Red Sox Offense Explodes to Sweep Twins

Now, that's entertainment! As crazy as the final 18-5 score is, this was actually a tough, close game until the bottom of the 7th inning came around. Josh Beckett had a rough start, giving up 3 runs in the first inning, but settled down to hold the Twins scoreless until the 6th inning. By the 6th, Beckett's pitch count was getting too high, and when he started off the inning by giving up a solo home run followed by a double, Terry Francona gave him the hook. The Sox had put 6 runs on the board, but Javier Lopez gave up an RBI single to score that run from second, and the Twins pulled to within 6-5.

By the bottom of the 7th, the Sox were holding on to, what felt like, a 7-5 lead, but it was a strange day and it seemed like anything could happen, and it pretty much did. The bottom of the 7th started off with Mike Lowell walking, followed by a ground rule double by Sean Casey to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Then, Jason Varitek hits a sinking line drive to center field, and Denard Span dove to make the catch. The ball ends up in his glove, and the initial ruling is that the ball was caught for an out. Both runners had taken off, and the Twins tagged both bases for what appeared to be an inning ending triple play. It should not have been a triple play as it appeared that Lowell had tagged up before running home. However, the umpires conferred on the play, and reversed the initial call, ruling that the ball had hit the ground and bounced into the glove. Replays confirmed the ruling was correct, and the Sox caught a break that the umpires were willing to confer and get the call right. Had the umpire stubbornly decided to stick with the initial ruling, we would have headed to the 8th inning of a close game.

Instead, here's what happened to the Twins. Have you ever been working out in the yard on a hot summer day and find yourself hot, sweaty, and dying of thirst? So, you go over to the water hose and point the end at your face and then spin the valve to turn on the water. At first, nothing happens, and you realize there is a kink in the hose. So, you straighten out the kink, and suddenly the water erupts from the hose, drenching you from head to toe and the surprise of the blast causes you to stumble and fall on your butt, right in the rapidly filling puddle around you! Well, that's pretty much what happened to the Twins right there. Reversing the triple play call was the same as fixing the kink in the hose.

By the time the Twins got the water turned back off, the Sox had scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, increasing their lead to 14-5. Another 4 runs in the 8th just added insult to injury leading to a final score of 18-5. It was as if the Sox offense had been trapped but bursting to get free. Once it broke free, there was no stopping it. Every single starter in the Sox lineup had at least 2 hits (except for Brandon Moss who only had one), every single starter scored at least once, and every starter (other than Moss) drove in at least one run. Geez, what the heck was with Moss, is he in some kind of slump or something? Even Kevin Cash belted a solo home run pinch hitting for Varitek to lead off the 8th inning.

Things were so easy for the Sox, that Manny Ramirez had to take a break and call all of his friends and tell them to turn the game on and check it out (this is an actual game photo)!

With the Yankees beating the Rays again yesterday, the Sox are now a mere 2 games behind the Rays for first place. The Sox get a day off today to rest their exhausted swinging muscles, before hosting the Orioles for a three game series at Fenway. Clay Buchholz will be recalled to start that series off. It will be interesting to see if we can notice any difference in his delivery, or pitch selection, after working on improving things down in Pawtucket. If the Sox can keep their momentum going, they should be in good position heading in to the All Star break.

(Photos Courtesy of Boston.Com)

Red Sox Steal Another One Run Game From Twins

The Twins sure do make for exciting baseball. Two games into the three game series have featured excellent pitching, terrific defense, smart base running, strategic managerial moves, and (thankfully) two one run wins for the Red Sox.

One of the most frustrating areas for the Red Sox recently has been the ineptitude of the bottom of the order. In tough situations, the 7-8-9 batters have not been getting it done. So, Terry Francona mixed things up a bit last night. Rather than Crisp, Varitek, and Lugo at the bottom of the order, last night's lineup featured Brandon Moss, Julio Lugo and Kevin Cash. Lugo was typical Lugo, and Cash mostly served to give Varitek a night off. However, Moss was able to provide the spark at the bottom of the lineup that had been sorely missing.

