 walks; in the series he reached base 12 straight times until striking out in the ninth yesterday), Dustin Pedroia (4 runs, 3 hits), Jacoby Ellsbury (4 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks) and rookie Josh Reddick (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) were the most notable Boston hitters.

Its not often that you score 10 runs and collect 15 hits and six walks yet still lose by eight runs but the O's (44-60) found a way.

Adam Jones (3 hits, 3 runs, 3 RBIs), Ty Wigginton (3 hits, 2 RBIs, run) and Brian Roberts (3 hits, run, RBI) padded their fantasy stats as Scott Boras (who probably represents all three of them) made 50-page reports on why they're grossly underpaid.

Lost in the domination yesterday and throughout the weekend, was the fact that outside of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, the No. 3-5 spots in the Red Sox' pitching rotation have become a blackhole.

PawSox legend Clay Buchholz continues to struggle at the big league level. Staked to a 7-0 lead in the third, he promptly gave up six in the third. Didn't really matter though as Boston responded with seven in the fourth and after that, the Orioles pretty much rolled over.

Buchholz couldn't even last long enough to get the win. He went four innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits with four walks and three strikeouts. He also surrendered two home runs.

After the Yankees lost three of four over the weekend to the White Sox, the Red Sox find themselves on this off-day, half a game behind New York for first place in the AL East. The schedule in August is particularly difficult and that's signified by this week: the Red Sox have two in Tampa, followed by four in Da Bronx.

Where did it all go wrong?

I can't say I saw this one coming. The Boston Red Sox are completely falling apart and in any given game, either their pitching or hitting is terrible. They can't put both parts together in the same contest anymore. Or so it seems.

Once again, they lost to the Oakland A's, 8-6 last night at Fenway as the Yankees won their series in Tampa.

Brad Penny (7-5) gave up five runs in the first inning and though the Sox (58-42) made a decent comeback attempt, it fell short.

Adam Kennedy hit the first pitch of the game over the Monster as the A's (43-57) took a 1-0 lead. It got much worse as a run came home on Ryan Sweeney's groundout then Rajai Davis had a three-run double.

Mike Lowell (2 hits, 5 RBIs), one of Boston's only hot hitters, cut the Oakland lead to two when he hit a three-run bomb in the first.

Penny settled down for a couple innings but he later gave up a solo homer to Kurt Suzuki (2 runs, 2 hits) in the fifth. He threw 100 pitches in five plus innings, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Justin Masterson relieved Penny and gave up a two-run double to Eric Patterson in the sixth that put the game out of reach (8-3 Oakland).

The rotation which was one of the Red Sox's biggest strengths has now become woefully imbalanced. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are aces but Penny, John Smoltz and Clay Buchholz are pretty useless. Dice-K is fighting with the Sox over training methods and Tim Wakefield is on the DL. Ugh.

Boston chipped away with single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth. Dustin Pedroia's (2 hits, RBI) groundout drove in Jacoby Ellsbury (3 runs, 2 hits, steal). Mike Lowell's sacrifice fly scored Jason Bay and finally, Lowell got an RBI single off A's closer Andrew Bailey.

For the second time in a month, A's starter Brett Anderson (6-8) won at Fenway. This outing wasn't nearly as dominant but it was still a win. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Despite allowing a run on three hits, Bailey struck out two and recorded his 13th save.

I don't believe in must-win games in July but this afternoon's series finale is mighty close to that for the Red Sox. It's Gio Gonzalez vs. Jon Lester and Boston needs to win to gain some semblance of momentum. Losing three of four to the A's at home would be a real bad sign.

The one that got away

With the Yankees playing out of their minds for the last month, the chances for the Red Sox to gain ground on them (especially now that they're in second) have been few and far between.

Coupled with the fact that Boston (58-41) was playing a crappy team (the Oakland A's) at Fenway, last night's loss was one of the more disappointing setbacks of the season.

The Sox were up 7-4 going into the ninth but a meltdown by Nick Green (two errors) and the bullpen led to a 9-8 Oakland (42-57) win in 11 innings.

Before the game, Jim Rice's #14 was retired and put up on the right field awning with the other retired numbers.

Clay Buchholz (5.2 innings, 2 runs, 9 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts) left with a 5-2 lead but the Red Sox bullpen (which hadn't allowed a run in 24 innings) completely imploded against a terrible offense.

