So It Looks Like This Red Sox Season Will Be Much More Interesting Than We Thought

Listen, we all figured that the Red Sox were toast a long time ago so there's no need to lie and say any sane person that we know felt otherwise. Still, I'm happy to report that Boston (46-52 overall, 26-26 at home) is finally playing some good baseball in 2014 (it only took them nearly 100 games!) as they blanked Kansas City (48-49 overall, 26-24 away) 6-0 this afternoon at Fenway Park for the three-game sweep.

The Red Sox have won seven of their last eight games to climb within six games in the Wild Card and 7.5 in the AL East. Jon Lester (10-7) continued to consistently perform like one of the top pitchers in MLB: eight innings, four hits, eight strikeouts and two walks as he lowered his ERA to 2.50. The only reason he didn't stay in for the shutout was that he threw 115 pitches. At this point, he is a serious Cy Young contender and with each outstanding start, his already hefty price tag continues to go up. If only he had accepted Boston's joke offer (4 years, $70 in spring training)!

There aren't many things you can count on in life anymore or at least you realize that when you grow up, however Kansas City never ceases to fall apart in the middle/dog days of the season. Seriously, will they ever truly be relevant again on a national level? Young fireballer Yordano Ventura (7-8) was no match for Lester's brilliance as he allowed six earned runs on nine hits in only 4.1 innings.

The Red Sox took the lead in the first inning as Dustin Pedroia's fielder's choice scored Brock Holt (2 for 5). Daniel Nava's (2 for 3, walk) ground-rule double knocked in David Ross (2 runs, walk) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (2 for 3, 2 runs, walk) in the third inning. David Ross' two-run homer in the fourth went over the Monster, his sixth of the season, and it also drove in Shane Victorino (2 for 4, double). Boston added the final insurance run a few batters later as Nava plated Bradley Jr. with a sacrifice fly.

The next two weeks represent Boston's best chance to really get back into those respective races that I mentioned. You see, they have 13 games in a row against AL East opponents: they go to Toronto for four games then Tampa Bay for three. The Red Sox return home to face the Blue Jays three more times then they host the Yankees in three games right after the Trade Deadline (July 31).

Toronto (51-48 overall, 3rd in AL East) is only 4-6 in their last 10 games but they've won their last two (vs. hapless Texas) heading into this critical series vs. Boston. Other than no Lester, the Red Sox' pitching lines up pretty well against the Blue Jays who still don't have an ace or No. 2 if we're being honest. John Lackey (10-6) faces Drew Hutchison (6-8) on Monday night (7:07, NESN) followed by Jake Peavy (1-8) vs. J.A. Happ (7-5) on Tuesday (7:07, NESN). Clay Buchholz (5-5) takes on knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (7-10) on Wednesday (7:07, NESN) then they wrap up on Thursday afternoon (12:37, NESN) with Rubby De La Rosa (3-2) facing fellow rookie Marcus Stroman (5-2).

I'm certainly not predicting it will happen but I'd like to note before the series begins that if Boston could sweep Toronto, they would be tied in the loss column. Something to keep in mind as the series progresses if the Red Sox win the first two or three games.

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For Once, The Rays Don't Look Like Much of a Threat in the AL East

Due to major injuries to starting pitchers Matt Moore and Alex Cobb, the Rays are a bit of a mess at the moment. Since manager Joe Maddon took over in Tampa Bay (11-16 overall, 4-9 away) I have always been in awe of what they can do with tight pockets and few fans. Honestly, I have feared the Rays more than the Yankees in recent history since they usually seem to give the Red Sox fits.

However, this season could be a bit of a trip back to their shitty Devil Rays past as Boston (13-14 overall, 6-8 home) beat them 7-4 tonight at Fenway Park in their first (of 19) meeting of the season. John Lackey (4-2) had his second straight really good outing that lasted eight innings (2 earned runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk). It was actually 7-2 in the ninth before the Rays scored two runs on an infield single by Yunel Escobar and throwing error by Xander Bogaerts.

With one runner on base, Red Sox manager John Farrell made the curious decision to put in closer Koji Uehara. Still, he struck out Ben Zobrist on three pitches to end it for his sixth save of the season. Other than Lackey, Shane Victorino (4 for 4, double, 2 RBIs) was the main attraction. We know that he can't do it for a full season anymore but he is certainly valuable when Boston can get him on the field.

Former Red Sox great Erik Bedard got the start and actually only allowed one run but in typical fashion he threw way too many pitches (104) in just five innings. That meant that Boston did their damage vs. Tampa Bay's crappy middle relievers. Victorino had driven in Boston's first run in the fifth with a sacrifice fly which is what Evan Longoria answered with in the next frame. For once, the Red Sox hung a crooked number (5) on the scoreboard in the sixth. A.J. Pierzynski (2 for 4, run) started it with an RBI single then Will Middlebrooks, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Victorino knocked in a combined four runs with doubles.

Andover's Ryan Hanigan cut it to 6-2 in the seventh with an RBI single but David Ortiz regained the five-run advantage with an RBI single in the eighth. Tomorrow (7:10, NESN) is the sixth time that Boston can get back to the .500 mark in April (they've failed the previous five occasions) as Felix Doubront (1-3) fights for his job against Chris Archer (2-1). There are three Game 7s in the NHL tomorrow night so if you can focus primarily on this contest then you are a very sick person.

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When You Think About It, Jacoby Ellsbury & the Yankees are a Perfect Match

I'm not to spend much time on it because the fact is that we all knew that Jacoby Ellsbury was gone as soon as last season ended with his second World Series title. However, the reason that he is worth one last blog post is because he decided to sign a seven-year deal worth $153 million (with an option for an 8th year that pushes it to $169 million) with the Yankees.

