Yankees Suffer Amnesia - Forget How To Lose

Well, winning 8 games in a row since the All Star Break is a nice way to get yourself back into the playoff mix. The Yankees have been kind to the Red Sox fans the past couple of years by starting off the season slow, sluggish, and appearing to be done for. They give Sox fans a chance to boast, thump their chest, and proclaim how the mighty Yankees have fallen and they are now the king of the roost. Then, the All Star Break comes around and the Yankees begin their attack. Remember how that 20+ game lead last year melted like butter left out in the sun?

So, what can you say about yesterday's game, a 10-3 loss at home? Well, it looked like it was going to be a Red Sox day when Big Papi drove in his first run since returning from the DL in the first inning. After 1 inning the Sox had a 2-0 lead, and it looked like Andy Pettitte was going to have an early day. But, Pettitte is no 20 year old rookie. He just took a deep breath, adjusted his approach a bit, and went back to work shutting down the Sox until JD Drew's solo home run in the 6th inning. The Sox offense, since the break, has looked no more potent than the lowly Devil Rays (Oh wait, that was just a habit. Change that to the Royals and let's keep going...). Since the break, the offense has only scored 4 runs once, and less than 4 in every other outing. They just cannot get a rally going! Part of that may be the slump of Jacoby Ellsbury who does a great job of clogging the bases, but overall, they get a hit here and a hit there only. In other words, "here a hit, there a hit", but never, "everywhere a hit, hit".

So what went well? Not much. The Yankees were held in check for a spell, but continually put pressure on Tim Wakefield until he finally started to crumble in the 6th. Justin Masterson came in and threw some very nifty pitches with impressive movement on them. However, the Yankees fouled those off and waited for the ones that weren't as tricky to hit. Masterson faced 3 batters, gave up 3 hits, and took a seat.

So, yesterday we discussed whether or not Joba Chamberlain intentionally threw at Kevin Youkilis. I think we got part of the answer yesterday, specifically in the 8th inning. With two outs, and runners on 1st and 3rd, Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate. If a team is going to throw at an opposing player in retaliation, and to send a message that they will not be pushed around, they will try to pick a premier player on the other team, right? Okay, A-Rod fits that criteria. They'll also tend to do it late in the game, especially if the score is out of control. Check. With runners on 1st and 3rd, a smart move might have been to walk A-Rod to take the bat out of their best hitter's hands and create a force play at any base situation. Well, if you are going to put him on base intentionally....

So, with one ball and no strikes, Craig Hansen threw a 98 mph fastball right at A-Rod's arm (wisely not going right for the head like Joba did). A-Rod got nailed in the arm and hopped around in pain. Clearly an intentional pitch. So, what does a team do when their best player just got intentionally nailed by a 98 mph pitch in a game where all they are trying to do is play good, solid baseball? They get pissed off, the batter throws a few choice words out to the pitcher and begins marching out to extract his pound of flesh. The bench empties and the bullpen pitchers come running in to help. If no punches are thrown, there is at least some serious posturing, swearing, and shoving. Remember the situation with the Rays? Coco gets hit - fight ensues. You get the idea.

What happened yesterday? A-Rod winced in pain, shook it off, and took first base. The guys in the dugout never even flinched, and the guys in the bullpen remained seated. Two possible reasons for that. One is that the Yankees can't stand A-Rod and are glad someone plunked him with a pitch and wish they were allowed to do the same. I know, that could be the real reason. But, the second reason would be that they knew their guy was wrong throwing at Youk, and by allowing A-Rod to get drilled without even a nasty look is conceding that they were owed that one. And before you go commenting that a third reason might be that the Yankees are good sports and simply won't stoop to that level, don't embarrass yourself, that reason just would not fit.

Hansen did a fantastic job of plunking A-Rod (many pitchers completely botch the revenge pitch), but rather than firing him up, and got his knees rattling. Hansen went on to walk in a run, and then gave up a double to let the game get completely out of hand. So, if you need a pitcher to deliver a message, you can let Hansen do it, just pull him from the game after that.

