Sox Hold On, Defeat Blue Jays (4/26/14)

It was good news all around for the city of Boston as the Boston Bruins eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 of their first round NHL playoff series and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays. That was too close for comfort although the Red Sox offense put a six spot on the board against Brandon Morrow of the Jays in the third inning. AJ Pierzynski belted a grand slam in that inning and the Sox as a unit had only 5 hits but that one was a big one. On the other side of the ball, Clay Buchholz (1-2, 6.66 ERA) held the Jays to just 3 runs in 7 innings of work. The bullpen bent as Junichi Tazawa got lit up for two runs to inch the Jays closer, but Chris Capuano and Koji Uehara slammed the door on the Jays. The Sox narrowly held on to win 7-6 at the Skydome.

                                                   Torey Krug (and pals) approves of the win

Morrow got the ball in the top of the first inning and Dustin Pedroia walked to start. Shane Victorino popped up to second but David Ortiz walked. Mike Carp grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Jays jumped on Buchholz in the bottom of the first as Jose Reyes walked to start. Melky Cabrera got a base hit to left to move Reyes to third. Jose Bautista got a base hit to left to score Reyes, moving Cabrera to third and a wild pitch scored Melky. Juan Francisco struck out swinging but Dioner Navarro got a base hit to right to score Bautista. Colby Rasmus flied out to left and Brett Lawrie flied out to center to end the inning with the Jays up 3-0.

                                                             Jays got up big early

The Sox blew a rally in the top of the second as Grady Sizemore walked to start. AJ Pierzynski walked but Will Middlebooks flied out to right to move Sizemore to third. Jonathan Herrera grounded into a double play to end the inning. Moises Sierra flied out to center to start the bottom of the second before Ryan Goins hit a bullet right to Buchholz. It looked like Reyes beat out a grounder to short but Sox manager John Farrell challenged the call. New York Yankees manag....err Head of MLB Operations Joe Torre was in the bathroom so the call was overturned to end the inning.

Morrow completely fell apart in the top of the third although Jackie Bradley Jr took strike three to start. Pedroia flied out to left but both Victorino and Ortiz drew back to back walks. Blue Jays pitching Pete Walker came out to take a swing at the home plate umpire for squeezing Morrow and was thrown out of the building. A passed ball moved the runners over and Carp walked to load the bases. Sizemore walked to score Victorino and chase Morrow.  Chad Jenkins came in and suddenly Pierzsynki cracked a grand slam to put the Sox up for good. Middlebrooks then hit a home run for back to back jacks. Herrera grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 6-3.

                                                 Middlebrooks with the exclamation point

Cabrera struck out swinging to start the bottom of the third before Bautista flied out to right. Francisco and Navarro drew back to back walks but Rasmus flied out to center to end the inning.

JBJ took strike three to open the top of the fourth but Pedroia got a base hit to left. Pedroia got thrown out at second trying to steal and Victorino grounded out to short to end the inning. Lawrie got a base hit to left to start the bottom of the fourth and Sierra flied out to right. Goins forced Lawrie at second and Reyes lined out to left to end the inning.

Ortiz was called out on strikes to begin the top of the fifth but Carp pounded a ground rule double over the left field wall. Sizemore doubled to center to score Carp and chase Jenkins from the game. Aaron Loup came in and Pierzynski moved Grady to third on a swinging bunt in front of the plate. Middlebrooks struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 7-3.

                                                            Sizemore drives in a run

Cabrera grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth but Bautista doubled to left. Francisco moved Jose to third with a grounder to first and Navarro was caught looking at strike three to end the inning. Navarro heaved his bat in frustration saying the strike was a ball when its the Toronto pitcher and he might have a point, some of the calls against Morrow were ugggggggly!

Herrera grounded back to the mound to begin the top of the sixth and JBJ lined out to third. Pedroia lined out to first to end the inning. Buchholz dominated the bottom of the sixth as Rasmus grounded out to second to start. Lawrie grounded out to third and Sierra flied out to center to end the inning.

Brett Cecil came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Victorino struck out swinging to start. Ortiz walked but Carp flied out to center. Sizemore struck out swinging to end the inning. Buchholz returned for one final inning in the bottom of the seventh and Goins got a base hit to center to start. Reyes grounded out to first to move Goins to second and Cabrera grounded out to second. Goins moved to third on the grounder but Bautista flied out to left to end the inning. Clay started off slow but hung on to allow 3 runs in 7 innings off 6 hits and 3 walks.

                                                            Good work Buchholz

Steve Delabar came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Pierzynski grounded out to second to begin. Middlebrooks lined out to right and Herrera grounded out to second to end the inning. Junichi Tazawa came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the eighth as Francisco hit a home run all the way to Madagascar to cut the lead. Navarro singled to center and Rasmus singled to right before Lawrie beat out a double play ball. Edwin Encarnacion pinch hit for Sierra and got a base hit to center to score Navarro. Sox manager John Farrell kicked over a tub of gatorade and yanked Tazawa from the game. Chris Capuano came in to face old pal Jonathan Diaz who was pinch hitting for Goins. Diaz took strike three but Reyes walked to load the bases. Farrell took no chances and brought in Koji Uehara for the four out save. Uehara got Cabrera to fly out to left to end the inning with the Jays down 7-5.

