July 28 game

The Red Sox finished the West Coast trip at 6-4 after completing a three-game sweep of the Angels. Josh Beckett pitched seven strong innings and Marco Scutaro crushed a grand slam to left to give the Sox a 7-3 win. Ramon Ramirez finished the game with two strikeouts. The only runs the Red Sox scored were on homers. Two solo blasts in the second by Bill Hall and Adrian Beltre gave the Sox a 2-0 lead, but Beckett coughed up three runs. In the seventh, Kevin Youkilis smashed one to tie the game, and then in the eighth Scutaro bombed one.

The Sox will return home and have a day off on Thursday before taking on the Tigers at Fenway Park. Jon Lester will pitch the opening game against Armando Galaragga. The Tigers will take newly acquired Jhonny Peralta with them to Boston.

Trivia
Adrian Beltre and David Ortiz are in the top spots for the Red Sox RBI lead, with 64. Kevin Youkilis is in second place with 61.

July 27 game

Jed Lowrie had two hits and three RBI and Marco Scutaro added three hits as John Lackey became the third Red Sock to earn his tenth win. Lackey earned the win against his old team, the LA Angels. The Sox won 4-2 with Jonathan Papelbon earning his 24th save. With the Yankee loss to Cleveland, the Red Sox came to just 7 games behind the Yankees, but still five behind the Rays in the wild card.

Today, I have an update for you and will write a full article when the game finishes. Josh Beckett went seven strong innings and Marco Scutaro crushed a grand slam in the eighth to give the Sox a 7-3 lead.

Trivia
Lowrie has been battling mononucleosis all season.
Victor Martinez talked his way out of taking a day off today and is in the starting lineup.

News

Alex Rodriguez's search for 600 homers resumes tonight on his birthday, as he hopes for his big blast on the day he turns 35.
Last night, Matt Garza threw the first no-hitter in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tonight, Stephen Strasburg will hurl for the Washington Nationals. He will face the Atlanta Braves and the heavy-hitting Jason Heyward.
Joe Mauer collected five hits and seven RBI as the Twins steamrolled.
Finally, Dan Haren was injured after being traded to the Angels for Joe Saunders.

July 26 game

Clay Buchholz went seven strong innings allowing just five hits and one run. Meanwhile, David Ortiz clubbed two home runs. In the fifth, Kevin Youkilis knocked Dan Haren out of the game with a line drive off Haren's arm. Dan lost his ninth, while Clay won his eleventh. David Ortiz has now hit 21 homers this season, and the Sox won 6-3, with Jonathan Papelbon earning his 23rd save.

Victor Martinez made his return last night, going 1-4 for the big club, while Jacoby Ellsbury went 1-3 in the Gulf Coast League. Thankfully, only Ellsbury and Pedroia are left out of the starters on the DL. We can only hope they return soon. Tonight, John Lackey faces his old friends and Jared Weaver in LA.

Trivia
Haren is having a below-average season this year, only 7-9.

July 25 game

After winning the first two games in Seattle, the Sox had to settle for a split with the Mariners. Yesterday, Daisuke Matsuzaka went six strong innings, giving up just four hits and one run, but he walked five. If not for the walks, the events that unfolded might not have happened.

In the fourth inning, the Sox struck for two runs and held a tenuous 2-1 lead going into the seventh. Daniel Bard threw a shutout inning against the M's, but gave up a hit to lead off the eighth. Hideki Okajima came in and surrendered four straight hits before Kevin Youkilis turned a double play and Ramon Ramirez came in to relieve and get out of it. My question is, why on earth would you pull Bard, one of the Sox's best pitchers, out of the game when he gives up one hit? Why bring in Okajima, when he has been shaky to say the least this year? Some people, including me, wondered why Terry Francona pulled Dice-K after only six innings, but I can answer this question. It is because of his walks. He had 108 pitches after six, so he could not have gone longer.

Trivia
Daniel Bard had his 15 and 2/3 scoreless inning streak snapped yesterday when his runner scored.

July 24 game

Before their game started, the Red Sox had the news that the Yankees had lost 7-4 to the Royals. Unfortuntely, the Rays rolled past Cleveland, 6-3. Jon Lester held the M's to no baserunners through 5 and 1/3 innings, but Jeremy Saunders cranked a two-run blast. Seattle managed to add 3 more runs to win 5-1. The only bright spots for the Sox were Jon Lester striking out a career high 13 batters in 7 and 2/3 innings and Big Papi Ortiz powering a solo home run.

