Feed

Sox Fall to Rays in Series Finale

2013-06-20T06:53:36+00:00

The Sox have had the Rays number in their matchups so far this series. The Sox already took the series by winning both games of the doubleheader, but were hoping for a series sweep to keep the Rays winless at Fenway this season. The Sox were sending Ryan Dempster to the mound while the Rays had Hellickson.

Dempster had another quality start, but that once again would not translate into a win. Dempster gave up a solo HR to Jennings and then a sac fly to Loney in the first to have the Sox down 0-2. In the 2nd the Sox got one of those runs back when Gomes hit an infield single to score Papi. Sox 1-2. In the 4th Gomes would hit another infield single to Longoria to score Salty and tie the game 2-2. Unfortunately the game did not remain tied for long. Dempster gave up the go ahead run with a 2 out RBI single to Zobrist. Sox 2-3. Dempster pitched 6 strong innings throwing 108 pitches. He hasn't gotten much run support this season, but he's continued to pitch well and give his team a chance to win.

Breslow took over in the 7th inning and that is when the rails fell off for the Sox in this game. Breslow has pitched well this season, but today would just not be his day. Breslow gave up an RBI single to Longoria to have the Sox behind 2-4. Breslow gave up a double to Loney and he would be out of the game and rookie Alex Wilson would be in. Wilson had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Wilson wouldn't be able to strand them and gave up a 2 run RBI to Rays rookie Wil Myers. Sox 2-6. The Sox bats weren't able to rally against either Hellickson or the Rays bullpen in the late innings. Morales pitched a scoreless 8th and then Beato pitched a scoreless 9th, but the Sox fell to the Rays for the first time at Fenway.

Red Sox 2 Rays 6 BOXSCORE

WP: Hellickson (5-3) LP: Dempster (4-8)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Rays 6/19/13

2013-06-19T23:38:45+00:00

Here is tonight's lineup vs. the Rays:

Ellsbury CF
Nava RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Saltalamacchia C
Gomes LF
Drew SS
Iglesias 3B

Dempster SP

Game time is at 7:10pm EST.

Doubront Dazzles and Gomes Walks Off in Sox Win!

2013-06-19T07:18:10+00:00

The Sox had about 45 minutes between the close of the day game and the night game of the doubleheader because of the rain. The Sox had Felix Doubront on the mound and the Rays were sending Odorizzi who they just called up from AAA. The Sox already won the day game and were looking for the sweep for the doubleheader.

Doubront took the mound and had his best outing of the season by far. Doubront dominated the Rays lineup and just looked nasty all night. He kept putting zeroes up on the scoreboard and in the 2nd inning Daniel Nava would hit a solo HR to give him a lead. Sox 1-0. Doubront would still have that 1-0 lead when he left the mound in the 8th. This was Felix's first career start that he has pitched 8 full innings and it was a beautiful thing. Doubront's pitching line for the night was 93 pitches, 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB and 6 Ks. He was nothing short of amazing.

In the top of the 9th, Sox closer Andrew Bailey came into the game. Bailey didn't take long to blow the save and have the game tied. Bailey gave up a leadoff HR to Johnson to have the game tied 1-1. Bailey got the 3 outs he needed to get out of the inning, but the damage had been done. Bailey has been going through quite a rough patch lately and it seems to be continuing. Luckily for Bailey, the Sox bats had his back in the bottom of the 9th and took care of the game for him. Nava walked and then Jonny Gomes came to the plate. Gomes smacked a ball from Peralta over the Monster to give the Sox a walk off win! Gomes rounded 3rd and punted his helmet before jumping into the walk off celebration.

It may have rained today, but the water was dirty...twice!

Red Sox 3 Rays 1 BOXSCORE

WP: Bailey (3-0) LP: Peralta (1-3)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Rays 6/18/13 Game 2

2013-06-19T03:51:58+00:00

Here is the lineup for tonight's game vs. the Rays:

Ellsbury CF
Victorino RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Nava 1B
Gomes LF
Saltalamacchia C
Drew SS
Iglesias 3B

Doubront SP

Game time is at 8:05pm EST.

Sox Take First Game of Doubleheader With Rays

2013-06-19T03:47:24+00:00

The Sox and Rays were facing off in a doubleheader today even if the rain was gonna threaten this game for a few hours. Alfredo Aceves was brought up to be a spot starter for today's game and he's continued to show his value to this team by pitching well and grabbing another win.

Aceves was brought up to be the 26th man on the roster for the doubleheader and was making the spot start. Aceves had pitched well against the Phillies and the Rays previously, so we were hoping to see the same. Interestingly, Aceves almost didn't make his start since he was late to the ballpark because he was "stuck in traffic." The Sox had Morales out and almost needed him to make a spot start for spot starter Alfredo Aceves.

All the drama aside, Aceves once again pitched well. The Sox bats gave Aceves a single run of support in the 1st when Pedey hit a sac fly to score Ells. Sox 1-0. Aceves was a little shaky out of the gate and gave that run right back. Aceves gave up an RBI double to Luke Scott as well as walking 3 batters in the inning to have the game tied 1-1. In the 3rd inning Papi put the Sox back in front by hitting a 2 run RBI single. Sox 3-1. In the 5th Papi added another run on the board with an RBI single to score Victorino. Sox 4-1. Aceves settled down well and was trucking along. Aceves pitched 5 innings and in the bottom of the 5th the skies opened up and the game went into a rain delay.