                                                Encarnacion drives in a run

Sergio Santos took over for Delbar to pitch the top of the ninth and JBJ struck out swinging to start. Pedroia grounded out to third and Victorino struck out swinging to end the inning. Uehara came back to close out the bottom of the ninth but Bautista hit a home run all the way to Hamilton, Ontario to cut the lead. Francisco struck out swinging but Navarro got a base hit to center. Rasmus struck out swinging but Lawrie got a base hit to center. Encarnacion flied out to center to end the game. The Sox had won it 7-6.

                                                          Uehara is all smiles after the win

Hero of The Night is AJ Pierzynski. His grand slam put the Sox up for good in the third inning.

                                                              Grand Slam Hero

The Good:

David Ortiz walked 3 times and scored a run.

Mike Carp was 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Grady Sizemore was 1 for 2 with 2 walks, 2 rbis and a run scored.

Clay Buchholz got the win by tossing 7 strong innings allowing 3 runs off 6 hits and 3 walks.

Chris Capuano got the second out of the eighth inning.

The Bad:

Jonathan Herrera was 0 for 4.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Junichi Tazawa allowed 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

The Ugly:

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 with a walk.

Shane Victorino was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored.

Will Middlebrooks was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a home run.

Koji Uehara got the save but allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings.

Final Thoughts:

Second game in a row after Victorino and Middlebrooks were back together that the Sox put up 7 plus runs. Pierzynski was the hero with the grand slam but the offense in general was a team effort. Middlebrooks hit a ball a mile and that was good to see after he was out for a while. If only Grady Sizemore would step it up, the offense would be as deadly as last year with Grady in the Jacoby Ellsbury role. Pitching wise Buchholz got lit up early but got stronger as the game went on. Junichi Tazawa's personal kryptonite is Toronto and today was no different. He hadn't allowed a run yet this year and he gets rocked. Uehara served up a bomb to Bautista but luckily the Sox had a 2 run lead at the time. One of the few times somebody tagged both members of the Orient Express but the Sox survived this one. Hopefully the Sox can ride this momentum until the end of the month and get back on track. The Sox look for a series sweep tomorrow against the Jays when Jon Lester (2-3) takes on RA Dickey of Toronto. The game begins at 1:05 PM at the Skydome.

Yankees Smash Doubront, Sox (4/24/14)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox made a roster move. Alex Wilson was sent down to Worcester and the Red Sox finally activated Shane Victorino. The Sox need Victorino's bat since the rest of the outfield have underperformed so far this season. The sooner he can regain his rhythm, the better the offense will be.

                                                                            OUT

                                                                            IN

The good news was the Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in Game 4 of their first round NHL playoff series but the bad news was the Boston Red Sox got their brains beaten in by an angry New York Yankees team. After social media had a field day calling the Yankees cheaters and flim-flammers for the shenanigans of Michael Pineda in last night's game, the Yankees took it out on the Red Sox, pounding Felix Doubront (1-3, 6.00 ERA) and the Boston bullpen for 14 hits and 14 runs. Meanwhile Yankees ace CC Sabathia held the Sox bats to just 2 runs in 6 innings. The Sox got three runs off Shane Greene but it wasn't nearly enough as the Yankees crushed the Sox 14-5 at Fenway Park.

                                                    "Allowing 14 runs to the Yankees...."

The Yankees wasted no time getting to Doubront in the top of the first inning as Jacoby Ellsbury took strike three to start. Derek Jeter grounded back to the mound and Carlos Beltran hit a routine grounder to Xander Bogaerts....off his hand for an error. Naturally Alfonso Soriano doubled off the bullpen wall to score Beltran, putting the Yankees up for good four batters into the game. A passed ball moved Soriano to third and Mark Teixeira walked. Brian McCann lined out to center to end the inning.

                                                         "I don't got it" - Bogaerts

Sabatahia got the ball in the bottom of the first as Dustin Pedroia grounded out to second to start. Shane Victorino struck out swinging but David Ortiz was hit with a pitch. Mike Napoli grounded out to third to end the inning.

The Yankees struck again in the top of the second as Brett Gardner walked to start. Brian Roberts hit a routine grounder to Brock Holt who threw to second.....dropped by Pedroia for an error. A wild pitch moved the runners over and Yangervis Solarte doubled down the left field line to score both runners and ice the game. Ellsbury grounded out to second to move Solarte to third and Jeter hit a ball off of Holt for a "single" to put runners at the corners. It looked like Beltran was hit with a pitch to load the bases but the pitch went to the backstop. Yankees manager Joe Girardi challenged that it was a wild pitch and Yankees manag...errrr Head of MLB Operations Joe Torre DEMANDED the call changed, and sure enough....Solarte was sent home as a run scored with Jeter going to second. Beltran grounded out to third but Jeter moved to third on the play. Soriano lined out to right to end the inning with the Yankees up 4-0.

                                                        A comedy of errors

The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as Jonny Gomes walked to start. Bogaerts forced him at second but Holt walked as well. David Ross lined out to third and Jackie Bradley Jr struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Yankees finished off Doubront in the top of the third as Teixeira hit a home run all the way to Sweden to increase the lead. McCann grounded out to second and Gardner hit a routine grounder to Doubront who bobbled it for the third error in the game. Gardner swiped second and third before scoring on the Roberts base hit to center. Solarte popped up to third but Roberts stole second as the boo's rained down. Ellsbury doubled to center to score Roberts and Sox manager John Farrell had had enough of Doubront. The errors didn't help but he still allowed 7 runs in just 2 2/3 innings. Burke Badenhop came in to pitch and Jeter took strike three to end the inning with the Yankees ahead 7-0.