Tonight, the Red Sox try to take the series behind Daisuke Matsuzaka, looking for his third straight win. In Red Sox news, Victor Martinez is optimistic, saying he will return on Monday.

Trivia

Lester lost his perfect game bid on an error by Eric Patterson.

July 23 game

The Red Sox were fortunate enough to have Josh Beckett return from the disabled list to start against the Seattle Mariners. Beckett was effective, giving up one run and five hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. Unfortunately, he left with the score tied and did not earn the win. Scott Atchinson came on and shut down the M's. Then, in the top of the seventh Bill Hall crushed a drive to deep left field that easily made the stands for Hall's tenth home run of the season. Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for the save.

Tonight, Jon Lester looks to bounce back from his bad start against the Rangers. He will be taking on former Sox prospect David Pauley. Victor Martinez appears optimistic, saying that he should be ready soon to bounce back from a fractured thumb. Dustin Pedroia is hoping to come back as soon as possible, but there is no word on an exact date.

Trivia
Despited being 0-2, Pauley has a slightly better ERA than Lester. (2.40 against 2.81)

News around the league

The Yankees thrashed the Kansas City Royals yesterday, with Derek Jeter ripping an inside-the-park home run and Alex Rodriguez providing his 599th career home run to support C.C. Sabathia in a 10-4 win.
For the third time in three starts, Cliff Lee pitched at least eight innings, and this time he won 3-2.
Three Orioles were ejected as Carl Pavano picked up his seventh straight win, a five-hit shutout, as the Twins won 5-0.

Trivia
This is Lee's first win with the Rangers, despite throwing two nine-inning performances.

July 22 game

John Lackey came within four outs of a no-hitter, but Seattle scored five in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. In the thirteenth, Eric Patterson, who has really been delivering for the Sox, ripped a two-run double for an 8-6 win. Ichiro Suzuki made an absolutely magical play, leaping and reaching into the stands to rob David Ortiz of a home run.

Today, Josh Beckett comes back from the disabled list to face the M's. Meanwhile, Jeremy Hermida will be activated to start against righthanded pitchers and come off the bench.

Trivia

Beckett is only 1-1 with a 7.29 ERA.

This was undoubtedly Lackey's best start with Boston.

July 20 game and injuries

Tim Wakefield was once again plagued by the one bad inning. He gave up four runs in the third inning in a 5-4 extra-inning loss. Michael Bowden gave up a walk-off single, but Ramon Ramirez was hit with the loss. Marco Scutaro and Kevin Youkilis each hit RBI doubles.

This week, Red Sox begin to return from the disabled list. Today, Clay Buchholz is coming off the DL against Oakland, and he has given up one run. Meanwhile, Jed Lowrie is finally able to play, coming back from mononucleosis. In fact, he scored the first run on Adrian Beltre's RBI hit. And this Friday, the moment that all Red Sox fans have been waiting for happens. Josh Beckett will be pitching against Seattle for the BoSox. Unfortunately, Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Jeremy Hermida, and Jacoby Ellsbury remain disabled.

Trivia
The Oakland Athletics' starter last night, Dallas Braden, has not won a game since his perfect game on Mother's Day.

July 19 game

Daisuke Matsuzaka was very good as he went 6 and 2/3 solid innings against the Oakland Athletics. For Boston's offense, Adrian Beltre crushed his fifteenth home run of the season to deep left center. Eric Patterson smashed a triple and scored on Big Papi David Ortiz's sacrifice fly. Meanwhile, Jonathan Papelbon earned his 21st save.

The win brought the Red Sox to six back of the Yankees. Unfortunately, they remained 3.5 behind Tampa Bay, as the Rays took advantage of a seven-run third to throttle the Orioles, 8-1.

The Yankees start a series with the LA Angels of Anaheim tonight, while the Sox continue their monster West Coast trip with Tim Wakefield on the mound tonight opposing Dallas Braden, who tossed a perfect game on Mother's Day this year.

