Napoli Returns From The Abyss With Clutch 2-Run HR But Red Sox Still Fall 4-3 in 10

Moral victories are for losers but I feel like if the Red Sox are going to go anywhere the rest of this season, they can take something (Mike Napoli not striking out in a key spot) from tonight's 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Boston (72-50 overall, 33-29 road) couldn't win its second extra innings game in as many nights but Toronto (55-65 overall, 30-32 home) made it way tougher on themselves than it had to be.

The Red Sox were down to their last out in the ninth but Napoli cranked a two-run opposite field home run, his 15th of the season, against Brett Cecil. The Blue Jays bounced back by scoring the winning run in the 10th on Brett Lawrie's infield single which plated Rajai Davis (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 doubles).

Scrub Esmil Rogers completely flummoxed Boston for six innings: one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Jon Lester was decent-6.1 innings, three runs (two earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks-aside from his two errors (one which cost him a run).

In honor of the Little League World Series which begins tomorrow in Williamsport, PA, Boston handed Davis a Little League style home run in the third. His infield single went off Lester's leg then the pitcher made a throwing error to first and after heading for third, Davis' blazing speed forced another error-this time by right fielder Shane Victorino-that allowed the New London, CT native to score.

Mark DeRosa made it 2-0 Toronto in the fourth with a bloop RBI double. David Ortiz got the Red Sox back into it with a solo homer to right center, his 23rd of the season, in the sixth inning. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had two doubles but Boston wasn't able to push another run across until the ninth when Jonny Gomes walked and his buddy Napoli finally showed some of his elusive power.

Edwin Encarnacion had a pair of doubles, scored two runs, walked and stole a base for the Blue Jays.

In tomorrow night's (7:07, NESN) series finale, it is a battle of former White Sox: Jake Peavy (9-4) vs. Mark Buehrle (8-7). Both teams are looking for the series win after splitting the first two contests. Plus, Boston tries to go .500 (5-5) on this lengthy road trip through three cities (Houston, Kansas City and Toronto) that are really spread out.

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Red Sox Are 1st AL Team To 50 Wins This Season, Thanks To Walk-Off Error By Blue Jays

Who knows if they'll keep it up the rest of the season but for now, we can reasonably conclude that things are going the Red Sox' way when it comes to wins and losses. Boston (50-34 overall, 28-16 home) beat Toronto (40-41 overall, 18-24 away) 5-4 at Fenway Park to take three of four in the series and keep the best record in the AL. This is only the fourth time in franchise history that they've reached 50 wins before July, the last time was in 2008.

The Red Sox concluded June as the first team in the American League to reach 50 wins and it happened in bizarre fashion since Shane Victorino's easy chopper to first baseman Josh Thole (a defensive sub for Adam Lind who left with back tightness) went under his glove and allowed pinch runner/journeyman Jonathan Diaz to score the winning run. Did I mention that Brandon Snyder (2 for 4) had a two-run double in the second for Boston? Or how about how Ryan Dempster (5.1 innings, 2 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks) and Craig Breslow wiggled out of a bases loaded no out jam in the sixth without allowing a run?

Ryan Lavarnway fittingly began the strange game with an ground-rule RBI double in the second. Toronto cut it to 3-2 in the fourth on Colby Rasmus' (2 hits) RBI single and a ground out by Maicer Izturis.

Jonny Gomes put Boston back up by two runs with an RBI double in the fifth. The Blue Jays tied it with solo homers for Jose Reyes in the seventh and Jose Bautista (3 hits) in the ninth which spoiled the fourth save in five days for Koji Uehara (1-0).

Daniel Nava was 2 for 4 with a run in the victory while Edwin Encarnacion (2 for 5 with run) and Rajai Davis (2 for 5 with run and stolen base) each had multiple hits in the loss.

Andrew Miller pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief for the Red Sox with a pair of strikeouts, his sixth hold of the season.