Even though the game was official, the MLB has a rule that if there is a doubleheader that the first game must be finished before the second game can start. The rain delay lasted for 2 hours and 59 minutes and play resumed at just before 6pm. Aceves was done for the night with such a lengthy delay and Tazawa took the mound. Tazawa pitched a scoreless 6th inning. In the bottom of the 6th, Ellsbury and Victorino hit back to back triples and the Sox were leading 5-1. Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 7th, Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th and then Breslow finished it off with a scoreless 9th inning. Once again the Sox bullpen got the job done.

Now the Sox will get ready for game 2 which will begin just a little after 8pm. Let's Go Red Sox!

Red Sox 6 Rays 1 BOXSCORE

WP: Aceves (4-1) LP: Archer (1-3)

Jon Lester - Time to Step Up

2013-06-18T22:03:14+00:00

I'm getting a bit tired of Jon Lester's act. As Sox fans know, we thought the pre-2012 Lester was back earlier this season. He started the year 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA. Then it happened. The '12 Lester appeared again, falling behind hitters, yelling. glaring at umpires. The result has been a complete reversal- 6 starts, an 0-4 mark, an ERA of 7.20.

Sunday's game in Baltimore was a prime example. With Clay Buchholz probably headed for the DL, the team needed a stopper to gain a split against the tough Orioles. What we got was similar to last year- 5 innings, 9 hits, 5 earned runs, 106 pitches. He left trailing 5-0 and the Sox never recovered.

Despite individual seasons by Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Josh Beckett and others, the Townies have looked to Lester as their big-game guy since he became a regular in 2008. For the next four years, he was one of the league's most dependable starters. Les was twice an AL all-star and once finished high in Cy Young balloting. Unlike Buchholz, he avoided injury and averaged 32 starts per season. But since the team-wide fold of '11, he has lost something; it is hard to say exactly what.

The writers and fans seem to be losing their patience with their onetime golden boy. A Nick Cafardo piece in Monday's Globe quotes the lefty as saying "this team counts on me to throw innings, and I haven't done that...It's nobody's fault but me. I have to do a better job getting deeper into games, and do whatever you have to do...the last month has been a grind. It flat comes down to doing a better job." But quotes like this don't really say much. The fact is that with Buchholz on the shelf, they need a winner, and Lester is failing in that role.

As I have written here before, the stopper's role shouldn't fall to the 3-4-5 hurlers in the rotation. Though he is pitching well, John Lackey is coming off a season on the sidelines. Felix Doubront and Ryan Dempster are improving, but neither has the consistency to be the top man. Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa are probably at least a year away. Given Buchholz' history, his postion right now is questionable, despite an excellent record.

Lester has had some great moments in his 8-year career. As a rookie, he battled lymphoma, apparently successfully. He started and won a World Series clincher. He threw a no-hitter. He has been the team's perennial Opening Day starter. But if Lester wants to be a Hall of Fame candidate rather than just another pitcher, he has to start soon. This is a real turning point in his career. We need Jon Lester to step forward very soon.

Sox 88 - A Matter of Time for Mac

2013-06-17T21:38:51+00:00

It was rather boring to read about the Sox' exploits in the second week in June. Not only was the team still in free-fall, but it was very obvious that John McNamara's days were numbered. The Townies did take the rubber game in Yankee Stadium 4-3 behind Roger Clemens and Lee Smith, but low on the Globe sports page, a piece by the great Leigh Montville explored Jim Rice's sudden collapse. As of June 9, Jim had no homers and only five extra base hits. He had hit into eight double plays. The article was entitled "Rice's Slump Is Sad, Mystifying" and expressed bewilderment at what was happening to the longtime slugger.

The next series in Toronto saw the Jays again embarrass Boston, taking two out of three to make it 6 wins in 7 tries in a pair of weekends. The Sox first fell 3-0 to ace Dave Steib, as Jeff Sellers was again victimized by lack of support. The unlucky righthander allowed only one earned run in 5 1/3 innings, but saw his mark fall to 0-6. He again got no support, as the Bosox stranded 12 and were shut out for the seventh time. It got no better the following night, as the visitors fell in 10 innings by a 4-3 count. Bruce Hurst threw 7 good innings and left ahead 3-2, but Smith surrendered the tying tally in the eighth and Dennis Lamp gave up the winner on a run-scoring single by the immortal Sil Campusano. Though the team did salvage the final game 8-2 with a strong effort from Oil Can Boyd, a fan didn't have to read through the articles to realize the plight of the Sox. Some of the headlines read "On a Clear Night, You Could See the Sox Stumble," ''Feeling a Power Shortage", and "Sox are Pigeons for Blue Jays,". Things got so bad for Rice that Mac benched him temporarily.

Just when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, it did. On Monday the 13th the Yankees buried the Sox 12-6 at Fenway. But even more crushing was the fact that it was against the Rocket himself, victimized for 15 hits and 9 runs, a career high for Roger. When McNamara came out to remove him, he was booed from every corner of the park. The loss put Boston 10 full games out of first, and it seemed only a matter of time before Mac was gone. Jean Yawkey and John Harrington were saying little, but it seemed obvious that they were looking for the right time to make the change.

McNamara continued to show hope publicly, but privately the man was suffering. In his book One Pitch from Glory, Lou Gorman, who liked and admired Mac, describes the manager's condition. "I was in McNamara's office....and as he came out of the shower to dress, I noticed his entire body was covered in red blotches. I asked (Mac) whether he had the mumps or an infection...I began to realize that it was probably the effect of the stress and the constant media criticism." The man probably should have resigned at this point, but, as an old baseball guy, he was probably too stubborn.

