Game 54: ChiSox 7 BoSox 3

Boy, Lester looked terrible in this game. Couldn't find the strike zone all day and got beat around hard. Eight hits, 4 walks, and 2 HBPs in 5 and 2/3 innings. I blame some of that on Francona though. Lester was obviously exhausted in the 6th inning and couldn't find the strike zone to save his life. But instead of pulling him and bringing in a reliever to get us out of the jam, he left Lester in to get tagged for four more runs. Sheesh. I guess he wanted to give Lester a chance to earn the win but instead Lester ended up earning the loss.

Batters weren't looking bad against Peavy but once the White Sox took the 4 run lead they lost all their steam. A-Gon hit a beautiful solo shot to right in the first. Pedroia had a great battle of an at bat against Peavy in the 3rd that brought in two runs to knot the game at 3. But then Lester imploded and we couldn't put anything together to make it exciting.

I was watching this game live since I have today off. Most games I've watched after the fact so on the one hand it was annoying to have to sit through all of the commercial breaks and the pitching changes. On the other hand, it was definitely more exciting. It's hard for me to watch the games after the fact without MLB.tv telling me what will happen next. So live definitely upped the anticipation. I was also talking to Dad for the last three innings or so. He was watching the game on Gameday and I was surprised to find that Gameday was a pitch ahead of MLB.tv. Fun to commiserate with Dad during the loss though and share some complaints/insights.

Game 53: Sox 0 Tiggers 3

Well, Sox ran into a wall named Verlander in game 2 of the doubleheader. Verlander pitched 7 2/3 inning (and threw 132 pitches!) of shutout ball to stop the Sox in their tracks. Drew had the most success against him going 2-3 and representing exactly half of the hits the Sox got on the night. Verlander looked like the second coming of Pedro throwing heat in the high nineties, a change around 85, and a solid 12-6 curve for strikes. Just gotta tip your hat to him.

Beckett on the other hand really struggled with his control walking 5 over 6 innings to match is 5 Ks. He ran afoul in the first inning giving up 2 runs on 1 walk and three hits. He settled down somewhat after that to pitch 5 more scoreless innings. It's a testament to how good he's been that he was able to get out of such a bad game giving up only two runs. Hill pitched a clean 7th and Atchison gave up one run in the 8th.

Sox start a homestand against the White Sox next. First game will be the toughest as the Sox face Jake Peavy, Adrian Gonzalez's former teammate. Sox counter with Lester. Let's get a W!

Game 52: Sox 4 Tiggers 3

Let's play two! Sox got rained out on Saturday so Sunday was a day-night doubleheader. In game 1 we got treated to a pinch hit home run by Ortiz in the 9th to win the game. Wowee, the Sox are smoking right now! I forgot to mention yesterday that the Sox took sole possession of first place in the division with yesterday's win. Sox have won 5 in a row and 13 of the last 15 games.

Buchholz looked okay this game going 6 innings with 3 earned runs to get the Quality Start. He did give up two long balls, one to Andy Dirks and the other to Brennan Boesch. Albers looked really good pitching two innings of relief and Papelbon came in for the bottom of the ninth for the perfect inning, 2 Ks, and the save.

Pedroia took my words to heart and hit a solo home run in the 3rd. He was accompanied by Mike Cameron who doesn't hit often, but when he does, it goes a long ways. His solo shot in the 2nd was his 3rd of the year in part time duty. The Sox also took advantage of Victor Martinez catching today by stealing 4 bases in the 1st inning. Even Youkilis stole a base! And as I mentioned already, Ortiz pinch hit for Saltalamacchia in the ninth, facing Detroit closer Valverde, goes deep to right-center for the win. Apparently this was only the second time he's faced Valverde and he now has a home run in both matchups.

Beckett-Verlander in the ngiht half of the doubleheader. Should be a good game. Sox won the last time these two faced off 4-3 on a walkoff single from Crawford. We won't have home field advantage this time though so let's win early.

Game 51: Sox 6 Tiggers 3

Sox jump out to another early lead but this time they get absolutely stymied by the Tigers' long relief. Porcello was chased after 6 runs in 3 innings but Furbush went 5 innings of 2 hit ball in relief. Part of that may have been the strike zone expanding as the umps were ready to go home. On the Sox side, Wakefied pitched another solid game. Seven innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 2 BBs, and 2 Ks. Getting closer to that career mark! Bard pitched a clean 8th and Papelbon gave up a run in the non-save situation.