                                                       "Not your night, Felix" - Farrell

The Sox did rally in the bottom of the third as Pedroia walked to start. Victorino doubled off the third base bag and Ortiz hit a sac fly to center to score Pedroia. Napoli grounded out to short but Gomes doubled to center to score Victorino. A wild pitch moved Gomes to third but Bogaerts grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox down 7-2.

                                                      Gomes drives in a run

Beltran lined out to third to start the top of the fourth but Soriano doubled down the left field line. Teixeira flied out to center and McCann was intentionally walked. Gardner lined out to left to end the inning. Holt grounded out to second to begin the bottom of the fourth and Ross took strike three. JBJ was hit with a pitch but Pedroia watched strike three go by to end the inning.

The Yankees beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the fifth as Roberts grounded out to second to start. Solarte grounded back to the mound and Ellsbury grounded out to second to end the inning. Victorino flied out to left to start the bottom of the fifth before Ortiz struck out swinging. Napoli took strike three to end the inning.

Jeter grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth and that was it for Badenhop. He put the fire out  big time and Craig Breslow came in to pitch to Beltran. Carlos doubled off the Monster but Soriano flied out to right. Teixeira grounded out to third to end the inning. Gomes watched strike three go by to begin the bottom of the sixth but Bogaerts beat out a roller to third. Holt took strike three and Ross forced Bogaerts at second to end the inning.

The Sox fell apart in the top of the seventh as McCann got an opposite field base hit to left to start. Gardner walked and Roberts hit a grounder to Holt....who booted it for yet another error. The floodgates opened as Solarte got a base hit to right to score McCann and Garnder. Ellsbury hit a ground rule double down the right field line to score Roberts and Jeter singled to center to score Solarte and Ellsbury. Beltran forced Jeter at second but Soriano walked. Teixeira walked and FINALLY Farrell pulled the incompetent Breslow. Edward Mujica came in and McCann popped up to third in foul territory. Gardner grounded out to first to end the inning but it was 12-2 Yankees.

                                                           They can't do anything right.

The Sox did rally in the bottom of the seventh against Shane Greene making his major league debut. JBJ walked to start and Pedroia hit a routine grounder to Jeter. Jeter went OLE! for an error to move JBJ to third. Bradley scored on a passed ball and Pedroia moved up to second on the play. Victorino struck out swinging and Jonathan Herrera pinch hit for Ortiz with the game already over. Herrera walked and Napoli walked as well to load the bases to chase Greene. Adam Warren came in and Gomes hit a sac fly to right to score Pedroia, moving Herrera to third. Bogaerts doubled to center to score Herrera but Holt lined out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 12-5.

                                                      Bogaerts drives in a run

The Yankees struck back in the top of the eighth as Roberts lined one over the head of Pedroia into right to start. Solarte flied out to center but Ellsbury doubled off the Monster. A wild pitch scored Roberts and Jeter walked, but Beltran hit one up the elevator shaft. Soriano grounded out to third to end the inning with the Yankees up 13-5.

                                                          Another run scored

Ichiro Suzuki took over for Beltran to start the bottom of the eighth and Ross lined out to right to start. JBJ watched strike three go by and Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning. 

Mike Carp the infielder came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Herrera came in to play second to Pedroia. Teixeira walked to start but McCann grounded into a double play to make the remaining fans laugh. Gardner, Roberts and Solarte all walked to load the bases then Ellsbury walked to score Gardner. Kelly Johnson pinch hit for Jeter and hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Yankees up 14-5.

                                                              Not exactly Koji Uehara

John Ryan Murphy came in for Teixeira with David Robertson now on the mound for the bottom of the ninth. Victorino grounded out to third, Herrera flied out to center and Napoli grounded out to second to end the game. The Yankees had won it 14-5.

                                                              Yankees win

Jackass of the Night is Felix Doubront. He got hammered for 7 runs in 2 2/3 innings to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

                                                                    Jackass Doubront

The Good:

David Ortiz was hit with a pitch and drove in a run.

Jonathan Herrera walked and scored a run in two plate appearances.

Jonnny Gomes was 1 for 2 with with a walk and 2 rbis.

Xander Bogaerts was 2 for 4 with an rbi.

Jackie Bradley Jr walked, was hit with a pitch and scored a run.

Burke Badenhop tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

The Bad:

David Ross was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Mike Carp got tagged for a run in the ninth inning as a pitcher.

Craig Breslow allowed 5 runs in an inning.

Edward Mujica allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings.

The Ugly:

Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and an error but walked and scored two runs.

Shane Victorino was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.

Mike Napoli was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but walked.

Brock Holt was 0 for 3 with a strikeout and an error but walked.

Final Thoughts:

That was quite possibly Boston's worst game all season. Not just the incompetent pitching but all the errors early in the game that could have avoided the rallies to put the Sox in the hole they weren't able to get out of. Its been a microcosm of the season as the pitching has been mostly wretched but the offense has completely evaporated. The Sox only had 4 hits in the game and apart from Napoli and Bogaerts, not a single Sox starter is hitting over .257. That's a bad sign for the future, especially since they're the hunted this season. They snuck in the back door last year because nobody expected this team to gel together but this year, teams are going to be ready. The Yankees just blew their doors off in 2 out of 3 games at Fenway and Jacoby Ellsbury is making the Sox regret giving him up big time. Was he worth a 7 year deal? Hell no, but Grady Sizemore and Daniel Nava sure as hell isn't replacing him so far. Doubront looks like he took a step back as well but then again, NOBODY looked good tonight. It was all around bawful and the less said of this mess, the better. The Sox now travel to Toronto for a three game set with the Blue Jays. Tomorrow night Jake Peavy looks for this first win of the season against former Chicago White Sox ace Mark Buehrle. The game begins at 7:05 PM at the Skydome.