Trivia
Tim Wakefield is the current player with the most years in Red Sox service. (He joined the club in 1995)
Matsuzaka earned his second straight win, improving to 7-3

Weekend series

Unfortunately, the Red Sox were defeated in a four-game series at Fenway. The Rangers sent them stumbling onto the West Coast, where they have always had trouble. The sole Boston victory belonged to Kevin Youkilis. Youk drove in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth with a double, then hit a walk-off sac fly in the 11th for a win. Cliff Lee pitched nine outstanding innings, but the Red Sox poked two runs off him.

On Thursday, the Rangers exploded for six in the first off Tim Wakefield, and the Sox could not recover. On Friday, Bengie Molina hit for the cycle and clubbed a grand slam to win 8-4. On Sunday, Jon Lester threw eight innings but gave up four runs in a 4-2 loss, with Mike Cameron smashing a solo home run in the ninth to bring the Sox a little closer.

Now, the Sox will travel to the dangerous West Coast, where so many good Boston teams have been killed. They stay ten games, and hope that they can overcome injuries and the West Coast. In a fourteen-game stretch including the last four games, they play all four teams in the AL West.

Trivia
Lee threw his second straight nine-inning performance for the Rangers.

July 16 game

The Red Sox could not recover from the Texas Rangers' five-run fifth. In it, Bengie Molina clubbed a grand slam. In the sixth, Molina tripled to hit for the cycle. Adrian Beltre helped the Red Sox offense with a home run.

Felix Doubront had to withstand a rain delay in the fourth, and he had cooled off in the fifth, giving up four before being replaced. Personally, I can understand why they left him in, since he had been pitching well.

Tonight, Jon Lackey will aim for his tenth win, taking on MLB's WHIP leader Cliff Lee. Lackey considers himself a better pitcher in the second half, and we can only hope he is right. His record is 9-5, but with a 4.78 ERA and he has not seemed to pitch very well with the Sox. Lee is 0-1 with the Rangers with a 6.00 ERA.

Trivia
Texas's Vladimir Guerrero received a huge round of applause at the All-Star Game due to his power with the Angels.
Last night, Bengie Molina's triple was only the sixth in his career.

July 15th game

The Red Sox did not exactly start out the way they wanted to. Tim Wakefield gave up six runs in the first - mostly due to a controversial call by the umpire - and then one more in the third. With two strikes and two out in the first inning, with no runs in for the Rangers, the umpire called a foul tip on what was clearly a miss. Michael Young took a mighty swing and missed, but the ump called it a foul, prolonging his at-bat, and he singled.

The only offense the Red Sox could provide was a pair of solo home runs by J.D. Drew and Bill Hall. 7-2 was the final, the loss dropping the Sox to 5.5 back of the Yanks and 2.5 back of the Rays. Luckily, the Yanks and Rays begin a three-game series with each other tonight. Today, Felix Doubront goes against 8-5 Colby Lewis.

Trivia
Entering the game, Tommy Hunter had given up just three homers, but the Red Sox smoked 2 off him.

The End of an Era

The excellent All-Star Game last night was tinged by a death. George Steinbrenner, longtime owner of the New York Yankees, passed away at the age of 80. Mr. Steinbrenner died of a heart attack in his Tampa home on the morning of July 13.

About two years ago, he passed control of the Yanks to his son, Hank Steinbrenner. Even as a Red Sox fan, I bow my head in his memory. He brought the Yankees out of the second division and made them into a great team. He had a lot of money, true, but he knew how to use it, and he cleverly turned the Bronx Bombers into a team again.

We will remember him always and bow our heads in the memory of George Steinbrenner.

Trivia
Steinbrenner's 37-year reign over the Yanks was the longest in club history.
His nickname was "The Boss"
He often hired, fired, and then re-hired managers--sometimes within months.

Midseason Wrap

In the AL, the East is the division to watch. The Yankees lead the division by two games, and the Red Sox are still very much in the race, only five games back and three back of the Rays. Tampa Bay is focused on young pitching, the Yankees are slugging their way to the top, and the Sox are having new players step up due to a huge amount of injuries.

For the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers are battling for first. As of the break, the ChiSox led by 0.5 games. They have won 19 of their last 20 games. The Minnesota Twins are hanging back, 3.5 games back, ready to attack and win the crown. In the West, the Texas Rangers, 4.5 games up on the LA Angels, have just made their rotation even stronger with the addition of Cliff Lee.