Boston gets tomorrow off before they wrap up the final series of this long and productive homestand (5-1) with an interleague matchup: three games against San Diego (40-42 overall, 3rd in NL West). John Lackey (5-5) faces rookie Robbie Erlin (1-0) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN), Jon Lester (8-4) is scheduled to take on Edinson Volquez (6-6) on Wednesday (7:10, NESN) and on the Fourth of July (1:35, NESN) rookie Allen Webster (0-2) gets the ball opposite Eric Stults (6-6).

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Koji Uehara Scoffs At Your Days Off As He Converts His Third Save In As Many Nights

Baseball seasons are so long that oftentimes you stumble into the right role for a player when it was only supposed to be a temporary solution. I don't want to get too ahead of myself here but by notching his third save in three games, I think that Koji Uehara looks very promising as a closer this season for the Red Sox. Boston (49-33 overall, 27-15 home) beat Toronto (39-40 overall, 17-23 away) 7-5 tonight at Fenway Park for their fourth straight win that put them a season-high 16 games over .500.

Staked to a 5-0 lead in the fourth, Red Sox rookie pitcher Allen Webster had everything lining up for his first MLB win. However, when he left after six innings the Blue Jays had cut it to 5-4 and Andrew Bailey (remember him?) allowed a solo homer to Edwin Encarnacion (2 for 3, 2 RBIs, walk) in the seventh that tied it at five and handed Webster a no-decision.

Boston manager John Farrell pushed all the right buttons against his former team as Jonny Gomes-pinch hitting for Daniel Nava (2 for 3, run)-came through with an RBI single in the seventh which put the Red Sox back on top for good. Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked with the bases loaded for the final margin.

Andrew Miller (1-2) got four outs in relief for his first win of 2013 then Uehara had his third consecutive clean ninth with two strikeouts for his fourth save of the season. Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with a triple and run plus Jose Iglesias was 2 for 4 with a run and stolen base. New London CT native Rajai Davis was 2 for 4 with two stolen bases and a run for the Blue Jays.

Stephen Drew had a two-run triple in the second but he left in the fourth with a hamstring injury following a double. It is truly shocking to see a warrior like one of the Drew brothers get hurt. I'm sure he'll be right back in the lineup tomorrow. Mike Napoli had an RBI single in the third and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 for 5, run) knocked out overrated Josh Johnson with a two-run single in the fourth.

For once, Toronto got back into a game by playing small ball and not simply relying on homers. Jose Bautista and Encarnacion had RBI singles in the fifth while Adam Lind added a sacrifice fly. Maicer Izturis trimmed it to 5-4 Boston with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Boston and Toronto face each other tomorrow afternoon in a rare 4:05 p.m. start on NESN. Felix Doubront (4-3) takes on mighty Esmil Rogers (3-3) and people have been talking about this matchup for weeks, haha yeah right.

UPDATE 6/29: Drew isn't on the DL (yet) but the Red Sox called up Jonathan Diaz from Pawtucket. Diaz is in the lineup today at third base, making his MLB debut. To make room on the roster, Clayton Mortensen was designated for assignment.

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Even If Nobody Watches Or Cares, The Red Sox Still Lose Like Their Lives Depended On It

You'll be proud to hear that I am really starting to kick my pathetic Red Sox addiction. With NFL Week 1 in full gear this afternoon, I honestly didn't watch one pitch of Boston's 4-3 loss to Toronto at Fenway Park. Fittingly, the Patriots (1) have already matched the Red Sox' (1) win total in September.

However, I couldn't help myself as I read that the Red Sox (63-78, 32-41 home) have fallen two games below the Blue Jays (64-75, 30-41 away) in the AL East basement. Toronto swept the three games this weekend, sending Boston to its 11th loss in their last 12 games. With 21 games left in 2012, the time can't go by fast enough for the Red Sox so maybe they can start to make some long-term decisions: firing Bobby V is the logical start.

Let it be noted that I think the only guys that began the season with the team and are still trying for Boston had good performances today. Clay Buchholz (11-6) went 8.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) had a solo homer (his 14th of the season), Cody Ross was 2 for 4 with a double, walk and run while Jacoby Ellsbury had a two-run blast (his 3rd of the season).

Carlos Villanueva went six innings for Toronto, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks. New London CT native Rajai Davis was 2 for 5 with two runs, a walk and stolen base while Anthony Gose was 2 for 4 with a run and stolen base.

