Big Eighth Gives Sox Another Win Over Angels (14-15)

Last night, the Red Sox blew a close game into 7-3 blowout in one big inning, as it was a duel for much of the game. In the 2nd inning, the Angels got ahead with a homer over the green monster by Mark Trumbo to make it 1-0 Angels. In the bottom of the 6th, the Red Sox got it all tied up, and then some with RBI singles for Adrian Gonzalez and Jed Lowrie to make it 2-1 Red Sox. After a Carl Crawford single with 1 out in the 7th, Jarrod Saltalamacchia hammered the ball off the center-most part of the monster for a double that would be a home run in most ballparks, 3-1 Red Sox. In the bottom of the 8th, the Red Sox had their first back-to-back home runs of the season by Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz, making it 5-1 Red Sox. Then, later in the inning, a two-run shot by Marco Scutaro was reviewed, as it looked like a fan had caught it, but it was called a home run to make it 7-1 Red Sox. An RBI ground-rule double by Erick Aybar and a sac fly by Jeff Mathis ended the game at 7-3 Red Sox.

Jon Lester (top right) threw a gem last night, allowing just 1 run and 6 hits while striking out 11 batters in 7 innings. He is now 4-1/2.33/46 after earning the win, and dropping his ERA considerably, last night. Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless inning, before Jonathan Papelbon allowed 2 runs in an inning to close out the game. Adrian Gonzalez had a great game, going 2-4 with 2 RBIs while scoring twice, he is now .316/2/20. David Ortiz went 2-4 with a home run, as he is now .286/4/16. Jed Lowrie went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Marco Scutaro went 2-4 with that big 2-run homer, he is now .197/1/8 this year, as he's been off. Carl Crawford has really been hot lately, as after a 2-3 day, he brought his average up to .194 after being so low. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 1-4 with an RBI double off the wall. Tonight at 7:10, Josh Beckett (2-1/2.65/32) will go against Ervin Santana (1-3/4.89/33).

Bright Spots:

Jon Lester- 1 run and 11 strikeouts in just 7 innings

Daniel Bard- a scoreless inning of relief

Adrian Gonzalez- a home run and an RBI in a 2-4 day

David Ortiz- 2-4 with a home run

Jed Lowrie- 2-4 with an RBI single

Marco Scutaro- 2-4 with a 2-run homer

Carl Crawford- 2-3 with a run scored and a stolen base

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 1-4 with an RBI double

Dull Spots:

Jonathan Papelbon- 2 runs in an inning of relief could have been bad if it were a different game

Dustin Pedroia- 0-4 with a strikeout

J.D. Drew- 0-4 with 3 strikeouts and 3 runners left on base

Here the Red Sox stand, one game from .500 after a 2-10 start, let's go undefeated in May!

Timely Hitting Tarnishes Weaver's Perfect Record (13-15)

Last night, the Red Sox beat the Angels 9-5, as they remained perfect against the Angels this year, beating one of the top hurlers in the game, Jered Weaver. After Jacoby Ellsbury reached first base, and stole second to begin the ballgame, Kevin Youkilis drove him in with an RBI single to left. The Angels tied the game with an RBI single by Bobby Abreu in the 3rd inning. They then took the lead in the 5th inning, after loading the bases, Bobby Abreu bounced a ball up the middle that Dustin Pedroia caught and made one out on, 2-1 Angels. In the bottom of the 5th, Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury reached 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Dustin Pedroia crunched out a 13-pitch at-bat before delivering a single up the middle to make it 3-2 Red Sox. In the 7th, the Sox went wild, as Adrian Gonzalez cleared the bases with a double, and Kevin Youkilis drove him in with a double, setting up a 2-run homer by David Ortiz, once all the madness was over, it was 9-2 Red Sox. In the top of the 8th, the Angels cut the lead a little on a 2-run shot by Vernon Wells making it 9-4. And in the 9th, an RBI double by Jeff Mathis made it 9-5, but it was not nearly enough.

Clay Buchholz (top right) pitched his first legitimately good start of the year, allowing 2 runs through 6 2/3 strong innings. He picked up the win, and is now 2-3/4.81/17 to start the season. Daniel Bard followed with 1/3 of a scoreless inning, before Dan Wheeler exploded with 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings, as he hasn't been too sharp this year. Hideki Okajima closed the game with 2/3 of an inning. Jacoby Ellsbury had a very good game, going 2-4 with 3 runs scored last night. Dustin Pedroia (left) only went 1-4 but had the key hit of the game with that 2-run single. Adrian Gonzalez also only went 1-4 but had a key 3-run double, as he is now .310/1/18 this year. Kevin Youkilis went 2-4 with 2 RBIs and a run scored, as did David Ortiz, but Ortiz' came on a homer. Carl Crawford had a good game, going 2-4 with a double and a run scored, as he's pushed that batting average up to .181. Tonight, in another pitcher's duel, Jon Lester (3-1/2.52/35) will go up against Dan Haren (4-1/1.23/38).