Yankees Bash Lester, Sox (4/22/14)

The good news was the Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of their first round NHL playoff series but the bad news was the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees. Don't look now but the Boston Red Sox are in trouble. They've played 21 games this season and have trailed in almost every single one of them. This time it was the New York Yankees and their new ace Masahiro Tanaka that added to Boston's misery. Tanaka mastered the Sox, allowing just 2 runs in 7 1/3 innings to keep the Yankees ahead. Meanwhile the Yankees blasted Sox ace Jon Lester for eight runs, knocking him out in the fifth inning. The only runs the Sox scored off Tanaka were solo home runs by David Ortiz and Mike Napoli but it wasn't nearly enough. Carlos Beltran hit a home run off Edward Mujica for the exclamation point as the Yankees crushed the Sox 9-3 at Fenway Park.

                                                        "THEY BEAT LESTER!!!!"

Lester got mauled in the top of the first inning as old pal Jacoby Ellsbury hit a ball off the top of the wall that a fan reached out and grabbed it for interference. The umpires ruled it a triple and Derek Jeter did the honors with a base hit to center to score him, putting the Yankees up for good two batters into the game. AJ Pierzynski managed to muff a ball and throw it away to advance Jeter all the way to third and Carlos Beltran ripped a base hit to center to score Jeter. Alfonso Soriano and Mark Teixeira both struck out swinging but Brian McCann walked. Yangervis Solarte flied out to left to end the inning with the Yankees up 2-0.

                                                               Beltran drives in a run

Tanaka got the ball in the bottom of the first and Ellsbury made a great diving catch to rob Grady Sizemore of a hit. Dustin Pedroia doubled to the left field wall but David Ortiz struck out swinging. Mike Napoli also went down hacking to end the inning.

Ichiro Suzuki got a base hit to center to start the top of the second and Brian Roberts got a seeing eye single past the diving Xander Bogaerts. Ellsbury flied out to left but Jeter walked to load the bases. Beltran grounded into a double play to end the inning. Jonny Gomes popped up to third to begin the bottom of the second and Pierzynski struck out swinging. Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.

The Yankees struck again in the top of the third as Soriano doubled to center to start. Teixeira blooped a double down the right field line to score Soriano and McCann doubled off the scoreboard to score Teixeira. Solarte struck out swinging but Ichiro walked. Sizemore failed to catch a liner by Roberts for a single to load the bases but Ellsbury grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Yankees up 4-0.

                                                     Yankees pour it on

Brock Holt grounded out to first to start the bottom of the third before Jackie Bradley Jr got a base hit to center. Sizemore grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Jeter was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to start the top of the fourth before Beltran struck out swinging. Soriano struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Pedroia grounded out to second to start. Ortiz smashed his fourth home run of the season before Napoli belted his fifth home run of the year for back to back jacks. Gomes popped up to left but Pierzynski doubled high off the Monster. Bogaerts took strike three to end the inning with the Sox down 4-2.

                                                              Back to back jacks

The Yankees finished off Lester in the top of the fifth as Teixeira walked to start. McCann got a base hit to left off the Monster but Solarte struck out swinging. Ichiro went down hacking and Roberts hit a liner off the glove of Napoli for an error to score Teixeira. Ellsbury doubled to left to score both McCann and Roberts. Sox manager John Farrell had enough of Lester and yanked him after just 4 2/3 innings allowing 8 runs on 11 hits and 4 walks. Chris Capuano came in and Jeter immediately greeted him with a base hit to center to score Ellsbury. Beltran flied out to right to end the inning with the Yankees up 8-2.

                                                        Lester gets pounded

Holt grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fifth and JBJ grounded out to first. Sizemore flied out to right to end the inning.

Soriano popped up to center to start the top of the sixth and Teixeira hit a bullet to Bogaerts. McCann was retired on a swinging bunt to end the inning. Pedroia flied out to right to start the bottom of the sixth before Ortiz grounded out to short. Napoli doubled to center but Gomes struck out swinging to end the inning.

Solarte struck out swinging to start the top of the seventh but Ichiro doubled to left. Roberts flied out to center and Ellsbury grounded out to second to end the inning. Pierzynski struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh before Bogarts grounded out to third. Holt lined a base hit up the middle but JBJ's bunt attempt was snuffed out by Solarte to end the inning.

Edward Mujica came in to get tagged in the top of the eighth as Jeter grounded back to the mound to start. Beltran then hit a home run all the way to the Azores to increase the lead. Soriano grounded out to short and Teixeira struck out swinging to end the inning with the Yankees up 9-2.

                                                       Beltran goes yard

Brett Gardner took over in left to start the bottom of the eighth and Sizemore struck out swinging to start. Dellin Betances came in to pitch to Pedroia and caught him looking for strike three. Ortiz also watched strike three go by to end the inning.

Jonathan Herrera took over Pedroia with Junichi Tazawa in to pitch the top of the ninth. McCann singled off the Monster but Solarte flied out to center. McCann moved to second on the grounder to second by Ichiro. Roberts lined out to first to end the inning.

Dean Anna came in for Jeter to start the bottom of the ninth and Napoli grounded out to third to start. Gomes doubled off the Monster but Pierzynski grounded out to first to move Gomes to third. Bogaerts crushed a double off the Monster to score Gomes but Holt grounded back to the mound to end the game. The Yankees had won it 9-3.

