Saturday and Sunday games

On Saturday, Clay Buchholz blew a one-run lead by giving up a home run to B.J. Upton. However, Terry Francona left him in going into the eighth, and Clay blew another one-run lead. The Red Sox had acquired that lead thanks to Victor Martinez's third homer in two days. Then, leading off the bottom of the tenth inning, Dan Johnson dealt a crippling blow to the Sox as he blasted his second home run of the season for a walk-off win. Johnson had stunned the BoSox before. In 2008, he had tied the game at Fenway with a bomb to set it up for Carlos Pena. The Red Sox were sent stumbling towards the next game, which was John Lackey versus James Shields.

John Lackey came hot out of the gate, but gave up a run in the fourth due to a Carlos Pena solo bomb. The Red Sox got two in the fifth due to Yamaico Navarro and Marco Scutaro RBI singles. The Sox added another in the sixth with a Daniel Nava RBI. However, Lackey promptly gave up a two-run shot to Carl Crawford to tie the game, then the Rays picked up another run and another in the seventh, chasing Lackey. Joaquim Benoit set up neatly after giving up a homer to Victor Martinez on Saturday, and Rafael Soriano picked up his league-leading 39th save.

Trivia
Buchholz's scoreless inning streak ended at 26 when Carlos Pena scored in the seventh.

August 27 game

The Red Sox traveled to Tampa Bay for a very important series against the Rays. In game one, a sweet pitching matchup promised to be the story of the game. With two outs in the first, Victor Martinez started the offense with a blast to left that landed three rows deep in the stands. In the fourth, Jed Lowrie connected for a bloop single to send David Ortiz home from third and make the lead 2-0.  Good thing, since in the bottom of the inning, Jon Lester gave up his first hit and threw two straight wild pitches to bring the Rays closer 2-1. However, the run was unearned due to a leadoff error by Marco Scutaro. Amazingly enough, after four innings the sox already had hit for the team cycle.

In the top of the seventh, Victor Martinez came up again with two outs and crushed another home run to almost the exact same spot. That was all Lester needed, and he finished off the Rays in the bottom of the inning. His final stats for the game were two hits, one unearned run, five walks, one hit batter, three wild pitches and ten strikeouts. I think the walks are slightly excessive, but he was able to keep the game under control. In the ninth, Jonathan Papelbon walked two but struck out the side for his 33rd save.

Tonight, Clay Buchholz will search for his 16th win. Buchholz has the league's lowest ERA, at 2.26. He will oppose 13-7 Matt Garza, who has been a Red Sox killer.

Trivia
Buchholz has a 22 and 1/3 scoreless inning streak and has not given up an earned run in his last three starts.

August 25 game two

King Felix proved too dominant for the Boston Red Sox, who lost to Seattle for the doubleheader split 4-2. Daisuke Matsuzaka was reportedly feeling stiffness in his lower back and Jon Lester was pushed back to Friday so he could pitch against Tampa Bay. Thus, 3-9 Tim Wakefield got the ball. Wake had been pitching pretty well in relief, but I would have started Felix Doubront instead of Tim. Wakefield gave up four runs, three earned on eight hits through just five and two thirds innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Sox got one back on a blast to dead center that just kept on going by J.D. Drew. 17th bomb of the season by Drew, but Felix hung on and struck out David Ortiz for his 1000th career strikeout, becoming the third youngest pitcher ever to K 1000 men.

The Sox get a much-needed off day today before traveling to Tampa Bay tomorrow. It should be a sweet matchup of David Price against Jon Lester. The two have combined for 28 wins this season.

Trivia
Doubront has not given up an earned run in relief.

August 25 game one

Going into the bottom of the sixth inning, both Josh Beckett and David Pauley had not allowed a run. However, Adrian Beltre started the scoring with an RBI infield single. Mike Lowell plated one with a sacrifice fly, and Beltre tagged and headed to second. Next, Daniel Nava smashed a two-run single. However, in the top of the seventh, Josh Beckett cooled off and Russell Branyan and Casey Kotchman both blasted home runs off him. however, Daniel Bard came in and stopped the bleeding.

In the Red Sox eighth, Darnell McDonald hit a hard shot over third base. Adrian Beltre came home, but Mike Lowell was thrown out trying to get to third. That's OK, because it added an insurance run. 5-3 Sox. Jonathan Papelbon came in, and the first batter hit a line drive right back at Pap's ribcage. Jon made an outstanding play to snare the ball before it hit him. The next batter, Casey Kotchman, had a long at-bat before grounding out, the batter after him did the same, and the Red Sox won. I think it is great that the Sox can bear down and win these games.