The Red Sox ace of 2008, Jon Lester, takes the mound today to end the losing streak. A task Lester is definitely up for. The Yankees counter with beach brawler, Sidney Ponson. Ponson has a tough time at Fenway with a 2-4 record and a 7.16 ERA. Time to put a W on the board and get the ship pointed in the right direction again!

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Sox Sweep Seattle to End Road Trip

That was a close one, and also a timely win. Both the Yankees and the Rays won yesterday, and when your competition wins, you want to win and keep step with them.

Clay Buchholz was much improved over his past two outings, and that is a good sign. Clay went 5 1/3 innings and gave up 3 runs, but he held the line early on, and did not fall behind quickly like he has in his last two outings. In fact, entering the 6th inning, he had only surrendered a solo home run to that point. In the 6th, he started to unravel giving up a two run home run and putting two men on base with one out before turning the game over to Justin Masterson. Masterson is working out of the bullpen for the Sox and this was a big test. How does he handle coming in to the inning with 2 men on and one out? Simple. He strikes out the next two batters to end the inning.

Masterson did not stop there. He went on to record a 1-2-3 7th inning, followed by a 1-2-3 8th inning! So far, whoever thought he'd work well out of the bullpen looks like a genius. Also, since Masterson had been training all year as a starter, he can be used (at least for a while) in long relief situations very effectively. Masterson did a nice job of getting to the ninth inning for Jonathan Papelbon, but the problem was that the game was only tied 3-3.

In the 3rd inning, Ichiro Suzuki kept the game from getting out of reach when he leaped high on the right field wall to rob JD Drew of a sure 3 run home run. It was an amazing catch, and the Sox may have been able to use that to build a comfortable lead. But, as strange things always happen in baseball, the next batter, Kevin Youkilis, laced a line drive to right field. As Ichiro chased it down and bent to scoop it up, the ball snuck under his glove and rolled to the wall for an error, allowing two runs to score. That's baseball. Once play you are a hero and a sure web gem, and the next play you make an error that could cost the game.

More great pitching for Boston came after the 8th inning as Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen combined to pitch two scoreless innings. In an interesting move, with the game still tied, Terry Fancona went to Papelbon to pitch the bottom of the 11th inning. Papelbon finally got a strikeout (he's had fewer of those lately) and induced a double play to end the 11th.

The 12th inning, the Red Sox had had enough. Time to end this thing. They worked the bases loaded with one out, and Mike Lowell became the designated hero with a line drive single to left. Jacoby Ellsbury scored from third, and JD Drew showed some speed sliding in safe at home from second base. Sean Casey singled in an insurance run to bring the score to 6-3. So, now we're thinking Papelbon will be back out and end this, right? Wrong. Francona, perhaps not feeling Papelbon has enough bullets left in the gun, and also thinking a 3 run lead should be comfortable enough, sends in none other than Craig Hansen to close the game out. Hansen did it, but he did not do it easily. With two outs and a runner on first, Hansen surrendered a single and a walk to load the bases. White knuckle time, folks. So, Jose Vidro steps to the plate and watches the first three fastballs go by, none of them is a strike. Bases loaded, three balls, no strikes, two outs. Next pitch, called strike. Next pitch, Vidro tops the pitch for an easy bouncing ball to Dustin Pedroia who flips the ball to first to end the game. Phew! Close one there Hansen!

Tomorrow, the dreaded Yankees come to town. Stay tuned...

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Red Sox Bullpen Collapses - Hands the Broom to Tampa Bay

That was one of the worst, and most depressing games the Sox have played this season. Dice-K Matsuzaka started out shaky in the first inning, walking three batters, but was fortunate that it only cost the team one run. After that, he settled in nicely, holding the Rays scoreless through 5 innings. But, with the walks come a higher pitch count. After 5 innings, Dice-K had thrown 101 pitches. Normally, there is a good chance Terry Francona would have sent him back out for the 6th inning, but this was only his third game since coming off the DL for shoulder weakness. That being the case, Tito made the prudent move to be cautious and go to the bullpen holding on to a 4-1 lead, and the nightmare was looming ahead.