Bright Spots:

Clay Buchholz- 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, along with a win

Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-4 with 3 runs scored

Dustin Pedroia- 1-4 with 2 RBI

Adrian Gonzalez- 1-4 with 3 RBI

Kevin Youkilis- 2-4 with 2 RBI

David Ortiz- 2-4 with a 2-run home run

Carl Crawford- 2-4 with a run scored

Dull Spots:

Dan Wheeler- 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings

J.D. Drew- 0-4 with a strikeout

Jed Lowrie- 0-4 with a strikeout

I'm so happy that the Sox could beat one of the best in the game, and in May we are 2-0!

That's Why We Signed Him; Red Sox Walk Off On Crawford's Single, Avoid Sweep (12-15)

Today the Red Sox beat the Mariners 3-2 on a walk-off single by Carl Crawford to avoid a sweep. After Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia reached base in the 3rd inning, David Ortiz drove them both in with a double off of the green monster to make it 2-0 Red Sox early on off Felix Hernandez. In the 6th inning, after two singles, Bobby Jenks walked three consecutive batters to tie the game up at 2-2, as he had another really rough outing. It remained tied until the bottom of the 9th, when the Red Sox secured their win. With one out in the 9th inning, Jed Lowrie nailed a ball into right field, which deflected off Ichiro's leg into the corner for the triple. After a groundout by Marco Scutaro, Carl Crawford (bottom left) lined a ball back up the middle for a walk-off single!

Making a spot start on short notice, Tim Wakefield (top right) pitched pretty well, allowing 1 earned run in 5 1/3 innings, as he is now 0-0/4.24/10. However, Bobby Jenks was terrible out of the 'pen... again, he allowed 2 runs, and walked 3, in only 1/3 of an inning, getting himself his second blown save of the year. Matt Albers pitched very well after him, not allowing a hit in 2 innings, before Jonathan Papelbon pitched another scoreless inning and earned the win. Dustin Pedroia had a very good game, going 2-4 with a run scored, he is now .265/2/8. David Ortiz went 1-4 with the afore-mentioned 2-run double off the wall, making him now .267/2/13 this year. Carl Crawford (left) went 2-4 with that game-winning RBI, as he is now .168/1/7 this year, as he's gotten off to a very rough start. Tomorrow, the Angels will come to town, and we'll see Clay Buchholz (1-3/5.33/15) take on a tough challenge in Jered Weaver (6-0/0.99/49).

Bright Spots:

Tim Wakefield- only 1 earned run in 5 1/3 innings

Matt Albers- 2 scoreless innings of relief

Jonathan Papelbon- the win with a scoreless inning of relief

Dustin Pedroia- 2-4 with a run scored

David Ortiz- 1-4 with a 2-run double

Carl Crawford- 2-4 with the walk-off RBI

Dull Spots:

Bobby Jenks- 2 runs on 3 walks in 1/3 of an inning

J.D. Drew- 0-3

Marco Scutaro- 0-4

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 0-3 with a strikeout

I am so happy that the Sox won, and how, and I hope they can continue winning against the Angels.

Weekly News

After today's 3-2 walk-off win against the Mariners, the Red Sox avoided a sweep and closed out their week at 2-4, making them 12-15 on the season. They lost series 1-2 to both the Orioles and the Mariners, which is kind of sad. Our Player of the Week, for his first time, is Adrian Gonzalez, who batted .417 with 5 RBIs, as he is now .312/1/15 on the season. The pitcher of the week has to go to Jon Lester, who threw 8 innings, allowing 2 runs, and earning the win in Thursday's game against the Orioles. The game of the week goes to today's (5/1/11) 3-2 win over the Mariners, on a walk-off by Carl Crawford. The performance of the week goes to Jacoby Ellsbury in Thursday's win over the Orioles, as he went 3-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. In the upcoming week, the Red Sox will play a 4-game series at home against the Angels and 3 games of a 4 game series against the Twins. I hope that the Sox can have a good week and reach .500!