For the nightcap tonight, Jon Lester will face Felix Hernandez. I hope Lester can pitch well, although Felix is undoubtedly the M's ace. Last time out, Lester gave up nine runs in two innings.

Trivia
Bard has only a 1.82 ERA.

August 23 game

The Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners combined for 17 hits, all of them singles. Marco Scutaro had the two biggest ones, as he slapped a pair of two-run hits to lead the Sox to a 6-3 victory in Boston. Scutaro is on an absolute hot streak, as he has been hitting the ball everywhere. John Lackey pitched eight innings giving up three runs, two earned while striking out a season-high ten. Lackey earned his eleventh win, and it is very good that he is finally bearing down and winning games.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Papelbon struck out two to earn his 31st save. I am very glad that the Red Sox pitching is going so well. They have given up just seven runs in the last three games. Over in Toronto, the Yankees lost 3-2, with Jose Bautista hitting his 39th and 40th homers, but Tampa Bay won in LA, so the Rays and Yanks are tied atop the AL East and the Sox are 5.5 back in second.

Today, the Red Sox and M's clash again, with Josh Beckett taking on David Pauley. Beckett has lost his last two starts, as he is 3-3. In baseball news, the Red Sox claimed Johnny Damon off waivers from the Tigers, but Damon has a no-trade clause and would have to approve this.

Trivia
Out of the six runs, only three were earned for Boston last night.

August 22 game

After the start of the game was delayed 1:44 due to rain, Clay Buchholz and Shaun Marcum came out sharply. Buchholz walked three and gave up baserunners while Marcum was absolutely perfect. Through the first four innings, at least. In the bottom of the fifth, David Ortiz led off with a drive to center. He ran super hard and slid into third safely. It was a spark. Adrian Beltre doubled him in, then with one out Bill Hall blasted one over the Monster and out of Fenway. Clay Buchholz struck out seven through 6 scoreless innings for his fifteenth win, and Felix Doubront came out of the bullpen and closed his second save. I think it is great that Buchholz is contributing so well to the Red Sox.

Today, the Seattle Mariners roll into town for a 7:10 tilt. John Lackey will take on Doug Fister. I hope Lackey can come up with a fine performance to help the Red Sox earn a playoff spot.

Trivia
Clay Buchholz has a 22 and 1/3 scoreless inning streak.

August 21 game

Victor Martinez had a big day, knocking in three runs with three hits and Adrian Beltre added an RBI knock. Meanwhile, Daisuke Matsuzaka was pitching very well. However, in the seventh Lyle Overbay clubbed a game-tying two-run homer as part of a three-run frame. Daisuke finished the night with eight strikeouts through eight innings. In the top of the eleventh inning, Jed Lowrie dropped an easy popup in foul ground with two outs. On the next pitch, Jonathan Papelbon struck out the batter. So how did Lowrie atone for his sin? Simple. Jed, leading off the bottom of the eleventh, smashed a 2-2 pitch into the Red Sox bullpen for his first career walk-off home run. I am very happy that Lowrie has been contributing to this squad since he has come back. One final note: Marco Scutaro continued his hot streak with three hits and two runs scored.

The series wraps up today at 1:30 EST at Fenway. Clay Buchholz, possibly the best bargain in baseball, goes against Sean Marcum. Buchholz, with fourteen wins, is being paid only $475,000 this year, and he has the lowest ERA in the major leagues.

Trivia
Overbay had two home runs on Friday as well as one last night.

August 20 game

Jon Lester gave up five runs in the first and things went downhill from there. He was charged with nine runs as the Red Sox were humbled 16-2. Lester had one of the worst starts of his career as he was smashed up. A bright spot was Yamaico Navarro, who hit his first career major league hit. Tim Wakefield went two innings of relief in which he did not give up a single earned run. Scott Atchinson was forced to leave the game when his foot was hit by a ground ball. Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia still out with soreness in his left foot, he hopes to be back ASAP. Luckily, the Yanks were shut down by King Felix and Ben Zobrist made an error to hand the A's a win over Tampa Bay. I think that the Red Sox still have a chance at the wild card, but they need to win games very soon.

Today, 8-4 Daisuke Matsuzaka takes on the ace of the Jays, Ricky Romero. I believe that it is absolutely imperative that Dice-K does not throw too many pitches or walk too many men.

Trivia
Lester's nine runs allowed and two-plus innings pitched are both career worsts.