At the dish the Sox were lead by home runs from Jacoby and Crawford in the third inning. Youkilis also hit a two-run double in the third when the Sox put up 5 runs. On the not so good side, Pedroia's and Lowrie's lines didn't look so bad in the box score (1-4 and 1-3 respectively) but they didn't look so good watching the game. Both of them seem to be out of rhythm and aren't hitting line drives. Everything's a fly ball or a weakly hit ground ball. Pedroia's particularly concerning as his contact ratio (82.9%) is way down from his career numbers (91.3%). Hopefully they can both turn it around soon.

Game 50: Sox 14 Tiggers 1

Sox bats are alive and well. That's two games in a row putting up 14 runs. Crawford was hot again going 4-5 with 2 triples. Jacoby hit a three-run blast in the 2nd to give the Sox all the runs they needed. Papi also looked good going 2-3 with 2 walks. Even the newcomers were getting in on the hit parade. Josh Reddick got the start after being called up today as McDonald was put on the 15-day DL. Reddick went 3-5 and Sutton, giving Lowrie a day off, went 2-5. Every Sox starter got a hit so they all looked good.

Aceves pitched well with the lead giving up only one run. I again felt like the Tiger offense doesn't have much to fear and having a big lead certainly helps. One thing I did notice is that it seems like when Aceves misses it's near the head of right handed hitters. He nearly hit someone today and the last time he pitched he hit Marlon Byrd in the face. Maybe it was a wet ball he lost control of as the game only went 7 1/2 innings before getting called.

Sox are now tied with the Yankees for first. Quite the comeback after starting 2-10. Let's get out in front tomorrow!

Game 49: Sox 14 Tribe 2

Well, that was VERY satisfying. After getting embarrassed our first trip to Cleveland, bludgeoning the Indians for 14 runs, 7 in the first, felt like two or three wins. Lester looked fantastic going 6 strong with no runs, 3 hits, 1 BB, and 7 Ks. The only runs came off Morales in the 8th inning. Wheeler and Atchison chipped in two scoreless innings.

At the dish, Sox put up 20 hits and 4 walks amassing 14 runs. Who didn't contribute? Well, Youkilis and Drew sat the game out in favor of Sutton and Cameron. Also Lowrie was a noticeable 0-5 but he did score 2 runs. Here're the offensive highlights:

- Crawford 4-4 with what should have been the cycle but was given a double and advanced on the error instead

- Saltalamacchia hits a three run homer in the 6th. Here's starting to get hot!

- Pedroia hit a two run shot in the 1st to set the pace and had 3 RBI on the night

- Ortiz hit his 10th HR of the season and has really had a resurgence this year. I attribute it to finally going the other way instead of trying to pull everything out of the park

- Cameron looked kind of foolish his first couple of at bats but turned it around and drove some balls deep towards the end of the game. It's tough coming off the bench but he can be a fantastic 4th outfielder if we can get him some playing time

Sox travel to Detroit for another day game. Strange to have back-to-back day games. Aceves goes against Scherzer. Scherzer's put up surprisingly good numbers so we could have our work cut out for us.

Game 48: Sox 4 Tribe 2

Sox finally beat the Indians. Beckett was awesome per his usual this year. 6 and 2/3 innings, 1 ER, 6 Ks, 5 hits, and 3 walks. Hill pitched 1 and 1/3 in relief (a risky proposition on Francona's part) and Papelbon gave up only a solo home run earning the save.

Varitek essentially gave the Sox the win with a 2-run HR in the 7th. Speed on the base paths gave us two runs in the 3rd (Ellsbury and Crawford both steal second in the inning to get in scoring position). Ortiz lead the charge with two doubles on a night when there wasn't much offense. Sox put together 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk as Carmona looked good again.

Good. I'm glad we finally got that win under the belt. Let's get the series win tomorrow. Lester pitching. Be an ace.