In the 7th inning, with Kevin Youkilis on third form a well hit triple and one out, Moss came through with a sacrifice fly to plate Youk for Boston's second run of the game. Then, in the 8th inning, after Manny Ramirez had already tied the game with a much needed 3 run home run, Youkilis hit a two out double to keep the rally alive. Recently, we would have expected You to get stranded on 2nd base with a strikeout or a weak ground out. But, Moss was batting with confidence and sliced a single back up the middle to score Youk for the go ahead run.

Yes, Manny Ramirez is starting to look like he's breaking out of his recent slump. When Manny keeps his head down and drives the ball solidly to right center field, you know he's starting to get locked in. That is exactly the type of hit he has been starting to reconnect with. His two run homer in the 8th to tie the game was a breath of fresh air to Boston fans. Just what the home crowd needed to see.

It got Jon Lester off the hook for the loss. Lester had a decent night, pitching into the 8th inning. His one big blemish was the 4th inning when it seemed like no matter what he threw, it got hit. The Twins hitters just looked locked in in that inning. Lester's pitches were not that bad, but the Twins were able to make contact and put three runs on the board. Lester battled through it and, again, went deep into the game to take the pressure off the bullpen.

How about poor Sean Casey? I'm starting to wonder if Tito wants to get a left handed reliever into the game. It seems every time Casey steps out of the dugout to pinch hit, the opposing manager yanks his righty off the mound and sends in a lefty. Then, Tito sends Casey back to the bench. Casey shouldn't even bother grabbing a bat or helmet, just step onto the field, wave to the opposing manager, and take a seat. And by the way, does anyone else see a strong resemblance between Dennys Reyes and El Guapo (Rich Garces)? Must be long lost brothers!





The Yankees were helpful last night in beating the Rays 5-0 behind a terrific outing from Andy Pettitte. The Rays are having a strong season, but at some point, they will need to win the big games on the road. The Rays' loss moved the Sox up to 3 games out of first place. Can the Yankees take another from the Rays behind the drunken Aruban (Sidney Ponson) tonight to give the Sox a shot at moving up to 2 games out? To do so, the Sox will have to do their part by beating the Twins this afternoon behind ace, Josh Beckett. Sounds like a plan!

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

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.

Sox Lose Mother's Day Battle to Twins

The Red Sox lost last night 9-8, in a hard fought battle against the Minnesota Twins. Red Sox starter, Tim Wakefield, got the action going early...for the Twins, unfortunately. Somehow, Wakefield followed up his best outing of the season (a 5-0 win over the Tigers), with easily his worst of the season. After a quick 1-2-3 first inning, things looked promising. But, in the second inning the knuckleball went suddenly flat and the first three batters of the inning greeted Wakefield with a single, a double, and a home run to get the scoring started. Then, with one out, Wakefield walked Mike Lamb (you'll be hearing this name quite a bit) to set up the second home run of the inning, a 2 run shot for Adam Everett, his first of the year. The Red Sox escaped further damage in the inning, and saw a long road ahead of them staring at a 5-0 deficit heading into the third inning.

Twins' starter, Nick Blackburn came out a little wild to start off the third inning and hit the first two Red Sox batters, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, putting runners on first and second base. The free passes would leave bruises, but allow the Sox to get on the scoreboard in an inning where the Sox' bats and the Twins' defense waged quite a battle. David Ortiz followed Pedroia with a single to load the bases with no outs. The battle picked up when Kevin Youkilis stepped in and ripped a line drive to the gap between short and third. It looked certain to score at least one run, until third baseman, Mike Lamb made a highlight film dive to his left to snare the ball for the first out. Mike Lowell then put some wood on the ball send a shot to right fielder Michael Cuddyer. Now, get this straight, Cuddyer does not have a limp noodle throwing arm like the Yankees' Johnny Damon. Cuddyer has one of those throwing arms you treat with respect and don't test very often. Unless, that is, you are blessed with little wings sprouting out of each of your ankles. Jacoby Ellsbury, who was tagging up at third base, has such wings. It felt like there was a moment where time stood still for just a fraction of a second. The ball had settled into Cuddyer's glove and his eyes had just popped up and focused on Ellsbury at third. Ellsbury had one foot on the bag, body braced to explode out of the tall grass like a cheetah after his prey. Their eyes met for just that split second and they both knew the race was on. Suddenly time sped up again. Ellsbury launched his body towards home, Cuddyer's arm launched the ball on a perfect arc to meet him at the plate. They both arrived at home at nearly the same time, but the fraction of a second the catcher needed to secure the ball and apply the tag was all the advantage Ellsbury needed as he slid across the plate just ahead of the tag for Boston's first run. The Twins defense ended the inning as Adam Everett reeled in a JD Drew flare.