That's right, the quiet guy that shied away from most attention in medium-market Boston will now go to a far tougher place with the additional pressure of the third richest contract in MLB history ever given to an outfielder hanging over him. Since he's from Oregon and went to Oregon State, I figured he would go to the Mariners or another team on the West Coast. In many ways, this totally fits the Yankees' recent losing philosophy: overspend on the sexy free agent (C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez come to mind) both in terms of money and years then be stuck with him in the latter stages of a bloated contract.

Ellsbury was drafted by Boston in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2005 draft. He sped through the minor leagues and was already in MLB by the time the Red Sox won the World Series in 2007. He was a big part of that postseason and when healthy (huge question mark), there is no doubt that he is a game-changer. Besides pink hats, most Red Sox fans will understand why Boston didn't want to invest so much into a player that is simply not dependable. Due to various injuries, he only played 18 games in 2010 and 74 in 2012. Even this past season, which was a good one (92 runs, 172 hits, 31 doubles, 8 triples, 9 homers, 53 RBIs, 52 stolen bases, .297 average, .355 OBP and .426 SLG) for him, he played in 134 regular season games in a free agency year.

Who knows if Jackie Bradley Jr. can come anywhere close to replace Ellsbury's Gold Glove defense in center field or consistent leadoff at bats? Maybe Boston shifts Shane Victorino to center field in 2014 to give Bradley Jr. another season to improve. Lazy sports writers and fans will compare this move to Johnny Damon signing with the Yankees. The problem is that Damon was much more of a leader when he was on the Red Sox. As talented as he is, Ellsbury always felt like a robot. We wish him well in New York (seriously) but it's time for all of us to move on.

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Red Sox Complete an Incredible Turnaround in 1 season, Capturing Their 8th World Series Title

If you had told me in 2003 right after the Red Sox lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS that the next year they'd win the World Series (for the first time in 86 years) then twice more in the next decade, I would have laughed for about an hour. Tonight was one of those special moments that sports singularly provides as Boston beat St. Louis 6-1 in Game 6 of the 2013 World Series to win the series 4-2. They are the first team in MLB to win three titles in the 21st century.

The Cardinals finally figured out they didn't have to pitch to David Ortiz, he walked in four out of five plate appearances (two intentionally) but still scored two runs and picked up the World Series MVP trophy. John Farrell became only the sixth manager in MLB history to win a title in his first year with a club (last one ironically was Terry Francona here in 2004). Red Sox became only the second team in MLB history (Twins, 1991) to finish in last place in their division one season then win the World Series the following season.

This was the first time since 1918 that the Red Sox had won the title at Fenway Park, giving the night some legit historical significance. Red Sox also became the first team in MLB to win three times in the past decade and this was their eighth title in franchise history. You can't help but be astounded at how much changed in one season: Boston was the worst team in the AL in 2012 and now they're back on top for the eighth Boston sports title since 2000 (3 for Patriots and Red Sox; 1 for Bruins and Celtics).

The easy storyline is John Lackey (6.2 innings, 1 earned run, 9 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk) who picked up the clinching win. I think that's well established by now so I'd rather focus on Koji Uehara getting the last three outs in a 1-2-3 9th capping his insane run as Boston's closer. You want more unlikely heroes? How about Stephen Drew (2 hits) hitting a solo homer and Shane Victorino driving in four runs after he missed Games 4 and 5 with back problems.

Michael Wacha is a great young pitcher, one of the best in MLB, but his magic carpet ride came to a screeching halt as he allowed six earned runs in 3.2 innings. Boston actually scored all the runs they needed on Victorino's bases-loaded double in the third to make it 3-0. The Red Sox tacked on three more runs in the fourth on Drew's solo homer into their bullpen, Mike Napoli's RBI single and an RBI single by Victorino. In past years, you'd worry about something bad happening to the Red Sox but I have to admit that once they got up five or six runs, I was very confident that it was all but over.

In probably his last game for the Red Sox, Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 4 with a double, walk and two runs scored. St. Louis' only real chance to threaten (or at least make it interesting) came in the bottom of the seventh, Junichi Tazawa came in with the bases loaded and two outs but he got one-legged Allen Craig to ground to first. Did you know his foot was hurt? The only run for the Cardinals came on Carlos Beltran's RBI single earlier in the seventh.

Rookie Brandon Workman had a 1-2-3 eighth which set the table for Uehara's last appearance of the season. Fittingly, this incredible journey ended with him striking out Matt Carpenter (3 for 5, double) to end it.

Every championship is different and I hate to compare them; you have to appreciate each one and I think we will certainly do that after all the garbage and drama of the last few seasons on Yawkey Way. 2004 is what everyone will always remember for obvious reasons, 2007 was complete domination and this year was about restoring pride in this beloved team. Mission accomplished, what else can you say? The Red Sox exceeded all expectations except their own, they were a likable team that had fun playing baseball and enjoyed being around each other. What more do you want? Enjoy the parade on Saturday.

UPDATE 11/2: The Red Sox picked up Jon Lester's option for 2014 ($13 million) and declined Matt Thornton's.

UPDATE 11/4: Boston made qualifying offers (1 year, $14 million) to Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew. They didn't make offers to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Joel Hanrahan and John McDonald so they are free agents that can sign with any team and that club doesn't have to give up a draft pick.

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Pedroia & Victorino win Gold Gloves, Ellsbury loses to Adam Jones

Nobody does timing like MLB, so wouldn't you know that one day before Game 6 of the World Series, they decided to hand out all the Gold Glove awards for 2013. Befitting a team that is one win away from its third World Series title in 10 years, the Red Sox went 2 for 3 on Tuesday (are you listening Stephen Drew?): Dustin Pedroia picked up his third while Shane Victorino won his fourth overall (in his first year in Boston).

It wasn't all roses and sunshine as Jacoby Ellsbury lost out to Adam Jones (you can hear Scott Boras' cash register close however briefly) for some reason. Showing how important defense is, St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright both captured Gold Gloves in the National League.