August 19 game and standings

David Ortiz blasted his 27th homer, but Josh Beckett was hit hard again and gave up six runs, including a three-run blast to old Sox enemy Hideki Matsui, as the Red Sox lost 7-2. If the Red Sox had won, they would have swept the season series from the Angels. Instead, the Sox are 9-1 against the Halos. One other bright spot for Boston. Tim Wakefield threw two innings of scoreless relief. I think it is very good that Wake is throwing well in the bullpen. Dustin Pedroia was scratched from the lineup with soreness in his left foot. Yes, the same foot that landed him on the DL earlier this year. The Sox remain in third place in the AL East, 6.5 games behind New York and 5.5 behind Tampa in the wild card.

Today, the Red Sox try to move on from their defeat against the Toronto Blue Jays. Jon Lester will hurl for Boston against Brett Cecil. Lester will try to match Clay Buchholz for most Red Sox wins. Currently, Lester has 13 and Buchholz has 14.

Trivia
Jon Lester has a 14 and 2/3 scoreless inning streak going.

See you later

Sorry to all my readers, but I will be unavailable until Friday, possibly Saturday. This means that my blog will not get any new posts until Friday or Saturday, and I will be unable to cover the games in between today and Friday or Saturday.
Sorry,
Red Sox Boy

Trivia
Did you know that Fenway Park is the oldest stadium in the majors?

First two games of Rangers series

In game one against the Texas Rangers, the Red Sox blew an 8-2 lead to lose 10-9 in extra innings. The Sox could not take advantage of three straight home runs and Daniel Bard blew a save. Josh Beckett was shaky again as he gave up six runs in 5 innings. I think Beckett needs to pick up the pace a little or the Red Sox will falter. More bad news: Jacoby Ellsbury was placed on the 15-day DL for the third time this season.

Jon Lester was able to overcome 102-degree heat to win his second straight start, scattering five hits over eight shutout innings to win 3-1. Ryan Kalish scored two in the victory, going 2-4. Bill Hall had a clutch stolen base and started a nice double play for the Sox. In the double play, Mike Lowell made an excellent scoop at first base. I think Lowell has really adapted to first, and he can play as well as Youk did there. Lester made an absolutely excellent move to pick off Julio Borbon in the third inning, nailing him at second. Victor Martinez made an excellent throw in the ninth to gun down Vladimir Guerrero heading to second. I am very glad that Lester has rebounded from four straight losses to win these two.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox remain four games back in the wild card and six back of the division lead, since Kelly Shoppach's grand slam propelled the Rays to a 7-3 win over red-hot Baltimore, and Alex Rodriguez slammed three home runs to give the Yankees an 8-3 victory over Kansas City. I am annoyed that both the Yanks and the Rays are playing last-place teams, but the Red Sox are facing a first-place club.

Trivia
Lester has a 14 and 1/3 innings scoreless streak.

August 12 game

The Red Sox earned home runs from Jed Lowrie and David Ortiz, and took a 5-2 lead into the ninth inning at Toronto. However, Jose Bautista, leading off the ninth inning, blasted his 36th homer of the season to knock John Lackey out of the game. With a 5-3 lead, Jonathan Papelbon gave up four hits and blew his sixth save of the season. Daniel Bard came on and with one out, gave up a sacrifice fly to Fred Lewis. Papelbon was hit with his fifth loss of the season. Jacoby Ellsbury was returned to first in the order, and he singled and stole a base. The slumping Marco Scutaro was given the day off, and his replacement Jed Lowrie homered as part of a 1-3 night. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-4 and threw out a runner as the catcher. I hope that Saltalamacchia can keep up his pace, since he is hitting pretty well. As a final note, Darnell McDonald tripled for the second straight night.

Tonight, the Red Sox travel to Texas to take on 9-1 Tommy Hunter and the Texas Rangers. Boston sends Josh Beckett to the mound, hoping Josh can rebound from his seven-run outing last start.

Trivia
McDonald only has two triples this season, the two that he has hit today and yesterday.

August 11 game

The Red Sox crushed the Blue Jays 10-1 at the Rogers Centre last night. Bill Hall clubbed two home runs and Adrian Beltre blasted a three-run bomb to highlight a five-run fifth. Clay Buchholz gave up an unearned run in the first but was strong after that. Marco Scutaro could not help the cause, as he went 0-5 for the second straight night. J.D. Drew also bombed a solo smash. Buchholz gave up just five hits in eight full innings, striking out four, while Dustin Richardson closed out the game with a 2-K ninth. Buchholz now has the club lead with 13 wins. I believe that the Sox needed this blowout to get their act together. They are now just 3.5 games behind Tampa Bay, as the Rays lost last night.

Today, the Sox go for the sweep, with John Lackey taking on Brad Mills. Lackey has only won ten games this season, but he will try to improve today.

