Lester dominates O's, as usual

The Boston Red Sox were defeated 5-4 at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night thanks to a single by Vlad Guerrero off Daniel Bard in the eighth inning. The Sox came back, as they and Josh Beckett were down 4-0 into their half of the eighth. However, Kevin Youkilis contributed a three-run homer to tie the game, but Bard gave it right back.

The Sox were looking for revenge against Baltimore last night and got it thanks to Jon Lester. The big lefty threw eight innings and gave up just 2 runs while Adrian Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury each drove in that many and Jarrod Saltalamacchia added an RBI single. The win was no surprise, as Lester was 13-0 against the Birds coming into play last night and left 14-0. This si great, and it looks like Lester is getting back into his ace form. However, there are some problems with the lineup. Once Mike Cameron came in for J.D. Drew, the bottom 4 hitters in the Sox lineup- Cameron, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Carl Crawford, and Marco Scutaro- are all batting between .100 and .200, not very good averages.

Trivia
Other Red Sox have pitched amazingly against the O's: Clay Buchholz delivered a no-hitter in 2007.

Sox lose streak

The Boston Red Sox fell victim to the pitching of Zack Britton and lost to the Orioles in Baltimore 4-1. Clay Buchholz lasted into the seventh inning, which may prompt you to think, "Wow, 7 innings, 4 runs." Not the case. Clay gave up 12 hits and took the loss. I think that Buchholz is just not doing too well, which is bad considering he was the best ERA pitcher for Boston last year. Meanwhile, the Sox managed just 6 hits. Dustin Pedroia and Jed Lowrie, the Sox's two best hitters, combined to go 1-7, and Jason Varitek, now batting an even .100, nailed a single. How does that work? However, one can hardly blame Pedroia for the loss, as he did everything he could. He scored the Sox's only run on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Youkilis by racing home on a short fly to center field, where Adam Jones ranges. Jones is very strong-armed, as evidenced by his amazing assist against New York when he caught the ball in deep center and fired home to nab Derek Jeter. Also, Dustin made an amazing stop on a grounder towards the hole by Nick Markakis, who he also robbed 4 years ago in the no-hitter by... Clay Buchholz.

Tonight, the same two teams play again. Josh Beckett, who has won his last three decisions and jump-started the Sox against Toronto, goes against Jeremy Guthrie.

Trivia
The 12 hits allowed were the most allowed by Buchholz in his career.

Sox keep going, get second straight shutout

The Boston Red Sox continued their remarkable run to move into third place 1/2 game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for second with a 7-0 win to complete the sweep of the Los Angeles Angels. Jon Lackey was the hero this time, with 8 solid innings in which he gave up 5 hits and no runs. Carl Crawford nailed a two-run homer and Adrian Gonzalez added a couple more RBI to aid the Sox in their win. I think it is just great that the Sox pitching is finally getting better after the completely terrible first 10 games. Also, the Sox have won 8 out of 9, their last 5, and are 10-11, 3.5 games behind the rival Yankees. The only dark spot was Jacoby Ellsbury's third Caught Stealing of the season, but the Sox can put that behind them. Dan Wheeler threw a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the game.

The Red Sox have a day off today, where we can only hope they will not cool off as they travel to Baltimore. They face the Orioles tomorrow, with Clay Buchholz facing Zack Britton.

Trivia
The homer by Crawford was his first in a Sox uniform.

Dice-K makes it 7 of 8

Daisuke Matsuzaka delivered his second consecutive dominant start by throwing eight innings and giving up just 1 hit for the second time in a row. Dice-K was backed by plenty of offense, including Kevin Youkilis's two-run homer, Carl Crawford's RBI single, Adrian Gonzalez's single, and Jason Varitek's run-scoring double. Jed Lowrie added a pair of hits to keep his average above .430 and the Sox won 5-0. Daniel Bard came on in the ninth and got a pair of strikeouts to secure the win. The one hit off Matsuzaka was a bullet right back at him. It bounced off his glove to short, but Lowrie's throw was a little bit late to first and the Angels had a man on. The win moved the Sox to 9-11, out of last place ahead of the Orioles. They are tied with Toronto for third, while Tampa Bay is 10-11 and the Yankees are 11-6, three and a half games up on the Sox.

On a beautiful Easter Sunday, Jon Lackey opposes Matt Palmer. Last time Lackey pitched, he threw 6 one-run innings but the bullpen blew up and he lost the game. Hopefully, the Sox will keep rolling and win their 8th game in 9 tries and sweep the Angels.

Trivia
Even with his RBI single, Jason Varitek is batting .074, but has been catching well.