I love statistics but often times I feel like the abundance of new ones in baseball bogs it down. Basically, you can make an argument for anyone ever and still not win. Gold Gloves are neat and most of the players gets bonuses in their contracts for winning one but I feel like Derek Jeter repeatedly winning one when he had no range left a permanent sour taste in our mouth.

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Red Sox Punch Ticket to Their 3rd World Series in 10 Years

The Red Sox are going to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 World Series, a rematch of 2004, after Boston knocked out Detroit in six truly thrilling games. Tonight at Fenway Park, the Red Sox beat the Tigers 5-2 thanks to a clutch grand slam by Shane Victorino in the seventh inning that put them ahead 5-2. Craig Breslow got a 1-2-3 eighth and ALCS MVP Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts for his third save of the series (plus 1 win). Game 1 of the World Series is Wednesday (8:07, Fox) at Fenway.

The themes built up over the previous five games continued one more time: Max Scherzer (0-1) was excellent (6.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 4 hits, 8 strikeouts, 5 walks) but his bullpen was not. Boston's bullpen was superb, well other than Franklin Morales who allowed a two-run single to Victor Martinez that temporarily put Detroit ahead 2-1 in the sixth. I don't blame Morales as much as John Farrell for that mind-numbing move since Morales is terrible. Oh well, no reason to worry about that blunder too much now. Haha let's just hope Morales isn't on the World Series roster.

Clay Buchholz (5 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) pitched at a snail's pace but he was better than Game 1. After Morales failed, Brandon Workman (who should have been the first reliever) got five outs and Junichi Tazawa (1-0) retired Miguel Cabrera for the third time in the ALCS, in this instance there were runners on first and second with two outs.

Compared to Prince Fielder though, Cabrera had the greatest ALCS in history. Prince proved what a dog he is by hitting .182 in six games with no RBIs. He's gone 20 postseason games without a homer or RBI, how's that even possible? His series was best summed up by him getting caught too far off third then belly flopping five feet short of the bag for a soul-crushing double play.

Jacoby Ellsbury drove in budding superstar Xander Bogaerts (double, two runs, two walks) for a 1-0 Red Sox lead in the fifth. The rookie also drew a key walk vs. Scherzer in the sixth that led to him getting pulled a few batters later and Victorino's memorable grand slam over the Monster. Bogaerts will start every game in the World Series and deservedly so. I'd love to see Will Middlebrooks at third base and Bogaerts at third but Stephen Drew's excellent dive and throw to first likely earned him more leeway despite him being 1-for-20 (even Prince thinks that's bad) with nine strikeouts in the ALCS.

You can't say enough about the importance of not going seven games with Detroit. The Cardinals eliminated the Dodgers last night so they don't have much of a headstart on Boston plus thanks to the stupid All-Star Game, the Red Sox have homefield advantage. Both teams are gunning for their third World Series crown in the last decade and Boston swept St. Louis in 2004 (you might have heard about that). Anything can happen in the World Series but I expect it to be extremely competitive, think ALCS, but the Cardinals are deeper and more fundamentally sound than the Tigers who self-destructed much like the Rays in the ALDS.

This is the 11th time in franchise history that the Red Sox have made the World Series (6-4) and fourth time it is against St. Louis: Cardinals beat them in seven games in 1946 and 1967 before Boston returned the favor nine years ago. Four more wins!

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Goodnight Rays, Red Sox Advance to their 1st ALCS since 2008

It was not easy but the Red Sox survived Game 4 at Tropicana Field, defeating the Rays 3-1 to win the ALDS 3-1 and advance to their first ALCS since 2008 (10th in franchise history) with their 100th win of the season. Boston now awaits the winner of Game 5 between Oakland and Detroit, which takes place Thursday (8:07, TBS) in Oakland. Those teams are both excellent so I don't really have a preference about who I want Boston to face. Selfishly, I think it'd be more fun to see the A's since they have so many ex-Red Sox in unlikely starring roles.

Jake Peavy (5.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks) was very good, Craig Breslow (1.2 IP, 1 hit, 4 strikeouts) was incredible and Koji Uehara (4 outs, 2 strikeouts) bounced back from Game 3 to earn his second save of the series. Poor Jeremy Helickson lasted three batters into the second inning before crazy Joe Maddon pulled him out for a conga line (8!) of Rays relievers. Jake McGee (2 runs) and Fernando Rodney (1 run) were the only Tampa Bay pitchers to allow runs.

Boston was 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 guys on base. For a while, this felt like another gut-wrenching loss in the making since the Rays went up 1-0 in the sixth when David Dejesus singled in Yunel Escobar (3 hits, double). Never fear though, the Red Sox went ahead with two runs in the seventh: Jacoby Ellsbury (single, walk) stole second while Xander Bogaerts scampered home on a wild pitch. Shane Victorino's infield single scored Ellsbury who has been money all series (9 for 18, 7runs, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, walk and 4 stolen bases).

The Red Sox added a key insurance run in the ninth as Dustin Pedroia knocked in Bogaerts with a sacrifice fly. Tampa Bay's lack of offense came back to bite them as it always does (6 hits). After he came on with two outs in the eighth-striking out Dejesus-Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth that ended with a strikeout of Evan Longoria.

Over-the-top clubhouse celebration aside (everyone in MLB does it), this is a remarkable turnaround for Boston who became only the third team in MLB history to finish last one season then win their division series the next. The best part is that this was not a fluke by any means and they're not just happy to be here. They are the team to beat in the American League and MLB as a whole.

Not going back to Boston for a Game 5 vs. Tampa Bay is huge for many reasons: they get extra rest over Detroit and Oakland plus they can use Jon Lester on Saturday in Game 1 of the ALCS at Fenway Park. After back-to-back long nights of baseball and marathon games four out of the last five days, take a break the next few days and enjoy Cardinals-Pirates Game 5 tomorrow night (8:07, TBS) then A's-Tigers Game 5 on Thursday. The Red Sox are four wins away from the 2013 World Series and eight wins away from their third World Series title in 10 years.

