Papi homers again, drives in four but Sox fall to Jays 9-7

The launching pad at Toronto's Rogers Centre was open for business on Tuesday, and business was good.

As usual, the Boston Red Sox swung for the fences as they visited the Toronto Blue Jays for the first game of a three game set at the former SkyDome, David Ortiz nailed his third homer in nine games to start his season, and Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes chipped in with park jobs of their own...

...but Edwin Encarnacion belted two for Toronto, including a mammoth upper deck shot as the Blue Jays batters beat up on lefty Jon Lester and the visiting Sox 9-7.

Despite the loss, the Red Sox finish April with the best record in the Major Leagues for the 11th time in their storied history at 18-8.  The last two times that this has occurred, in 2004 and 2007, Boston has gone on to win the World Series.

Lester was vying for a 5-0 start, but had a devilish night, allowing six runs on six hits in six innings, though the three that were allowed in the third inning were questionable.  Trailing 1-0 on a Jose Bautista RBI double in the 1st, Lester loaded the bases in the third on a single, a hit batsman and a conventional free pass to Bautista, whom Jarrod Saltalamacchia tried to pick off at first base...

...his elbow hitting Umpire Clint Fagen's face mask cocking his arm to throw to first, but the contact caused Saltalamaccia's throw to sail into right field, scoring two.  Two outs later J.P. Arencibia's double brought Bautista home, giving the Jays a 4-0 lead.

Had Saltalamacchia successfully protested the errant throw, the ball would have been ruled dead and the runs would not have counted.  The Red Sox catcher admitted that he didn't know there was such a rule, or he would have protested the play due to Umpire interference.

"My elbow hit the umpire's mask, which I've done in the past, but no one has ever said anything, so I didn't make a stink about it because I didn't really know the ruling on it," Saltalamacchia said. "Now I know, once it hits his mask it's got to be a dead ball."

Boston's bats woke up in the top of the fourth, getting two of the runs back for Lester as both Ortiz and Carp homered to Center off Blue Jays' starter Brandon Morrow, then another in the top of the fifth on a Dustin Pedroia RBI single, making it 4-3 Toronto - but then Encarnacion blasted a 3-1 pitch into the fifth deck in the bottom of the frame to double up the Sox 6-3.

A solo shot by Gomes in the top of the 6th and a bases clearing double by Big Papi in the top of the 7th briefly gave the Red Sox a 7-6 lead, but Encarnacion would connect on a two run blast in the bottom of the seventh and the Jays' wouldn't trail again.

Encarnacion's blast into the upper deck was just the 14 time in the stadium's history that a ball had found the fifth deck and was measured at 427 feet.

The two teams square off again on Wednesday evening with Clay Buchholz scheduled to start for the Sox and Mark Buehrle taking the mound for Toronto.

Colon throws a gem as A's flog Red Sox

You always know what you're going to get with Alfredo Aceves...

...the all or nothing, polarizing righty who keeps you on the edge of your seat, biting your fingernails to relieve the anxiety of The Next Pitch - sometimes he gets away with it for a while, like his start against the Rays last week where he managed six innings before giving up back to back park jobs - and some nights he doesn't get away with it at all.

Tonight, he only got through the second inning before it all started to fall apart.

Aceves survived just three and a third innings total, moving base runners along with a comical variety of miscues, allowing 8 runs on 7 hits while walking four, committing a balk and charged with a throwing error as the Boston Red Sox got dragged behind the woodshed by the Oakland A's 13-0...

...and in truth the A's didn't even bother with the woodshed, instead settling for a public flogging that featured the roughing up two Boston pitchers and the blanking of a usually pesky offense that manages to win by manufacturing runs.

On Tuesday night, it was the Oakland A's that were manufacturing runs, with some timely assists from Aceves and the Boston infield.

Perhaps it was just the gloom of the misty New England evening, but when Aceves walked A's second baseman Eric Sogard on four straight pitches to start the top of the third, the persistent light rain seemed to get a little heavier, the cold, thick air a little colder and heavier...

...a couple of more walks, a bunch of singles and errors and balks later, the A's had batted around and had surged out to a 6-0 lead, and when Oakland left fielder Seth Smith homered to center on the first pitch he saw in the top of the fourth, that was it for Aceves - but not the end of the A's scoring.

Sox releiver Steven Wright allowed five runs on six hits through three and two thirds innings before the game was called in the 7th inning on account of either the progressively harder rain or some manner of mercy rule...

On the flip side, Bartolo Colon was doing some major dealing for the Oakland A's.

The well-rounded right hander threw a 7 inning gem, allowing just three hits while striking out seven before the game was called, the Sox lone highlight at the plate a - well - not quite a highlight for Boston but an impressive one for Colon, who retired the side in order four times, twice striking out the side.

There's really not much more to say.  13-0 is your final score.

The two teams finish up their three game series on Wednesday with Lefty Brett Anderson taking the bump for the A's and Jon Lester dealing for the Sox.  Boston welcomes in the Houston Astros starting on Thursday.

Red Sox double dipped by Royals

Between games of the Red Sox and Royals Day/Night double-header this afternoon, I found myself at the playground with my young son on the grounds of the school that he attends - and soon we were joined by one of his friends who produced some candy and readily shared it with Jake.

My boy's friend offered me some, so I asked what he had, to which he replied,  "Doggy chocolates".

Poop jokes.  They know no age limit, no race nor religious implications - just good old American humor, which I hit them back with when we crossed the street to get a double scoop cold stone ice cream.

There were 18 flavors of premium ice cream to choose from and rows and rows of toppings, plus a half dozen different sauces, all lined up in clear squeeze bottles.  These people don't screw around, and when they get flying with the mixture on the frozen marble sheet, they look like one of those Japanese chefs that toss shrimp in people's mouths...