The Athletics banged out a season-high 21 hits. Adam Kennedy (5 hits, 3 RBIs), Mark Ellis (4 runs, 4 hits, RBI, steal), Orlando Cabrera (3 hits) and Rajai Davis (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run, steal) were the biggest stars for Oakland.

Another aspect that the loss overshadowed was the Red Sox' offense coming through with 14 hits of its own. J.D. Drew (3 hits, 2 runs, RBI), Kevin Youkilis (3 hits, 2 RBIs, run), Mike Lowell (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run, RBI, steal) all had strong performances.

Brett Anderson takes on Brad Penny tonight.

The Yankees can't buy a win against the Red Sox

It's a special time to be a Red Sox fan. With last night's exciting 6-5 win over the Yankees in the books, Boston improved to 7-0 against New York this season. After each win, all you can wonder is how much longer will this dominance last?

Red Sox (35-24) starter Tim Wakefield is 8-3 after six innings of work. He gave up three runs on eight hits, with three walks and two strikeouts.

For the second straight night, the Yankees (34-25) starter couldn't get out of the third inning. Chien-Ming Wang (0-4) is completely useless these days. He allowed four runs on six hits, with three walks and three strikeouts.

Jason Bay got the Sox on the board first with an RBI single in the first inning.

Jorge Posada (2 hits) tied it in the second with a solo homer.

Boston jumped ahead 3-1 in the home half of the second after George Kottaras' (2 hits) RBI double and Dustin Pedroia's RBI ground-rule double that was misplayed by Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher.

Mike Lowell hit a solo shot just over the Monster in the third.

Melly Cabrera cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single in the fourth before Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run shot.

New York chipped away at the lead as Robinson Cano brought home a run in the fifth with a ground out while Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira (4 hits) hit back-to-back solo homers in the seventh off Sox reliever Ramon Ramirez.

No worries though as Hideki Okajima got a hold, with four important outs (including three strikeouts) and Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 15th save.

Boston looks for the sweep tonight as Brad Penny (who will likely be dealt soon with John Smoltz and Clay Buchholz knocking at the door) takes on C.C. Sabathia.

Ortiz finally hits a home run and the peasants rejoice

Remember those halcyon days when David Ortiz was the most clutch player in major league baseball? When he was the most feared hitter? I'm afraid to say those days are long gone my friend.

It only took Big Papi 135 at-bats this season (and 149 dating back to last season) to finally hit a bomb. It came at a good time too as the Red Sox (24-16) hit four homers in the fifth inning off Blue Jays starter Brett Cecil (2-1) on their way to a 8-3 pounding of Toronto (27-16) last night at Fenway.

After getting standing ovations on Tuesday night before every at-bat, Ortiz got a curtain call for his shot to deep center field. A little much? Yes but the unwashed masses of Red Sox fans are nothing if not loyal. Ortiz looks completely lost at the plate (off the juice?) but as long as he is stuck in the three spot in the lineup, he needs all the support he can get.

The subplot that probably nobody but Alyssa Milano (former cum dumpster) and Chuck Lidell (his karaoke partner) noticed was that Sox starter Brad Penny improved to 4-1.

In 6.2 innings, he gave up just two earned runs on nine hits, with a walk and two strikeouts.

Toronto still leads the AL East by 1.5 games but Boston has taken two straight in their first meeting of the season.

The Sox grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second when Jason Varitek hit a solo shot and Jacoby Ellsbury scored when Dustin Pedroia knocked into a double play.

In his first game back from the DL, Kevin Youkilis continued to rake, going 3-for-5 which put his average at .404.

Ortiz's home run seemed to set off a chain reaction as Jason Bay and Mike Lowell also hit bombs in that inning. Varitek had hit his second earlier in the frame.

Boston looks for the sweep tonight (on a beautiful summer-like night) as Jon Lester takes the mound.

I'm sure the calming influence of A-Rod will turn the Yankees season around

Remember when the New York Yankees were relevant? No really. They missed the playoffs last season, built a joke of a new stadium and continue to fade from prominence, all the while clinging onto their past glory.

After a lengthy rain delay last night, the Boston Red Sox (16-10) won their first game at the new Yankee Stadium, 6-4.

Jon Lester (2-2) got the win after seven solid innings: three runs on six hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Mike Lowell (2 hits, 2 RBIs, walk) hit a solo homer and Jason Bay (3 hits) blasted a two-run bomb. Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits, a run, walk and steal, David Ortiz was on base four times with two doubles and two walks while J.D. Drew reached base three times on a hit and two walks.