In the NL, the East is in control of the Atlanta Braves, who rest four games up on the Mets and 4.5 games above the Philadelphia Phillies. In the Central, St. Louis and Cincinnati are the only two teams in the race. The Reds are leading by a single game. In the West, the surprise San Diego Padres are out in front by two games over the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Meanwhile, the SF Giants sit just four games back.
Trivia
This is likely going to be Bobby Cox's last year as manager.
The last place Baltimore Orioles have won four games in a row.

All-Star Game and Home Run Derby

The NL won its first ASG since 1996 on a three-run double by Brian McCann. The AL attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth but David Ortiz was thrown out at second on a single to right field. At first, it looked like the right fielder, Marlon Byrd, was going to catch it, so Papi held up, but the ball dropped and Byrd threw a bullet to second for the out.The NL won, 3-1. After the game, AL manager Joe Girardi was criticized for not replacing Ortiz with a pinch runner, since Ortiz is fairly slow. Personally, I believe Ortiz had no choice, since if Byrd had caught it and Ortiz had been running, Ortiz might have been doubled off first.

David Ortiz won his first Home Run Derby as he clubbed 32 homers. He swatted 11 in the finals to beat Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins.
Trivia
This was the first time that the National League has home-field advantage in the World Series due to the All-Star Game. 

News

The big Cliff Lee trade came, with the big lefty not going to New York. Instead, he headed to Texas and the Rangers. Lee currently leads the majors in WHIP. (walks and hits per inning pitched)

Ubaldo Jimenez will be starting in the All-Star Game for the NL. In his last start he was dominant. However, in the three starts before that he was 1-0 with a 8.66 ERA. This streak of ineffectiveness prompted fans to wonder if Josh Johnson, Roy Halladay, or Adam Wainwright would be chosen for the NL.
Trivia
Lee won a Cy Young award in 2008 with a 22-3 record.

Home Run Derby and All Star Game

This year in the Home Run Derby, five players are new. None of the players in the Derby are previous champions. Miguel Cabrera currently has the most out of the HRDers, with 22 round-trippers.

Ubaldo Jimenez will be facing David Price tomorrow night in Anaheim for the ASG. Jimenez carries 15 wins and a no-hitter into the midsummer classic, and Price is the youngest pitcher to start since Dwight Gooden. Jimenez is on a pace to win 30 games this year if he can keep up his pace.

Trivia
The last person to win 30 games was Denny McLain in 1968.

Weekend series

The Red Sox managed to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game series, with Daisuke Matsuzaka winning and Jon Lester notching his eleventh win. The Red Sox broke out of their four-game slide on Friday in a 14-3 drubbing of the Jays. On Saturday, Jon Lackey was hit hard in an 8-5 loss. Yesterday, Jesse Litsch carried a no-hitter through five and two thirds innings. However, with two out, Marco Scutaro doubled, Darnell McDonald homered, and David Ortiz homered. Matsuzaka gave up two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but Daniel Bard was lights-out. Jonathan Papelbon threw the ninth, but after he gave up a two-out single, I expected a walk-off homer by Gregg Zaun. Instead, Zaun popped out to center, and the Red Sox won with three hits and three runs, 3-2.

Trivia
David Ortiz will be taking part in the Home Run Derby, and he has now hit eighteen dingers.

News

Unfortunately for Red Sox fans, Kevin Youkilis did not make the All-Star team. Nick Swisher beat him out, despite the fact that Youk had better stats than Swisher. The Red Sox are still sending three representatives (Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, and Jon Lester) to the game. Lester starts tonight, looking for his eleventh win.

The Yankees will either acquire Cliff Lee or face him tonight. They are believed to be finalizing a deal for Lee in which the Yanks will give up a great number of players. Lee is slated to start for Seattle tonight against New York.

Trivia
Cliff Lee won the Cy Young award in 2008 for the Cleveland Indians.
Lester is third in strikeouts in the majors with 118 this year

June 7th game

The Red Sox could not overcome an early deficit against All-Star David Price. Although Tim Wakefield only gave up four hits in six innings, he walked six and threw two wild pitches in a 6-4 loss. Price held the Red Sox in check through eight innings of one-run baseball, and the Sox came back, but not enough. Tonight, (July 9) they look to snap a four-game losing streak in Toronto, with Jon Lester on the mound against Ricky Romero.
The Sox needed yesterday's day off to reset themselves and rest. Unfortunately, the Yankees defeated Seattle, so the BoSox fell to five back, three in back of Tampa Bay in the wild card.
Trivia
All three of the series' that the Red Sox and Rays played this year ended in sweeps.