Trivia
The Baltimore Orioles, in last place in the AL East, have won three straight games and eight of their last ten.

August 10 game

Felix Doubront earned his second major league win and Mike Lowell crushed a solo home run as the Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays 7-5. After Lowell's bomb in the eighth, Jed Lowrie doubled in an insurance run and that was all that Jonathan Papelbon needed to earn his 29th save. J.D. Drew also bombed a long home run. Jacoby Ellsbury continued to hit as he knocked in a run in the second inning. Ellsbury went 2-4 in the number nine spot while shortstop Marco Scutaro went 0-5 out of the leadoff spot. I think Jacoby should be moved back into the leadoff spot since Scutaro is stinking up the joint this year. Yesterday's game gave supporting evidence to my idea.

Today, the series continues with Clay Buchholz, who has won his last two starts, against 10-5 Shaun Marcum.

Trivia
Lowell has been hitting in key spots since coming back, first a go-ahead two-run bomb at Fenway, now this.

August 9 game

Jacoby Ellsbury, moved to ninth in the batting order due to a slump, tied a Red Sox record as he stole four bases. Jon Lester broke his 4-game losing streak with 6 and 1/3 scoreless innings. Daniel Bard gave up a run, but Jonathan Papelbon came on and earned his 28th save. The Red Sox won 2-1. I am glad that Lester broke out of his slump, as he is developing into a young ace. If him and Clay Buchholz can both be productive, I think the team is destined for the playoffs. The fact that Ellsbury came out of his slump is very good, because the Sox need a speedster who can play well.

Tomorrow, the Red Sox and Daisuke Matsuzaka take on Ricky Romero and his Toronto Blue Jays. Matsuzaka pitches very well when he does not walk a lot of batters. Matsuzaka is 8-3 with a 3.96 ERA.

Trivia
Bard only has a 1.88 ERA.

August 8 game

Josh Beckett gave up 11 hits and seven runs in only 4 and 2/3 innings, and the Red Sox offense could not pick him up as the Yankees dominated the Sox 7-2. Derek Jeter passed Babe Ruth on the all-time hits list, as he knocked in three runs with two hits. Ryan Mosely shut down the Sox to earn his second win of the season. I have to be mad at Beckett, as the Sox needed a win from their ace and did not get it, but the Red Sox offense needs to pick up the pace.

Today, Jon Lester will pitch for the Sox. Lester, who has lost his last four starts, will look to earn a split in the series. I hope this guy can stop his skid and pitch well.

Trivia
Mosely had to start due to an injury to A.J. Burnett.

August 7 game

John Lackey could not protect an early lead as the Red Sox fell to the Yankees 5-2. C.C. Sabathia started strongly for New York and Mariano Rivera held on for his 23rd save. Victor Martinez homered as part of a 2-run second, but the Yanks tied it in the bottom of the second. The New Yorkers added two in the fifth and one in the sixth to secure the win. Felix Doubront looked impressive in his first inning of relief, striking out two batters. I think the Sox need to use Felix more. I really think Lackey is being hit very hard this season.

Tonight, Josh Beckett takes on A.J. Burnett. Josh has pitched very well since coming off the DL, winning his last start after turning in eight three-hit innings. I hope Beckett can show the Sox that he can be the ace.

Trivia
Sabathia has now won 14 games, tied for the league lead.
A.J. Burnett has been very shaky this year.

August 6 game

Ryan Kalish picked a perfect time for his first home run as he walloped one to help the Red Sox earn a 6-3 win over the Yankees. David Ortiz also smashed a home run to help Clay Buchholz earn his twelfth win. Clay went seven and 1/3 strong innings while Jonathan Papelbon secured his 27th save. Buchholz is undeniably the ace of the Sox, if you ask me, while Pap is looking more and more like a reliable closer. In the second inning, Fransisco Cervelli dropped an easy popup to lead to three unearned runs in the frame.

Today, the series resumes with John Lackey taking on C.C. Sabathia. Lackey has pitched very well in the second half, and I agree with his prediction that he is a better second-half pitcher.

Trivia
Buchholz is leading the Red Sox in wins, while Ortiz has hit 24 homers.

August 5 game

The Boston Red Sox collected themselves and earned a gem from Daisuke Matsuzaka to beat the Indians 6-2. Shin-Soo Choo hit a bomb in the first inning to give the Tribe a 1-0 lead, which they would hold until the fourth. With two outs, Josh Tomlin threw a meatball to Adrian Beltre, who proceeded to smash a grand slam into the Monster seats for his 20th homer and a 4-1 lead. The Red Sox made it 6-1 in the eighth when J.D. Drew knocked a two-run single. Hideki Okajima gave up a run in the ninth, but Jonathan Papelbon struck out two for the save.