Mark Teixeira busted out of his season-long slump for New York (13-12) with two solo homers and Johnny Damon added a two-run homer.

Jonathan Papelbon got five outs (including three strikeouts) for his seventh save of the season.

Weather-permitting, the second and final game of the series is tonight with Joba Chamberlain vs. Josh Beckett.

Sorry McNulty, the Orioles are still hopeless

The Patriots Day, morning/early afternoon Red Sox game at Fenway is a special tradition. Other than college, weddings and bachelor parties, when else do you have a legitimate excuse to drink in public before noon?

The Baltimore Orioles (6-7) played the role of punching bag to a T as the Birds lost 12-1 yesterday. The Sox (7-6) swept the four-game series and also won their fifth game in a row.

Starting for the injured Dice-K, Justin Masterson continued to prove why he's a much-less crazy but much-more talented Julian Tavarez. Starter, reliever, it doesn't matter. The guy can pitch.

Masterson got his first win of the season after lasting 5.1 innings. He gave up a run on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. His plus sinker was supplemented with a 96 MPH fastball (that moved all over the plate).

Boston's offense teed off on O's starter Mark Hendrickson (3 runs) and stiff relievers Dennis Sarfate (3 runs) and Radhames Liz (6 runs), who was sent down after that woeful performance.

The Sox pounded out 15 hits and a season-high 12 runs. Dustin Pedroia led the way with four hits, three runs and three RBIs. Jacoby Ellsbury added three hits, three runs, an RBI and a stolen base. David Ortiz (double, triple, 2 RBIs), Mike Lowell (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Jason Varitek (2 hits including a homer and 2 runs) were the other leaders on Marathon Monday.

The Minnesota Twins come to Fenway for two games beginning tonight, weather permitting.

Hey A's: "How do my knuckleballs taste?"

There is no point getting all worked up about a bad start in baseball because the season is so damn long. Still, the Red Sox's 2-6 start (topped off by Tuesday night's pathetic 12 inning loss to the A's) was troublesome (pours out 40 for 2PAC).

Boston needed a kick in the pants and it got it, for at least one day, as 97-year old Tim Wakefield flirted with a no-hitter yesterday afternoon in the series finale at McAfee Coliseum which the Sox (3-6) won 8-2.

Your favorite Hawaiian catcher Kurt Suzuki broke up the bid with one out in the eighth but the bottom line was that Wake went the distance on a day that the bullpen needed it most.

He gave up two earned runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. His record evened out at 1-1.

Mike Lowell gave Boston a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second off Oakland (4-5) starter Brett Anderson (0-2).

The Sox really broke it open with six runs in the eighth inning. J.D. Drew had the biggest hit, a three-run bomb while Nick Green (two-run) and Jacoby Ellsbury added RBI singles.

The Sox get today off and come home to face the surprising Baltimore Orioles (6-3) this weekend in a four-game set at Fenway. Dice-K went on the DL with arm fatigue (yikes) and Jed Lowrie is also on the DL (wrist).

Jed Lowrie carries the Red Sox to their fourth ALCS in the last six seasons

I alluded to it during the Celtics title run in the spring and summer but I can't emphasize the fact enough that I'll never take this for granted. Sure in the company of my fellow Massholes, I will talk a big game and boast that this success across New England pro sports will continue forever but I see the writing on the wall (especially with the Cubs collapse fresh in my mind). Despite how great they are at this moment, each local franchise will go through downtimes in the future (except for the Bruins who will always be mediocre). Hopefully, by that time I'll be married to Jessica Biel and will have no use for sports.

The Boston Red Sox won game 4 of the ALDS, 3-2 over the Angels as rookie shortstop Jed Lowrie came through with the key hit, a walk-off RBI single in the ninth off Angels reliever Scot Shields that scored Jason Bay.

On a related note, Julio Lugo was arrested for robbing a 7-11 in East Boston last night. Just kidding,a although I'll be the first one to help Lugo pack his bags and get the hell out of town. No use for that bum anymore.

Hate to be redundant but Jon Lester once again delivered in a huge game. The workhouse and second best lefty in MLB (behind Johan Santana) pitched seven scoreless innings on a cold night, which was just what the Sox needed since every bullpen arm had been used the last few games. Lester allowed four hits, walked two and struck out four. He left with a 2-0 and should have gotten the win if not for some shaky moments by Hideki Okajima and especially Justin Masterson.