All-Star Game and Home Run Derby

With only one day left until the Final Vote ends, Kevin Youkilis is barely out of first in the vote. Nick Swisher currently leads the Final Vote by a very slim differential. There are only about 21 hours left until voting ends. It ends at 4:00 Eastern Time Thursday.
David Ortiz will be participating in the Home Run Derby the night before the All-Star Game. He currently has 17 homers.

Trivia
Did you know:
Youk started his career at third base, and he now plays first?
This will be Ortiz's fourth Derby, and he has never won? (Although he enjoys it)

July 6 game

Unfortunately, the Red Sox could not provide enough run support to give Felix Doubront his second win, as the Rays beat the Sox 3-2. Doubront gave up only two runs over 5 and 2/3 innings, but Hideki Okajima gave up a run, so Eric Patterson's RBI triple left the Sox one short. David Ortiz was intentionally walked in his final three times at bat, even with a man on first. The Red Sox, because of the Yankee win, fell to 3.5 games behind New York, and 1.5 games behind the Rays in the wild card. The Sox try to avert a sweep tonight, facing the All-Star David Price.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard that Kevin Youkilis had to leave the game after fouling a pitch off his ankle. Luckily, it was not serious, and he will be in the starting lineup tonight.

Trivia
Did you Know:
Nieuman Romero, Youk's replacement, had only had 14 career at-bats entering the game?
The Red Sox have now lost three straight games?

Injuries

You have to wonder how the Red Sox are staying close to the Rays and Yankees with all the injuries they have sustained. The Sox have lost Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeremy Hermida, Clay Buchholz, Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Manny Delcarmen, Josh Beckett, and Jason Varitek to injuries. Tonight, on July 6th, the Red Sox will send Felix Doubront to the mound. The big lefty will look to win his second game in his second start. Due to injuries, they had to call him up. They also had to trade for Kevin Cash, get Eric Patterson, and call up Daniel Nava. Bill Hall is playing well at second base, and Darnell McDonald has been playing hard.

Trivia
Did you know:
Bill Hall can play any position except pitcher, catcher, and first base?
The Red Sox have seen two "brother matchups?" (J.D. and Stephen Drew, then Eric and Corey Patterson)
Daniel Nava hit a grand slam on the first pitch thrown to him in the big leagues, and in Jeremy Hermida's first at-bat, (with the Braves) he hit a grand slam?

See you tomorrow!

All-Star voting and Game (with trivia)

Well, fans have so far voted six Red Sox into the All-Star Game, but only three of them (Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, and Jon Lester) will be attending. The other three (Clay Buchholz, Dustin Pedroia, and Victor Martinez) are currently on the disabled list. Pedroia broke a bone in his left foot, Victor broke his left thumb, and Buchholz has a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, fans can still vote for the final All-Star spot, with Kevin Youkilis, Nick Swisher, Michael Young, Delmon Young, and Paul Konerko all vying for the last spot. Kevin Youkilis has a slim lead today, but voting continues until Thursday. Red Sox fans, Youkilis needs your help! Vote for Youk at http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp! In the National League, Joey Votto, Ryan Zimmerman, Billy Wagner, Carlos Gonzalez, and Heath Bell try to win the final spot, with Votto holding a tight lead.

Trivia
Did you know that both Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have thrown no-hitters?
Did you know that currently, Kevin Youkilis has about the same stats as David Ortiz, but Youk has a better on-base percentage?

See you tomorrow!

The July 5th game, with trivia

Well, the Red Sox fell to the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-5, with Daisuke Matsuzaka blowing a 5-1 lead and Ramon Ramirez allowing a run in the seventh to allow the Rays to take the lead. Eric Patterson led the offensive effort for the Sox, with two home runs. With the loss, the Red Sox fell to 49-34, 2.5 games in back of the New York Yankees, and 0.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. I was not entirely surprised. I mean, Dice-K is not the best, and Ramirez is one of the Sox's worst pitchers.

Trivia
Did you know that this is Kevin Cash's second stint with the BoSox? (His first was in 2008)
This game was Eric Patterson's first multi-homer game in his career, and his first two with the Red Sox.

See you tomorrow! We can only hope the Red Sox do a little better tonight, July 6!