However, even the players must have known their skipper was on the way out. It seemed that John McNamara was the loneliest man in Fenway.

Lester Struggles Again as Sox Lose to O's

2013-06-17T02:36:00+00:00

Jon Lester has historically been lights out against the Orioles, but today would not follow suit. Lester continued to struggle, give up a HR to the red hot Davis and get over 100 pitched by the 5th inning. The slide of Lester continues and it has to be a pretty big cause for concern for the Red Sox at this point. The Sox bats battled back, but it was too little too late.

Lester was able to keep the O's off the scoreboard in the first two innings, but he had to throw a lot of pitches to do it. In the 3rd Lester wouldn't be so lucky as he gave up an RBI double to Jones and then a 2 run HR to Davis to have the Orioles leading 3-0. All of the RBIs would be with 2 outs which has been a season long trend of Lester's. Lester gave up 2 more runs in the 5th and that would be it for him for the night. Lester gave up an RBI single to Machado and then an RBI double to Davis. Sox 0-5. The funny thing is that Davis has never had a hit off of Lester before today's game and tonight had 2 hits and 3 RBIs. Lester's pitching line for the night was 106 pitches, 5 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 0 BB and 8 Ks. It was not the version of Lester we were hoping to see.

Pedro Beato who was just called up from Pawtucket pitched a scoreless 1-2-3 inning in the 6th. In the top of the 7th the Sox tried to get back into the game when Will Middlebrooks hit a 3 run HR and knocked Orioles Gonzalez out of the game. Sox 3-5. That was Middlebrooks first HR in the major leagues since May 19th. Unfortunately, Junichi Tazawa gave one of those runs right back in the bottom of the 7th when he had an uncharacteristically bad outing. Tazawa gave up an RBI single to Hardy and when he gave up another double and had runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out, he was out of the game and Andrew Miller was in. Miller got out of the inning with no more damage when he got both Davis and Wieters to strike out to end the inning. Miller pitched a scoreless 8th inning as well, but the Sox bats were unable to get anything else going against the O's and fell in the final game of the series.

The Sox lost their first series in June and head home for a much needed off day on Monday before the double header against the Rays.

Red Sox 3 Orioles 6 BOXSCORE

WP: Gonzalez (5-2) LP: Lester (6-4) SV: Johnson (25)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Orioles 6/16/13

2013-06-16T18:34:58+00:00

Here is today's lineup vs. the Orioles:

Ellsbury CF
Iglesias 2B
Nava RF
Ortiz DH
Gomes LF
Carp 1B
Saltalamacchia C
Middlebrooks 3B
Drew SS

Lester SP

Game time is 1:35pm EST.

Lackey Struggles Early But Pitches A Gem in Sox Win!

2013-06-16T16:29:14+00:00

The Red Sox had lost the first 2 games of the series to the O's and really needed to rally to win the game yesterday to have any chance to split the series. The Sox had John Lackey on the mound and the O's were sending Freddy Garcia. Lackey has pitched well this season since recovering from Tommy John surgery and yesterday would be more of the season. Lackey struggled out of the gate, but hunkered down and ended up in line for the win.

Lackey looked dreadful in the beginning of the first inning. Lackey allowed 2 runs to score before he even recorded an out. Lackey gave up a lead off single to McLouth and then an RBI double to Machado. Sox 0-1. Lackey then gave up a single to Markakis and an RBI single to Jones. Sox 0-2. Sometimes clicked after that and Lackey got out the next three batters in order and didn't allow another run to score. Lackey kept trucking along and in the 4th inning the Sox bats tied the game. Dustin Pedroia looked like he struck out, but it was called a foul tip and then he singled, stole second and Carp brought him all the way with a 2 run HR. Sox 2-2. Later in the inning the Sox took the lead when Drew hit an RBI double to score Gomes. Sox 3-2.

In the 5th the Sox added another run when Ellsbury hit a single, stole 2nd, moved to third on a sac bunt from Victorino and then came home on a Pedroia sac grounder. Sox 4-2. Gomes added a run in the 6th by hitting his first HR in a Sox uniform. Sox 5-2. All the while Lackey kept on the mound and kept putting up zeroes on the scoreboard. He looked like a completely different person than the guy that started the first inning. Lackey finished 7 strong and his line for the night was 101 pitches, 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB and 4 Ks. I have a lot of respect for a pitcher who doesn't give in when everything is going wrong and is able to gut through and right the ship. Uehara came out for the 8th inning and struck out the side.

The drama would come in the 9th inning with shaky closer Andrew Bailey on the mound. Bailey had 3 runs to play with and it's a good thing because he would need them all. Bailey gave up a single to Jones and with one out gave up a 2 run HR to Wieters. Sox 5-4. Gulp. Bailey then gave up a single to Hardy and the O's made the mistake of having Casilla pinch run for him. Flaherty hit a fly out to Victorino and Casilla just kept running. Victorino made the throw over to 1st base and the game was over. Thanks for the game winning base running blunder O's! We'll take it!

Red Sox 5 Orioles 4 BOXSCORE

WP: Lackey (4-5) LP: Garcia (3-4) SV: Bailey (8)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Orioles 6/15/13

2013-06-16T00:36:35+00:00

Here is the lineup for today's game vs. the Orioles:

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Shane Victorino RF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
David Ortiz DH
Mike Carp 1B
Jonny Gomes LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Stephen Drew SS
Jose Iglesias 3B

Lackey SP

Game time is at 4:05pm EST.