                                                         Yankees win

Jackass of The Night is Jon Lester. He got rocked for 8 runs in just 4 2/3 innings allowing 11 hits and 4 walks.

                                                          Lester The Jackass

The Good:

Mike Napoli was 2 for 4 with a home run.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3.

Chris Capuano tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings.

Junichi Tazawa tossed a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Grady Sizemore was 0 for 4.

Edward Mujica allowed a run in the eighth inning.

The Ugly:

Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.

David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but hit a home run.

Jonny Gomes was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.

AJ Pierzynski was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and an error.

Xander Bogarts was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Brock Holt was just 1 for 4.

Honorable Mention:

Jonathan Herrera played second base in the final inning.

Final Thoughts:

Great, now the Sox can't even beat the Yankees. The Yankees aren't exactly lighting the world on fire to start the season but they've handled the Red Sox so far this year. This was arguably Lester's worst game of the season while Tanaka blinded the Sox apart from two solo home runs back to back. Once again the offense was almost non existent and they can't possibly be this bad without Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino. Jackie Bradley Jr and Grady Sizemore went 1-7 combined in this one and so far the production just hasn't been there. Then again no one is really hitting to begin with. Lester was due for a stinker but this isn't an isolated incident where the bats just aren't working. The world series hangover is real, folks. Tomorrow might be interesting because Michael Pineda is pitching and he was shown after last week's game to have pine tar on his hand. We'll see if he tries any shenanigans tomorrow with people looking for it this time. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow against the Yankees when John Lackey (2-2) gets the start against Pineda. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Buchholz Hammered, Sox Lose Patriots Day (4/21/14)

One year after a walkoff win preceding the Boston Marathon, the Boston Red Sox could not repeat the magic on Patriots Day this year. Even with all the hype and the hooplah harking back to last year when the city came together following the bombing, the Sox couldn't get it done against the Baltimore Orioles. Clay Buchholz (0-2, 7.71 ERA) once again stunk the joint out as its become apparent he's not the same pitcher he was from the first half of 2013. He allowed six runs and was knocked out in the third inning. Meanwhile Boston fought bravely, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth and getting a David Ross home run in the bottom of the sixth. The O's tagged Craig Breslow for a run which proved to be the difference. A ninth inning rally fell short and the O's had beaten the Sox on Patriots Day 7-6 at Fenway Park.

                                                       Lost the game, won the day

Buchholz got the ball in the top of the first and Nick Markakis led the game off with a ground out to second base. Nelson "pain in the ass" Cruz struck out swinging but Chris Davis walked. Jonny Gomes then made a diving catch to rob Adam Jones of a hit to end the inning. Wei-Yin Chen got the ball in the bottom of the first and Brock Holt grounded out to second to begin. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to short but not before nearly taking out Jonathan Schoop at third base when Pedroia lost control of his bat on a swinging strike two. David Ortiz drew a four pitch walk but Napoli forced Ortiz at second to end the inning.

The O's beat the ball in the dirt in the top of the second as Steve Clevenger grounded out to second to begin. Schoop grounded out to short and Ryan Flaherty grounded out to Buchholz to end the inning. In the bottom of the second, last night's comeback starter Jonny Gomes did what he usually does, strike out swinging. Xander Bogaerts popped up to center and Daniel Nava struck out swinging to end the inning.

Steve Lombardozzi started the third inning rally with a single. David Lough singled and after Holt dropped his pop up into the stands, Markakis singled Lombardozzi home. Lough took third and he scored on Cruz' single. The hits kept on coming as Davis singled Markakis home and Cruz took third. Cruz scored on the force at second by Jones. Clevenger then doubled home Jones to make it 5-0 just like that. Not only have the Red Sox trailed in nearly every game they've played this season, they've trailed big. Schoop doubled home Clevenger and Sox manager John Farrell had seen enough. After breezing through the first two innings, Buchholz allowed 7 hits and was replaced by Burke Badenhop. After finishing last night's game less than 12 hours ago, the Sox needed Buchholz to pitch a good game with the rest of the troops tired....well he failed miserably. Luckily Badenhop got Flaherty to bang into a double play to end the inning. Just like that the game was over 2 1/2 innings into it.  

                                                       What a disaster

Could the Red Sox rally in the bottom of the third? Hell no! David Ross struck out swinging and Jackie Bradley Jr struck out looking to begin the bottom of the third. Holt grounded out to first to end the inning.

Picking up where he left off, Lombardozzi led off the top of the fourth with a single to right. Somehow Badenhop got Lough to line out to center but Markakis walked. Cruz banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox got their first runner of the day on a miracle walk by Pedroia to begin the bottom of the fourth. Somehow Ortiz singled to right but Napoli kept up the incompetence with a full count strike out swinging. More basebawful continued when Gomes lined out to Flaherty.....who doubled off Pedroia to end the inning.

Badenhop walked Davis to begin the top of the fifth, but recovered to strike out Jones looking and get Clevenger to bang into a double play. 3 double plays by Badenhop, talk about putting out the fire. The Sox finally struck in the bottom of the fifth as Bogaerts worked a lead-off walk. Nava somehow hit one in the hole at short and Ross nearly hit into a double play but beat out the relay throw to first. Somehow Jackie Bradley Jr hit a ground rule double into the right field seats to score Boegarts and advance Nava to third. Holt lined out to center but Ross scored to cut the lead. Pedroia then cut the lead in half with a double down the left field line to score Bradley Jr. Ortiz lined one off the glove at second but was thrown out at first to end the inning. The Sox cut the lead in half and trailed 6-3.