Boston broke the scoreless tie with two runs in the fifth off Angels starter John Lackey. Jacoby Ellsbury's groundout drove in Mark Kotsay and Dustin Pedroia broke out of his series-long slump with an RBI double off the Monster which scored Jason Varitek.

After Mark Teixeira and Vlad Guerrero walked, Torii Hunter scored them both with a clutch RBI single off Masterson in the eighth. All the air went out of Fenway as fans realized how screwed the Sox would be if they had to fly back to Anaheim for a game five with Dice-K starting. Yuck.

The Angels series could be summed up by what happened in the ninth. Pinch hitter Kendry Morales led off the ninth with a double and yet he couldn't score. Howie Kendrick bunted him over but then Erick Aybar blew a squeeze play with one out. Aybar missed on a bunt attempt, Jason Varitek caught the ball and ran up the third baseline to tag pinch runner Reggie Willits who was too far off third (anticipating the bunt).

Kevin Youkilis and Kotsay both had superb defensive plays earlier in the game, another thing which separated these two teams in such a tight series.

From there, Jason Bay hit a bloop ground-rule double to right, Kotsay hit a rope that Teixeira (how good is he?) dove and caught before Lowrie stepped up.

The Red Sox will go to Tampa Bay on Friday for Game 1 of the ALCS. Facing off against a division foe, especially such a fresh-faced up and coming team means this best of seven series should be pretty exciting.

The only bad news coming out of Fenway last night was that Mike Lowell is out for the ALCS and probably the rest of the playoffs with the hip injury.

Sox tied for AL East lead

The Tampa Bay Rays had been sitting pretty in first place in the AL East since July 24. Not so much anymore. The Red Sox smoked the Rays, 13-5, last night behind six home runs and the teams are now tied.

For a team that hadn't won in Tampa all year, the Red Sox (89-61) made last night a laugher pretty quickly which was appreciated with the Cowboys-Eagles game on Monday Night Football. Boston led 11-1 going into the bottom of the fourth and 13-1 going into the bottom of the sixth before the Rays (88-60) woke up.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, king of the fraud pitchers, continued to pile up impressive numbers despite less than masterpiece quality starts every time out. Five innings and 101 pitches later, Dice-K was 17-2, the most wins for a Japanese-born pitcher in MLB. He allowed one run on three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

The Sox' lineup pounded Scott Kazmir (11-7) and a host of Rays relievers for 11 hits and nine walks. David Ortiz (2 hits, 4 RBIs) started it off with a three-run bomb in the first, knocking in Coco Crisp (3 walks, 2 runs, hit) and Dustin Pedroia (run, hit, RBI, walk) who had both walked to begin the game. Kazmir was knocked out after three innings, allowing nine earned runs on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts.

Two batters later, Mike Lowell hit a solo shot. Tampa Bay got one back in the third when Akinori Iwamura hit a solo homer but Boston exploded for seven in the fourth. Bay got it going with a solo homer, Jason Varitek hit a two-run bomb which scored Jed Lowrie (3 walks), Pedroia knocked in Ellsbury with an RBI single, Crisp came home on Ortiz's fielder's choice and Kevin Youkilis brought home Ortiz with another homer.

Ellsbury homered in the fifth and Youkilis added an RBI double in the sixth, putting the Red Sox ahead 13-1. After that, the benches were emptied as both teams put in the scrubs that were called up when the rosters expanded.

Justin Ruggiano and Dan Johnson each had two-run dingers for Tampa Bay in the sixth and seventh respectively.

Tonight's the big night where the Sox can finally pull ahead in the AL East. Who better to take the ball than Josh Beckett (who should be able to reach 100 pitches after having abbreviated starts recently while he returned from injury)? Andy Sonnanstine tries to save the Rays' division hopes which are quickly fading.

a pride win for a young team

Barring any crazy collapses, the Tampa Bay Rays are going to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Your defending World Champion Boston Red Sox should be there as well.

Last night, the Rays (86-57) refused to lose and survived to post one of the biggest wins in Rays history, 5-4 over the Red Sox (85-59) at Fenway.