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Rays Self Destruct Like You Read About In Humbling 12-2 Game 1 Loss To Red Sox

It had been too long. The Red Sox last appeared in a playoff game in 2009 and they hadn't won one since the previous season. It felt like they had been off basically that same amount of time since this season had ended but Boston put to bed any stupid questions about their extended rest by bludgeoning the Rays 12-2 in Game 1 of the ALDS this afternoon at Fenway Park.

Tampa Bay actually scored the first two runs as Sean Rodriguez (second inning) and Ben Zobrist (fourth inning) hit solo homers. From there, Jon Lester (1-0) settled in for a gem (7.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks) while Matt Moore (0-1) and his defense fell apart. The Rays' prized young lefty couldn't get out of the fifth inning, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in 4.1 innings.

Boston did most of its damage in the fourth (5 runs) and fifth (3 runs) before tacking on some runs in garbage time (4 in eighth). The Red Sox didn't hit any homers but who cares since they piled up 14 hits including five doubles and five walks. As a team they went 8 for 17 with runners in scoring position. Every Red Sox player had at least one hit and one run with Dustin Pedroia (2 runs, 2 hits) the only one without an RBI.

Leading the way in the win was Shane Victorino who went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, run and stolen base in his Red Sox playoff debut. Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 5 with run and RBI while Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with three RBIs, double, run and walk. David Ortiz (double, walk) and Jonny Gomes (2 RBIs, double, walk) both scored twice.

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves and assume that the Rays will roll over and die after one loss after they won three elimination games in a row earlier this week. If there's one team in MLB that you can count on to bounce back from a blowout loss like this, it would be them. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they have David Price going tomorrow (5:37, TBS) vs. John Lackey in pseudo must-win game.

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Red Sox Spoil Todd Helton's Final Game at Coors Field

It seems apropos that Todd Helton's final game at Coors Field would more closely resemble a softball game, oh and also that his team lost since they were known to do that for many of his days (17 years) in Colorado. Tonight, the Red Sox (96-63 overall, 43-35 away) outslugged the Rockies (72-87 overall, 45-36 home) 15-5 in the series finale. The victory was extra sweet for Boston because this afternoon, the Angels beat the A's 3-1 putting the Red Sox two games up (with three to go) for the best record in the AL.

Helton did his part with a line straight out of a movie: solo homer, RBI double and sac fly. Unfortunately, the rest of his team weren't really on the same page. The Red Sox got most of their runs from extra-base hits: Will Middlebrooks had a grand slam and three-run homer; Shane Victorino hit a three-run homer and Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 4 for 5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs.

A nice footnote for Boston: David Ortiz's two-run double gave him an even 100 RBIs on the season. That's the seventh time he's done it in a Red Sox uniform, trailing only Ted Williams (9) and Jim Rice (8). The big news in this game for the Red Sox is that Jacoby Ellsbury returned after missing 16 games. He batted leadoff and was 1 for 2 with two runs scored before getting replaced in the fourth inning.

Jake Peavy (12-5) struggled mightily but still made it through six innings. This was the final interleague game of the season for Boston, the only other way they'll see an NL team in 2013 is if they reach the World Series. The Red Sox finished with the second best record (14-6) in Interleague play this season so they have no reason to fear anyone from the weaker league.

The Red Sox are coming back this way (relatively speaking) with an off-day tomorrow followed by a three-game series in Baltimore. The Orioles have been eliminated from playoff contention and perhaps after Friday, Boston will have wrapped up the top seed in the American League playoffs. You can't overstate the importance of that well-earned honor. The regular season concludes on Sunday.

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Red Sox Can't Clinch A Playoff Spot (again) but Indians lose, making Boston's Magic Number one

For the second night in a row, the Red Sox had a chance to clinch a playoff spot (somewhere they haven't been in the last four years) but they couldn't do it as the resilient Orioles (81-70 overall, 39-37 away) outscored Boston (92-61 overall, 50-27 home) 5-3 in 12 innings. Baltimore has won six of their last seven series at Fenway and they are 9-6 against the Red Sox this season, the only MLB team with a winning record against MLB's top squad. Boston lost consecutive games for the first time in over a month (August 15 & 16).

The Royals held up their end of the bargain as they beat the Indians 7-2. That leaves Cleveland half a game outside of the Wild Card race and Baltimore is only one game behind Texas (2nd Wild Card). Boston didn't deserve to win as they grounded into four double plays and left nine runners on base. Enough with this charade, I can't imagine how much champagne is sitting on ice in Boston's locker room.

The Red Sox handed Jake Peavy (7 IP, 3 ER, 6 hits, 8 Ks) a 2-0 lead in the first on David Ortiz's two-run homer, his 28th of the season, but he couldn't hold it. Matt Wieters (run, 2 doubles) and Brian Roberts (2 hits, walk run) each had RBI doubles in the fifth as the O's tied it at two. Wieters added a sacrifice fly in the sixth to give Baltimore a 3-2 lead. That turned out to be short-lived as Mr. September Mike Napoli crushed a solo homer to center, his 23rd of the season to knot it at three.

Baltimore used six pitchers because they need to win every game they can for the remainder of this season. Rookie Kevin Gausman (2 IP, 5 Ks) looks destined to be a star for the O's. Things got wacky (as they usually do) in extra innings: Boston put the lead runner on in the 10th and 11th but they couldn't score. Chris Davis came through with the game's biggest hit, a two-run single that squeaked through the middle of the infield in the twelfth.

Jim Johnson pitched for the second night in a row but that didn't seem to faze him as he had a scoreless 12th inning for his 47th save of the season. Will Middlebrooks was 3-for-6 with a walk, Shane Victorino was 3-for-5 with a run and Dustin Pedroia went 2 for 6 with a double.

