Red Sox Take 3 of 4 From Indians Thanks To Ellsbury's Walk-off 2-Run Double

Every good season in MLB features at least a few signature wins and memorable moments. Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) provided the best win of 2013 for the Red Sox with a walk-off two-run double against the Indians for a 6-5 Red Sox victory. It was the team's fourth walk-off win of the season.

With the Red Sox win and a Yankees loss, Boston and New York are now tied atop the AL East.

Boston (31-20 overall, 16-11 home) ripped Cleveland's (27-22 overall, 12-12 road) heart out in back-to-back games with a pair of improbable comebacks (their bullpen had been 8-0 going into Saturday's contest) which led to a series win (3-1) and three consecutive wins for the home team. The Red Sox finished the season series 5-1 against former manager Terry Francona's new squad.

Boston trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the eighth before Jose Iglesias' sacrifice fly cut it to 5-2. Mike Napoli and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each had RBI ground outs to bring Boston within a run in the ninth. Indians closer Chris Perez (0.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 hits, 3 walks) was the main scapegoat for Cleveland even though Joe Smith came in for one pitch-Ellsbury's two-run double-that cost the Indians the game. Making matters worse, Perez had to leave the game with an arm/shoulder injury.

Felix Doubront pitched well (6 IP, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks) but the immoral Corey Kluber (6.2 IP, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk) was even better for the Indians.

Ellsbury and Stephen Drew (3 for 4 with double, triple, 3 runs) cost Boston a pair of runs in the first as they let Carlos Santana's pop up to center drop in for two runs.

Daniel Nava got the Red Sox started with an RBI single in the third inning. Jason Kipnis (3 runs, 2 hits) hit the cheapest homer you can get in Fenway, 319 feet around Pesky's Pole, for a solo shot in the fifth and Nick Swisher (2 hits) added a solo homer of his own in the sixth but at least his went well over the Monster-a little more impressive. Swisher's sacrifice fly in the eighth made it 5-1 as Cleveland looked poised to get a series split.

Alex Wilson pitched a scoreless seventh for the Red Sox and Craig Breslow (2-0) went the last two innings and earned the win despite allowing Swisher's sac fly.

The weather is finally supposed to get nice tomorrow-fittingly for Memorial Day-and Boston begins Interleague play for this season with two games at Fenway against the Phillies (24-26, 3rd in NL East) then two in the City of Brotherly Love. Clay Buchholz was scratched from tomorrow night's (7:10 p.m., NESN) start after he slept wrong on his collarbone holding his baby (haha OK?) and Alfredo Aceves (1-1) will make a spot start against rookie Tyler Cloyd (1-0). On Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Ryan Dempster (2-5) faces Cliff Lee (5-2). Wednesday night (7:05 p.m., NESN) at Citizens Bank Park, John Lackey (3-4) takes on Kyle Kendrick (4-3) and on Thursday night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (6-1) meets rookie Jonathan Pettibone (3-0).

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Goodnight To The Worst Red Sox Team Of My Lifetime

Well the time that we've all been dreaming of since about mid-May is finally upon us: the 2012 Red Sox' tour of pain is over. We won't see them again until April in a meaningful game and not a moment too soon at that.

Fittingly, for Daisuke Matsuzaka's (1-7) last outing as a Red Sox (69-93, 35-46) and Bobby Valentine's final night as an MLB manager, both were thoroughly embarrassed as New York (95-67, 51-30 home) trampled Boston 14-2 at Yankee Stadium. It clinched the third AL East title in four years for the Yankees and 18th overall after the Rays beat the Orioles 4-1.

Now is when the real fun starts, we can only hope that the Red Sox owners and GM Ben Cherington come up with a better choice than Valentine. Then again, who could possibly be a worse pick? It is horrifying that last winter, after months of deliberation, that clown was their hire.

Dice-K didn't stick around long, he probably had a flight back to Japan to catch. In 2.1 innings, he allowed five earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts, a walk and two homers.

Hiroki Kuroda (16-11) went seven innings (2 earned runs, 7 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) for the Yankees, who will host the winner of Orioles-Rangers starting on Sunday in the ALDS.

It was a monster night for Robinson Cano (4 for 4, 3 runs, 6 RBIs, 2 homers) and Curtis Granderson (2 homers, 4 RBIs). Nick Swisher was 2 for 3 with a run, RBI and two walks while Alex Rodriguez (2 for 3, double, 2 runs, 2 walks) and Ichiro Suzuki (2-run double, 2 runs) contributed to the laugher for the Yanks.