Red Sox Just Keep On Stranding Runners (11-15)

In some aspects, you could say that this was a close game, in others, however, you could say the Red Sox got crushed. The final score was 2-0 Mariners, as the Red Sox couldn't hit and it showed. After Ichiro Suzuki reached third base with one out in the 3rd inning, Milton Bradley drove him in with a double, making it 1-0 Mariners. In the top of the 6th inning, the Mariners padded their lead with a sacrifice fly by Jack Wilson, scoring Michael Saunders from third base and making it 2-0 Mariners, ensuring the Red Sox a losing April at 11-15.

John Lackey (right) was not bad, allowing 2 runs over 6 innings, on 7 hits and 3 strikeouts. He is now 2-3/5.65/17 despite having very good starts his last three outings. Hideki Okajima threw a scoreless 1 2/3 innings out of the bullpen along with Dan Wheeler, who threw 1 1/3 innings. Jacoby Ellsbury had a good game, going 1-3 along with 2 walks, as he reached base 3 of 5 times. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a rare good game, going 2-4, but leaving 2 runners on base. The 4 other Red Sox hits belonged to Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, J.D. Drew, and Jed Lowrie, as the Sox had a tough day offensively. Today at 1:10, Clay Buchholz was scheduled to start but was bumped due to sickness and it will be Tim Wakefield (0-0/5.56/4) who takes on the challenge of reigning Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez (3-2/3.32/35).

Bright Spots:

John Lackey- 2 runs over 6 innings is not bad at all

Hideki Okajima- very good out of the bullpen with 1 2/3 scoreless innings

Dan Wheeler- also quite sharp, with 1 1/3 scoreless innings

Jacoby Ellsbury- reached base 3 of 5 times along with going 1-3

Kevin Youkilis- 1-3 with a rocket of a double

Jarrod Saltlamacchia- 2-4

Dull Spots:

Dustin Pedroia- 0-4 with 2 runners left on base

David Ortiz- 0-4 with 2 strikeouts and 5 runners left on base

Carl Crawford- 0-3

I am sad that the Sox lost, and how it went, but today I hope they can destroy this potential sweep with flying colors.

Mariners Come Back To Beat Red Sox (11-14)

Last night, the Red Sox suffered a tough loss to the Mariners as they came back to beat the Red Sox 5-4 after the Red Sox held 3-2, 4-2, and 4-3 leads. In the top of the 1st, the Mariners got ahead early, as Justin Smoak singled in Chone Figgins and Miguel Olivo with 2 outs, 2-0 Mariners. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Sox got one run back as Mike Cameron homered around the pesky pole to make it 2-1 Mariners. In the bottom of the third, the Red Sox got their first lead of the night on RBI singles by Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz, scoring Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez to make it 3-2 Red Sox. In the bottom of the 4th, Mike Cameron hit his second big fly of the night, this time over the green monster to make it 4-2 Red Sox. In the top of the 5th, Daisuke Matsuzaka (right) left the game with right elbow tightness (maybe a post later?). Later in the 5th, after Matt Albers came in, Milton Bradley grounded into an RBI fielder's choice to make it 4-3 Red Sox. In the top of the 7th, Miguel Olivo tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI groundout, before a go-ahead double by Jack Cust, making it 5-4 Mariners.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (top right) was not too bad in his 4+ innings of work, allowing 3 runs, however, only 1 was earned, while allowing 3 hits, he is now 2-2/3.81/20 this year, as he has not been that bad. Matt Albers did very well in relief, throwing 2 shutout innings of relief. Unfortunately, when Bobby Jenks came on, the Mariners came through, Jenks has had a rough year and is now 1-2/8.64/10 after last night's loss. Hideki Okajima and Daniel Bard each threw a scoreless inning. Adrian Gonzalez had a pretty good day, going 2-4 with a run scored. Kevin Youkilis went 1-3 with an RBI and is now .213/5/15 this year. David Ortiz went 1-4 with an RBI and is now .280/2/11 as he has not been bad this year. Of course, the Red Sox star of the night was Mike Cameron, who went 2-4 with 2 home runs and is now .185/2/4 as we saw the Mike Cameron before we had signed him.... two years ago. Tonight, John Lackey (2-2/6.35/14) and Doug Fister (1-3/3.19/22) will start at 7:10.

Bright Spots:

Daisuke Matsuzaka- 1 earned run over 4 innings

Matt Albers- 2 scoreless innings of relief

Hideki Okajima- a scoreless inning of relief

Daniel Bard- a scoreless inning of relief

Adrian Gonzalez- 2-4 with a run scored

Kevin Youkilis- 1-3 with an RBI

David Ortiz- 1-4 with an RBI

Mike Cameron- 2-4 with 2 home runs!