In the bottom of the third, the Twins continued to take advantage of Wakefield. A single, a walk, a passed ball, and a wild pitch all added up to a situation where the Twins had runners on second and third with two outs. Wakefield could not get out of the jam as Mike Lamb laced a single to center scoring both runners. That was all Terry Francona could handle. With the Sox now trailing 7-1, Wakefield got an early shower as Julian Tavarez came in to try to settle things down long enough for the Sox to catch up. Tavarez would do his job, ending the third inning, and only allowing one unearned run on the fourth on an error by the usually steady Mike Lowell that would have otherwise ended the inning.

In the top of the fourth, Coco Crisp would remind us that Ellsbury is not the only Red Sox player on the team with speed as he hit a ball to deep left field and raced all the way to third base for a lead-off triple. You won't often see a triple hit to left field! The Sox pounded on Blackburn in that inning scoring two more runs. David Aardsma then came in for Tavarez and did a terrific job of holding the Twins scoreless through the 5th and 6th innings. Blackburn also held the Sox scoreless and Boston was now behind 8-4 going into the 7th.

Yesterday, Coco Crisp was swinging a pink bat as part of MLB's efforts to raise breast cancer awareness on Mother's Day. Players may opt to play with pink equipment which is signed and auctioned off afterwards to raise money towards the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. Maybe Crisp should swing a pink bat every day! In the 7th inning, with 2 outs, and JD Drew having singled before him, Coco used that pink bat to launch his second home run of the season to edge the score closer to 8-6. But, in the bottom of the 7th, Mike Timlin surrendered a lead off home run to Craig Monroe, his second homer of the game, to provide the Twins with the insurance run they would end up needing to win.

In the ninth inning, with the Twins still leading 9-6, closer Joe Nathan came in to ice the game. The Sox did not make it easy for him. After Ortiz grounded out, Youkilis and Lowell hit back to back singles, which JD Drew followed with a clutch double to center field scoring both runners and closing the score to 9-8. This set up another dramatic moment, as Crisp stepped in with his powerful pink bat ready to do more damage. Crisp scorched a pitch back up the middle that glanced off of the pitcher and rolled towards third base. JD Drew already had a sizable lead off second base, and when he saw the ball get away, his instincts kicked in and he took off for third. A runner at third with only one out would greatly help the Sox tie the game. But, Joe Nathan somehow made a fantastic play, as he managed to quickly recover the ball and toss it to third base just ahead of Drew for the second out. Kevin Cash was due up next, and although he was 2-4 so far that night, manager Terry Francona thought that sending Manny Ramirez in to pinch hit would be the safer bet. Manny had the night off with a sore quad, but made it clear he could pinch hit if needed. But, the odds did not play out for the Sox this time as Manny hit an easy ground out to end the game.

Lots of drama on Mother's Day. It is a shame when you can score as many as 8 runs, but not get the pitching to line up for an easy win. Wakefield had a tough night, but he'll bounce back, he always does. Alex Cora started at short for Julio Lugo, who was given one more night off. As expected, Jed Lowrie was sent back to Pawtucket to make room for Cora, and get more playing time in. Cora did not disappoint, playing flawless defense and going 3 for 4 at the plate.

Tonight, Sean Casey will be added back to the lineup and all expectations are for a reliever to be cut to make room. The question is, who? A good bet would be Craig Hansen, since he still has options to be sent back to Pawtucket. However, Manny Delcarmen, Julian Tavarez, and Mike Timlin have all had struggles this year. If the Sox are confident in using Hansen steadily now, we might see one of those players cut, which would require putting them up for waivers. My guess is they'll feel it is too early to make that strong of a move and simply send Hansen down for now. If not, I'd put my money on Timlin getting the cut. He's been fabulous for the Sox up until now, but his time in Boston is clearly winding down, and this might be the moment the Sox chose to part ways.