Cody Ross was 2 for 3 with an RBI single, Pedro Ciriaco was 2 for 3 with a double and run while Dustin Pedroia had a double, walk and stolen base. In the near future (possibly tomorrow) after I have some time to breath and wash the stink away from this incomprehensibly bad season, I plan to write a post highlighting the few Red Sox that had good seasons (hint: those three play prominent roles). Jose Iglesias also had an RBI single, hopefully that gives him some confidence heading into the winter.

Until then, let's hope that a Men In Black type mind eraser device exists and that we can all use it to get rid of all our memories having to do with the 2012 Red Sox. They were truly the most hateable Boston sports team that I've ever seen and it would be tough to top them in that particular way.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Yankees Crush Red Sox 10-2, Only 2 More Games Left Of This Nightmare

I bet that the last start of 2012 will leave a bad taste in Clay Buchholz's (11-8) mouth for much of the winter, well in addition to the rest of the crap sandwich from this tour of misery.

Tonight, he was shelled (1.2 innings, 8 earned runs, 6 hits) in his worst outing of the year as the Yankees (93-67, 49-30 home) blasted the Red Sox (69-91, 35-44 away) 10-2 at Yankee Stadium in the series opener. The Orioles lost 5-3 to the Rays so the Yanks reclaimed a one-game lead in the AL East with two games remaining in the regular season.

New York didn't waste any time as they scored nine of their 10 runs in the second inning to take a 9-0 lead, giving that much more of a Spring Training feel with a fall breeze in the Bronx. I'm sure the leaves are beautiful there. New York improved to 11-5 against Boston this season and they have hit an incredible 38 home runs in that span.

Robinson Cano started it off with a solo homer (his 32nd of the season) then Curtis Granderson (2 hits) hit a two-run shot (his 42nd of the season) and Russell Martin (21st of the season) went back-to-back. The Yanks weren't even halfway through the ridiculous frame as A-Rod had a sacrifice fly then Cano (2 doubles) added a two-run double and Mark Teixeira (24th of the season) hit a two-run shot in his first game back in nearly a month. Mercy.

CC Sabathia (15-6) pitched eight routine innings (2 earned runs, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk) to notch the win. Daniel Nava had a solo homer in the fourth (his 6th of the season and 2nd in as many days) while Jarrod Saltalamacchia tallied a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Something called Melky Mesa had an RBI single in the eighth for the Yankees. He must be the love child of Jose Mesa and Melky Cabrera that we just found out about.

Nick Swisher was 3 for 4 with a double and run. Since he is set to be a free agent in a few weeks, can I start the campaign to bring him to Boston? You might hate him (I used to) but he'd be a great fit since he's a proven and dependable winner.

Che Hsuan-Lin was 2 for 3 in the loss. Dustin Pedroia is missing the last two games of the season with a broken finger. No worries, he served his time on this prison team.

Jon Lester (9-14) faces David Phelps (4-4) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN).

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

That's More Like It, Red Sox Rally Falls Short Against Yankees

Jacoby Ellsbury had two walk-off hits in a row last season but he couldn't record the same feat this season-obviously-as the Red Sox fell 5-4 to the Yankees tonight at Fenway Park in the middle game of three.

Baltimore beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on a walk-off hit by Nate McLouth so the Orioles and Yankees remain tied for first place in the AL East. The Rays dropped to three games behind both teams.

To show you how important this game was to New York (80-62, 39-34), Joe Girardi used seven pitchers in a nine-inning contest and nobody had to leave early with an injury.

Boston (64-79, 33-42 home) were down 5-1 in the seventh inning but scored twice in that frame on a ground out by Mauro Gomez and Mike Aviles' RBI double. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (double, triple, walk) cranked a solo homer in the ninth (his 24th of the season) against Yankees closer Rafael Soriano. After Aviles reached on an infield single, Ellsbury represented the winning run. He never swings at the first pitch, except then as he grounded to Soriano, who got his fourth and final out for his 37th save.

New York was 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position but it didn't matter since they scored all their runs on three homers. Curtis Granderson had a solo homer in the fourth and two-run bomb in the seventh (his 37th of the season). Robinson Cano had a two-run homer (30th of the season) of his own in the fourth.