First out of the pen was Hideki Okajima who has been like a Forrest Gump box of chocolates this season (you never know what your gonna get). Yesterday was a good day, and Okajima pitched a scoreless 6th. Next up, Manny Delcarmen (cue the gloomy music). Manny had been very shaky early in the season, and then settled in to a very nice rhythm. But, that rhythm has been faltering lately. Manny faced three batters, resulting in a double, and two singles. With the score now 4-2, Tito made the right move and yanked Manny before the game could get out of hand.

So, Craig Hansen came in with runners on 1st and 3rd, no outs. So what does he do to help? Nothing! He walks the first two batters to score a run, then gives up a double to Evan Longoria, scoring two more runs. There goes Dice-K's opportunity for a win, the score now 5-4 in favor of the Rays, and still no outs. David Aardsma got one out on a ground out, and Javier Lopez got a second on a strikeout, but gave up a two run single before getting out of the inning.

The 6 run 7th inning was devastating. The Red Sox tried to claw back into it, but lost by 1 run, the final score 7-6. The Sox needed some hitting, and Dustin Pedroia decided he was the guy. Here's how Pedroia's at-bats went: Home run, triple, double, fly out, double. Just a single shy of hitting for the cycle! JD Drew also hit a triple and drove in a run. So, some of the Sox cylinders where hitting, but not all of them. Manny Ramirez went 0-5, but he did bring in a run from third on a ground out.

Jason Varitek is still in a funk at the plate, and the Rays took advantage, in embarrassing fashion. In both the 5th and the 7th innings, the Rays intentionally walked Kevin Youkilis with two outs to pitch to Varitek. Varitek did not make them pay, grounding out once, and striking out the other time. He'll snap out of it, but right now, Jason is a hole in the lineup, and the other teams see that. Let's hope he finds his stroke in NYC this weekend.

That's right, while the Rays proudly hold the best record in all of baseball, the Sox and the Yankees finally meet up again, but this time in a battle for second place. This is not time for the Sox to be on a losing streak. Red Sox fans have been proclaiming they are not afraid of the Yankees, and the Yankees do not have the pitching to compete this year. Well, let's find out! Today's game features a lefty-lefty match up with Jon Lester going up against Andy Pettitte. Sounds like a fair fight. So, let's hope the Sox find some fight in them and keep the Yankees from climbing back into the race.

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Red Sox Top Reds in Extra Innings, 6-4

The Red Sox headed into yesterday's game with a big offensive handicap, missing both Manny Ramirez and Big Papi, their number 3 and number 4 hitters, from the lineup. In addition, playing in a National League Park, there would be no designated hitter so the pitcher would be taking the 9th spot in the order (and the Sox got 5 strike outs out of the 9th place in the order, as it turned out). The weakened lineup would then have to face one of the brightest young pitchers of 2008, Edinson Volquez. The edge the Sox needed to take advantage of was speed, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp both in the outfield.

Ellsbury got things running right away. He lead off the game with a single and advanced to second base on a wild throw, possibly due to Volquez worrying about a steal. The steal was coming - just one batter later, with JD Drew at the plate, Ellsbury stole third base and the throw got away, allowing him to score the first run of the day. JD Drew scored the Red Sox' second run in the fourth inning when he roped a triple to deep left field, and two batters later, snuck home on a wild pitch. Leading 2-1 in the 8th inning, JD Drew got things going again in the 8th with a lead off double, and scored on a Mike Lowell single to center field. Unfortunately, third base coach, DeMarlo Hale, thought Lowell was one of the team's speedsters and sent him home from first on a double by Kevin Youkilis. Predictably, Lowell was easily thrown out.

But, with a 4-2 lead, the Sox looked to be in good shape. Tim Wakefield had a very good game, only allowing two solo home runs in 7 innings to go with 6 strike outs. But, the bullpen was not able to keep the lead for Wake. The one time sure thing, Hideki Okajima, replaced Wakefield in the 8th inning. He faced three batters allowing a single, a strike out, and a walk. But, Terry Francona, wisely keeping Okajima on a short leash for a while, decided to change direction and brought in Manny Delcarmen. Manny immediately gave up a single to Javier Valentin, scoring a run from second base. But, before things got out of control, he thankfully induced Ken Griffey, Jr., to ground into a double play.