Sox Trade Pedro Ciriaco

2013-06-15T19:59:31+00:00

The Red Sox have traded speedster and Yankee killer Pedro Ciriaco to the Padres on Friday in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations.

Sox Fall to O's Again

2013-06-15T15:48:55+00:00

The Red Sox hoped to bounce back from their extra inning loss to the O's with a win, but came up short. Ryan Dempster pitched well, but suffered from no run support in his effort. The team looked tired and the Sox bats went cold in the 2nd game of the series.

Ryan Dempster had himself a quality start, but it would still end up being a loss. Dempster only gave up 2 runs during his outing and ending up pitching into the 8th inning, but the Sox bats didn't give him any runs to work with. Dempster would give up a single run in the 2nd with a solo HR to the red hot Davis and then another run in the 3rd with an RBI single to Jones. Sox 0-2. Dempster did what the team needed from him though, he gave the bullpen a much needed rest. Most thought that Dempster was done after 7 innings, but he came back out for the 8th and got 2 outs in the inning. Dempster gave up a double to Machado, intentionally walked Davis and the unintentionally walked Wieters to have the bases loaded. Farrell went with Uehara for the final out of the inning which he got with ease. Uehara struck Hardy out with 3 pitches. Dempster's pitching line for the night was 122 pitches, 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 5 BB and 4 Ks. It's a shame that effort ends up being a loss.

As for the Sox offense, there isn't a lot to write about. Tillman basically dominated the lineup. The Sox have played two long extra innings games this week and it looked like it. The team just looked tired. The bats only got 3 hits during the whole game, one by Victorino and two by Iglesias, who is continuing to have his season of destiny. The Sox were never able to stage a rally against Tillman and the O's and went down without much of a fight.

Red Sox 0 Orioles 2 BOXSCORE

WP: Tillman (7-2) LP: Dempster (4-7) SV: Johnson (24)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Orioles 6/14/13

2013-06-15T00:54:00+00:00

Here is tonight's lineup vs. the O's:

Ellsbury CF
Victorino RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Carp 1B
Nava LF
Iglesias SS
Middlebrooks 3B
Ross C

Dempster SP

Game time is at 7:05pm EST.

AL East Standings 6/14/13

2013-06-14T17:10:43+00:00

It's time again to check in on the standings in the AL East:

The Red Sox are still sitting pretty on top of the AL East standings. In the last week the Sox won series against the Angels and the Rays while dropping the game last night against the O's. The Yankees have fallen to 3rd in the AL East with their loss and the O's win yesterday. The Sox and the O's play 3 more games this weekend, so there is a chance that the O's could overtake the lead in the AL East, but they would have to sweep the Sox to do it. So far in the season the Sox have been more consistent and played better baseball than they have in years. They are hitting and pitching well, other than figuring out what is wrong with Jon Lester.

The next week coming up the Sox play the O's 3 more times, have an off day, play the Rays 3 times in 2 days and then face daunting Tigers. As with most weeks in June, the Sox are facing a tough week ahead of them. If they are able to continue to look to take series wins then I think they are in good shape, however it wouldn't take much of a slump to see the Sox out of 1st place this time next week. Buchholz was going to pitch on Sunday and now it looks like it might not pitch til Tuesday. If he is unable to go on Tuesday, the Sox will probably have to put him on the DL. With Jon Lester struggling on the mound that could be bad, bad news. I guess it's a good good thing that the Sox stashed Alfredo Aceves in Pawtucket instead of just releasing him a while back since it looks like we might need him.

Sox Fall In Extras to Os

2013-06-14T16:29:15+00:00

The Red Sox headed into Camden Yards for a 4 game series with the Os. The Sox were coming off winning a series against the Rays and having a 3 game lead in the AL East. The Sox had Felix Doubront on the mound and the O's had Kevin Gausman.

Doubront started off well, but he wouldn't be long for the game. Dubi pitched his first two scoreless innings before finding himself in trouble in the 3rd. Doubront gave up a leadoff HR to Valencia and then gave up RBI singles to Machado and Davis. Sox 0-3. In the 4th the Sox bats started climbing back by hitting back to back HRs by Papi and Carp. Sox 2-3. The O's got a run back in the 5th when Markakis got on by a throwing error from Middlebrooks, Jones got hit by a pitch and then Wieters hit an RBI single to score Markakis. Sox 2-4. Doubront issued another walk and that would be it for him for the night. Doubront was out and Morales was in. Morales got the out to get out of the inning, while Doubront continued to have problems going deep into games. Morales also pitched a scoreless 6th inning and then the Sox bats got to work to tie the game in the 7th. With the bases loaded Drew hit a sac fly and then Ellsbury almost hit into a double play, but he beat the throw to first base. Game tied 4-4.

Andrew Miller came out and pitched scoreless 7th and 8th innings and then handed the ball over to Junichi Tazawa would pitched a scoreless 9th inning to send us to extras and then a scoreless 10th to keep us there. After that Alex Wilson who was just called up when Aceves was sent down took the mound. Wilson pitched scoreless 11th and 12th innings and was looking impressive. Wilson took the mound in the 13th and his luck ran out. Wilson issued a walk to Markakis, a single to Jones and the game winning walk off single to Davis.

The Sox took this game late into the night and couldn't come up with the win, but I appreciate their fight and the "never say die" attitude.