The Orioles go for the sweep tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) with their ace Chris Tillman (16-6) opposing John Lackey (9-12).

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Don't Look Now But The Red Sox Are The Best Team in MLB

On paper, one of the only things the Red Sox seem to lack this season is a true ace. Don't tell that to Jon Lester (14-9) though who has been pitching like one for the his last eight starts: he's held opponents to three earned runs or less in each successive outing. This afternoon, he did the impossible-keeping a Red Sox-Yankees game well under three hours (2:43) as Boston (91-59 overall, 49-25 home) beat New York (79-70 overall, 35-39 away) 5-1 at Fenway Park.

Truth be told, this wasn't exactly a vintage Yankee lineup as Alfonso Soriano was a late scratch with a thumb injury, Mark Reynolds batted second and the steroid riddled corpse of A-Rod batted cleanup. Regardless, Lester was brilliant: he went eight innings and allowed one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

CC Sabathia (13-13) has morphed into just another guy which is shocking when you consider the absurd amount of innings he used to throw every season and his ahem less than stellar conditioning. In six innings, the Red Sox touched him up for six earned runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and four walks. New York certainly won't regret the bloated contract they gave him.

Boston got to work early as they scored all five of their runs by the fifth inning. Will Middlebrooks drove in Mike Napoli (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks) in the second for the first Red Sox run and a 1-0 advantage. David Ortiz knocked in Dustin Pedroia with an RBI double in the third and Jonny Gomes (double, 2 walks) singled in Ortiz.

Robinson Cano provided the only Yankee run with a ground out in the fourth but New York was held to just three hits and two walks. Curtis Granderson doubled, tripled and scored the run. Shane Victorino (2 for 3, double, stolen base) made it 4-1 with an RBI single in the home half of the fourth then Daniel Nava wrapped it up with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

You knew it was Boston's day when Franklin Morales had a 1-2-3 9th inning on 12 pitches. The Yankees must have planned late lunches on Newbury Street or something with the lack of fight that they exhibited in such a must-win for them.

The Red Sox already clinched another series victory but they can sweep the Yankees tomorrow night (8:05, ESPN) as unbeaten Clay Buchholz (10-0) takes on Ivan Nova (8-4). Who am I kidding, we'll all be watching 49ers-Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. Boston has planned a pregame ceremony for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera but what better way to send him into retirement than stomping on their ill-fated postseason dreams? PS I bet you hadn't heard that he was retiring.

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Down 8-3, Red Sox Rally For 12-8 Victory Over Yankees; Boston Now Has Most Wins in MLB

Don't look now but the Red Sox are suddenly the team to beat this October in the American League. It's hard to recall a team that has rallied so many times and pulled out one improbable win after another in a single regular season. Tonight, Boston (86-57 overall, 39-32 away) trailed New York (75-66 overall, 43-30 home) 8-3 after five innings but they managed to score five runs in the seventh and four in the eighth for a soul-crushing 12-8 triumph.

This was Boston's fourth win in a row and 11th in their last 13. Last night and this evening show what makes the Red Sox so tough to beat: they can win any style of game. Their offense usually carries them (see: tonight) but they get enough pitching and help from the bullpen to be in almost every contest. It also helps when they compete in a glorified Little League park like Yankee Stadium (foreshadowing!).

Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, double, walk, run) started the rally in the seventh with an infield single that scored David Ross (2 hits, RBI). Mike Napoli (3 hits, 3 runs, double, 2 walks) flied out to right, I mean got extremely lucky to hit a grand slam (sixth of his career; third this season) just over the reach of a leaping Ichiro to tie it at eight. It was his 19th homer of the season.

New York's clownshow bullpen lived up to that moniker (which I just created): Shane Victorino (2 hits, 2 runs)-playing center field and batting leadoff with Jacoby Ellsbury resting-hit a two-run homer (his 14th of the season), Daniel Nava aka Mr. OBP (.392) walked with the bases loaded and Stephen Drew (2 RBIs) made it 12-8 with an opposite field single.

Brandon Workman (5-2) got the win after playing the role of Junichi Tazawa and recording four outs (2 strikeouts). I'm not a fan of using Koji Uehara's precious right arm in non-save situations but he didn't seem to mind, retiring the Yankees 1-2-3 in ninth on 12 pitches/11 strikes (2 strikeouts). What do I know?

Earlier highlights were Alfonso Soriano's two-run homer in the first, his whopping 13th since he was traded to New York. Will Middlebrooks (2 hits, 2 runs) continued to rake out of the nine-hole with a solo shot in the fifth (his 14th of the season).

In a shocking development, both games this weekend are 1:05 p.m. starts. It's almost as if these teams are telling you to enjoy college football on Saturday and the glorious NFL on Sunday. Tomorrow afternoon (NESN), John Lackey (8-12) faces converted reliever David Huff (2-0).

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The White Sox are So Bad That Even Ryan Dempster Can Beat Them

Tonight was one of those blah games that the Red Sox just have to grind through to ultimately get where they want to go: October. Boston (80-56 overall, 43-24 home) beat the White Sox (56-77 overall, 24-43 away) 4-3 in the series opener at Fenway Park and it turned out to be pretty important after the fact since the Rays fell 4-3 at the A's. That gives Boston a 3.5 game lead over Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

Ryan Dempster (7-9) returned from his suspension and extended break between outings. He benefitted from a 4-0 lead built up by the fourth inning as the Red Sox hung on for the win thanks to a four-out save (his 15th overall) for Koji Uehara. Before the roof started to somewhat cave in on him, Dempster went 6.1 innings and allowed three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks.

Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless inning, Franklin Morales retired the lone batter he faced then manager John Farrell went to Uehara earlier than normal but it paid off.

Mike Napoli earned a bases loaded walk in the third inning to get Boston on the board then Shane Victorino (2 hits, 2 runs, walk, stolen base) had an RBI single and David Ortiz added a two-run base hit in the fourth. Ortiz's was extra important since it snapped his 0-for-23 drought (tied for the longest in his Red Sox career).