Game 47: Sox 2 Tribe 3

I'll take the blame for this loss. When I got home it was a 0-0 game in the third (due to a 1 hour rain delay). I was watching the game just in time to see Crawford hit a single and Pedroia drive him in three batters later to take the 1-0 lead. I stepped outside to do some lawn work and came back inside to find the score tied at 1 in the 5th. Fortunately Crawford was the first batter I saw and he hit a solo blast to give the Sox the 2-1 lead. I kept the game on through the 7th inning before leaving for frisbee. When I came back, the Sox had lost giving up 2 runs in the 8th. So clearly, my viewing the game had a direct correlation to the Sox's success and I let everyone down by only watching the entire game after it was over. My bad.

But really, the Sox lost this game in the top of the 8th for two reasons you won't necessarily see in the box score:

1. Ellsbury gets caught stealing with one out. As a premier base stealer, that was a situation in which Ellsbury has to get to second base. Shoot, he could have done nothing and gotten there once Pedroia walks. Because he gets caught the inning is over when Youkilis flies out. If he's safe on the play, he either scores on Gonzalez's single the play before or else scores on the sac fly by Youkilis.

2. Pedroia comes up lame rounding second on Gonzalez's single and is replaced by Drew Sutton. This impacted the outcome of the game not because Sutton was on the basepaths but because in the bottom of the 8th, Sutton misses a ball Pedroia absolutely would have had. That single ends up chasing Buchholz out of the game, extends the inning, and was the run that tied the game up.

Tough loss to take. I don't understand why we can't beat these guys. Or why Masterson is throwing 96 mph now after being mediocre when he pitched for us. Shoot, even Bard was topping out at 97. Beckett - Carmona tomorrow so it's not going to get any easier.

Game 46: Cubbies 1 Sox 5

Wakefield looked awesome making the spot start for Lackey. Only one run over 6 and 2/3 innings of 4 hit, 0BB, 3 K ball. More of that and we won't miss Lackey or Matsuzaka. The win also gets him within 12 wins of the Red Sox all time win record (held by Roger Clemens and Cy Young). Bard and Papelbon close the door.

At the plates, Gonzalez had another great night going 4 for 4. Saltalamacchia hit another HR over the Monster and Youkilis had a big two run triple to the triangle that gave the Sox some breathing room. This was another night that everyone got a hit except Cameron and Crawford so the team is really playing great ball right now.

And it's a good thing too as the Sox head to Cleveland next to face the team with the best record in baseball, the Indians. Let's not get swept again!

Game 45: Cubbies 9 Sox 3

Boy, that was a tough game. Sox felt like they had this one in the bag before the Cubs put up 8 runs (8!) in the 8th inning. Aceves did a stand up job in the spot start going 5 innings with only 1 run. He did hit Marlon Byrd in the face in the 2nd inning, a scary sight to see. Sox got the runs on a two-run shot by Ortiz in the 4th and an RBI single by Jacoby in the 6th.

That seemed like it would be all the offense needed as Wheeler and Hill held the line through the 7th. But in the 8th with Albers pitching, the Cubs turned 5 hits, 3 BBs, and 3 errors into 8 runs. Albers certainly didn't look sharp tonight especially walking in a run but the errors were the hardest to take. Lowrie dropped an easy pop up with nobody out and the bases loaded, Varitek threw the ball away in a run down between home and third (but the error was given to Youkilis who got a glove on it), and Crawford missed the cutoff man trying to get Varitek's errant throw back into the infield.

Fortunately it's only one loss and the Sox will get a chance to win the series in the rubber game.

Game 44: Cubbies 5 Sox 15

Sox made several moves before this game:

- Dan Wheeler came off the DL list and Michael Bowden was sent back down to AAA to make room.

- Iglesias was sent back down to Pawtucket and Drew Sutton was brought up in his place. Apparently Scutaro is going to be injured for longer than originally thought and it didn't make sense to have Iglesias riding the pine the entire time.

- Sox acquired Franklin Morales from the Rockies for cash considerations (aka a bucket of balls) and Okajima was DFA'd to make room for him on the 40 man roster. Seems like a pretty lateral move to me and I feel bad for Okajima getting jerked around this year.