Lester gives Sox another win

The Red Sox came ever closer to that elusive .500 record with another win last night, this time over the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Jon Lester gave up just 4 hits in 6 solid innings to earn the win, while J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury each garnered RBIs. The big play of the game came in the fourth, when Carl Crawford popped a ball up that should have been caught but was kicked away by Peter Bourjos. Two runs came in, so the Sox withstood a Jeff Mathis single, a Bobby Abreu single, and a Jarrod Saltalamacchia passed ball to earn the win. Lester earned his second win of the season as Dan Haren was kept at four wins by Boston's offense. Also, Jon Papelbon saved his 5th win in as many opportunities. The Sox have won 6 of their last 7 games, and are 3-1 on the West Coast road trip. They face the Angels again tonight, with Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching against Ervin Santana. Matsuzaka looked impressive in his last start by winning easily on Patriot's Day. Hopefully, the Sox will stay alive with their offense and pitching. Go Sox!

Trivia
Lester's first two starts were no-decisions in 2011.

Beckett keeps Sox rolling

Josh Beckett threw eight more innings for the Boston Red Sox to lead them to a 4-2 win over the LA Angels in Anaheim. Beckett gave up a game-tying two-run blast off the bat of Torii Hunter in the 7th inning after Jacoby Ellsbury had put the Sox on top with a two-run single, and the game stayed tied for quite a while. Rich Thompson came in for the Halos in the 11th, but Adrian Gonzalez drilled an RBI double and Jed Lowrie added a ribbie in the inning to give the Sox the lead. Jon Papelbon set down the side and struck out the final batter for his 4th save of the year. Beckett is just leading the Sox, looking like the ace he was in '07. Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia got 3 hits to boost his average, while Jed Lowrie only managed 1 hit to drop his. Jason Varitek continued hitting badly, getting a hat trick by striking out 3 times but leading Beckett again. The Sox are just smoking hot, having won 5 out of their last 6 games, started by, hmmm... Beckett! The go back at it today with 1-1 Jon Lester faces Dan Haren, who is trying to join Jeff Weaver in the 5-win crowd.

Trivia
Beckett has allowed just 3 runs in 24 innings in his last 3 starts.

Two home clubs win it in late innings

The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies both pulled off wins in the eighth or later. The Phillies fell behind early 3-0 thanks to a few well-placed hits off Cliff Lee into the 6th. However, Placido Polanco came through with a three-run shot to tie the game in the sixth inning, taking Lee off the hook. The game stayed that way for a few innings, before the Phillies came back up in the 8th. Shane Victorino led off with a smash off Brandon Kintzler that made its way over the wall, and Jose Contreras recorded his 4th save of the young season. Meanwhile, the Cubs won slightly more dramatically. Chicago led 1-0 for eight innings until Carlos Marmol gave up a sac fly to Sox nemesis Jason Bartlett. After that, the game remained knotted until the eleventh, when Reed Johnson came up. He hit a fly ball that just kept going. And going. And going, until it reached the first row of seats behind the left-field fence. Wow. Today's MVP: Reed Johnson.

Trivia


The starting pitcher for Chicago was another Boston foe: Matt Garza.

Sox finally pick up 1st road win

The Red Sox traveled to Oakland red-hot and were stopped cold by Brian Anderson and the Athletics 5-0. Anderson gave up just 4 hits in 8 solid innings. Meanwhile, Jon Lackey gave up just a single run in six innings, but Hideki Okajima gave up three and the offense was stopped. Adrian Gonzalez did manage to pick up two of Boston's four hits as the Sox fell to 0-7 on the road, their worst start in club history. Things could only get better.

And they did, as Clay Buchholz earned a win, giving up 6 hits and a run in 5.1 innings while Jed Lowrie nailed a two-run bomb and Kevin Youkilis and J.D. Drew each added solo shots in a 5-3 win. Gio Gonzalez was hit hard in six innings, giving up 4 runs and 8 hits while getting smashed. Known for walking a lot of men, Gonzalez expected to have hitters take pitches, but the Sox were out swinging and getting results. The Sox survived a scare in the ninth inning as Jon Papelbon was called on to deliver a 4-out save. He struck out David DeJesus with the bases loaded in the eighth, but hit Mark Ellis to put two on in the ninth. Landon Powell nailed an RBI single to bring the A's within two, but Pap induced two quick popouts to deliver the Sox. The Oaklands stranded 15 men on the day, getting chances but not coming through. Red Sox friend Coco Crisp delivered a homer to lead off the A's, but Buchholz pulled through. I think it is great that the Sox pitchers are coming through. In 4 of the last 5 games, Sox pitching has given up just 6 runs, and in the last 5 games have outscored the opponents 26-11.