Red Sox 4 Orioles 5 F/13 BOXSCORE

WP: McFarland (1-0) LP: Wilson (0-1)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Orioles 6/13/13

2013-06-14T00:15:23+00:00

Here is tonight's lineup against the O's:

Ellsbury CF
Victorino RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Nava LF
Saltalamacchia C
Middlebrooks 3B
Drew SS

Doubront SP

Game time is at 7:05pm EST.

Sox Win Behind Aceves' Strong Start

2013-06-13T16:40:46+00:00

The Sox came into the rubber game having spot starter Alfredo Aceves on the mound vs. rookie Chris Archer. Aceves was coming off a strong start against Philadelphia and last night would be no different. Aceves may be difficult to manage at times, however he has continued to show his value to the team by pitching well when they need someone to step up into the rotation. Aceves pitched 6 strong innings and was in line for the win, even with getting little to no run support.

Aceves pitched the best of any of the starters against the Rays. He pitched well and when he got himself in trouble, he got himself right out of it. In the 2nd Aceves walked the bases loaded and with 2 outs was able to get Escobar to ground out to end the inning. In the 3rd inning the Sox would give what ended up to be all the run support that Aceves and the bullpen would need. Ellsbury singled, stole second, got to 3rd on a bad throw, but all of that wouldn't mean much since Daniel Nava would hit a HR to bring him on home. Sox 2-0. Nava is continuing to look like a guy who should be at the All Star Game. Aceves had the bases loaded again in the bottom of the 3rd and this time with no outs. It looked like the Rays were getting ready to do some damage, but magically Aceves got out of the inning without allowing a run to score. Aceves got Johnson to strike out and then got Longo to hit into a double play. In the top of the 4th the Sox had the bases loaded themselves, but were unable to capitalize. With 2 outs, Nava struck out to end the inning. However they did chase Archer from the game. Archer left the mound in the 4th show boating and dancing, but not sure only pitching 4 strong is something to celebrate.

Aceves kept trucking along and didn't show any signs of trouble until the 6th inning. Aceves gave up a solo HR to Longoria to have the Rays within a run. Sox 2-1. Aceves would finish out the inning and no more damage would be done. Aceves' pitching line for the night was 84 pitches, 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB and 3 Ks. You can't ask more from a spot starter than that. Tazawa came out and pitched himself a 1-2-3 inning with 2 Ks. Craig Breslow came out in the 8th, but when he gave up a double to Johnson he was pulled in favor of Uehara. Koji got the final out by way of the K and we were on to the 9th inning. The Sox weren't able to get anything else against the Rays bullpen and the same would be true in the 9th. Andrew Bailey fresh off his blown save would be coming out in the bottom of the 9th. Bailey gave up a long single that looked like a HR for a bit to Loney, but then he got the 3 outs we needed to get him the save and the team the win.

The Sox grab another series and head off to Baltimore.

Red Sox 2 Rays 1 BOXSCORE

WP: Aceves (3-1) LP: Archer (1-2) SV: Bailey (7)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Rays 6/12/13

2013-06-12T23:26:01+00:00

Here is tonight's lineup vs. the Rays:

Ellsbury CF
Nava RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Carp LF
Saltalamacchia C
Middlebrooks 3B
Drew SS

Aceves SP

Game time is at 7:10pm EST.

Lester Gets Batted Around in Loss to Rays

2013-06-12T17:43:54+00:00

The Red Sox would send Jon Lester to the mound and hope to take another win from the Rays in this series. Unfortunately, Lester continued his slump and would struggle out of the gate and never be able to get it together. Lester had a hard time finding the strike zone and gave up the long ball way too often.

The Sox grabbed a run early on, but wouldn't be able to hold on to the lead. The Sox lead 1-0 in the first with a sac fly from Dustin Pedroia. Unfortunately, Lester gave that lead right back in the bottom of the inning. Lester walked 4 batters in the first including walking in the Rays first run. Sox 1-1. The Rays took the lead in the 2nd when Jennings homered to centerfield. Sox 1-2. The Sox battled back and took the lead again in the 3rd inning. The Rays intentionally walked David Ortiz and Napoli made them pay by hitting a 2 run RBI single. Sox 3-2.

Lester wouldn't be able to hold onto this lead either. In the bottom of the 3rd Lester gave up RBI singles to both Roberts and Molina. Sox 3-4. In the 4th Lester gave up a solo HR to Longoria. Sox 3-5. In the 5th Lester gave up a 2 run HR to Joyce and he was done for the night. Lester's line for the night was 98 pitches, 4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 BB and 3 Ks. Not good is an understatement. Jose De La Torre was in the game and with the first batter he faced he followed Lester's lead and gave up a solo HR to Jennings. Sox 3-8.

That would be the only run that De La Torre gave up though and he did his job of finishing off the game and making sure no one else from the bullpen had to get up and warming. Jose will end up getting up getting sent down to make room for Aceves who will be starting on Wednesday, so at least he got some work in and was able to help the club in some way. De La Torre's line for the night was 52 pitches, 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB and 3 Ks. While De La Torre was settling in and not letting the Rays rack up any more runs, the Sox bats were still not able to get anything else done against Hernandez. Hernandez did end up hitting a Sox player in the game and of course it was Dustin Pedroia. It was in the 8th inning when they had the game easily in hand. Joe Maddon talked a lot about the honor of the game when criticizing Lackey the day before, but doesn't seem to mind when his players do the hitting. No matther though because the Sox couldn't take advantage and would lose 3-8 and be tied in the series with the Rays.

Bring on the rubber game tomorrow and *gulp* Aceves.