During the game, Lester did not look very ace like giving up 5 runs, 12 hits, and 2 walks in 6 IP. The Cubs had at least two runners on every inning Lester pitched. He was bailed out by the hot batters who took care of business against weak pitching from the Cubs. Gonzalez continues to rip it with 4 hits. Youkilis hit a two run home run and Saltalamacchia added a solo shot. Both home runs were over the Monster and both of them were absolutely crushed. Ellsbury seemed to be on base all the time and Pedroia finally found his stroke as well. Cameron was the only starter to go hit-less. Nice to see the Sox finally put up some crooked numbers and win easily after so many close games.

Aceves is making a spot start with Matsuzaka on the DL. He;ll be going up against Zambrano. Sox and Cubs will be wearing 1918 throwback uniforms; both jerseys look AWFUL.

Game 43: Tiggers 3 Sox 4

Wow! I might start calling these guys the Kardiac Kids. Sox scrape 3 runs together against Verlander. Drew had a couple of bad plays in the outfield but the early offense was brought to you by the letters J and D (sac fly in the 2nd, HR in the 4th). Ortiz also had a HR against Verlander and put together some good at bats against a tough pitcher. Same goes for Varitek as well.

Beckett left early (83 pitches after 6 innings) with neck tightness (I haven't heard any updates). Albers held the 7th but Bard coughed up the 2 run lead by giving up back to back solo shots on off speed pitches. Why, when you can throw 100 mph, would you toy around with off speed pitches? In the ninth, Papelbon puts a scare in the fans by loading the bases with one out on 2 singles and a walk. He works his way out of it with 2 Ks.

In the Sox half of the ninth, they get the bases loaded with no outs on a Youkilis walk, an Ortiz single, and an intentional walk to Drew. Lowrie has a great 10 pitch at bat working back from an 0-2 count but his bloop into left field gets Iglesias (pinch running for Youkilis) stuck guessing if it would get caught or not. So he was forced out at home. Not to worry though, Mr. Clutch himself, the King of the Walkoff, Carl Crawford hits a stinging line drive to center field with the outfield drawn in to drive in the winning run.

A lot of fun to watch this team when it's clicking and taking care of business against a top notch pitcher like Verlander. Sox next host the Cubs for three at Fenway for the first time since the 1918 World Series. Should be fun.

Game 42: Tiggers 0 Sox 1

Boy, what a nail biter! It was another cold, rainy night in Boston (and a gorgeous day here in Seattle) and the game got delayed for ~20 minutes in the 8th inning. Both starting pitchers had pretty much stifled the batters. Coke through 7 innings of 3 hit, 1 BB shutout ball and never seemed in trouble. Buchholz matched that with 7 innings of 4 hit, 1 BB shutout ball but was a little more shaky. In the 6th, the Tigers got a runner to third with one out but stranded him. In the 7th, Buchholz loaded the bases with two outs on 2 HBP and a single but Buchholz worked his way out of the jam with a strikeout.

The only run of the game scored in the bottom of the 8th on a Crawford walk and a Saltalamacchia double off the Monster. We've been waiting all year to hear those two names contributing to a win so it's great to get some production out of the bottom of the order.

Sox have their work cut out for them today facing Verlander. But they'll counter with Beckett. So now that I've said that, expect a shoot out in the New England fog.

Game 41: O's 7 Sox 8

Phew, finally caught up. It's been cold and wet in Boston this week so yesterday's game was rained out (funny, it's been beautiful here in the NW; who would have thunk it?). Sox won an exciting game to keep the win streak alive.

We got Dice-BB for this game and were, as a result, in a 6-0 hole early. Matsuzaka gave up 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings on 5 hits, 7 BBs (!), and only 2 Ks. For the most part the O's didn't seem to hit the ball hard (with the exception of Vlad Guerrero) but you don't really need to with so many free passes. Atchison got knocked around a little (he was called up with Lackey headed to the DL) but Aceves did a great job of eating three inings to keep the game close.

On the hitting side, the Sox couldn't get anything going against starter Tillman but started the comeback in the 6th with a 5 run inning. In the bottom of the ninth, after an Ellsbury BB, Pedroia worked a one-out walk out of an 0-2 count in a 10 pitch AB to keep the inning alive. Adrian Gonzalez came up and you just knew the game was over. Two run double off the Monster, game over, Sox win. Wow.

Game 40: Sox 7 Yanks 5

Sweep! And .500 for the first time this year! Man, the Yankees-Sox games are long bouts to watch! 3:41 for this game, 3:26 the game before, and 3:35 for the first game.