Former Red Sox pitcher Brandon Lyon (2-0) earned the win in relief after retiring Pedroia on a ground out to end the eighth inning. Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen struck out one in the ninth for his 20th save of the season.

Ellsbury's two-run homer in the second put Boston up 2-0 but Toronto scored four times in the fourth. Jeff Mathis and Adeiny Hechavarria had RBI singles wrapped around a sacrifice fly by Omar Vizquel (foreshadowing!). Pedroia's homer in the sixth tied it at three but the Red Sox winning is not allowed anymore so old man Vizquel put Toronto back on top with another sacrifice fly, this time in the ninth.

After Monday off, the Red Sox host the Yankees (79-61, 1st place AL East) for three games at Fenway. I wish I could get into trying to be a spoiler but that's the role of perennial losers like the Royals. Better yet, I'd rather watch (work with me here) Boston get drilled by New York which will most certainly happen.

Jon Lester (9-11) faces Hiroki Kuroda (13-10) on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Aaron Cook (3-9) gets David Phelps (3-4) in what's sure to be a classic on Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Felix Doubront (10-8) opposes Phil Hughes (14-12) on Thursday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in a game that could end 20-18.

Six of Boston's last seven series of 2012 are against AL East playoff contenders (Yankees, Rays, Orioles) which means that they'll be lucky to win any games.

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There Is Still No Reason To Put Any Emotional Investment Into The Red Sox

Nothing has changed with the Boston Red Sox. They still haven't won consecutive games since last August 27 (doubleheader vs. Oakland).

After going 0-6 to start 2011 and the historic collapse in September, you'd think that maybe they'd come out of the gates a little faster. Um, not so much with this group. They're 1-5 after losing 3-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays (4-2) this afternoon at Rogers Centre.

Toronto took two out of the three in the series and for the second straight start (Opening Day in Detroit), the Red Sox failed to give Jon Lester (0-1) any run support when he submitted a fine outing. Lester went eight full innings, allowing three runs (all earned) on three hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero (1-0) came within two outs of a complete game. He allowed one run (earned) on three hits with five strikeouts and three walks.

Sergio Santos recorded the final two outs for his first save as Boston tried to rally but with runners on second and third with one out, he struck out Kevin Youkilis (2 for 20 to start the season) and got David Ortiz to ground out to end it.

Boston had a rare lead as Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in Mike Aviles with an RBI single in the third.

Toronto responded immediately with two runs in the home half of the third. Rajai Davis (2 runs, stolen base) had an RBI triple and then he came home on Yunel Escobar's sacrifice fly.

After Lester and Adrian Gonzalez screwed up a pickoff play on Davis in the eighth, he was able to reach second then later scored on Escobar's single. That insurance run totally deflated Boston who already looked checked out with one foot on the airplane home.

The best news I can give you about this joke squad is that they mercifully don't play tomorrow. Still, they come back to Fenway on Friday for the latest insufferable edition of Opening Day. Prepare for all the usual pomp and circumstance and needless celebration of a 1-5 team full of losers with the worst ownership group in Boston.

To make it even better, Tampa Bay (4-1) will be the opponent with four games this weekend-including the usual Patriot's Day matinee. The Rays look like the class of the AL East once again and I'm certain that like the last few years, they'll own the Red Sox. The Texas Toughguy gets the start on Friday against David Price. If there is anything right in this world, and I have my doubts with all the pink hats, Beckett will be booed relentlessly.

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What The Hell Should The Red Sox Do With John Lackey?

It has reached the point with the John Lackey experience that I honestly don't even know what the Boston Red Sox can do with him at this point.

He has the worst ERA (7.47) of any pitcher in baseball who has thrown over 70 innings. His ERA at Fenway this season is 9.17 with a 3-4 record. Lackey has lost his last three starts after yesterday's 9-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway on the fourth of July.

It was the shortest outing of Lackey's (5-8) career (2.1 innings) as he allowed seven earned runs on nine hits with two strikeouts.