Red Sox 3 Rays 8 BOXSCORE

WP: Hernandez (4-6) LP: Lester (6-3)

Sox FINALLY Win in Extras!

2013-06-11T18:00:21+00:00

The Red Sox would go out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first, however the game would take a dramatic turn and the Sox wouldn't win until the bottom of the 14th inning. Lackey pitched good, but not great and then there was the blown save by Andrew Bailey to have Sox fans pulling their hair out. Uehara and Morales would both pitch some magical innings and allowed the Sox the chance to finally get the win.

Before Lackey even took the mound the Sox bats sported him a huge lead. This game seemed put away early on and had 6 runs scored before the Sox even recorded an out. The Sox scored 6 runs in the first off Cobb by a 2 RBI single from Pedey, RBI double from Nava, 2 RBI single from Carp and an RBI single from Middlebrooks fresh off the DL. Sox 6-0. What a way to start the game! Lackey would give two of those runs right back in the bottom of the 1st when he gave up solo HRs to Joyce and Longoria. Sox 6-2. After the 1st inning, Cobb settled down and the Sox wouldn't get anything else from him. In the 3rd Lackey gave up another run with a Scott RBI groundout. Sox 6-3. In the 4th the Rays would inch closer when they got another run, this time a Zobrist RBI single. Sox 6-4.

Lackey would pitch 5.2 innings and leave the game with the lead. In the bottom of the 5th he hit Joyce with a pitch and Joyce did not appreciate it. The benches cleared and there was some pushing and shoving. Lackey's pitching line for the night was 93 pitches, 5.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 1 BB and 2 Ks. Breslow came in and got the out to get out of the inning. Miller took the mound in the 7th and gave up a solo HR to Loney to have the Sox clinging to a 6-5 lead. Tazawa would come out in the 7th and get the final out of the inning. Tazawa pitched the 8th and by way of a wild pitch ended up giving up the game tying run. Ugh. Sox 6-6. Clayton Mortensen pitched a scoreless 9th to send us to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th the Red Sox seemed to be ready for this game to be over. With the Rays closer Fernando Rodney on the mound and two outs, Salty hit a 2 run RBI to have the Sox leading 8-6. Andrew Bailey was in the game in the bottom of the 10th to close it out. Unfortunately, Bailey would have himself a blown save stat. Bailey gave up a solo HR to Lobaton and then 2 walks and a single to have the bases loaded and no outs. Bailey walked in the tying run and the bases were still loaded with no outs. In some kind of magic the Rays did not score the go ahead run here. Bailey got Longo to hit into a double play of home and then got Fuld to groundout to 2nd. The Rays are gonna be wondering how they didn't get that run to score for a while. Uehara came out and pitched scoreless 11th and 12th innings and then Franklin Morales, who was supposed to start on Wednesday, came into the game.

Morales pitched a scoreless 13th inning and then the Sox bats finally got back on the board in the top of the 14th inning. Victorino hit a leadoff single, got to 2nd on a Pedey fly out, the Rays intentionally walked David Ortiz and then Nava made them pay for that with an RBI single that scored Victorino. Sox 9-8. The Sox would give Morales an insurance run when Salty came up big again. Salty hit an RBI single to score Iglesias, who was pinch running for Ortiz and the Sox would lead 10-8. Salty had himself a great game last night. Not only did he catch for 14 innings, but he also was the guy to give the Sox the go ahead runs twice. Morales pitched himself a scoreless 14th and the Sox would finally get the win.

It took a long, long time, but that water in Tampa ended up being dirty in the end.

Red Sox 10 Rays 8 F/14 BOXSCORE

WP: Morales (2-0) LP: Ramose (1-2)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Rays 6/10/13

2013-06-10T22:52:18+00:00

Here is tonight's lineup vs. the Rays:

Ellsbury CF
Victorino RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Nava LF
Carp 1B
Saltalamacchia C
Middlebrooks 3B
Drew SS

Lackey SP

Game time is at 7:05pm EST.

Sox 88 - June Swoon Continuew

2013-06-10T02:22:06+00:00

At the end of a 3-5 West Coast trip, a Dan Shaughnessy piece was headlined "They Can't Afford a Swoon in June". However, the team started the month doing just that. The Blue Jays took two weekend games to complete their first four-game sweep of the Sox ever in Fenway.The scores were 10-2 and 12-4, and the games were as ugly as they sounded. Roger Clemens did his best on Saturday, going 7 innings, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs, walking none and fanning 9. But he left trailing 3-0, as three misplays in the field hurt. Homers by Ellis Burks and Dwight Evans narrowed the count to 3-2 in the eighth, but slumping reliever Lee Smith suffered a meltdown in the top of the ninth. It began with an error by Smith himself, and he proceeded to allow 6 runs, retiring only one batter before giving way to newcomer Zack Crouch.

After the contest, Lou Gorman finally spoke up, giving John McNamara the kind of vote of confidence that often precedes a firing. "Nothing that has happened on the ballclub is the manager's fault," said Uncle Lou...Right now, as far as I'm concerned, he's not in trouble." Gorman used his words carefully, as rumors flew that Jean Yawkey and John Harrington wanted a change. "Baseball can hardly be played worse than this," wrote ever-cynical Michael Madden. Fans and talk show hosts agreed.