Dull Spots:

Bobby Jenks- The loss with 3 hits and 2 runs in an inning

Dustin Pedroia- 0-4 with 3 runners left on base

Jed Lowrie- 0-4 with 2 runners left on base

Darnell McDonald- 0-2

This was not a terribly bad loss for the Red Sox, but I'd still prefer a win!

Lester, Once Again, Dominates Orioles (11-13)

Last night, the Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-2 to close the series on a dominating win. Jon Lester (right) improved to 14-0 against the Orioles in 17 matches. In the 1st inning, after a double by Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez doubled him back in to make it 1-0 Red Sox. In the bottom of the 1st, the Orioles tied it on an RBI single by Derrek Lee. In the top of the 3rd, the dynamic duo of Ellsbury and Gonzalez struck again, as Gonzalez singled him in, to make it 2-1 Red Sox. In the bottom of the 6th, however, the Orioles tied it again, as Vladimir Guerrero homered to center field. After a Carl Crawford double to lead the inning, Dustin Pedroia pushed him in with an RBI single in the 7th inning. With the bases loaded in the 8th inning, an RBI single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a 2-run single by Jacoby Ellsbury made it 6-2 Red Sox, how it stayed.

Jon Lester was very good, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 5 strikeouts through 8 innings. He earned the win, and is now 3-1/2.52/35 in April, easily the best April of his career. Jonathan Papelbon relieved him with a lights out 9th inning, to close the game. Jacoby Ellsbury had a fantastic game, going 3-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, he is now .264/4/14 this year. Dustin Pedroia went 2-5 with an RBI to make him .278/2/8 this season. Adrian Gonzalez went 3-5 with 2 RBIs, and is now .306/1/15 to start the season. David Ortiz went 2-5 with a run scored, despite 4 runners left on base. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (left) went 1-4 with an RBI and Carl Crawford went 1-4 with a run scored. Tonight, the Red Sox will head back to Fenway to face the Mariners after a 6-3 road trip, and send Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-2/4.09/16) to face Jason Vargas (0-2/5.53/21).

Bright Spots:

Jon Lester- 2 runs in 8 innings, plus the win

Jonathan Papelbon- a scoreless inning of relief

Jacoby Ellsbury- 3-5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI

Dustin Pedroia- 2-5 with an RBI

Adrian Gonzalez- 3-5 with 2 RBI

David Ortiz- 2-5 with a run scored

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 1-4 with an RBI

Carl Crawford- 1-4 with a run scored

Dull Spots:

Marco Scutaro- 0-4 with 4 runners left on base

I am happy that the Sox will head into the Mariners series with some momentum, they need to win this series.

Red Sox Cut It Close, But Blow It (10-13)

Last night, the Red Sox lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to the Orioles. After an Orioles lead, the Red Sox came back, only to have their hopes dashed by a late Orioles rally. The game remained scoreless until a big, two-run homer by Luke Scott over the big right field wall, and a solo shot, back-to-back, by Adam Jones to make it 3-0 Orioles. In the bottom of the 5th, after two singles and a wild pitch, Brian Roberts hit another run in with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 Orioles. After another wild pitch by Beckett, Matt Weiters ran home, but in a very close play, Varitek tossed it to Beckett. In the top of the 8th, however, the Red Sox battled back. After Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury reached to start off the 8th, Adrian Gonzalez came up and slapped a single to left field to make it 4-1 Orioles. The next batter was Kevin Youkilis (bottom left) who promptly smacked a home run just over the left field wall, and Luke Scott's glove, for a game-tying home run! However, in the bottom of the 8th, the Orioles scored on a ground ball up the middle by Vladimir Guerrero to make it 5-4 Orioles.

Josh Beckett (top right) was not particularly good, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings, he is now 2-1/2.65/32 this year, as for the most part, he has been fantastic. Tim Wakefield threw a scoreless

7th inning of relief. Daniel Bard blew it again, allowing a run in the 8th inning, he is now 0-3/3.97/11. Jacoby Ellsbury had another great game, as he is really settling in, after a 3-5 day at the plate, along with a run scored. Adrian Gonzalez also had a good game, going 2-4 with an RBI, he is now .290/1/13 this year. Kevin Youkilis (left) only had one hit, but it was big, as he went 1-4 with 3 RBIs and a run scored, he is now .214/5/14 this year. David Ortiz went 2-4 in a pretty good game for him. Tonight, Jon Lester (2-1/2.59/30) will go head to head with Brad Bergesen (0-3/5.40/11) in a game that the Sox will hopefully win.