Stay tuned.

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Twins Knee to the Head Leads to Red Sox Win

After a disappointing loss the day before to the Minnesota Twins, the Red Sox were able to bounce back yesterday with a 5-2 victory behind the solid pitching of Daisuke Matsuzaka, who improved his record on the season to 6-0. In Dice-K's last outing, he defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-3, but had to survive an amazing 8 walks in the process. Last night started out eerily familiar. Dice-K walked one batter in the first inning, and in the second inning he walked the lead off batter, and later with the bases loaded, he walked in the Twins' first run of the night. Three walks in two innings was sounding ominous. But, Dice-K was able to straighten things out and complete 7 innings without walking a single other batter. He countered those 3 walks with 7 strikeouts, while limiting the Twins to only 2 runs on 6 hits.

Good thing too, since the Twins' starter, Glen Perkins, was also having a great night and found himself clinging to a 2-1 lead heading into the 7th inning. Last night was Perkins' first appearance in the majors this season, and his first start ever for the Twins. In a situation like that, you are typically hoping to get 5 innings, maybe 6 from your young starter. Last night the Twins liked what they saw and thought they could stretch their good fortune to 7 innings. They were wrong.

Coco Crisp, leading off the 7th, got a hold of a Perkins fastball that came in too high, and sent it deep into the left field stands for his first home run of the year. With the game tied, the ninth batter for the Sox came to the plate. No, not Julio Lugo. Were you wondering about the title to today's post? The night before, Julio Lugo took a knee to the head on a close play at second base. After the game he was feeling "woozy" and was given the night off as a precaution. Jed Lowrie was given the start at second base, and again, showed Boston fans why he should be considered the shortstop of the future (possibly the near-future?). Lowrie followed Crisp with a home run of his own - his first one in the Major Leagues to give the Sox a 3-2 lead. All told, Lowrie went 3-4 last night, scored two runs, and completed a nifty double play to end the 5th inning. A big knock on Lugo has been his errors. Lowrie did go error-less last night, but he only had the one opportunity on the double play. Funny story about the home run. The Red Sox managed to retrieve the home run ball for Lowrie, but had to do a little negotiating to get it. They managed to swing a trade for an autographed Josh Beckett baseball in return for the home run ball. Lowrie commented with a smile, "Apparently, [Beckett's] signed ball is worth more than my first home run."

In the 8th inning, Mike Lowell hit a solo home run to add to the Sox total. For the second time in the past 3 games, both Lowell and Kevin Youkilis hit home runs on the same night. Youk continued his hot hitting with a solo shot of his own in the 2nd inning. The four solo home runs last night were the most by the Sox this season, and had there been a few more base runners, the game surely would have been a blowout.

Hideki Okajima confidently nailed down the 8th inning, as we are so used to seeing him do. He really does seem to perform much better when he is brought in to start off an inning, rather than get sent in with runners already on base. And finally, the ninth inning was wrapped up by Jonathan Papelbon, who showed no ill effects coming off of two straight blown saves. He was sharp, and even mixed his pitches up more than usual, but with solid results. Consider this, with two outs in the ninth, Papelbon welcomed pinch hitter Craig Munroe with two straight curveballs! I am not sure he has done that in his entire Red Sox career (I've got my stats people researching that one). Papelbon's line shows he gave up one hit, but the hit was actually a high pop up that hit a cable near the ceiling of the Metrodome and deflected away from the awaiting Jason Varitek. Also a positive sign that Papelbon has bounced back quickly, of his 20 pitches last night, seven of them went for strikes untouched - either called strikes or swinging strikes. Those numbers are more in line with his usual performance, unlike last night when only one pitch went for a strike untouched.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz will try to take turns with the new home run combo of Lowell and Youkilis. Last night Ramirez and Ortiz went a combined 0-9 and served only as casual observers to the victory. Perhaps tonight will be their turn to provide the power.