Dayan Viciedo drove in Chicago's first run with an RBI single in the fifth then Avisail Garcia hit a solo homer in the seventh and Alejandro De Aza cut it to 4-3 with an RBI triple in the same frame.

It's hard to get much juice out of a Red Sox-White Sox game this season but Jake Peavy (10-5) should make it a little more interesting tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as he faces his former team and teammate John Danks (4-10). Keep in mind ex-White Sox reliever Matt Thornton was just activated for Boston and I'm sure he'll face them too at some point this weekend.

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Red Sox Keep Finding Ways To Win & Quiet The Few Remaining Naysayers

Everyone enjoys winning and the Red Sox have done plenty of that this season but one of the things that has made them so extra enjoyable to watch is that it feels like they're competitive in every single game. Indeed, the Orioles (70-61 overall, 32-32 away) led 3-1 in the seventh inning tonight at Fenway Park but choked that two-run lead away as Boston (79-55 overall, 42-23 home) won their fourth straight contest by a score of 4-3.

There were plenty of heroes for the Red Sox' cause: pinch hitter Mike Carp drove in the winning run-Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run, walk, 2 stolen bases) with a bloop RBI single to left field. Craig Breslow (4-2) sneaked away with the win after getting the last two outs in the eighth and Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his 14th save of the season.

Early on it was the Chris Davis and Manny Machado show. Davis had an RBI double in the first and he clocked his MLB-best 47th homer in the sixth for a 3-1 O's lead. Machado (2 hits, 2 runs) had a solo homer of his own in the third inning. Boston hung around as Shane Victorino got them on the board with an RBI single in the third and Dustin Pedroia (2 walks) came through with a clutch two-run single in the seventh.

Stephen Drew doubled, walked twice and scored two runs while Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with a double and run. The Red Sox chased Bud Norris after 5.1 innings, he had only allowed one earned run on five hits but his pitch count was 105. John Lackey lasted two innings more and threw 13 less pitches. It wasn't his best performance but as always, he gave them innings and didn't walk anybody (1 walk).

Boston will try to sweep the series tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) and throw a serious wrench into any plans Baltimore had of making the playoffs for the second year in a row. Jon Lester (12-7) meets Chris Tillman (14-4).

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Red Sox Return Home Just In Time To Throw Orioles A Beating Like You Read About

Shane Victorino's career-high seven RBIs (2 HRs-his 10th and 11th of the season, 2B, 4 runs, BB) pushed Boston (78-55 overall, 41-23 home) to an easy 13-2 blowout win tonight at Fenway Park over Baltimore (70-60 overall, 32-31 away) in the series opener and start of a critical nine-game homestand. The good vibes continued after the game as the Rays choked away a 5-1 lead to the Angels, losing 6-5. That gave the Red Sox a 2.5 game lead in the AL East (their highest in two weeks).

They had a day off in between but Boston picked up right where they left off on Sunday night-the 8-1 stomping of the Dodgers. Victorino wasn't the only Red Sox to go nuts at the plate as Jacoby Ellsbury was 3 for 5 with three runs and a double while Dustin Pedroia went 3 for 5 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run.

Porn stars take note: the Mike Napoli of this past April has returned, he smacked his 17th homer of the season. Pedroia and Jonny Gomes had two-run doubles and Will Middlebrooks was 2 for 4 with two runs. It's easy to overlook because of the lopsided final score but Felix Doubront (10-6) had his second quality start in a row: 6.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts and 1 walk.

David Ortiz's sacrifice fly in the first inning gave Boston a 1-0 lead but Baltimore actually scored twice in the third (on a bases loaded walk and sacrifice fly) to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Red Sox exploded for 10 runs over the next three innings to put this way out of reach. The Orioles only managed four hits on the night.

The second and final night of the Jimmy Fund telethon (donate!) wraps up tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) with John Lackey (8-11) taking on Bud Norris (9-10).

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Red Sox Prove That The Dodgers Are Overrated (When Kershaw and Greinke aren't pitching)

Before this trip started, I recognized that the Red Sox were lucky to miss both Matt Cain and Ryan Bumgartner in San Francisco then Clayton Kershaw and Zach Greinke in Los Angeles. Boston (77-55 overall, 37-32 away) took advantage of their favorable schedule by going 4-2 on their West Coast swing. They ended their stay at Dodger Stadium with a 8-1 stomping of the Dodgers (76-54 overall, 38-27 home) on Sunday Night Baseball. LA hadn't lost a series in over two months and came in as the hottest team in MLB.

Jake Peavy (10-5) was the story since he improved to 14-2 lifetime against the Dodgers with his 16th career complete game: 3 hits, 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. His only blemish was a solo homer/bomb to former Red Sox great Adrian Gonzalez in the fourth.

Boston's pitching was top notch all series, allowing five total runs to a legit National League lineup (normally an oxymoron) and finally their bats came alive this evening. The Red Sox had 12 hits including three homers and four doubles.

Possibly dating a porn star seems to have reinvigorated (see what I did there?) Mike Napoli's 2013 season. He bookmarked the win for Boston with an RBI double in the first and a two-run homer (his 16th) in the ninth. In between those, Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, double, run) notched a sacrifice fly in the third, Xander Bogaerts (2 hits) recorded his first MLB RBI with a run-scoring double in the fifth then Jarrod Saltalamacchia (two-run homer; his 11th of the season) and Shane Victorino (solo homer; 9th of the season) brought the power in the sixth and seventh innings respectively.

They only went 9-10 but the Red Sox survived a brutal stretch where they played 16 of their last 19 games on the road. Boston originally left town one game up in the AL East on Tampa Bay and ironically enough, they return in the exact same position. Their reward is that their next nine games: 3 vs. Baltimore (70-59 overall, 3rd in AL East), 3 vs. White Sox and 3 vs. Tigers are all at Fenway Park. In fact, they won't play another road game until September 5 (the same night the NFL regular season begins) and don't look now but there are only 30 games left in the regular season.