So, ninth inning, 4-3 lead, no problem, right? Well, almost. Jonathan Papelbon got the first two batters of the ninth out on consecutive ground balls. Then, Edwin Encarnation stepped in and waged a fierce battle with the Sox closer, fouling off some very good pitches. Papelbon, hoping to catch Edwin looking for a 98 mph fastball, opted for an 89 mph slider. Unfortunately, the slider did not have enough bite on it, and Encarnation sent it into the left field seats for a game tying home run. Papelbon finished off the 9th, but earned his 3rd blown game of the season.

The Sox needed runs, and the got them in the 10th on back to back solo home runs from Youkilis and Coco Crisp. For the Sox to get a rare road win, they needed someone to take care of the Reds in the 10th. Enter, Craig Hansen, and begin some National League roster moves. With the pitcher due to lead off, Corey Patterson was sent in to pinch hit, and Hansen got him to ground out, and then struck out Jay Bruce for two quick outs. But, to keep things exciting, Jolbert Cabrera singled to center field, and was then allowed to steal 2nd base, and then 3rd base with no throw from Kevin Cash. With a two run lead, the batter was all that really mattered. The batter was Ken Griffey. Hansen wisely was careful with Griffey, but maybe a bit too careful, walking him on 5 pitches. To speed things up on the bases, Bronson Arroyo, our old pal, was sent in to pinch run for Griffey. But, all the interesting strategies went for naught when Brandon Phillips flied out to JD Drew to end the game, which earned Hansen his very first save as a major league pitcher! Congratulations to Craig Hansen!

This afternoon, the Sox will attempt to take 2 of three on the road, a rarity these days. But, there are a lot of fathers out there looking for joy on Father's Day. With Josh Beckett starting for the Sox, you would think this was a sure thing, but Beckett has not been dominating lately. But, he has pitched well enough to keep them in the game. The Sox will again be dealing with a weakened lineup, so look for more of the same today - aggressive base running, low scoring game, and attack the bullpen.

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Red Sox Bullpen Stumbles in Loss to Orioles

The Red Sox bullpen had recently been on a good run of solid, consistent pitching. Until last night. Josh Beckett had an okay outing, but was far from stellar. He lasted 6 innings allowing 4 earned runs, and left the game holding on to a 6-4 lead. Hideki Okajima came in and looked terrible. He simply did not have his command last night. After striking out the lead-off batter, he issued a walk, gave up a double, and another walk to load the bases. Terry Francona left him in, hoping he could work out of the jam. He could not. Instead, he gave up a well hit single to Aubrey Huff that drove in 2 runs, tying the game at 6 runs a piece. Okajima has been a mystery this year. He'll go an outing or two looking just fine, and then blow up like last night. What seems to be coming clear, is that, when he is off his game, he is off. Therefore, Francona should have him on a shorter leash, at least for a while. If he gets in a serious jam, get him out, he does not have his stuff.

Manny Delcarmen did a very nice job of getting the Sox out of the 7th inning, and pitched a scoreless 8th inning. Then, Craig Hansen followed Okajima's lead and had a sloppy ninth inning, also giving up 3 runs (only two were earned) and putting the game out of reach. So, not a proud day for the bullpen.

The offense fared well, particularly JD Drew and Manny Ramirez who hit back to back home runs in the 5th inning. JD Drew has been doing a fabulous impersonation of David Ortiz ever since Ortiz went on the DL. Drew has been so dangerous, that Orioles' manager, Dave Trembley, had to make moves to the bullpen in the 7th inning to try and contain JD, sending in the left handed pitcher, Jamie Walker, who was able to strike Drew out. Manny has also been on a tear ever since hitting his 500th home run in Baltimore. Yesterday, the Red Sox honored Manny's historic home run in a pre-game ceremony, and Manny later sent home run number 505 over the Monster.