Lester was not the ace we thought he would be but after giving up 4 runs in a shaky first two innings, he settled down for a solid outing (6 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 7 Ks). This was a game of home runs though as the Yankees scored 3 of their 5 runs on HRs. The Sox countered with a 3-run HR from Youkilis to tie the game in the 3rd, Ortiz gave the Sox the lead with a solo shot in the 5th, and Saltalamacchia hit his first home run of the year (a pop up to the right field porch) in the 8th to seal the deal. Surprising Gonzalez didn't get in on the fun!

Bullpen did a great job of holding the tenuous lead Lester gave them between Aceves, Bard, and Papelbon (who had some trouble keeping his shoes tied for some reason). Really nice to see a Sox sweep of the Yankees to put them back into contention in the AL East after such a miserable start. Still, the Sox need to take care of business against everyone. Let's start that with this two game tilt against the Orioles.

Game 39: Sox 6 Yanks 0

Thank God for "park sounds." Another Fox broadcast that I was spared from listening to as the Sox rolled the Yanks. Both Beckett and CC looked dominant for the first half of the game. Beckett did a better job of spreading 4 hits and 2 BBs over his six innings than Sabathia did spreading 7 hits and 3 walks over 6 and 2/3. It also helped that Gonzalez went yard again, this time a three run bomb to chase Sabathia in the 7th. Pedroia did well working three hits and Ellsbury started the scoring with a key two run double in the 5th.

Man, Beckett looked fantastic. The 9 Ks in 6 innings were nice although the Yankees did a good job of getting him out of the game relatively early. I was gone all weekend so I'm catching up as fast as I can (which is oddly making some of the games blend together) and it would have been really frustrating to come back to three losses to watch, especially to the Yankees. Lester's going next against Garcia and I've got a good feeling Sox fans will need their brooms in the Bronx.

Game 38: Sox 5 Yanks 4

Sox win! Sox batters get 3 runs off of Colon (who looked suspiciously good for a washed up 38 year old) and 2 off of Chamberlin and manage to hold off the Bombers for the win. Buchholz looked in control all game giving up only 2 runs but Bard looked shaky in the 8th giving up another run. Papelbon's line didn't look so good (1 IP, 2 Hs, 1 ER) but seemed to be more a victim of bad luck than anything else. Jeter and Granderson hit some pretty good pitches.

At the plate, Gonzalez hit a monster shot to right in the 4th and Youkilis hit a two-run homer off of Joba in the 7th. Every Red Sox had a hit except Crawford and as a team they worked 5 walks. So overall a great job of being patient, working the pitcher, and getting pitches to hit.

Sabathia and Beckett in a tilt next. Should be exciting!

Game 37: Sox 3 Jays 9

Lackey is so bad. Nine runs in 6 2/3 innings. Some of that is on Tito for waiting so long to go out and get him (5 runs allowed in the 7^th). But still, Lackey’s ERA is now 8.01 this season and he has a WHIP of 1.74. Rajai Davis, who was batting 0.197 for the season before today, went 4-4 with 2 R, 2 RBI, and 2 SB.

Gonzalez and Ortiz both hit home runs in the 6th, Ellsbury went 0-fer to end his hitting streak, and Crawford got two hits to extend his streak to 11 games. But a disgusting game all in all.

Day off tomorrow. Three games in the Bronx this weekend.

Game 36: Sox 6 Jays 7

This L is brought to you by the pitching. Lester gets flustered by the umpire's strike zone in the 1st inning and gives up 3 runs. He settles down after that but takes on 2 more runs on two solo shots (Bautista in the 5th, Arrencibia in the 6th) over 5 1/3 innings. He also gave up a season high 5 walks to go with 7 hits and 5 Ks. Bard gives up another solo shot in the 8th inning to backup David Cooper.

Albers gives up the winning run in the 10th an a seeing eye single to Rajai Davis, 2 SBs (including 2nd on a pitch out), and a sacrifice fly by Cooper. Those SBs are on Varitek. Stealing on a called pitchout is inexcusable and the steal of third wasn't on a breaking ball. If that's the kind of SB prevention we're going to get, other teams are pretty much always going to have someone in scoring position against us.