                                                     "We're not dead yet!" - Pedroia

Badenhop continued his scoreless streak by getting Schoop to ground out to short to begin the top of the 6th. Flaherty and Lombardozzi both grounded out to first to end the inning. 3 2/3 scoreless innings for Badenhop, great job to keep them in the game. Ryan Webb replaced Chen for the bottom of the sixth and Napoli struck out swinging to start. Nava watched strike three go by and Ross also went down hacking to end the inning.

Craig Breslow took over for the top of the seventh and Lough grounded out to first. Markakis flied out to right but Cruz walked. Cruz was the first base runner since Clevenger's double in the 3rd. He didn't go far as Davis grounded out into the shift to end the inning. Zach Britton took the mound for the bottom of the seventh and Nava flied out to right to start. David Ross clocked his first home run of the year to cut the lead but Bradley Jr grounded out to short. Holt singled to left and Pedroia walked, but with the tying runs on.....Ortiz grounded out to third to end the inning. Inching closer but still trailing 6-4.

                                                         Ross goes yard

The O's struck back in the top of the eighth as Jones got a base hit to left to begin. Clevenger hit a picture perfect ground ball to Pedroia but Bogaerts botched the relay throw and Steve was safe at first. Schoop flied out to center but Clevenger tagged up and advanced to second. Flaherty singled to center and Bradley Jr threw a hundred feet from home to score Clevenger, but Ross got Flaherty at second to end the inning. Still, it was back to a 3 run lead for Baltimore 7-4.

                                                           "You're out, you dummy!"

Darren O'Day replaced Britton for the bottom of the eighth and Mike Napoli greeted him with a blast to centerfield to cut the lead. Mike Carp pinch hit for Gomes and grounded out to short, great clutch hitting. Bogaerts lashed a base hit to left to put the tying run at the plate. Nava singled off the glove of O'Day and that was it for him, O's manager Buck Showalter brought in lefty Brian Matusz. For some reason, Sox manager John Farrell pinch hit Jonathan Herrera for Ross. The Sox then literally ran into a double play as Herrera struck out and Bogaerts stopped halfway to third and allowed himself to be tagged to end the inning with the Sox down 7-5.

                                                                Bawful

Carp stayed in left, AJ Pierzynski took over at the dish and Andrew Miller took the mound for the top of the ninth. Lombardozzi popped up to first and Lough popped up to short, then Bradley Jr made a basket catch to rob Markakis of a hit to retire the side. O's closer Tommy Hunter was brought in to finish the game. Bradley Jr grounded out to first and it looked like Holt did as well....until Lombardozzi threw the ball away. They ruled it a hit but it was clearly an error. Pedroia nearly tied the game but the ball hit the top of the centerfield wall for a double. Showalter then made the bold move by intentionally walking Ortiz to load the bases for Napoli, who ended last year's Patriots Day game with a wall ball. This year....he grounded out to second, but Holt scored to cut the lead. This left it up to Mike Carp, not the master of walkoffs, Jonny Gomes, to win the game. As expected, Carp grounded out to first to end the game. All that work only to lose 7-6.

                                                            Sox lose

Jackass of the Night is an easy one. With the Sox needing to rest their bullpen, Clay Buchholz went out and pitched miserably, lasting only 2 1/3 while giving up 7 hits and 6 runs that cost the Sox the game.

                                                        Jackass Buchholz

The Good:

Burke Badenhop kept the Sox in the game with 3 2/3 scoreless relief. 

Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 9th. 

Brock Holt was 2 for 4 with a run and an rbi. 

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and an rbi. 

David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.

The Bad:

Jonathan Herrera struck out with the tying runs on base in the 8th. 

Mike Carp came up twice with a chance to win the game and failed both times. 

Jonny Gomes was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts

The Ugly:

Craig Breslow allowed a run in two innings.

Mike Napoli was just 1 for 5 but that included a home run and an rbi groundout in the 9th. 

Xander Bogaerts countered going 1 for 3 with a walk and run scored by playing horrendous defense and running the bases horribly, leading to the defeat. 

Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored on his lone hit.

Honorable Mention:

AJ Pierzynski caught the top of the 9th with no problems.

Final Thoughts:

Fun game, too bad they didn't win it. The Sox needed a lift from Buchholz and didn't get it, but rallied down 6-0 to put the tying run at third in the bottom of the ninth. A tremendous effort from Burke Badenhop kept the Sox in it but Breslow allowing the final run was a killer. Even though the Sox put up six runs there were too many instances of failing in the clutch, not to mention the bad baserunning by Bogaerts. That's a rookie mistake and hopefully there won't be too many of those this year. Its a shame the Sox lost this one after the emotional pre-game ceremony and all the talk about last year's heroics. Then again, maybe that's the problem. Maybe they can't get untracked because they're too focused on trying to do too much to replicate the success. They've trailed in almost every game this year and every game is different. For whatever reason they just don't execute when it matters. The worst part about this is now the New York Yankees are coming to town with the Sox exhausted bullpen ready for them to feast on. Tomorrow night Masahiro Tanaka goes for the Sox against Jon Lester (2-2) of Boston. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Drop O's With 7th Inning Rally (4/19/14)

It wasn't pretty but the Boston Red Sox finally defeated the Baltimore Orioles in a Saturday matinee. Felix Doubront and Bud Norris of the Orioles battled to a 2-2 tie after six innings. Nelson Cruz driving in both runs for Baltimore while Mike Napoli and David Ortiz provided the runs for Boston. In the bottom of the seventh, Brock Holt hit an rbi triple to put the Sox ahead. Junichi Tazawa (1-0, 0.00 ERA) shut the door in the eighth and his Orient Express partner Koji Uehara blanked the O's in the ninth. It added up to the Red Sox winning the game 4-2 at Fenway Park.