The Red Sox (49-35) can either stick with him in the rotation, put him in the bullpen or place him on the DL. We've all seen what having him pitch every fifth day is like. I don't think remaking him as a reliever will work either since he's never done that. Finally, Boston loves cooking up fake injuries (there were reports last week that he needed Tommy John surgery) so I wouldn't put it past them to go with the latter option.

As much as I'd love to see them simply release him, they're stuck with him after giving him such a big contract in December 2009. Even John Henry can't absorb a $53.38 million dollar loss (yet), after all he's got a trophy wife to please.

The ironic and cruel part of yesterday's Lackey implosion was that the Red Sox almost rallied for a ridiculous comeback after trailing 7-0 in the third inning.

Jacoby Ellsbury (4 for 5, 2 RBIs, run, stolen base) led off the ninth with a single off Blue Jays (42-44) closer Frank Francisco and stole second base but Francisco proceeded to strike out Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez and Yamaico Navarro (who came in after Kevin Youkilis was hit in the back with a pitch in the fourth) to record his 10th save of the season.

Toronto starter Brandon Morrow (5-4) was his usual erratic self but when you're matched up against Lackey, anything better than the worst start of your career should get it done. He went five innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Rajai Davis (2 hits, run, RBI, stolen base) scored on Youk's error in the first for 1-0 Blue Jays lead. They tacked on two in the second on Aaron Hill's (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) solo homer and an RBI single by John McDonald (2 hits, run, RBI).

Lackey's holiday was quickly over in the third as he gave up an RBI single to Adam Lind, an RBI single to Hill and a two-run double to Travis Snider (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) that made it 7-0. I'm sure the crowd was filled with an extra amount of pink hats and goobers since it was the fourth but even they had the common sense to boo Lackey big time and cheer when Terry Francona emerged to take him out. Brutal.

The Red Sox started to comeback as they plated four runs in the fourth. Ellsbury started it with a two-run triple, Dustin Pedroia walked with the bases loaded and Adrian Gonzalez knocked in Pedroia with an RBI double off the Monster.

Dan Wheeler had by far his best outing in his brief Red Sox career as he got eight outs. He didn't allow a hit or walk anybody, it was good stuff after Lackey's latest turd salad.

Toronto got single runs in the seventh and eighth off Alfredo Aceves. Edwin Encarnacion scored in the seventh on Navarro's error and Davis drove in McDonald (Connecticut shoreline connection!) with an RBI double.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia provided another two-run triple, this time in the eighth and J.D. Drew knocked in Boston's final run with a sacrifice fly.

Two lefties duel tonight as Brett Cecil goes for the Blue Jays and Jon Lester takes the ball for the Red Sox.

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Teach me how to dougie Dice-K

What do I always say about Dice-K? He is the single most unpredictable player in MLB and probably professional sports. Therefore after I bashed him and Ben Sheets going into last night's series opener in Oakland, they responded by turning in a classic pitcher's duel.

It figures that one of the most exciting games of the season was a 10:05 p.m. EST start so who knows how much of Red Sox nation actually saw it, especially considering how low their television ratings are this season.

The Red Sox (53-40) started off the pivotal 10-game West Coast trip with a 2-1 win at the Oakland Coliseum. Dice-K (7-3) went 6.2 innings and allowed one earned run on two hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Most surprisingly, Dice-K worked quickly and efficiently and was only on 89 pitches when he got yanked in the seventh.

Ben Sheets (4-9) nearly matched him going 6.2 innings and giving up two earned runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Daniel Bard went 1.1 scoreless innings and Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth for his 21st save of the season. Dice-K's fine work allowed Terry Francona to skip over all the bum relievers that have been omnipresent this season.

Rajai Davis gave Oakland (46-47) a 1-0 lead in the third with a solo home run.

David Ortiz tied it up in the fourth when his sacrifice fly knocked in former A's outfielder Eric Patterson, who had tripled. Adrian Beltre (3 hits) produced the winning run with a solo shot two batters later.

In his last start before Josh Beckett returns to the rotation, Tim Wakefield goes tonight against Dallas Braden, he of the perfect game on May 9. Braden has been on the DL and also has struggled since then, he hasn't won a game since then.

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.