David Phelps (4-4) earned the win after 5.2 innings, one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Aaron Cook (3-10) went five innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

Things got wacky in the late innings, try to keep up. Dustin Pedroia (2 for 3 with double, run) left in the seventh inning to attend the birth of his second child; Derek Jeter (2 for 5 with run) hurt his ankle running to first base in the seventh and had to leave the game. Cody Ross was called out on a totally bogus third strike to end the eighth with a runner on second, he went bananas leading to his ejection along with manager Bobby Valentine (6th of the season, new team record) and third-base coach Jerry Royster.

James Loney (2 for 4 with double) produced Boston's first run with an RBI single in the fourth which cut it to 3-1. Nick Swisher was 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles while Eric Chavez also had two doubles.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m.) is the series finale and the last Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway in 2012. Felix Doubront (10-8) faces Phil Hughes (14-12).

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Lester Starts To Figure It Out, Months Too Late In The 2012 Red Sox Season

For the first time since June 5-22 (when he had four in a row), Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester strung together back-to-back quality starts.

His solid outing this afternoon helped Boston (59-62, 30-28 away) beat New York (71-49, 38-24 home) 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. They have split the first two games of the series so tomorrow night's finale will decade who takes it.

Lester (7-10) lasted seven innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks. It's amazing what happens when he executes, the Red Sox look like a completely different team. Now if only Josh Beckett wasn't one of the most useless athletes in professional sports, then they'd get somewhere.

Yankees killer Pedro Ciriaco went 4 for 4 with a double, run and stolen base. My favorite part of his great game is that he saw seven total pitches in four at bats. Why wait around? Somewhere Nomar Garciaparra nods his approval. Ciriaco is 14 for 28 lifetime vs. New York, the highest career average ever against the Yankees (minimum 25 plate appearances).

Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits, walk) hit a two-run homer (his 14th of the season) in the first inning against David Phelps (3-4) for an immediate 2-0 lead.

Curtis Granderson (double) homered (32nd of the season) for the second game in a row, this time a solo shot in the fourth which cut it to 2-1.

Nick Punto's RBI double in the fifth scored Ciriaco for a 3-1 Red Sox lead.

Phelps settled down and went 6.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Boston tacked on an insurance run (which they ended up not needing) in the ninth as Scott Podsednik scored on Cody Eppley's wild pitch.

Andrew Bailey got the first out in the eighth then the Yale batterymates (Craig Breslow to Ryan Lavarnway) induced a double play by Robinson Cano to end the eighth inning.

Alfredo Aceves had a scoreless ninth for his 25th save of the season, he allowed one hit but also struck out a batter.

Nick Swisher was 3 for 4 in the loss.

Beckett (5-10) opposes Hiroki Kuroda (11-8) tomorrow night (8:00 p.m., ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball). Boston is 4-7 against New York so far this season but they can win their second straight series in the Bronx (2 out of 3) by coming away with a victory tomorrow.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

They Don't Call Them The Bronx Bombers For Nothing (Jumps Off Tobin Bridge)

The series opener at Yankee Stadium tonight followed the same script that's been well-established in 2012: New York hit plenty of homers (5, haha all solo) while Boston lost the game. The only plot twist was that it was over in 2:49 which is about two hours shorter than a normal Red Sox-Yankees marathon.

The Yankees (71-48, 38-23 home) beat the Red Sox (58-62, 29-28 away) 6-4 in a contest that never really felt in doubt even though Dustin Pedroia's three-run homer in the third (his 10th of the season) gave Boston an ill-fated 4-3 lead. So far, New York is 7-3 against Boston this season.

The Red Sox find themselves 13.5 games out of first place, the most since they were 14 games back on September 19, 2001. Something to keep in mind when they plummet below that tomorrow and we look for the next mind-numbing, soul-crushing statistic.

New York tied a franchise record for most players (10) with 10+ homers in a season, they also did that in 1998.

For whatever reason, Franklin Morales (3-4) gets rocked every time he faces the Yanks. Tonight, he allowed five earned runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. He gave up the first four homers before reliever Clayton Mortensen served up the final one.

Nick Swisher (17th of the season) went deep in the first, Curtis Granderson (31st of the season) followed suit in the second inning and Russell Martin (13th of the season) went back-to-back to make it 3-0. The Yankees had nine hits, five of them were homers and they didn't have any other extra-base hits. I guess they love their home runs.

Boston got all four of their runs in the third as Pedro Ciriaco's ground out scored Mike Aviles (2 hits) then Pedroia hit a three-run homer on his 29th birthday.

Derek Jeter (10th of the season) tied it in the fifth with a solo homer then Jason Nix added an RBI single in the sixth and Swisher's second homer-in the seventh-gave New York a 6-4 advantage.