The batting looked good though. Gonzalez hit two home runs and had three hits total. Ellsbury and Ortiz also had three hit nights (one of which was a HR for Papi). Pedroia is finally starting to make some contact too and Crawford extended his hitting streak to 10 games now. Sixteen hits as team and 6 runs so like I said, the hitting was not the problem tonight. Let's get 'em tomorrow.

Game 35: Twinkies 1 Sox 2

If you had told me Beckett and Blackburn would be stuck in a pitcher's duel for this game I would have shook my head in disgrace. Blackburn's been mediocre at best this season and Beckett's been on an absolute tear of lately. But somehow Blackburn was able to spread 7 hits and 3 walks out over 6 1/3 innings and only give up one run while the Twins seemed like they got 6 bloop hits off of Beckett.

The Sox finally scored in the 5th when Varitek hit a double, Ellsbury moved him over to third, and Gonzalez hit a two out single. Minnesota tied the game in their half of the eighth on a weakly hit infield single, a ridiculous balk call (by the same umpire as earlier this series!), and a two out single (also a bloop) by Kubel against Papelbon.

Sox won it in the 11th. Lowrie walked and was pinch run for by Iglesias. Crawford hit a low ball to right field on a pitch Iglesias was stealing on. He had to hold up at second as the wind had been absolutely howling in from centerfield all game and killed nearly every fly ball hit. But the ball did indeed hit the wall and Iglesias scored at home with a slight margin. Oki gets the win pitching two innings (which was really surprising as he looked exhausted in the top of the 11th)

Exciting to see Crawford hit another walkoff hit. Disappointing to see Beckett not get the W in a game he pitched well. Ellsbury extends the hitting streak to 18 and the Sox take the series 3-1. Now lets go to Toronto and sweep the two game series!

Game 34: Twinkies 5 Sox 9

That was a fun game to watch. Twins kept it interesting all game but at the same time, it never seemed like the Sox weren't in control. It was an offensive game with the Twins taking an early 3-0 lead in the first inning but the Sox came back scoring 1 in the 2nd and 4 in the 3rd. After that they kind of traded scores but the Sox kept a comfortable margin between them.

Gonzalez hit another Monster shot to go with two other hits on his 29th birthday and Ellsbury extended the hitting streak to 17 games with 3 hits as well. They also got help from the Twins defense who committed 3 errors.

Matsuzaka looked good after the first inning. That first inning was frustrating to watch and looked like typical Dice-BB pitching. But after that, he settled down, didn't give in to the batters, and put in a solid Dice-K effort (6 IP, 5 Hs, and 4 Ks to 2 BBs). Albers pitched well again for another 2 innings and Bard looked great in the 9th.

Jose Iglesias got in the game as a 9th inning defensive substitute. Apparently Scutaro was put on the DL with an oblique injury so the highly touted defensive prospect got his first action in the Bigs and retired the last batter of the game. Big grin on his face after that one!

Overall a great game to watch. Let's build off of it and win the series tomorrow.

Game 33: Twinkies 0 Sox 4

Boy, that game was quick! Or at least it was quick for those of us who watched it after the fact and didn't have to sit through the 2 hour rain delay between the 2nd and 3rd. MLB.tv worked like a charm this time allowing me to zip through the 2:45 minute game (plus rain delay) in under 2 hours and listen to just park sounds instead of the stupid Fox broadcast.

Buchholz looked good today although the Twins' lineup is pretty anemic without Mauer. He only went 5 innings with the rain delay but still managed 6 Ks to 2 hits and 1 BB. Hill, Albers, Bard, and Papelbon cleaned up the rest of the game giving up only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 4 between them. Papelbon continues to shine in his contract year.

At the plate, Ellsbury continues to swing a hot bat. I think he has a 16 game hitting streak now with two hits today (including a 2 RBI single in the 8th). Crawford also continues to look good, hitting a cool .400 over the last 6 games. He's swing is such a slap type of swing though; I have no idea how he hit nearly 20 home runs last year. I think it's time to start moving him up for the 8th spot in the lineup. Pedroia got a hit finally today but still looks like his timing is off.

Lowrie had another fielding error today but it didn't result in a run scored and he made up for it by getting an RBI in the first. C'mon Jed! Clean it up!