Jacoby Ellsbury was back in the lineup, playing left field, for the first time since spraining his wrist last week. The wrist was still tender, and you could see him wince when we would swing and miss at the plate. I would not be surprised if he gets tonight off to ensure he does not suffer a setback. In the past, my only criticism of Ellsbury has been that he has not yet gotten comfortable playing fly balls right up against the wall. Based on last night, that is still the case as he jumped up in front of the Green Monster to try and snare a fly ball. The catch would have ended the inning, but, while it was catchable, Ellsbury missed it by a foot and two runs scored. It was certainly a tough play, but one he has yet to get comfortable making. Coco Crisp, on the other hand, is quite adept at snaring balls up on the outfield fence, and did so in center field last night to end the 4th inning in dramatic style. Maybe he can work with Ellsbury to help fill that last gap in the kid's development.

Tonight, the Sox will have their work cut out for them as they face the left handed Garrett Olson tonight. Olson has been the Orioles' toughest pitcher this year. He faced the Red Sox once this year on May 31 out in Baltimore. He gave up back to back solo home runs to Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz, but allowed only one other hit in the 5 innings he pitched. If he is able to keep the Sox run production down, Bartolo Colon will have to pick up his game and keep pace. A native of the Dominican Republic, I imagine Colon is comfortable in hot weather. Tonight, he'll certainly have hot weather on his side. We can certainly use a solid outing from the big guy.

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

JD Drew Leads Red Sox to Victory

JD Drew continues to swing a hot bat, and has done so ever since David Ortiz headed to the disabled list. While (some) fans instantly began formulating crazy plans to replace Papi (Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and others were bantered about), JD Drew has been picking his game up and making those discussions irrelevant. Last night Drew was a double shy of hitting for the cycle. He went 3 for 5, with a home run, a triple, and a single. The two outs he made were hard hit line drives right at people. Fans got on Drew's case last year, when he clearly underperformed. However, we all know he was dealing with some pretty stressful personal situations, with his wife being pregnant, and his son going through serious medical issues. This year, it appears that is all behind him, and we are seeing what he can really do.

But, last night was not only the JD Drew story. Tim Wakefield pitched a nice game, getting the win as he went 7 solid innings, only allowing 2 runs in the third inning. Craig Hansen is also settling into his role well, and pitched a scoreless 8th inning before handing the ball to Papelbon with an 11-3 lead in the 9th. Papelbon pitched the ninth to get some work in, not because he was needed to close the door. He started the inning looking as if he knew this was no biggie. But, that's the mentality that gets closers in trouble. After a rare error by Kevin Youkilis at first, who misplayed a throw from Alex Cora at second, Papelbon gave up a single that allowed a run to score. Papelbon seemed to realize he was in danger of getting too sloppy, and quickly bore down and got the next 3 outs on a pair of strikeouts, and a fly ball to JD Drew in right.

Kevin Youkilis finally committed an error at first base, his first error at the position since July 4, 2006. 238 games later, Youk finally drops a ball. Congratulations to Youk, as his streak set a major league record. Since moving from third base to first base, he has really proven himself to be a solid, versatile infielder.

Manny Ramirez also kept up the heroics with home run number 504. Manny is still resting a tender hamstring, but was back in the lineup at DH. Coco Crisp was also in the lineup again, and added two stolen bases. With Jacoby Ellsbury out nursing a sore wrist, Crisp has been filling in as a terror on the bases. All in all, the Sox earned a convincing win yesterday, which is needed to shake off the crazy Rays series.

This afternoon, the Sox play their last game of the DVD Giveaway Contest. This is still a close battle, and with Jacoby Ellsbury not in the starting lineup, the lowest base stealing guesses will earn the most points. A win or loss will also make a difference. With many people guessing 4 wins, a loss gives them all 5 points, but a win today gives the few people who guessed 5 wins an edge. Runs and home runs are both settled in the middle. A high scoring game today could produce a dramatic swing in the final standings! Good luck to you all!