Phil Hughes (12-10) usually can't do anything against the Red Sox but even he gets it done against this sad-sack outfit these days. He went seven innings and allowed four runs (0 earned) on four hits with four strikeouts and a walk. The unearned runs were all the result of his throwing error, don't get me started on why that rule (pitchers not getting charged with runs on their own mistakes) doesn't make any sense.

David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth for his 17th save of the season and Rafael Soriano had a strikeout in a clean ninth for his 30th save of the season.

I'm psyched that I'm going to a wedding tomorrow afternoon/night so I'll probably miss all of the game (4:05 p.m., NESN) unless I get bored and check Twitter/my phone or it's on at the bar. Jon Lester (6-10) faces David Phelps (3-3) in the middle game of the three-game weekend set.

UPDATE 8/19: Felix Doubront was placed on the DL (retroactive to August 10) and infielder Mauro Gomez was recalled from Pawtucket to fill his roster spot in Boston.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

I've Got A Severe Case Of Red Sox Fatigue, Luckily The Only Cure For That Is The 2012 All-Star Break

Thank God we don't have to see this miserable team for the next four glorious days, because I know I can't take it anymore.

The Red Sox (43-43, 22-24 home) fittingly closed out a wretched first half with another no-show loss to the Yankees (52-33, 27-17 away), 7-3 tonight at Fenway Park. They lost eight of their last 11 games.

New York won three out of four in the series to improve to 5-1 against Boston in 2012. Furthermore, the Yankees are 9.5 (!) games ahead of the Red Sox (tied with Toronto in last place) at the break.

Shitty starting pitching and rough first innings continued to go hand in hand for Red Sox pitchers against the Yankees. Jon Lester (5-6) allowed two runs in the first and eventually was pulled after 4.1 innings. He gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits with six strikeouts and two walks. His numbers were pathetic: 101 pitches, only nine first pitch strikes to 25 batters and just six swinging strikes.

Unlike Lester, Ivan Nova (10-3) did what good pitchers tend to do: he found a rhythm after allowing some early runs. He went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

Derek Jeter led New York's 14-hit attack as the captain went 3-for-5 with a run. Andruw Jones was 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs including his fourth homer of the weekend, Nick Swisher had two hits including a double, two walks, a run and RBI, Mark Teixeira had two hits including a double with a run and RBI while Curtis Granderson added two hits and a run.

All you need to know about the Red Sox lineup is that Pedro Ciriaco (3 hits, 2 runs, walk, stolen base) and Nick Punto (2 hits, walk) combined for five of the team's seven hits. PS. Adrian Gonzalez left in the second after one at bat (ending his 18-game hit streak). Apparently, that warrior was suffering from the flu aka he wanted to catch an early flight back to San Diego (home). What a fraud, I hope he rightfully gets roasted this week on Toucher and Rich, Felger and Mazz and the Baseball Reporters on the Sports Hub.

New York went ahead 2-0 in their first at bat on Teixeira's RBI double and a run scored on Swisher's fielder's choice.

Jeter gifted a run to Cody Ross and the Red Sox in the first when he dropped a pop up. I'm sure the Cy Young voters weren't paying attention (they all go to bed at 9 p.m.) so no worries Derek, you've still got that useless award locked up this season.

Chris Stewart's sacrifice fly in the third put the Yankees up 3-1 but David Ortiz answered with an RBI double in the third.

Alex Rodriguez had an RBI triple in the fifth and Jones ended Lester's night and miserable first half with an RBI single.

Jones crushed a two-run homer (his 11th of the season) in the seventh off Scott Atchison.

Boston tried to rally in the ninth against Rafael Soriano in a non-save situation but all they could muster was an RBI double from Mike Aviles. Sounds about right. It was over in a quick four hours and two minutes.

I honestly can say that I've never looked forward to an All-Star break more in my lifetime. It doesn't get much better than four days without having to watch this team that is on the fast track to nowhere.

The painful truth is that when they return to action on Friday with three games in Tampa Bay, they won't play another team that is currently under .500 for the rest of July. They host the White Sox (4) and Blue Jays (3) before trips to Texas (3) and New York. The nightmare month ends with two against the Tigers.