After tomorrow's much-needed off day in Boston, on Tuesday (7:10, NESN) Felix Doubront (9-6) takes on Wei-Yin Chen (7-6). Wednesday (7:10, NESN) finds John Lackey (8-11) vs. Bud Norris (9-10) with the series finale on Thursday (7:10, NESN): Jon Lester (12-7) against Chris Tillman (14-4).

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At This Point, Barry Zito Is Straight Up Stealing Money From the Giants

The Giants have already mailed it in for 2013 and the Red Sox were able to take advantage of that clear fact this afternoon with a 12-1 pounding at AT&T Park in their interleague series finale. Boston (75-54 overall, 35-31 away) had the pleasure of teeing off on piñata Barry Zito (4-9): 3.2 innings, 6 earned runs, 7 hits. San Francisco (56-70 overall, 32-33 home) lost two of three in the series and they remain in last place in the weak NL West.

The Red Sox also received some help (finally) from the Orioles as they beat the Rays 4-2, giving Boston a one-game lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay. By pounding out 12 hits (6 for extra bases), they were able to go into tomorrow's off day with some smiles. Felix Doubront (9-6) was excellent, he went eight innings and allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

Three players on Boston had multiple hits led by Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 4 with 2 runs, double and MLB-leading 46th steal), Shane Victorino (3 for 5 with run, double and RBI) and Dustin Pedroia (2 doubles, 2 runs and RBI). As they have usually done this season after a humbling loss, the Red Sox bounced back immediately with an important victory.

Will Middlebrooks (2 runs, walk) started the barrage with a two-run homer in the second, his 11th of the season. Light-hitting Joaquin Arias (2 hits) provided the Giants' only run with a solo shot in the second. Pedroia had an RBI double in the third and Jonny Gomes notched a two-run single.

San Francisco had totally checked out by the time they let Victorino's harmless fly ball drop in for an RBI double in the fourth. The only bad news of the day for Boston is that David Ortiz left in the fifth inning with lower back tightness. Yikes, hopefully he'll be alright for this weekend in Los Angeles. The Red Sox poured it on in the seventh with five runs on a two-run single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Stephen Drew's three-run blast (his 10th of the season). The Giants gave Boston one more parting gift-an error in the eighth that plated their final run.

This weekend's series against the Dodgers (74-52, 1st in NL West) will be really hyped and for once, I'll say that it totally should be. Since their poor start, the Dodgers have been on fire and they feature rookie Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig-possibly the most exciting player in MLB this season. Oh and who could forget former Red Sox greats Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto (RIP Josh Beckett) who were traded to LA basically at this time last year.

Boston is lucky to miss both Clayton Kershaw (who pitches tomorrow vs. Miami) and Zach Greinke (who pitched today). Instead, it'll be John Lackey (8-10) vs. Ricky Nolasco (9-9) on Friday (10:10, NESN), followed by Jon Lester (11-7) vs. Hyun Jin Ryu (12-4) on Saturday afternoon (4:05, FOX) and culminating with Jake Peavy (9-5) against Springfield Mass native Chris Capuano (4-6) on Sunday night (8:05, ESPN).

Boston should have swept San Francisco but I'd take two out of three at Dodger Stadium in a heartbeat. This truly could represent a World Series preview for this fall and promises to be one of the best series of the regular season.

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Red Sox Lose On Soul-Crushing Walk-Off Walk, Haha

There is no other way to say it: the Red Sox pissed away a game tonight against the lifeless Giants and as a result of San Francisco's (56-69 overall, 32-32 home) 3-2 win at AT&T Park over Boston (74-54 overall, 34-31 away), the Red Sox find themselves tied with the Rays (7-4 winners vs. Orioles) for first place in the AL East.

It doesn't get much more frustrating than losing on a walk-off walk. Throw in the added bonus that poor Brayan Villareal entered his first game as a Red Sox and proceeded to walk Marco Scutaro on four pitches. We'll never understand why Boston manager John Farrell went with a new player (who has major control issues) when the bases were loaded but there were two outs and closer Koji Uehara was available (and has pitched once in a week).

The opportunities that the Red Sox left on the table were best illustrated by uber prospect Xander Bogaerts (batting seventh and playing shortstop in his first MLB game): in the first, he came up with the bases loaded but grounded out. In the third, he had runners on second and third with two outs but once again he grounded out to end the threat.

Boston got a run in the first on Mike Carp's sacrifice fly and a run in the third on Shane Victorino's solo homer but they should have had way more against Ryan Voegelsong (7 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts) who seemed to have nothing when the game started. David Ortiz and Mike Napoli both found themselves on the bench, meaning that Boston's lineup predictably lacked much pop (Victorino's homer notwithstanding).

Jake Peavy (5.2 innings, 1 earned run, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts) was pitching well but Farrell decided to yank him after 92 pitches. Um? Joaquin Arias had driven in San Francisco's first run with an RBI triple in the fifth.

Six of the Giants' eight hits were by Brandon Belt (3 hits; double, triple) and something called Roger Kieschnick. Craig Breslow got four outs on seven pitches but Junichi Tazawa gave up the tying run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Buster Posey.

We can blame Villareal but he was put into that impossible situation by Farrell and more importantly, Franklin Morales (who still has no idea where his pitches are going).

A bright spot in the loss and these past few weeks has been Will Middlebrooks (2 for 4) who appears to gain confidence with each passing game.

There is day baseball tomorrow (3:45, NESN) for the series finale as Felix Doubront (8-6) faces Barry Zito (4-8), who was summoned from the bullpen. Boston desperately needs another victory (and series win) before their off day on Thursday and a much-hyped series with the Dodgers this weekend.