Jason Bay hit a two-run rope over the Monster in the bottom of the eighth off Dan Wheeler, putting Boston up 4-3 going into the ninth. Jonathan Papelbon had to loosen up quickly but everything seemed to be aligning perfectly for the Red Sox. If they could hold on, they'd regain first place in the AL East for the first time since June 28.

Instead, the Rays rallied to tie it on Dan Johnson's pinch hit homer to right and took the lead on Dioner Navarro's RBI double which knocked in Fernando Perez. Papelbon (5-4), pitching for the third straight day, was ineffective and charged with the blown save, his fifth of the season.

Injury-prone, over-the-hill closer Troy Percival nailed down the final three outs for his 28th save of the season. Mark Kotsay led off the inning with a lenghty at-bat which led to a walk. Jacoby Ellsbury pinch ran. Jason Varitek struck out looking, David Ortiz gave it a ride to right (but this is not the Ortiz of '03-'07) but it fell just short for an out and Coco Crisp popped out to end the game. Ellsbury had stolen second (his 45th steal of the season) and advanced to third on a throwing error on the same play so all Coco had to do was get a hit.

The game was extremely slow, due to the two starting pitchers: Scott Kazmir and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Kazmir was a little more successful: six innings, two runs on five hits, three walks and four strikeouts. Dice-K went 5 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

Boston's bullpen before Papelbon was lights out. Javier Lopez threw a scoreless sixth, Manny Delcarmen got five outs and Hideki Okajima struck out the only batter he faced.

Kevin Youkilis doubled in Dustin Pedroia in the first, giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. The Rays came back with two in the third. Dice-K hit Cliff Floyd with the bases loaded and Willie Aybar hit a sacrifice fly.

In the fourth, Jason Bartlett doubled which scored Gabe Gross. Mike Lowell homered in the bottom of the inning for the Red Sox, setting the stage for Bay's clutch homer.

Josh Beckett faces Andy Sonnanstine tonight in the series finale. After the Rays finally won its first game at Fenway this season, Boston will need a strong outing from its big game ace. Papelbon shouldn't be available so the late innings could be a nightmare for Boston.

Evenflow

It took 12 innings but the Red Sox left Seattle with a three-game sweep after outlasting the Mariners, 6-3, yesterday afternoon at Safeco Field.

Manny Ramirez sat out with a "sore knee" so the Sox (60-43) had to juggle the lineup while facing Seattle (38-63) ace Felix Hernandez.

King Felix was good, not great as the patient Sox waited him out and forced him to throw 108 pitches in six innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with five walks and six strikeouts.

Clay Buchholz pleasantly surprised Red Sox fans, nearly matching Hernandez's outing. Buchholz lasted 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Another even more important revelation for Boston's postseason hopes was the debut of Justin Masterson in the role of reliever.

Coming in with two men on and one out in the sixth, Masterson struck out Kenji Johjima (who's having a brutal season) and Bryan LaHair (the pride of Worcester) to end the threat. Masterson then proceeded to have 1-2-3 innings in the seventh and eighth. Yes sir.

Hideki Okajima got the first two outs in the ninth and then Manny Delcarmen bailed him out by getting out of the inning and also pitching a clean 10th.

For the third game in a row, Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless frame (this time the 11th) but he received the win after Craig Hansen recorded his second career save in the 12th.

Up three runs and starting the inning, Hansen couldn't asked for a much easier situation then facing the light-hitting Mariners yet two hits and a walk loaded the bases before Jose Vidro (the potential winning run) grounded out to second.

The Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third when Kevin Youkilis (2 hits, 2 runs) knocked in two with a single.

Raul Ibanez came back with a solo homer in the fourth, cutting it to 2-1 Boston.

In the sixth, Coco Crisp walked with the bases loaded, 3-1 Red Sox. Vidro (3 hits, 2 RBIs, walk) tied it up with a two-run bomb which ended the day for Buchholz.

Seattle had a great chance to end it in the 11th when they had runners at first and third with one out but Johjima was the goat, grounding into a double play against Papelbon.

Mike Lowell (2 hits, 2 runs, RBI) knocked in two Sox in the 12th with a single and Sean Casey followed with an RBI single of his own to give Boston the three-run cushion that it turns out was critical to Hansen.

Dustin Pedroia had two hits, a run and walk while J.D. Drew walked three times and scored a run.

The West Coast trip to start the second half wasn't the disaster that it looked like it could be after facing the Angels; the Red Sox did exactly what they had to do in Seattle and now have a day off today before facing the Yankees tomorrow night in a three-game set at Fenway.