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Red Sox Crawl Out of Minnesota

The Red Sox lost by a score of 7-3 last night to the Minnesota Twins. After just having won three out of four from the Tigers, the Sox have now lost three out of four to the Twins to break even on the current 10 game road trip. Last night it was Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz who got things going in the first inning. Coco Crisp lead off the game with a double (and he was not even using his powerful pink bat), Dustin Pedroia bunted him over to third (what better player for some small ball than little Dustin Pedroia?), and David Ortiz singled to score Crisp. Manny followed Ortiz with a long shot over the 'Hefty Bag' right field wall for his 498th career home run. When Manny is hitting with power to the opposite field, it is a sign he is getting in a groove. Watch for him to have a hot week or so.

With the Sox opening the game with a 3-0 lead, things looked promising for the Boston nine. But, unfortunately those were all the runs the Sox would score, as Minnesota was able to keep the Sox off the scoreboard behind the crafty pitching of Livan Hernandez. Livan did not use blazing speed, he simply dazzled with good location, lots of off-speed breaking stuff, and kept the Sox guessing all night. Clay Buchholz looked more dazzling, and also more predictable to the Twins hitters. For the second straight night, the Red Sox got a sub-par performance from their starter as Clay only lasted 4 1/3 innings giving up 7 earned runs on 8 hits, 5 walks, and 4 strike outs. No surprise that Clay remains a work in progress. He clearly has talent, and occasionally throws a gem of a game, but can easily follow that up with a few mediocre games. He is in a good place to grow, learn, and evolve as a big time pitcher. We'll just have to accept that we'll be on a bit of a roller coaster this season with him.

The Sox bullpen looked great last night with Javier Lopez, Craig Hansen, and Mike Timlin combining to hold the Twins scoreless over the last 3 2/3 innings allowing only 3 hits and no walks. Shame to waste such a solid effort on a night where the offense could not keep up. The bullpen morphed again last night as Julian Tavarez was designated for assignment to make room for the return of Sean Casey from the DL. I like the move as it shows Hansen the Sox have confidence in him and want to see him stick in Boston and make this his true debut season. They may miss Tavarez, as he provides reasonably dependable long relief, but with the quality of starters, and the tendencies they've noticed this season, the Red Sox just did not feel like they'd be taking a big risk by letting Tavarez go. Hansen seemed to get a lift from the news and channeled the excitement into an impressive 7th inning, feeding the Twins a steady dose of fastballs and sliders to induce two ground outs and a strike out. If Hansen is truly ready, he can be an important part of this bullpen, providing the critical bridge to Okajima and Papelbon - a role that Manny Delcarmen was expected to fill, but has so far fallen short.

The Sox head east to play two games in Baltimore. Josh Beckett faces off against Jeremy Guthrie tonight. You can count on Beckett halting the current two game losing streak. Wednesday it will be Jon Lester facing Daniel Cabrera in a more evenly matched game. If Manny stays hot, stealing two from the Orioles will be within reach, and a great way to wrap up the road trip.

Walk in the Park as Red Sox Beat Tigers 6-3

Walk in the park indeed, but it was the Tigers who did the walking as Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up 8 free passes in just 5 innings and still managed to exit with a 4-1 lead. The Tigers just couldn't convert those free base runners into runs. It is very unusual for a pitcher to survive that many walks, but that shows you that Dice-K battled hard and never gave in. In fact, he seemed to be following a trend he started last year. Dice-K is stubborn and does not like to give up hits to batters. In counts where a fastball over the plate is warranted, Dice-K would rather keep the ball away from the batter and risk the walk, and last night he gave up a dangerous number of them. But, when he wasn't walking batters, he was getting them out, as the Tigers only managed two hits against him, as he improved his record to a perfect 5-0 on the year.

Following Dice-K to the mound was Craig Hansen, fresh up from Pawtucket. The Red Sox are looking for someone to step up into a dependable middle relief role, and Hansen is loaded with talent that the Red Sox hope is finally ripe for the picking. Hansen did not disappoint as he make quick work of the Tigers with a 1-2-3 6th inning. The 7th inning, however, was not as clean. With runners on first and second and no outs, Hansen induced the dangerous Magglio Ordonez to hit into a double play, leaving one runner on third. But, rather than a quick out to escape any damage, Hansen tore a page from Dice-K's play book and walked the next two batters to load the bases. Terry Francona had seen enough, and with the left handed Matthew Joyce coming up, he brought in Hideki Okajima to create a favorable lefty-lefty match up.