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Jon Lester Looks Like An Ace Again: In A Pitcher's Park Against a Crappy Lineup

After losing three series in a row and going 3-7 in their last 10 games, not to mention holding on by the skin of their teeth (1 game lead on Tampa Bay) to first place in the AL East, tonight the Red Sox desperately needed a win. Jon Lester (11-7) delivered the goods with his best performance of the season (8.1 shutout innings, 6 hits, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks) as Boston (74-53 overall, 34-30 away) began a six-game road trip with a 7-0 pasting of the Giants (55-69 overall, 31-32 home) at AT&T Park. The Rays opened their pivotal series in Baltimore with a 4-3 win to remain one game back of the Red Sox.

The ghost of Tim Lincecum (6-13) stopped by for a little while (5 innings, 5 earned runs, 9 hits, 104 pitches) but he turned out to be an imposter with short hair and nothing but junk pitches in his arsenal. For whatever reason, he's not fooling anyone these days and Boston made him pay rather quickly for being no better than average. The Red Sox plated three runs in the second inning on Will Middlebrooks' sacrifice fly, Daniel Nava (3 hits, 2 runs, RBI, walk) scored on a wild pitch and Shane Victorino (3 hits) drove in Stephen Drew (2 hits) with an RBI single.

Drew added an RBI double in the fifth then Jacoby Ellsbury scored on another wild pitch (this time by reliever Guillermo Moscoso) in the sixth. Jarrod Saltalamacchia's (2 hits, 2 runs, walk) RBI double in the ninth and Nava's RBI single served to pad their stats. The Red Sox ended up with twice as many hits (12-6) as the Giants, who it's safe to say won't be winning their third World Series title in four seasons this fall.

John Farrell wanted Lester to get the complete game but he was lifted after allowing back-to-back singles with one out in the ninth and throwing 115 pitches. Brandon Workman came on to strike out the last two San Francisco batters to secure the shutout.

Tomorrow night (10:15, NESN) Jake Peavy (9-5) faces Ryan Vogelsong (2-4); Xander Bogaerts was called up today along with David Ross and both are expected to be in the lineup for the middle game. That would be the MLB debut for Boston's top positional prospect who has been tearing it up all summer at Portland (Double-A) and Pawtucket (Triple-A).

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Red Sox Must Be Sad That They'll No Longer Face The Astros This Season

Admit it, you knew somehow the Red Sox were going to pull out tonight's game. Given Boston's (70-46 overall, 31-25 away) propensity for rallying (18 wins in their last at bat) this season, it came as no surprise when they came back for the second night in a row to beat the hopeless Astros (37-76 overall, 19-39 home) 7-5 at Minute Maid Park.

The win gave Boston the series (2-1) as they finished 6-1 against Houston in 2013-Welcome to the AL! The Red Sox trailed 5-4 in the ninth but former Sea Dogs/PawSox pitcher Josh Fields (who got the save on Monday) couldn't get his new job done. After a single by Mike Carp and walk for Jonny Gomes, Stephen Drew (2 hits, walk) was the hero for the second time in a week with a three-run homer (his 9th of the season) to right field.

Junichi Tazawa (5-3) earned the win with two excellent innings of relief (0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts) and Koji Uehara worked around a single in the ninth to strike out the side for his 11th save of the season.

Oh by the way, the Red Sox have now passed last season's pathetic win total so let's never speak of it (especially Bobby Valentine) again. The good news kept pouring in as the Rays even lost to the Diamondbacks meaning that Boston grabbed a 2.5 game lead on Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

Boston actually led 2-0 after a ground out by Brock Holt in the second and a run scored on Carp's double play ball in the third. Ryan Dempster (5 earned runs, 7 hits) wasn't able to take advantage of the lead though as he promptly gave up a two-run homer to Robbie Grossman (double, run) to tie it at two in the third.

The Astros scored three more runs in the sixth on Jose Altuve's RBI single, Jason Castro's (2 hits, run) RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Marc Krauss. I admit that I totally thought Gomes (3 walks, 3 runs) was a worthless pickup when the Red Sox signed him over the winter but I'm happy to say boy was I ever wrong. Mr. Clutch came up with yet another big hit-a two-run homer to left in the seventh (his 10th of the season) that jumpstarted his slumbering teammates.

Both teams had guys ejected as Shane Victorino was tossed for arguing from the dugout in the seventh then Astros manager Bo Porter (Bo Knows Baseball!) became the first member of his team to be thrown out all season (how's that possible?) when he took exception to a bad call (should have been a foul tip) that went against Houston in the ninth.

For the second game in a row, David Ortiz had four hits and they were all singles. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with a double and walk in the win. Brett Wallace was 2 for 4 in the loss.

This was just the start of Boston's 10-game road trip. From here, they don't get a day off as they proceed directly to Kansas City where they have four games with the much improved Royals (58-53 overall, 3rd in AL Central) beginning tomorrow night (8:10, NESN) with Jon Lester (10-6) facing the immortal Bruce Chen (4-0). On Friday (8:10, NESN), Jake Peavy (9-4) makes his first start on the road for his new club and he takes on Ervin Santana (8-6). On Saturday, Felix Doubront (8-5) meets former Oriole Jeremy Guthrie (12-7) who the Red Sox have always owned. Then assuming his ankle doesn't blow up too much, John Lackey (7-9) takes the mound on Sunday afternoon (2:10, NESN) vs. former Rays standout James Shields (6-8).

Not that I don't enjoy predictable results against the worst team in MLB (Houston) but this weekend should be way more entertaining since we might actually see some good baseball, unlike the slop at Minute Maid Park the last few nights. The Royals are an MLB-best 16-4 since the All-Star break and they finally appear to be making strides after countless years of losing.

UPDATE 8/8: Daniel Nava was reinstated from the paternity list and Steven Wright was sent back to Pawtucket.

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