Bright Spots:

Tim Wakefield- A scoreless inning of relief

Jacoby Ellsbury- 3-5 with a run scored

Adrian Gonzalez- 2-4 with an RBI and a double

Kevin Youkilis- 1-4 with that big 3-run shot

David Ortiz- 2-4

Dull Spots:

Daniel Bard- The loss, with a run in the 8th inning

Carl Crawford- 0-4

Jason Varitek- 0-3 with a strikeout

It would be so humiliating to be swept by the Orioles, so I really hope it doesn't happen.

Red Sox Unable To Hit In Loss To Orioles (10-12)

Last night the Red Sox' win streak stopped at 5 games in a 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Everything started for the Orioles when, with one out and runners on second and third, Matt Weiters bounced a grounder off of first base for an RBI infield hit. With one out in the 3rd, an Adam Jones sacrifice fly made it 2-0 Orioles. In the top of the 4th, after a single by Dustin Pedroia, who advanced to second on a ground ball, and stole third, was hit home on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Youkilis (bottom left) to make it 2-1 Orioles. In the bottom of the 5th, another Adam Jones sacrifice fly made it 3-1 Orioles and a Mark Reynolds sacrifice fly in the 7th inning made it 4-1, where it stayed for the remainder of the game.

This was a tough game for the Red Sox, Clay Buchholz (top right) pitched pretty well, but the Orioles knocked him around. He ended up allowing 4 runs and 12 hits in just 6 2/3 innings, he earned the loss and is now 1-4/5.33/15 this season. Hideki Okajima threw 1/3 of a scoreless inning and Matt Albers threw one shutout frame. The one RBI belonged to Kevin Youkilis, who went 0-3 with that sacrifice fly, as sac flies were the story of this game. No one Red Sox batter had more than one hit, so 6 players (Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, J.D. Drew, and Jason Varitek) all had a hit. Ellsbury's and Gonzalez's hits were doubles as they now have 4 and 7 respectively, this season. Tonight, Josh Beckett (2-1/1.93/28) and Jeremy Guthrie (1-3/3.12/13) will take the hill at Camden Yards.

Bright Spots:

Matt Albers- a scoreless inning against his old team

Dustin Pedroia- 1-3 with a run scored

Dull Spots:

Jed Lowrie- 0-4 with 4 runners left on base

Carl Crawford- 0-4 with 2 strikeouts

I am unhappy that the Sox lost tonight, but if they win the next two games, they can still break .500.

The Red Sox Catching Crisis, And How To Solve It

Well, the Red Sox are having a slump in the catcher position between Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.186/0/5) and Jason Varitek (.074/0/1). I have some players that I think the Red Sox should trade for, and for the sake of not being boring these are new ideas. I am not giving you the typical ravings of Miguel Montero, David Ross, Chris Iannetta, Ramon Hernandez, Rod Barajas, and Ryan Doumit. I will give players who have not been in the major leagues long, and the Red Sox should be able to get before they hit the big time. I have two main names in particular, and several others that would be good options, that I think the Red Sox should go and trade for.

My first name is Jonathan Lucroy (right), a backup catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. After going .253/4/26 in 75 games with the Brewers in his first major league season, Lucroy had shown his promise. Although he has only played in 8 games this year, he has been very good. He is batting .355/1/3, and has thrown out 2 of 7 baserunners to go along with a 1.000 fielding percentage. I think he is

a good fit for the Red Sox, and I think the Red Sox could trade Hideki Okajima and Daniel Nava for Lucroy and Craig Counsell (.182/0/0 this season).

My second name is Nick Hundley, the starting catcher for the San Diego Padres.

Hundley has not traditionally been this good of a hitter, so he will probably drop off soon, but he has been a pretty consistent catcher over his career. Hundley is having a great start to the 2011 season, hitting at a .304/3/10 clip to begin the year. He has thrown out 7 of 23 baserunners and has a .992 fielding percentage in 20 games. I think that

the Red Sox could trade Darnell McDonald and Jason Varitek for Hundley and Chris Denorfia (.324/2/3 this year).

I have a few other options for catchers, mostly young ones who just broke into the majors last or this season. These names are Ryan Hanigan (.220/2/6 with Cincinnati), Lou Marson (.304/0/4 with Cleveland), Alex Avila (.321/3/14 with Detroit), Brett Hayes (.600/1/4 with Florida), J.R. Towles (.385/2/4 with Houston), Landon Powell (.313/0/2 with Oakland), Chris Gimenez (.263/2/4 with Seattle), J.P. Arencibia (.245/3/7 with Toronto), Jose Molina (.357/1/3 with Toronto), and Wilson Ramon (.357/0/2 with Washington). I regret to say, I would be happy with any of these guys over Salty and Tek.