Game 32: Twinkies 9 Sox 2

So much for that. Twins came into this game averaging 3 runs per game for the season. So wouldn't you know it, they triple that and drop 9 on the Sox. Some of that just comes with the territory when you send Wakefield out to the mound. But of the 8 runs Wakefield gave up, many of them could have been prevented. In the 2nd inning, Lowrie misses a backhand grab which would have been a double play. Instead three runs score in the inning, including one on a balk pickoff throw to first that got Francona ejected for arguing (I think he's now 2 for 2 on getting thrown out because of arguing a balk call).

In the 5th, Hale just left Wakefield in too long as he was obviously tiring. Bringing in Aceves (who was back in Boston after Atchison got sent back down to the minors) may have ended the inning. However the Twins did score two more runs that inning on a Lowrie error. He had two errors on the game; the second was on what should have been a caught stealing that he mishandled into short left field. That runner ended up scoring on Aceves' record. I guess we're finally seeing the defensive sacrifice we have to make to get Lowrie's bat in the lineup (although it wasn't much help today).

Speaking of the lineup, Baker silenced that bats for eight innings. The book on him is that he gives up a lot of fly balls so the Sox did get two solo shots off of him (Drew in the 2nd and Gonzalez in the 4th). But that was all they got. Pedroia still looks lost at the plate, swinging at pitches out of the zone and not making contact when you would expect him to.

Two day games coming up and the bullpen should finally be rested with the Pawtucket Express taking over duties the last two nights.

Game 31: Halos 11 Sox 0

Lackey really crapped the bed on this one. After last night's marathon, the Sox needed a solid game from Lackey to rest the bullpen. Before the game, Jenks and Wheeler were both put on the 15 day DL and Scott Atchison and Rich Hill were called up from Pawtucket. I think the official injuries were bicep cramps and a pull in Wheeler's calf but this seems more like a DL trip for suck-itis. Anyway, Lackey only gave the Sox 4 innings so both Atchison and Hill saw action in their first game in the Show.

Lackey was awful. Eight runs in 4 innings + 2 batters, 10 hits and 3 walks, and only 1 K. It seemed like most of the Angels' runs scored with 2 outs; at one point Lackey gave up 5 straight singles. The Angels were also running at will. They only got 4 SB ( and 1 CS) but they would have had more if their teammates hadn't gotten so many hits while they were running. Atchison looked decent in relief and Hill looks like he'll be death to left hand hitters. He might not be very good against righties though.

On the hitting side, Ortiz was on base 4 times with 3 hits and a walk. He's going the other way a lot this year. Seems like he's decided to forgo the power numbers to beat the huge shift they put on him instead. Otherwise, the Sox looked anemic against another mediocre pitcher (Pinero). I don't understand how they can get to Hernandez, Weaver, and Haren, but can't seem to touch the likes of Pinero or Fister. Is it a lack of familiarity thing? It's good to be able to hit the good pitchers during the playoffs, but we need to take care of business against the dregs during the season.

So the Sox end up splitting this series with the Halos and finishing the season series 6-2. The floundering Twins come into town next for a 4 game set. ESPN is saying Wakefield will start with Matsuzaka having pitched an inning on Wednesday.

Game 30: Halos 5 Sox 3

Long day for the Sox today. The game started in a light rain and was held up for 2.5 hours in the 5th as they waited out the storm (Angels are traveling after tomorrow's game so they wanted to get the game in if at all possible). Then the Sox claw back from a 2 run deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth (two outs, full count, bottom of the ninth: dream scenario for Dreamboat). They play 12 before bringing in Matsuzaka to pitch the 13th.

What do you think would happen bringing Matsuzaka in for the 13th? Of course he loads the bases up on two singles and a walk. Abreu, Dice-BB's personal nightmare, hits a two run single to win the game. Anyone could have seen that thing coming from a mile away. There must not have been anyone else left in the bullpen but jeez, Matsuzaka in that situation? Really?

Sox had a couple of opportunities to win it. Lowrie hit a two out double in the 10th with pinch runner McDonald on first. McDonald gets stranded on third though. In the 12th Scutaro hit a one out single right before Youkilis hit what looked like a game winning home run into the Monster seats. But it bounces high off the wall instead and Scutaro gets tagged out at home. Youkilis gets to third on a single by McDonald but Lowrie grounded out to end the inning.