                                                     Phoebe Dollar approves of the win

The O's wasted no time getting to Doubront in the top of the first as Nick Markakis got a base hit to center to start. Markakis stole second as Young struck out swinging but Adam Jones walked. Chris Davis took strike three but Nelson Cruz got a base hit to left to score Markakis. Matt Wieters struck out swinging to end the inning with the O's up 1-0.

                                                                 Cruz drives in a run

The Sox answered against Bud Norris in the bottom of the first as Grady Sizemore struck out swinging to start. Dustin Pedroia walked and David Ortiz singled off the Monster to move Dustin to third. Mike Napoli hit a routine grounder to Jonathan Schoop who bobbled it for an error to score Pedroia. Mike Carp hit into a double play to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                    "I don't got it...." - Schoop

JJ Hardy grounded out to second to start the top of the second and Schoop took strike three. Lombardozzi grounded out to third to end the inning. David Ross struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Brock Holt also went down hacking. Jonathan Herrera popped up to short to end the inning.

Markakis struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Young grounded out to third. Jones flied out to right to end the inning. Jackie Bradley Jr led off the bottom of the third with a pop up to third before Sizemore flied out to left. Pedroia struck out swinging to end the inning.

Davis lined out to right to start the top of the fourth before Cruz grounded out to short. Wieters took strike three to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Ortiz launched his third home run of the season to put Boston on top. Napoli got a base hit up the middle but Carp grounded into a double play. Ross popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.

                                                          Home run Big Papi

Hardy led off the top of the fifth by striking out swinging before Schoop popped up to third. Lombardozzi lined out to center to end the inning. Holt grounded out to first to start the bottom of the fifth before Herrera flied out to left. JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning. 

The O's tied it in the top of the sixth as Markakis ripped a base hit to center to start. Young grounded into a double play. Jones doubled to left then stole third base. Davis was hit by a pitch then Cruz grounded out to third to end.....but wait! O's manager Buck Showalter challenged the call and New York Yankees manag.....err Head of MLB Operations Joe Torre DEMANDED the call be changed. Sure enough, the call was reversed and Jones scored to tie the game. Wieters hit a grounder to Holt who booted it for an error, but Hardy flied out to center to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                           Tie goes to the runner

Sizemore flied out to left to start the bottom of the sixth but Pedroia doubled to center. Ortiz flied out to center and Napoli took strike three to end the inning.

Schoop grounded out to third to begin the top of the seventh and Lombardozzi popped up to first. Markakis walked and that was it for Doubront. Felix battled to allow just 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings off 5 hits and 2 walks. It was the Orient Express time as Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch and Young lined out to center to end the inning.

                                                          Good work by Doubront

The Sox took command in the bottom of the seventh as Carp walked to start but Norris threw high and in to Ross. Ross didn't like it and a shouting match occurred. When things calmed down Ross struck out swinging but Holt tripled to center to score Carp with the go-ahead run. That was it for Norris and Evan Meek (who shall not inherit the earth) came in to face Herrera. Herera dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Holt out of nowhere but JBJ grounded into a double play to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-2.

                                                            Holt gets it done

Tazawa returned for the top of the eighth with Jonny Gomes in for Carp, and Jones flied out to right to start. Davis struck out swinging and Cruz grounded out to third to end the inning. Ryan Webb came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Sizemore grounded out to second to start. Pedroia dumped a base hit to right but Ortiz lined out to center. Napoli struck out swinging to end the inning.

The other half of the Orient Express, Koji Uehara, came in to close out the top of the ninth. Wieters walked to start but Hardy struck out swinging. Schoop and Lombardozzi both went down hacking to end the game. The Sox had won it 4-2.

                                                               Sox win

Hero of The Night is Brock Holt. His rbi triple put the Sox up for good in the seventh.

                                                                 Hero Holt

The Good:

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with a home run.

Felix Doubront tossed 6 2/3 innings of 2 run ball. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7.

Junichi Tazawa got the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Koji Uehara earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Grady Sizemore was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

David Ross was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

The Ugly:

Mike Napoli was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.

Mike Carp was 0 for 2 but walked and scored a run.

Jonathan Herrera was 0 for 2 but drove in a run.

Honorable Mention:

Jonny Gomes played left field in the final two innings.

Final Thoughts:

That was a good win and Doubront deserved better. He had Markakis struck out but got squeezed big time. The Sox rally in the seventh would have given him the win. Either way the Sox got timely offense to win this one including shut down pitching at the end. Tazawa and Uehara were one of the main reasons the Sox went as far as they did last year and today they slammed the door on the Orioles. Offensively Holt gave the team a lift big time and if the Sox do decide to bring back Stephen Drew, at least Holt had one moment in the sun. The Sox need to go on a nice winning streak to get back over .500 so hopefully this was the start. The Sox look to make it two in a row against Baltimore tomorrow night when Jake Peavy of the Sox takes on Ubaldo Jimenez of the Orioles. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Red Sox Edge White Sox Late (4/17/14)

For seven innings both Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox and Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox put on a master class of a pitcher's duel. The only blemish on Sale was a Xander Bogaerts home run while Lester allowed an rbi single to Adam Eaton. Lester made it through eight innings but Ronald Belisario was in for a surprise in the top of the ninth. David Ross doubled home Mike Napoli to put Boston on top and Jonathan Herrera scored Grady Sizemore with a squeeze bunt for the insurance run. The returning Koji Uehara slammed the door in the bottom of the ninth as the Red Sox took two out of three from the White Sox 3-1 at Comiskey Park.