So far they are 2-6 in July and with 18 games left, they are really going to struggle to win 10 this month. What that means is that they have to be bold at the July 31 MLB trade deadline: trade Josh Beckett, Gonzalez or Lester, it's the only way this team has any hope to find a spark this season. They need to deal away a big name to shake up the locker room. In 32 starts this season between Beckett and Lester, the Red Sox are 12-20, not exactly what you are looking for from your supposed ace and No. 2 in the rotation.

Otherwise, not doing anything major (what I expect) will result in a third straight year without playoff baseball in October and that's not nearly good enough. At some point, the Red Sox front office, management and players have to be accountable for this extended period (2+ years) of nothingness.

UPDATE 7/12: Some good Red Sox numbers for you on the last day of the All-Star break. Boston has lost six of its last seven games while Lester and Beckett have combined for nine wins in their 32 starts but the team is still only 2.5 games back in the new second Wild Card spot.

It's been 15 years since the Red Sox finished lower than third-place in the AL East. They have their fewest wins at the break since 2000. The good news: the last two times they failed to reach 50 wins at the break (2004 World Series, 2005 Wild Card) they reached the postseason anyway.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Red Sox & Yankees Split Day-Night Doubleheader At Fenway Park

It was a mixed bag at Fenway Park today as the Red Sox (43-42, 22-23 home) were lifeless in Game 1 and lost 6-1 to the Yankees (51-33, 26-17 away) before winning the nightcap 9-5.

Boston snapped a five-game losing streak with the win while also notching their first victory against New York this season (improving to 1-4) and going above the .500 mark once again.

The patchwork Red Sox lineup that could only manage seven hits in the opener mashed 17 hits (6-for-17 with runners in scoring position with 12 left on base) in the second game. The crazy part was that Pedro Ciriaco (4 for 5, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, 2 runs, stolen base) and Mauro Gomez (3 for 4, 2 doubles, RBI) aka Triple-A All-Stars this season with Pawtucket were the catalysts. Adrian Gonzalez was also 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs as his hit streak went up to 18 games.

In the three games so far this series, New York has scored five, four and three runs respectively in the first inning. I'm no Dave Duncan but Boston might want to fix that. Mark Teixeira blasted a three-run bomb (his 15th of the season) tonight in the first.

From there, Felix Doubront (9-4) found a rhythm while conversely Phil Hughes (9-7) slowly crumbled. The Yankees didn't help themselves out either by making four errors. Doubront went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Hughes lasted 5.1 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on 10 hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

Boston chipped away at the three-run deficit with single runs in third and fifth on a double play and Nick Punto's (2 hits) sacrifice fly. Ciriaco put the Red Sox up 5-3 with a bases-clearing three-run double in the fifth. Andruw Jones (10th of the season) hit a solo homer in the sixth, his third blast of the day, to draw the Yankees within one run at 5-4.

The Red Sox scored four runs in the seventh as New York's bullpen had a mini-meltdown. Ryan Sweeney (1st game back from the DL) had an RBI triple while Gomez and Ciriaco had RBI doubles. Ciriaco closed it out by scoring on Russell Martin's error.

Matt Albers got the final two outs of the seventh and Vicente Padilla was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam (Clayton Mortenen's fault) with one out to end the eighth for his 19th save of the season. Padilla retired Jones on a pop up to Jarrod Saltalamacchia and pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez did the same exact thing.

Eric Chavez hit a solo shot (his 7th of the season) in the ninth against Alfredo Aceves, in a non-save situation, but it didn't matter.

Game 1 was truly nothing to write home about. Just like in Game 2, New York scored all of its run thanks to homers. Nick Swisher hit a three-run blast (13th of the season) in first followed by Jones. The Yankees went back-to-back again in the fourth with Jones and Jayson Nix (3rd of the season) doing the honors with solo shots. Gomez helped the Red Sox avoid the shutout with an RBI single in the fourth.

Freddy Garcia had a great outing that should come with an asterisk since he was facing a lineup that featured Ciriaco, Gomez, Ryan Kalish (sent down to Pawtucket afterwards to make room for Sweeney), Mike Aviles, Kelly Shoppach and Brent Lillibridge. In 6.2 innings, Garcia (3-2) allowed one earned run on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

Franklin Morales (1-2) wasn't nearly so lucky as he faced a good Yankees lineup and as a result, got shelled for the first time in four starts. Bobby Valentine's strange decision to have him pitch 1.1 innings of relief in Oakland on Wednesday probably didn't help anybody (besides New York).

Justin Germano won the Tim Wakefield memorial mop-up duty award as he saved Boston's bullpen (which came in handy) with 5.2 innings of relief following Morales. Not a bad Red Sox debut as he struck out seven and didn't allow a run on five hits and two walks.