Trivia
This was Buchholz's first win of the season.
Lowrie is now batting .462.

Sox roll past Toronto

Jed Lowrie's two-run single in the first was all the Sox and Daisuke Matsuzaka needed... but the offense kept on rolling as Lowrie added a two-run bomb, Kevin Youkilis did the same, and Jacoby Ellsbury smashed a solo shot while Carl Crawford finally came through with an RBI double. Dice-K gave up just one hit in his seven innings and the Jays didn't get a run until the ninth when Yunel Escobar crushed a bomb off Tim Wakefield. Even so, the Sox prevailed 9-1, keeping their bats going strong. I think it is terrific that the offense is alive and well, and even better that the starting pitching is going strong. The Sox have given up just 1 run in each of their last 3 games, outscoring the Jays 21-1 and 27-8 in the series. Lowrie is just rolling along, keeping his average in the .500s. Of course, it must help when he gets 4 hits in one day. In fact, his average is now .516, and he doesn't start too often. Meanwhile, Terry Francona starts Carl Crawford every day, and he's been hitting .133. 

Tomorrow, Jon Lackey takes on Brett Anderson in Oakland. Lackey is 1-1, while Anderson is 0-1. However, Anderson's ERA is 2.27, and Lackey's? 15.57. That was about Dice-K's coming into today, so maybe Lackey can keep the streak going.

Trivia
Last year Lackey had an ERA in the 4's and 12 losses, so he is probably the Sox's worst pitcher.

Sox make their biggest streak of year

Not wanting to be outdone by Josh Beckett, Jon Lester hurled 6 1-run innings while striking out five and inducing three double plays to win 8-1. Lester fell behind 1-0 when Jarrod Saltalamacchia made a mental error and threw to second with runners on the corners to allow a steal of home. However, Saltalmacchia atoned for his sin with an RBI single to score Jed Lowrie, who is batting .452. Jacoby Ellsbury, batting next, took advantage of J.D. Drew at second base to take two high balls before getting the pitch he wanted. Ells crushed the ball deep down the right-field line and it easily cleared the wall for a three-run homer. In the sixth, Salty came through again with a two-run single down the right-field line to put them up 6-1, and Jed Lowrie knocked in two more with a fielding error in the eighth. Lester cruised, and a succession of relievers- namely Dan Bard, Felix Doubront, Bobby Jenks, and Dan Wheeler- allowed only one hit to shut down the Jays in the late innings. The only dark spot: Dustin Pedroia went hitless to fall to .315 on the season. I think that it is great that the Sox are waking up offensively. This can only bring good things.

The series concludes tomorrow with a traditional 11:00 AM Patriot's Day start during the Boston Marathon. Lefty Ricky Romero will oppose Red Sock Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is 0-2 with an ERA over 12. I hope that the offense can stay alive, and that Dice-K can pull his game together.

Trivia
The bottom two players in the lineup, Saltalamacchia and Ellsbury, combined for three hits and 6 RBI.

'07 Ace saves floundering Sox

Jed Lowrie had three hits and a homer, and Josh Beckett only gave up 3 hits and a run in his 7 innings of work. Of course, Jason Varitek was behind the plate, so although he was hitless, he contributed well. He also caught a runner, John McDonald, at second in the eighth while catching for Dan Bard. Adrian Gonzalez singled in the first, followed up by Kevin Youkilis's double to put the Sox on top 2-0, and Toronto managed 2 hits in the second and a run, but Beckett was dominant from then on, allowing just 1 more hit. In fact, the Sox managed to put their first 5 men on base and scored a pair. Apparently, when Beckett has Varitek behind the plate, he pitches dominantly like he did in '07 when he won 20 for the World Champions. Dustin Pedroia managed another hit, although his average fell to .340, but Lowrie is making his case at shortstop, batting .500 in his handful of games so far. The Sox are now 3-10, and will try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon, Jon Lester will take on Jesse Litsch. Lester looks for his first win of the season, and it is my guess that Lowrie will get another chance to prove that today wasn't a fluke. Litsch is the only righthander the Sox will face in this series, and one of two they will face in this and the next.

Trivia
Varitek is batting just .077, but he is catching well for Beckett.