                                                      Sax approves of the win

Sale got the ball in the top of the first and Dustin Pedroia led off by grounding out to third. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging and David Ortiz was robbed of a home run at the wall by Adam Eaton to end the inning. Lester got the ball in the bottom of the first Eaton grounded back to the mound to start. Marcus Semien grounded out to short and Dayan Viciedo popped up to first to end the inning.

Mike Napoli led off the top of the second by striking out swinging and Jonny Gomes grounded out to third. David Ross drew a walk but Daniel Nava forced him at second to end the inning. Adam Dunn popped up to first to start the bottom of the second before Paul Konerko took strike three. Alexei Ramirez lined out to Bogaerts to end the inning.

Ryan Roberts struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Jackie Bradley Jr went down hacking and Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning. Lester turned up the heat in the bottom of the third as Alejandro De Aza watched strike three go by to begin. Tyler Flowers struck out swinging and Leury Garcia was frozen for strike three to end the inning,

Bogaerts was plunked to begin the top of the fourth but Ortiz took strike three. Napoli flied out to center and Bogaerts tagged up on the play. Gomes struck out swinging to end the inning. Eaton popped up to short to start the bottom of the fourth and Viciedo struck out swinging to end the inning.

Ross and Nava struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth before Roberts popped up to left to end the inning. Dunn flied out to left to start the bottom of the fifth before Konerko hit one up the elevator shaft. Ramirez took strike three to end the inning.

The BoSox struck first in the top of the sixth as JBJ took strike three to start. Pedroia lined out to short but Bogaerts smashed his first home run of the season to put Boston on top. Ortiz flied out to center to end the inning with the BoSox up 1-0.

                                                      First of the season for Bogaerts

The ChiSox answered in the bottom of the sixth against Lester as De Aza grounded out to first to start. Flowers broke up the perfect game with a base hit past the diving Bogaerts and Garcia pounded a ground rule double over the head of Nava. Eaton hit a grounder to second and beat out the throw to first to score Flowers. Semien took strike three and Viciedo flied out to right to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                         Tie goes to the runner

Napoli walked to start the top of the seventh but Gomes flied out to left. Ross walked but Nava flied out to right. Roberts struck out swinging to end Sale's day of dominance. Dunn got a base hit to right to start the bottom of the seventh but Konerko flied out to right. Ramirez lined out to right and De Aza hit a rocket into the right field corner. Dunn tried to score from first but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

                                                        You're outta there!

Ronald Belisario came in to pitch the top of the eighth and JBJ walked to start. Pedroia banged into a double play and Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning. Lester returned for one final inning in the bottom of the eighth and Flowers got a base hit to center. Garcia dropped down a bunt to move Flowers to second but Eaton took strike three. Semien lined a base hit off the glove of Lester but Viciedo struck out swinging to end the inning. Lester was outstanding, allowing 1 run in 8 innings off 7 hits while striking out nine.

                                                            Good work Lester

The BoSox broke through in the top of the ninth as Ortiz was retired on a squibber in front of the plate to start. Napoli beat out a roller to third and Mike Carp pinch hit for Gomes. Carp got a base hit to left and Ross doubled to right to score Napoli. Nava was intentionally walked and Scott Downs was brought in to face Roberts. Sox manager John Farrell countered by pinch running Grady Sizemore for Carp and pinch hitting Jonathan Herrera for Roberts. Herera caught everyone asleep with a suicide squeeze bunt to score Sizemore with the insurance run. JBJ hit a bullet to short and Ross was doubled off third to end the inning with Boston up 3-1.

                                                    Sizemore scores the insurance run

Koji Uehara came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and Dunn struck out swinging to start. Konerko popped up to first but Ramirez got a base hit to left. Jose Abreu pinch hit for De Aza and grounded out to third to end the game. Boston had won it 3-1.

                                                           Sox win

Hero of The Night is Jon Lester. He tossed 8 innings of 1 run ball while allowing 7 hits and striking out 9 batters.

                                                         Hero Lester

The Good:

Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a home run and a hit by pitch.

Mike Napoli was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Mike Carp got a base hit as a pinch hitter.

Grady Sizemore scored a run as a pinch runner.

David Ross was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and an rbi.

Jonathan Herrera drove in a run with a base hit.

Koji Uehara earned his third save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 4.

David Ortiz was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Jonny Gomes was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Ryan Roberts was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Daniel Nava was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and threw out a baserunner.

Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Final Thoughts:

That was as close as you'll get to a 2013 win as you can get. Lester matched zeroes with Chris Sale then took the lead late in the game. This had Game 5 of the World Series last year vibes with Ross delivering the rbi double late in the game then Uehara slamming the door. The Sox have been struggling this year but this was a damn good win even if Pedroia and Ortiz did absolutely nothing. Ryan Roberts continues to do nothing and the rumor is the Sox are thinking of signing Stephen Drew back. They're better off putting Bogaerts at short and rolling the dice with a new third baseman if Will Middlebrooks is hurt long term. All in all it was a good win and that's two big ones in a row. The Sox now return home to face the Baltimore Orioles for a four game set. Tomorrow night John Lackey (2-1) goes one on one with Chris Tillman of Baltimore. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.