More than probably any other Sunday Night Baseball game this season (I bet it does huge ratings), everyone will be tuned in tomorrow night (8:05 p.m., ESPN) for the series finale as Jon Lester (5-5) faces Ivan Nova (9-3).

It is the final game before the All-Star break so please savor it since Home Run Derby and the silly All-Star Game are basically cruel jokes staged by ESPN and Fox. The Red Sox will be looking for a series split while also getting to .500 at Fenway and staying above .500 overall. That doesn't sound like much but to this self-destructive team, it would mean more than they would care to admit.

UPDATE 7/8: Clayton Mortensen was sent down to Pawtucket after the doubleheader. The Red Sox were able to add a 26th player (him) to the roster for the two games on Saturday.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Apparently 9-Run Leads Aren't What They Used To Be

Leave it to the Red Sox to make New England sports fans even more depressed after the Bruins lost Game 5 to the Capitals earlier this afternoon.

The Yankees (9-6, 5-3 away) tied a franchise record for the biggest comeback ever as they recovered from being down nine runs to pull out a 15-9 win vs. the shell-shocked Red Sox (4-10, 3-5) at Fenway Park.

Boston's fifth straight loss of the season was one of the most insane defeats that I've ever seen, from the team that wrote the book on improbable losses.

I made the mistake of having dinner after Boston was up 9-1 in the sixth, I almost couldn't believe it when I flipped on the radio to find out that New York had pulled to within 9-8 in the seventh. Once the Yanks went ahead in the eighth, I knew it was over.

This one fell squarely on the bullpen's overmatched shoulders. No less than five different guys came in for the Red Sox and they all gave up runs before Junichi Tazawa (called up from the PawSox earlier this week) was able to get the last four outs.

Felix Doubront had his best MLB start, given the circumstances, so he deserved much better than what ended up happening. He held New York to one run (earned) over six innings with four hits, seven strikeouts and three walks.

Freddy Garcia was useless, he allowed five earned runs on seven hits in 1.2 innings, while the next New York relievers-Clay Rapada and David Phelps-also couldn't stop the bleeding. However, that's when Rafael Soriano (2-0), Boone Logan and Cody Eppley combined to shut out the Red Sox in the final three innings.

Mark Teixeira (6 RBIs, 3 hits, 3 runs) and Nick Swisher (6 RBIs, 3 hits, 2 runs) provided most of the damage for the Yankees. Derek Jeter (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, RBI), Eduardo Nunez (3 hits, 2 runs) and Russell Martin (2 runs, 2 hits, 2 RBIs) all had multiple hits as well.

You don't lose many non-beer league softball games where you have 17 hits but that's what the Red Sox accomplished today so there's that. David Ortiz (4 hits, run, RBI) is arguably the hottest hitter in MLB and it was nice to see Jarrod Saltalamacchia (4 hits, run) come out of his season-long slump too. Cody Ross (2 runs, 2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Mike Aviles (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run, stolen base) are off to fine starts in their Red Sox careers at the plate. Dustin Pedroia added two hits and an RBI.

Boston hasn't scored first often this season but they went wild to begin today with two in the first, three in the second, two in the third and two in the fifth.

Adrian Gonzalez and Ortiz had RBI doubles to start things off. Aviles and Pedroia had RBI singles sandwiched around a sacrifice fly by Ryan Sweeney in the second. Darnell McDonald had a sacrifice fly in the third and Aviles put up another RBI single. Ross closed the binge with a two-run blast to center, his third home run of the season, in the fifth. Not bad, right?

Teixeira began the epic rally with a solo homer in the sixth, his second of the season. Swisher greeted Vicente Padilla with a grand slam, his fourth homer of the season, in the seventh. Matt Albers came on and he gave up a three-run bomb to Teixeira in the same inning.

New York tacked on seven more runs in the eighth. Alfredo Aceves entered in the eighth for a six-out save but that didn't go quite as planned since he allowed five earned runs on four walks (two intentional) and two hits. Swisher, Teixeira and Martin each had two-run doubles. Jeter finished it off with an RBI single.

Not that it matters, since they would probably lose anyway but it looks like we are getting some serious rain tomorrow so I doubt the Sunday Night Baseball game (8 p.m., ESPN) will happen. That's a shame too since Terry Francona would be in the booth and God only knows what he could say about this disaster.