Keep an eye open today for player moves. Both Alex Cora and Sean Casey have completed their rehab assignments and are due to be added to the roster today. You can count on a pitcher being moved, as the Sox are currently carrying 13 pitchers. The easy move would be to simply send Craig Hansen back to Pawtucket, but if the Sox want to keep him and continue his progress, there will have to be a bigger, more permanent move of a player like Mike Timlin or Julian Tavares. We'll have to see how confident the Sox are in Hansen at this point in the season.

Unfortunately, the other move would have to be last night's hero Jed Lowrie. Lowrie should not be wasting too much time sitting on the bench as a backup. Smarter move would be to get him playing every day in Pawtucket. Only chance to keep Lowrie for a few more days would be to move Lugo to the DL, but I would not hold my breath for that. If Lugo needs one more night off, I expect we'd see Alex Cora start at short tonight. Terry Francona likes to get people involved right away.

Tim Wakefield faces off against Nick Blackburn tonight. Wakefield is coming off his best outing of the year. No reason to think he'll have anything other than a solid night, as his knuckleball generally enjoys the indoor environment.

Hide the Gatorade Cooler

The Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins last night 7-6. It was the second time in three days that they lost via a blown save by Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th inning. Papelbon, usually a sure thing, suddenly looks vulnerable. In Detroit, Papelbon took his frustrations out on the Gatorade cooler, last night he only publicly beat up his hat. In Detroit the game was lost through a series of strange events, including an accidental hit on a check swing and a damaging error.

But, last night was a straight out loss. He just was not intimidating to the Twins, and that forced him to fatally mix in an ineffective splitter. Consider this. Papelbon threw 18 pitches in the 9th inning. Out of those 18 pitches, he had zero called strikes, and only one swinging strike. Every other pitch was either a ball, a foul, or a hit. Since the fastball was not quite doing the trick, he went to the split finger, but was not able to execute it well. He looked "okay" after the first three batters giving up a lead-off single, followed by a sacrifice bunt and a foul pop out. But, with two outs, the Sox allowed Delmon Young to steal third base, setting up a dangerous situation with the Sox clinging to a one run lead. After four straight fastballs to Gomez leading to a 2-2 count, Papelbon went to the split finger, but Delmon was not biting as he watched two of them go by for ball 3 and ball 4. Young proceeded to steal second base, putting the winning run in scoring position for Mike Lamb. But, Papelbon could not get the fastball by Lamb. The count was 1 ball and 2 strikes after four straight fastballs in the upper 90's when Papelbon again went to the split finger, and Lamb stayed with it, sending a lofting single into left field to send both runners home and win the game. So, what went wrong? The splitter was not effective and lost the game.

On another sour note, Julio Lugo continues to ring up the errors. Last night's damage came in the 2nd inning and cost the Red Sox 2 unearned runs. With two outs and a runner on second, Lugo blew an inning ending ground ball to keep the Twins at the plate. A quick steal and a single then sent two runs across the plate. Sloppy play forced the game to be closer than it should have been.

The offense did well, making Bonser go "BOOF" in the 5th inning. Bonser was unable to get out in the 5th. A single by Dustin Pedroia, a walk to David Ortiz, and a single by Manny Ramirez loaded the based for Mike Lowell. Lowell hit a double, two runs scored, and Bonser went - "BOOF" - time to hit the showers big guy. Every batter in the Sox lineup had at least one hit, and the six runs scored would normally be enough for the win. But not last night. Put that one in the column of wins that got away.

Tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka heads to the mound to right the ship. Dice-K has had a good start to the season, as evidenced by his 5-0 record. It will be important to keep the ball around the plate against this Twins team that seems to have a very good eye for the strike zone and rarely chases bad pitches - a favorite tactic of Dice-K's. The Twins counter with 25 year old left-hander, Glen Perkins, who will be making his first appearance with the Twins this season, and his first start for them ever. Perkins has made a few appearances over the past two years, all in relief. He struggles in the minors earlier this year, but has gotten back on track recently, giving the Twins the confidence to call him up in place of the injured Scott Baker.

This one won't be easy.

(Photos courtesy of Yahoo Sports) (Gatorade kick - AP Photo by Duane Burleson)