But Tigers' manager, Jim Leyland, has been around far too long to fall for that old trick. Jimmy said, "I'll see your lefty and raise you a righty", as he sent Marcus Thames to pinch hit. Sure enough, Marcus drove the first pitch he saw into center field, driving in two runs. Okajima immediately settled down and retired the next four batters he faced before turning the game over to Jonathan Papelbon to close shop in the ninth for his tenth save of the year. It has become clear that Okajima does not do so well with inherited runners. He is much better coming in at the top of an inning (note to Francona).

The Sox got some nice hitting from Mike Lowell as he went 3 for 5 with a 2 run home run, a double and a single. Believe it or not, the home run gave Lowell his first RBI of the 2008 season, thanks to his time on the DL. Kevin Youkilis also contributed with a 2 run home run of his own, while Big Papi collected the final 2 RBI with a single that drove in Pedroia from second in the 7th, and a solo home run to right in the 9th. Great to see Papi driving the ball again as the home run tied him with Manny Ramirez for the team lead with 6. Manny had himself a well hit double (that would have been an easy triple for Ellsbury, who unfortunately went 0-5), but Manny remained homerless, unable to close in on magic number 500.

So, the Sox extend their winning streak to four games, while the Tigers match with a losing streak of four games. Tonight, Tim Wakefield squares off against Nate Robertson, who has struggled this year starting off with a 1-3 record, but may be coming around as his win came in his last outing against the Yankees. The Red Sox should pounce on the Tigers while the Tigers are cold - they have too much talent to want to face on a winning streak. Let's get our wins and get out of town.

On the injury front, Curt Schilling will throw this afternoon for the first time in his rehab program. He'll be throwing from 60 feet just to feel things out and take it slow. One step at a time, but keep your fingers crossed. We all know how valuable Curt can be come October! Bartolo Colon, meanwhile, pitched two scoreless innings in an extended spring training game against the Orioles. He experienced no pain in his injured oblique, and topped out at 93 MPH. Good news - you can never have too much pitching!

Flu Shots Anyone?

I know I got my flu shot this year, but they must have run out of serum by the time they got to Fenway. For the second day in a row, the starting pitcher for the Red Sox has been scratched at the last minute due to the flu that has been going around the clubhouse. Terry Francona has been very creative using his bench, as well as the minor league systems, to get through the crisis. Yesterday, Dice-K Matsuzaka was at the park and looking fine, but as the day progressed the flu rapidly took hold. he was such a last minute scratch that Tito had little choice but to bump up Jon Lester a day early.

This was the first time Lester had pitched on three days rest, and the coaching staff had decided to limit him to about 80 pitches to reduce the possibility of an injury. To compensate for the expectation of going to the bullpen early, Craig Hanson was called up from Pawtucket. Hanson took over for Lester in the 6th inning with the score tied. He threw well, and it was encouraging to see. But, he did leave a fastball too far out over the plate resulting in a solo home run for Casey Kotchman. Other than that he looked fine and went 1 2/3 innings. Timlin gave up a run in the ninth in his one inning of work. Still not the lights out guy we need yet. Hanson was returned COD to Pawtucket after the game to keep the flu doors revolving.

The Sox lost, which seems inevitable after a 6 game winning streak and half the team out with the flu. One good thing was a 2 run home run by Big Papi in the 5th inning to tie the game. Nice to see Ortiz coming around.

Early game today at 1:35. Since Lester pitched yesterday, the Sox called up Justin Masterson, a 23 year old hot prospect pitching in double A Portland this season. This will be Masterson's major league debut, and a chance for Sox fans to get a look at him. He is a player Theo Epstein has been keeping close and refusing to trade. Expectations are good for him to make the starting rotation next season, so this will be a nice preview.


Now let's just hope Masterson got his flu shot!