The Red Sox' best bet is to duck the Yankees, get out on the road against the Twins and White Sox-two mediocre teams-and try to put all this failure behind them before this season is over before it has even really begun.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Fenway 100 Was Great But The Reality Is There Are No Distractions Now From This Horrorshow

Now that Fenway 100 is behind us, I wonder how much time Tom Werner, Larry Lucchino and John Henry will devote solely to the Red Sox each day this season?

It's a disturbing thought and you can't help but be negative after the Yankees spoiled all the fun by crushing five solo home runs and beating the Red Sox 6-2 at Fenway this afternoon.

Yes all the pregame stuff (that I saw) was very well done and entertaining but now that's over and there's no way to hide how badly Boston (4-9, 3-4 home) is playing. They've lost four games in a row and by the ninth inning today, pink hat fans were chanting "We Want Francona." Um, he's not coming back folks. Well he did today but that's only because he probably received a huge paycheck.

New York (8-6, 4-3 away) had to play last night in the Bronx, travel then sit through all the hoopla today but they weren't fazed at all. Clay Buchholz (1-1) became the second Red Sox pitcher (Josh Beckett) already this season to serve up five batting practice homers in one outing. Yeesh. I'm no Dave Duncan, but when you throw 91-mph fastballs right down the middle of the plate, teams like the Yankees will make you pay every time.

Buchholz lasted six innings but it was ugly since he allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Ivan Nova (3-0) won his 15th consecutive decision in the regular season for New York. He went six innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and no walks. His stuff isn't overpowering but he seems to have good command and he doesn't give up too many hard hit balls.

The Yankees wasted no time jumping in front as Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single in the first inning then Nick Swisher (3rd of the season) and Eric Chavez (1st of the season) got the home run barrage started with two in the second. Swisher's bomb went over the Monster in left center and Chavez's landed in the Red Sox bullpen.

David Ortiz (2 hits) answered with his second blast of the season, to left center (it had to be reviewed since it just over the lip of the Monster) in the second. Unfortunately, nobody was on base for him.

Chavez homered to straightaway center in the fourth and A-Rod (2nd of the season) crushed one over everything in left in the fifth.

Mike Aviles's (2 hits) double in the fifth scored Cody Ross for Boston's final run.

New York didn't need it but Russell Martin added his first home run of the season in the sixth, over the Monster.

Freddy Garcia (0-1) faces Felix Doubront (0-0) tomorrow afternoon (4:05 p.m., Fox) in a game that I can totally see turning into a shootout. I don't have faith in either pitcher's ability to put up zeros but we'll see. Regardless, Game 5 of Bruins-Capitals starts at 3 p.m. so I know where all my energy will be devoted to.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

CC Sabathia Finally Solves The Red Sox In 2011

It's almost impossible to win at any level of baseball when you leave 16 runners on base. Even more so when you face CC Sabathia and your team counters with John Lackey.

Sabathia (18-7) finally got over his funk against Boston (0-4) coming into tonight as the Yankees (81-52) climbed within half a game of the Red Sox (82-52) with a 5-2 win at Fenway Park.

The series opening win gave New York some early momentum heading into the last series at Fenway in the regular season between the rivals while also cutting the season series to 10-3 in favor of Boston.

It made sense that after struggling so much against the Red Sox that Sabathia would eventually pitch as well against them as he does vs. the rest of MLB. It took a season-high 128 pitches just to get through six innings. He allowed two earned runs on 10 hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts (including Adrian Gonzalez three times) in a bizarre outing.

Lackey (12-10) threw nearly as many pitches (119) in one more inning of work. That amount of pitches from the starters alone is the main reason why this contest took place at the standard glacial pace for Red Sox-Yankees (3:59). Lackey allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Eric Chavez and Francisco Cervelli were unlikely heroes that turned in nice performances in the win. Chavez had RBI singles in the second and fourth (sandwiched around an RBI double by Robinson Cano) for a 3-0 Yankees lead.

Two equally unexpected guys cut it to 3-2 for the Red Sox in the fourth. Carl Crawford (2 hits, walk) hit a solo homer (his 10th of the season) and Marco Scutaro (2 hits) had an RBI double.

Cervelli hit a solo bomb in the fifth (his second career home run) and was going crazy around the bases which led to Lackey plunking him to start the seventh. Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild was tossed after the benches cleared (but nothing happened) and manager Joe Girardi was ejected in the ninth for arguing about Jarrod Saltalamacchia swinging when he got hit by a Mariano Rivera pitch.