Tonight, the Sox begin a critical series against the Yankees. I think if the BoSox lose the series, the season is not over, but if they get swept, they are done. Clay Buchholz takes on Javier Vasquez.

Trivia
Since coming off the disabled list, Jacoby Ellsbury is 0-9. He has scored a run and reached base once on catcher's interference.

August 4 game

The Red Sox fell victim to seven unearned runs in a 9-1 loss at the Indians' hands. Jon Lester took his fourth straight loss in the second half and experienced some pain, meeting the trainer twice. Scott Atchinson gave up five runs in the seventh, all unearned. The only bright spot for the Sox was a David Ortiz solo blast. I really think that the Sox are going to have to tighten up their defense tonight to try for a split against the Tribe.

Tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka goes against Josh Tomlin. The Sox aim for a split with the Indians. Unfortunately, Matsuzaka has been walking a lot of batters lately, so he has to get his act together.

Trivia
Ortiz leads the Sox with 23 home runs.

August 3 game

Josh Beckett looked very sharp, going eight innings of three-hit baseball to give the Red Sox a 3-1 win. Mike Lowell returned to the Red Sox and before his first at-bat, he received a standing ovation. I believe this shows how much the fans love Mike, giving him an ovation before he sees a pitch. Anyway, Lowell did not disappoint, blasting a two-run home run into the Monster seats on the first pitch he saw in the majors since June 28. Bill Hall also homered in the game.

The only bad news out of the game was that Kevin Youkilis left with thumb issues and went to see a hand specialist. Unfortunately, it was discovered that Youk had torn his thumb and would be out for the rest of the season. In New York, Alex Rodriguez finally crushed his 600th career home run, giving the Yankees a 5-1 win.

Trivia
Youkilis is third in the AL with a .411 on-base percentage.

August 2 game

John Lackey gave up six runs over just 5 and 1/3 innings as the Red Sox lost 6-5 to the Indians. The only bright spot for the Sox was Adrian Beltre, who crushed two homers and knocked in all five runs.Thank goodness for Beltre, otherwise the Sox would have been dead meat. It looked like the Red Sox might get out of the sixth with only one run when Manny Delcarmen induced a pop-up with one out. Unfortunately, Dustin Richardson gave up a two-run single and the Sox fell one short after Beltre's three-run bomb. I can't understand it. Richardson has been pretty darn good against lefties this season, but he gave up a hit that put the game out of reach.

The four-game series continues tonight with Josh Beckett on the mound for the Red Sox. Beckett has made two strong starts since his return from the disabled list. He will take on 2-9 David Huff. Beckett has been hit very hard by the Indians in the regular season. In his career, he has a 6.56 ERA, very ugly.We can only hope that the ace looks very sharp today.

Trivia
Among AL clubs, only the Blue Jays hit Josh harder than the Tribe.

Weekend Series

The Red Sox met the Tigers in a weekend clash. In game one, Jon Lester was hit hard and Jhonny Peralta clubbed two homers. Detroit led 6-1 going into the ninth. David Ortiz smashed a grand slam for his 22nd home run, but the Sox fell one short.

In game two, the Sox were behind 4-0 when they scored two in the seventh. Into the ninth, it was still 4-2. But Darnell McDonald beat out an infield hit and Eric Patterson ripped a double. Jim Leyland told Phil Coke to walk Kevin Youkilis to pitch to David Ortiz. Ortiz took two balls before fouling a pitch off. The next pitch was a fat one, and Ortiz ripped a gapper into left-center. All three runners hustled in to score, and the Red Sox won 5-4. That made it 7 runs in the ninth in two games for the Sox, all driven in by Ortiz.

The finale of the series had a pair of aces, 11-5 Clay Buchholz against 12-6 Justin Verlander. Buchholz gave up only two hits in eight innings, while the Sox stroked three runs against Verlander. However, in the ninth Clay gave up two straight hits, and Jonathan Papelbon came in. He gave up a monster two-run double to Miguel Cabrera, then a hard single to tie the game. He managed to get a double play, and got out of the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Jed Lowrie beat out an infield single, then Eric Patterson showed bunt and took four straight balls. On a 2-1 pitch, Marco Scutaro laid down a bunt on the left side. Weinhardt, the Tigers pitcher, fielded the bunt and threw the ball. Unfortunately for Detroit, he threw it away up the first-base line and Darnell McDonald, pinch-hitting, scored the winning run to make it 8 runs in the ninth in three days.

Trivia
Papelbon's blown save was his fifth of the year.
Cabrera has now knocked in 93 runs this season.