Sox just can't pull together

Bobby Jenks gave up 4 runs in the 7th and Marco Scutaro's two-run double could only make it 7-6 as the Red Sox fell to the Toronto Blue Jays. Clay Buchholz walked five through that number of innings and gave up three, but the Sox bats came alive in the third when they scored three times thanks to a bomb off the bat of red-hot Dustin Pedroia, who is now batting .348, and another off the bat of ice-cold Kevin Youkilis. However, despite their nice bats, they couldn't do a thing against Jon Rauch in the ninth, as he set them down in order. Jed Lowrie also nailed a ribbie single for the BoSox to bring his average up to .471, but he hasn't played enough yet to compete for the title. But there is some justice in this world. The Yankees lost their game 5-3 thanks to an astounding feat by the opposing Texas Rangers: 6 double plays, tying an AL record. Matt Harrison threw 8 stellar innings and took part in 2 of these 2-for-1s, while Yanks starter Ivan Nova was hit hard for 5 runs and 5 walks.

Today, the 2-10 Sox try to get back on track behind the man who was stellar: Josh Beckett, who threw 8 2-hit innings against New York in his last start. He will be opposed by Jo-Jo Reyes, another lefty. Marco Scutaro sits and Jed Lowrie plays, and Mike Cameron will come out to play right, batting .091 or 1-11.

Trivia
Despite Pedroia's high average, he has just 2 homers.

Top teams last year win in walk-off fashion

The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees won their games very well last night: with walk-off RBIs by well-known players. Starting in the Bronx, the Baltimore Orioles take a 5-0 lead off Phil Hughes, who has been hit very hard so far this season. He leaves after 4.1, giving up five runs and now a total of 16 earned in just 10 and 1/3 innings. Jake Arrieta's no-hitter is lost in the 5th inning when Alex Rodriguez doubles and is driven in by Robinson Cano, but the O's hold a 5-4 lead into the ninth, when Jorge Posada gives Kevin Gregg a blown save on his first pitch with a monster shot to deep right field. They were able to tie thanks to Joba Chamberlain, who rushed home and grabbed a throw to him on a wild pitch and blocked the plate perfectly for the out. Finally, in the tenth inning, Nick Swisher lifted a fly to right-center with runners on at second and third, and the third-base runner scored for the win. As he was talking to reporters, he was pied in the face by clubhouse jokester A.J. Burnett, Swisher's first pie of the season.

The game was slightly more dramatic in Tampa Bay, where Carl Pavano hurled 8 scoreless innings while his Twins staked him to a 2-0 lead. Joe Nathan came back this season to seal the deal, but was touched up for a pair to tie the game. However, the Twins wanted this game, and Danny Valencia lifted an RBI double to bring them ahead once again. Unfortunately, Matt Capps, who had about 9 saves at this time last year, came in. He gave up a single to New Hampshire native Sam Fuld, then Johnny Damon, old Red Sox friend, nailed a shot into the shallow right-field seats to seal the win. Wow. Two blown saves in one game for Minnesota. How must Pavano feel?

Trivia
Damon also hit a big homer in the Tampa Bay-Red Sox series.

5 games decided in 9th

On Wednesday, the Sox were rained out of their game with Tampa Bay. However, there were 3 games decided in the ninth inning and two more won in extras. We start in Detroit, where the game was tied 2-2 when Darren Oliver came on for his second inning of work. The Texas Rangers had kept it tied thanks to a nice play by Dave Bush to nail Brennan Boesch at home plate. After Alex Avila made an out to start the ninth, Brandon Inge came up to the plate. He nailed a shot to deep left that cleared the wall and gave the Tigers a big win. We then head to Chicago and the White Sox, who led 4-1 heading into the ninth. However, Matt Thornton gave up a couple big hits to blow the save, his fourth of the season already, then went to the tenth. Old Red Sox pal Coco Crisp singled home a run and stole a base before being knocked in by Dave Barton in a 7-4 Oakland A's win.

Staying on the East Coast for one more game, Roy Halladay is coasting through his game, winning 3-0 - until the ninth. Lane Nix and Danny Espinosa each nailed RBI hits, but Halladay barely managed to clamp down on the win. We will now move to the West, where the Cleveland Indians take on Los Angeles and the Angels. The Angels jumped out in front to a 3-1 lead on Torii Hunter's bomb, but the Tribe came roaring back to tie it up, where it stayed until the twelfth. Vernon Wells led off the inning with a single for the Halos, and went to second then third. Jeff Mathis nailed a shot that was caught, but Wells came home to give the Angels the win. The madness wrapped up in San Diego with Cincinnati taking on the Padres. Travis Wood pitched 6 marvelous innings, while his team staked out a 2-0 lead. However, Nick Hundley knocked in a run with a sac fly in the 7th and Jorge Cantu tied the game in inning 8 with a groundout. Nick Masset came on to pitch, and Brad Hawpe was thrown out at home on a force-out. Luckily for the Pods, Orlando Hudson was up next, and he delivered with a sharp single to complete the comeback win. MVP for today? Brandon Inge for his bomb.

Trivia
Inge's bomb was his first of the year.