True to their recent second half form, the Yankees are red-hot, winning six straight and 10 overall at Yankee Stadium. Josh Beckett faces Joba Chamberlain tomorrow night in what should be an outstanding pitching duel. Adding fuel to the usual Sox-Yankees hype, David Ortiz will make his return after missing nearly two months of action.

R.A. Dickey, one step closer to his true calling of porn actor

So far so good in the Emerald City as the Red Sox took game two vs. the Mariners, 4-2, last night at Safeco Field.

Another outstanding start by a Boston (59-43) pitcher was the story. Dice-K breezed through seven scoreless innings before the Mariners (38-62) scored twice in the eighth to make it competitive.

Matsuzaka (11-1) was economical with his pitches (throwing 99 total) and lasted 7.1 innings, giving up five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

Since winning the MVP at the All-Star game last week, J.D. Drew had been M.I.A. until last night. He drove in the first two Sox runs with a solo homer off Seattle knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (2-5) in the first and a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Drew also had a single and a walk.

Mike Lowell (2 hits, walk) doubled in Dustin Pedroia in the fifth to make it 3-0 before Jed Lowrie (hit) knocked in Manny Ramirez with a sac fly of his own.
The Mariners cut it to 4-2 in the eighth with an RBI double by Ichiro (2 walks) and an RBI single by Jose Lopez that scored Ichiro.

Hideki Okajima was put into an important situation-for the first time in ages-and he got two outs to quiet the Seattle rally in the eighth.

Jonathan Papelbon had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 30th save. He's the first Red Sox closer to record three consecutive thirty save seasons. He now has career 102 saves, third in Boston history behind the late Dick Radatz (104) and Bob Stanley (132).

A sweep will be tough to complete as the Sox have to face Mariners ace Felix Hernandez this afternoon in the series finale. Boston pitcher Clay Buchholz will try to give his team some additional momentum as they head home to face the Yankees and Angels.

Not One Minute Men

The Boston Red Sox made their first game in Houston's Minute Maid Park a memorable one, taking a 6-1 win over the Astros last night.

Dice-K was back to his early season top-notch self, improving to 9-1 after five scoreless innings. Matsuzaka gave up two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He was yanked after 87 pitches as Terry Francona didn't want to stretch him out too much in his second start for the Sox after coming back from the DL.

Kevin Youkilis had four hits, the locked in Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with two runs, one walk and an RBI while J.D. Drew (three-run homer) and Mike Lowell (two-run single) had the most important swings of the game.

The Sox (50-32) jumped out to the 3-0 lead in the third with Drew's home run. Pedroia extended the advantage to 4-0 with an RBI single in the seventh which drove in Julio Lugo.

Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen each put up scoreless innings (the sixth and seventh respectively) before the increasingly shaky Hideki Okajima gave up two hits, including a solo home run to Houston's (37-43) Reggie Abercrombie.

Jonathan Papelbon came in to strike out Lance Berkman with a nasty splitter, stranding Miguel Tejada at first.

Lowell's two-run single gave the Sox some more breathing room in the ninth and Papelbon recorded the final three outs for his 24th save of the season.

Jon Lester-who's been in a groove lately-goes for the Red Sox tonight against the Astros' Brandon Backe.

a tidy win by the Red Sox that nobody will ever remember

Following up Wednesday night's 6-3 win over the Orioles (32-33), the Red Sox took the series with a 9-2 win at Fenway last night.

Jon Lester (5-3) was great. He went seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

Boston (42-27) improved to 18-3 in its last 21 games at home thanks to Lester's fine work and three long balls.

Mike Lowell had a grand slam off Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (3-7) in the fifth while Kevin Youkilis added a two-run shot in the seventh and J.D. Drew notched a solo home run in the eighth.

Believe it or not, Drew is the hottest hitter in baseball in June. He also had a double, two runs, two RBIs and a walk while his batting average rose to .324

Manny Delcarmen pitched a scoreless eighth (with two strikeouts) and Mike Timlin had a clean ninth to ensure that Red Sox fans attending the game or watching at home would be able to catch the Celtics game, no problem.

The Sox hit the road as interleague play gets into full swing the next two weeks. Boston travels to Cincinnati this weekend for three games, followed by three in the city of brotherly love-Philly. Nothing like watching pitchers hit and 25 double switches, isn't National League baseball grand?