The free-fall continued on Sunday, as the Jays pounded 19 hits off starter Jeff Sellers and four relievers. The Sox had 15 of their own, and knocked out Jays ace Dave Steib after 3 1/3. Boston trailed only 5-4 after four, but were then shut down by relief pitchers Mark Eichorn, Duane Ward and a young David Wells. The Sox stranded 13 and hit into four double plays. Perhaps trying to spark the team, McNamara argued a third strike and was ejected, but it hardly helped. The Sox were now at 25-26, 9 games behind and only half a game ahead of the sixth-place Jays. Noting that the Bruins and Celtics had already been eliminated, Madden proclaimed the season over for Boston fans.

Shaughnessy noted that the Sox could possibly get back into the race against the Yankees, who were off to their best start in 30 years under Billy Martin. Martin, in one of his five stints as NY skipper, had the Bombers at the top of the pack. Dan S, however, saw their pitching staff as rather fragile. Bruce Hurst began the series in Yankee Stadium with a 3-2 victory, going 8 innings, allowing 5 hits and fanning 6. Things got shaky in the ninth with Smith, but after a walk and error the embattled closer got the next three for a save. The good feelings lasted only one night, however, as the Yanks rebounded against fading Oil Can Boyd with a 4-3 win.

Off-the-field news was also plaguing the team. In the week after the Margo Adams lawsuit hit the media, Wade Boggs' palimony suit had the talk shows buzzing. One particular program had two hosts speculating on "designated wives" for road trips. Most players and writers expressed the fact that it was Boggs' business and no one else's, but the days of Babe Ruth's unreported womanizing were long gone. Jackie MacMullan, while sympathetic to Boggs, admitted that "regardless of the outcome of the suit, the damage to Boggs' reputation had been done. The adverse publicity has already plastered over the tabloids."

Nearly everyone was writing off the Sox at this point. But although no one knew it at the time, Boston had an ace-in-the-hole- a seldom-mentioned third base coach.

Sox Take Final Game of Series With Angels

2013-06-10T01:57:25+00:00

The Sox came into Sunday in hopes of taking the rubber game and winning their 3rd series in a row. The Sox had Ryan Dempster on the mound while the Angels had Joe Blanton. Dempster would pitch well enough to win aided greatly by a bunch of run support by way of the HR.

Dempster gave up a run in the top of the 1st giving up a solo HR to Albert Pujols. Sure, Pujols hasn't been stellar this year, but the guy can still hit the ball and do it well. The Sox bats got the lead back for Dempster in the 3rd and the Sox would stay on top from that point on out. The Sox would tie the game with a Nava RBI single to plate Ellsbury. The Sox took the lead when David Ortiz does what he does best, hitting homeruns. Papi smacked a 3 run HR have the Sox leading 4-1. Dempster gave up a solo HR in the 4th to Callaspo to bring the Angels within 2 runs, however the Sox would get that run right back in the 5th with an RBI triple from Ellsbury. Sox 5-2. The Angels bats kept trying to keep the game close. In the 5th inning Dempster gave up an RBI single to Trumbo to have the Sox clinging to a 2 run lead. Dempster pitched through 6 innings and while it wasn't the best outing, it was good enough to be a quality start and be in line for the win. Dempster's line for the night was 110 pitches, 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB and 6 Ks.

In the bottom of the 6th inning the Sox knocked Blanton out of the game with back to back solo HRs from Salty and Carp. Sox 7-3. Breslow pitched a scoreless 7th inning and then the Sox added 3 more runs to the board when Salty hit his 2nd HR of the night. Sox 10-3. In the 8th Koji Uehara came into the game and didn't have himself his usual "high five" performance. Uehara hit Kendrick and it's debatable whether it was intentional or not given how a few Sox players have been buzzed by Angels pitching during the series. Uehara then walked 2 more batters to have the bases loaded. Uehara gave up a 2 run RBI single to Shuck and the lead was now 10-5. Miller came into the game and even though he gave up a single to Trout, Shuck was thrown out at 3rd and the inning was over. Even though it was a non save situation, Andrew Bailey hasn't had himself many save opportunities lately, so he came into the game in the 9th. Bailey pitched a scoreless inning and the Sox won the game and the series.

Red Sox 10 Angels 5 BOXSCORE

WP: Dempster (4-6) LP: Blanton (1-10)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Angels 6/9/13

2013-06-09T21:13:39+00:00

Here is today's lineup vs. the Angels:

Ellsbury CF
Nava RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Saltalamacchia C
Carp LF
Drew SS
Iglesias 3B

Dempster SP

Game time is at 1:35pm EST.

Buchholz Goes 9-0 as Sox Take Game 2

2013-06-09T17:11:02+00:00

The Sox had already played and lost a game earlier in the day, but during the nightcap they would have the pitcher with the best ERA on the mound, Clay Buchholz. Buch would be matched up against CJ Wilson who has pitched well against the Sox during his time with the Rangers. Last night the duel would go in Clay's favor and he'd end the game being the first AL pitcher to go 9-0 on the season.

Clay pitched well and the Sox bats gave him an early lead to work with. The Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning with RBI doubles from Gomes and Pedroia. The only scary part about that was watching Shane Victorino running around the bases and him looking like the hamstring isn't even close to 100% yet. However, Victorino stayed in the game. The Sox added on one more run in the 2nd inning when Papi hit an RBI double to score Gomes. Sox 3-0. Buch gave up a single run in the top of the 3rd when he gave up a leadoff double and with one out, Mike Trout was able to hit an RBI single to score him. Sox 3-1. The Sox were able to get that run back in the 5th when Mike Napoli hit a single, got to 2nd on an error and then David Ross got him home with an RBI single. Sox 4-1.