It was a testy night as Jacoby Ellsbury was hit by Sabathia and Matt Albers plunked Jorge Posada.

Jed Lowrie had three hits and David Ortiz had two hits in the loss.

Cory Wade got an out in the seventh and Boone Logan had the last two outs in the frame, paving the way for Rafael Soriano (scoreless eighth) and Rivera who got his 35th save thanks in part to a bogus strikeout of Lowrie (two ultra shaky called strikes).

Albers was a bright spot as he got the last two outs of the eighth to keep Boston within three runs. He needed a positive outing like that since he's gone off a cliff in August. Alfredo Aceves also had a 1-2-3 ninth in four pitches.

Phil Hughes faces Josh Beckett tomorrow night in a matchup that clearly favors the Red Sox. Beckett has owned the Yankees this year although as Sabathia showed, things can change when you face a team so much.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Yankees Win Eighth Straight, Take Over AL East Lead

Well it's officially on, the Boston Red Sox are now looking up at the New York Yankees.

The Bombers (69-42) came to Fenway Park for a three-game series and opened it up with a tidy 3-2 win tonight over the Red Sox (68-43).

With it, New York cut the season series to 8-2 in favor of Boston and more importantly, the eighth straight win for the Yanks vaulted them to the top of the AL East for the first time in nearly a month.

The pitching matchup was Bartolo Colon vs. Jon Lester, one that clearly favors the Red Sox but that's not how it turned out unfortunately.

Boston did a nice job of getting the injected/juiced up Colon out in the fifth inning but that led to five Yankees reliever combining for 4.1 scoreless frames. Colon went 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Boone Logan (3-2) came on to get Adrian Gonzalez (0 for 4) to strikeout with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning. Not surprisingly, that turned out to be a pivotal moment as New York handcuffed the Red Sox offense from there while they got all the runs they needed in the sixth.

Jacoby Ellsbury had driven in Marco Scutaro with a wall ball double in the third while David Ortiz crushed his 21st homer of the season in the fourth for Boston's two runs.

Curtis Granderson started New York's rally with an RBI single that plated Eduardo Nunez. With the bases loaded and no outs, Lester got Robinson Cano to ground into a double play (with the tying run coming across). Nick Swisher (2 hits) came through with the go-ahead RBI, a ground-rule double down the left field line.

Lester (11-5) was on for a while until his pitch count started to get really high in the sixth and he couldn't find the plate while the Yankees patient lineup waited him out. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts.

Logan earned the win by going an inning. Something named Cory Wade got the last out of the sixth which set it up perfectly for Rafael Soriano (seventh), David Robertson (eighth) and Mariano Rivera (ninth). That's a formidable late-innings trio for New York.

After Ortiz grounded out, Carl Crawford (2 hits) got an infield hit against Rivera but the greatest closer in MLB history calmly struck out Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Josh Reddick (2 hits)-both looking at nasty cutters-to end it and gain his 29th save of the season. Rivera has 15 straight years of 25+ saves.

CC Sabathia faces John Lackey tomorrow afternoon in what can only be described as a lock for the Yankees. Barring something crazy (Bigfoot, UFOs landing on the field, Sabathia skipping the game to pig out at Legal Sea Foods all day), this does not look good on paper for the Red Sox. However, the reverse lock might be in effect here too. We'll probably know quickly as Lackey is likely to give up about eight runs in the first two innings.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

How are we going to beat this team or Tampa Bay?

Don't expect anyone to have seen it since the Bruins and Celtics were in playoff games at the same exact time, but hey look it's the Red Sox and the Yankees.

For the 10 hopeless bastards that chose to watch baseball over the much more important basketball and hockey games, Sox (14-15) starter Josh Beckett did his best to make sure you didn't enjoy anything at Fenway Park last night if you were a Red Sox fan.

The Yankees (20-8) won 10-3, thanks to a six-run sixth inning. In 5.1 innings, Beckett gave up nine earned runs on nine hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.

He started out with seven strikeouts in the first three innings but typical of any Beckett hot start like that, especially against New York, he completely fell apart as soon as you noticed how much he was dealing in the first few innings.

Phil Hughes (4-0) has finally found his form after a couple forgettable years bouncing between the Yankees' rotation and bullpen. In seven innings, he gave up two earned runs on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.

Nick Swisher had a three-run bomb in the fourth for New York and the six runs in the sixth were all plated by walks, hit by pitches, a sacrifice fly and singles.

C.C. Sabathia opposes Clay Buchholz this afternoon.