Sox go quickly in their half of the 13th seeing only 6 pitches while going 1-2-3. Wheeler deserved the loss giving up 2 runs on 2 hits (including a homer) and a walk while only getting one out in the 7th. Pedroia also had a crappy game going 0-6 with 4 Ks. Seemed like he killed a few rallies in the process.

Oh well. Tomorrow's game starts in only a few hours. Let's shake it off and win the next one.

Game 29: Halos 3 Sox 7

Watch out world! The Sox bats are coming alive! This game felt like it was going to be a 1-0 duel but the Sox batters were finally able to put some pressure on Dan Haren in the 6th inning, taking a 2-1 lead. Haren came apart after that giving up another run in the 7th and then a solo shot to A-Gon into the bullpens before getting yanked. The flood gates opened after that with Ortiz hitting a homer around the Pesky Pole and Scutaro sneaking a homer over the Monster in the 8th too.

Lester looked good; he's only blemish was a solo home run in the 2nd inning. He ended up going 7 innings giving up 6 hits, 1 BB, and 11 Ks. Both he and Haren benefited from an exceptionally wide strike zone from the home plate umpire. Again the bullpen didn't take advantage of the big lead; this time it was Papelbon giving up two runs on 3 hits (including a ground rule double) in the 9th.

Crawford's really starting to catch fire. He went 2 for 3 with a walk. It was also nice to see Gonzalez go deep for only the 2nd time this year. Sox have now won all 6 games they've played against the Angels this year with 2 more to go. Hopefully the bats are around for good from now on. Beckett faces off with Santana tomorrow.

Game 28: Halos 5 Sox 9

Exciting game! This one was close while Weaver and Buchholz were in, duking it out. Sox had a big inning in the 5th, getting two runs to take a 3-2 lead. Pedroia hit a 2-run single with two outs on a 13 pitch marathon at bat against Weaver. That was the game changer. If Pedroia strikes out there, it's a different game.

After that though the Sox offense explodes in the 7th for 6 runs to put the game away. Gonzalez hit a three run double followed by an RBI double by Youkilis and a two run homer by Ortiz. The Sox really showed off what everyone thought they were capable of. Even Crawford was hitting the ball with authority. It's nice to finally see the offense we expected 1/6th of the way into the season.

Also nice to beat Weaver who has started the season 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA. But the one dark cloud: Wheeler and Okajima give up three runs in 2 innings. With a 7 run lead, you'd really like to see them mowing guys down but instead they gave up 5 hits including a home run. The bullpen as a whole needs to be better at holding leads if we're going to turn this season around.

Game 27: M's 2 Sox 3

Baseball is a weird game. The Sox can't manage to get anything going against Fister but got two runs early off of Felix today. Wakefield makes the pinch start for Buchholz and the old man looked fantastic giving up only 3 hits and a walk in 5 2/3. Jenks blows it in the 5th coming in with two outs to give up 1 hit and 3 walks before getting the third out. But Albers and Papelbon hold the line until Lowrie reaches third base on a triple Ichiro lost in the sun and with two outs, Carl Crawford delivers a rope up the middle to win the game.

What a game. Certainly losing 2 out of three wasn't what we had hoped for but to beat Felix to avoid the sweep was nice. I thought for sure after losing the first two, we were playing so poorly we didn't have a chance at beating the King. But that just goes to show you, baseball's a weird game.

Game 26: M's 2 Sox 0

This was a game of missed opportunities. Somehow the Sox get blanked by 8 innings of Doug Fister and Aaron Laffey. Seven hits (5 of which were doubles) and 6 walks equal 0 runs. Sox had the bases loaded twice, once with no outs, and scored no runs. Four innings the Sox got a runner all the way to third base and still managed to not score. No runs. All game.

Lackey looked pretty good overall going 6 innings and getting the loss. It was really nice to see Okajima and Wheeler pitch well after struggling some previously. Milton Bradley got thrown out in the third arguing about a play he wasn't involved in. The umpire missed the call but still, that's just stupid.

I'm most upset with Youkilis. Twice I telepathically told him I just wanted a home run for my birthday and twice he didn't deliver. Some friend. Thanks for nothing.