Buchholz would give up his 2nd and final run in the top of 6th when Trumbo hit a sac fly to plate Josh Hamilton. Sox 4-2. The Sox bats would get that run back and then some in the next inning. In the bottom of the 6th, Pedey hit an RBI single to plate Iglesias and then Papi would hit a 2 run HR to put this game away. Sox 7-2. Buchholz would also have some scary and bizarre fielding in the game. In the 4th inning while trying to cover 1st base, Buch lost the ball and ended up tumbling over while getting the out. Finally, Kendrick hit a ball off his glove hand in the 6th and that seemed to get him to shake out his hand a little bit. In the 7th inning, Buchholz got two outs, but then called for the trainer. Buchholz would leave the game with neck tightness which he said he had been feeling for the last couple of innings. They don't believe it is related to the AC joint issue he had earlier in the season. Buchholz is on such a roll and the team really needs him, so let's hope this doesn't become a lingering issue. Breslow finished the 7th inning and also pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Junichi Tazawa came out and pitched a scoreless 9th inning to have the Sox split the day/night doubleheader.

Red Sox 7 Angels 2 BOXSCORE

WP: Buchholz (9-0) LP: Wilson (4-5)

Red Sox Lineup vs. Angels 6/8/13 Game 2

2013-06-09T02:55:48+00:00

Here is tonight's lineup vs. CJ Wilson and the Angels:

Victorino CF
Gomes LF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Nava RF
Ross C
Drew SS
Iglesias 3B

Buchholz SP

Game time is at 7:15pm EST.

Halos Take Game One of Doubleheader

2013-06-09T02:51:57+00:00

The rain held off today and the Sox were able to get in the game that was scheduled for Friday night. The matchup was Felix Doubront vs. Tommy Hanson. Doubront didn't have a poor outing, but he once again was not able to get into the 7th inning. Unfortunately the bullpen was unable to keep the game close and when the Sox bats rallied it was too little too late.

Doubront gave up his first run in the second inning when he gave up an RBI single to Aybar. Sox 0-1. In the 3rd he would give up two more runs, but that would be the only damage the Angels would get against Dubi. Dubi got in trouble early in the 3rd when he gave up a double to Trout and then walked Hamilton. Trout stole third and then Hamilton stole 2nd to put both runners in scoring position with no outs. Pujols hit an RBI sac fly and then Trumbo hit an RBI groundout. Sox 0-3. In the bottom of the 4th the Sox got two of those runs back and suddenly made it a game. Carp hit a solo HR to start the inning and then Nava hit an RBI single. Sox 2-3. Doubront pitched 6 innings and was able to keep the game close. His pitching line for the night was 97 pitches, 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB and 4 Ks.

I would have put Doubront back out there in the 7th, but what do I know. Morales came out in the 7th inning and it is an understatement to say his outing did not go well. Morales gave up a double to Trout and then with two outs he intentionally walked Albert Pujols. The IBB did not go as planned as Morales gave up an RBI double to Trumbo to have the Angels leading 4-2. Morales then walked the next 3 batters he faced which walked two more runs in. Sox 2-6. Morales was done for the night and Mortensen was on the mound trying to get the third out. Morty gave up an RBI infield single to Aybar to allow the 4th run to score in the inning. Sox 2-7. Mortensen came back out in the 8th inning and pitched a scoreless inning, but the damage had been done. Mortensen started the 9th as well, but would be unable to finish the inning. Morty gave up 2 singles and then with one out he was replaced with Andrew Miller. Miller was unable to get out of the inning without the Angels cracking the scoreboard again. In a trend for the night, Miller walked in a run and then gave up an RBI single to Hamilton. Sox 2-9.

The Sox bats had some life in the 9th, but there were too many runs to make up. With 2 outs, Mike Carp hit an RBI single and then Drew hit a 2 run RBI double. Sox 5-8. Iggy hit an infield single and then Ellsbury came to the plate. Unfortunately, Ellsbury struck out swinging to end the game.

Let's hope we have better luck in tonight's game!

Red Sox 5 Angels 9 BOXSCORE

WP: Hanson (3-2) LP: Doubront (4-3) SV: Frieri (14)

Red Sox Lineup vs Angels 6/8/13 Game 1

2013-06-08T19:47:32+00:00

Ellsbury CF
Nava RF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Napoli 1B
Saltalamacchia C
Carp LF
Drew SS
Iglesias 3B

Doubront SP

AL East Standings 6/7/13

2013-06-08T04:07:44+00:00

It's Friday and that means it's time to check in on where the Sox are in the AL East Standings:

The Sox had themselves a pretty good week and are basically in the same place they were a week ago. The Sox faced their rivals in the Bronx and were able to win 2 out of 3 games. The Sox had an off day on Monday and then faced off against the AL leading Texas Rangers. The Sox were also able to win 2 out of 3 in that series.

In the next coming week the Sox will play 3 games with the Angels over the weekend and then head off on the road to face some AL East teams. The Sox got rained out tonight and therefore will play a doubleheader on Sat and the final game on Sunday against the Angels. The Angels have slumped out of the gate, but they are a team that can still beat you with all that talent they have. The 2nd game of the doubleheader has CJ Wilson vs. Clay Buchholz, which seems like a great matchup.

The Sox head off on the road to play the Rays for 3 games and then the O's for 3 games. The Sox have a chance to either put some more space between themselves and those AL East teams or make it a much tighter race. Other than the Jays which are 11 games back, all of the other AL East teams are pretty close to one another. It could just take a quick run or slump to rearrange all of the teams in the top 4.