...we waited for a few minutes and watched the ice cream guy/secret Japanese chef ply his trade, seriously debating the merits of crushed butterfingers with cookie dough ice cream, then when it was our turn, I told the guy what I wanted, then ordered for the kids - with extra doggy chocolates...

...which is pretty much what Red Sox fans got today, the Sox dropping both ends of the double scoop - and for the first time in this young season, Boston started to show some of the vulnerability that caused many an expert to write them off before the season even started.

Thus far - with the exception of whatever they put in their ice cream in Toronto - the Red Sox have been making their living off of small ball.  The power bats show up sporadically (and in Toronto), but not often enough to really scare anyone.  Of Boston's 15 home runs, eight came in a two game power surge against Blue Jays' pitching.  They have just seven park jobs in the other sixteen games that they've played...

...and that's ok, it's who they are - but it doesn't give one much confidence going into the bottom of the ninth and down two runs, which is where the Sox found themselves in the first game.  Sox starter Ryan Dempster was cruising along until he gave up a couple of singles and a double to start the top of the fourth that tied the game at 2-2, then struck out two batters before Salvador Perez touched him for a two run single to break the game open.

Both pitchers went seven innings and both gave up six hits before relenting to their respective bullpens.  The Red Sox managed to load the bases in the bottom of the eighth but, despite having the heart of the order come to the plate, Jarrod Saltalamaccia grounded weakly to short and the threat was abated...and once the Royals got closer Greg Holland on the mound, the Sox went meekly in the bottom of the ninth to end the 4-2 game, snapping a 7 game winning streak...

The nightcap featured the vulnerability of this pitching staff and, while it's not as pronounced as the offense showed in the afternoon game, it proved to be their undoing under the lights at Fenway Park.

And it really had nothing to do with spot-starter Allen Webster, who had been called up from triple A Pawtucket for the game under the option protection that affords a team a 26th roster spot for a double header, and the Sox obviously welcomed the opportunity to see Webster pitch in a major league game as well as keep their rotation on proper rest.

Webster pitched well enough to leave the game in line for the victory after giving a solid six inning performance, giving up five hits - two of them park jobs, unfortunately.  But Junichi Tazawa got the Sox to the eighth, handing the ball over to uber-reliable Koji Uehara, who showed the rust of having a couple of days off, Giving up a monster blast to Billy Butler to knot the game at 4-4...

Andrew Bailey pitched a perfect top of the ninth and the Sox managed to get two on for Mike Napoli in the bottom of the inning, and he narrowly missed winning the game in walk off style, but his drive to center came up short on the track and the game went into extra cantos...

...where the fifth Sox pitcher of the night, Andrew Miller, loaded the bases in the top of the 10th, then walked Lorenzo Cain, plating Alex Gordon for a 5-4 Royals win as, again, Greg Holland collected his second save of the day in impressive fashion, striking out the side.

All of this is not to say that the Red Sox' collapse is inevitable - quite the contrary.  The team is manufacturing the runs that they need as long as the pitching holds up, but a little more power at the plate would make things a little easier...

Buchholz, Nava power Red Sox to 7th straight win

Plenty of goosebumps to go around at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon, and not just because of the chilly Ocean breeze.

Mere hours after police shut down and sealed off Boston from the rest of the world to conduct the largest manhunt in the city's history, the Red Sox took the field to host the Kansas City Royals and take one of the first steps to get some normalcy back into a rejuvenated Hub....

...but first, a ceremony that set the tone for a game that should have told the Royals how this game was going to play out, because the Red Sox were not going to lose this game.  No way, not today.

"It was electric, man," Cain said of the ceremony. "To go through that and see everybody getting into it and what this city went through, just to be a part of it was amazing."

It took until the bottom of the eighth inning and Daniel Nava's three run park job into the Sox bullpen before it became obvious and Andrew Bailey's third consecutive save before the 4-3 score was official, but with David Ortiz firing up the capacity crowd in a pregame ceremony honoring those impacted by the terror and human drama of the week's events with a colorful metaphor laced speech, the game's outcome was decided long before the first pitch.

Which was a strike from Clay Buchholz, the first of 70 out of 104 pitches for the big right hander who went eight innings while yielding an equal number of hits and two earned runs to raise his record to 4-0.  Bailey gave everyone in the park a few anxious moments, but managed to make it through the 9th inning to record his third consecutive save as the interim closer.

Royals' starter James Shields pitched six strong innings, limiting the Red Sox to just four hits while striking out eight, but was chased from the game by Ortiz' RBI single in the bottom of the 6th that tied the game at 1-1.  The Royals got that run back the next at bat when Salvador Perez nailed a two-out RBI triple to score Lorenzo Cain to set up Nava's heroics an inning later...

...but it was the heroics of the first responders, of the various police agencies and the toughness of the citizens of Boston that have been on display all week that was honored before the game - and this Red Sox victory, the club's seventh in a row, was merely an encapsulation of the city that they represent.

The win raises the Red Sox' record to 12-4, a win total that no one outside of Boston could have imagined before the season began, a win that has them two game ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East, a win which taught the Kansas City Royals something that this city has taught everyone in the world this past week:

There is a heavy price to pay to underestimate the spirit of the city and it's teams.  After all, it's the only city in the world that will shut itself down to find one person that tries to mess with it.

    

'Sox sweep Tribe, Head home to Boston

In an article now appearing on the website Chowder and Champions, we take a look at the Boston  Red Sox win over the Cleveland Indians:

Jarrod Saltalamacchia thought he'd try something a little different, you know, just to break up the routine a little bit.

Flamboyancy is not what this Red Sox team is about - this is a team built on grit, determination and centered on pitching and defense, so when one of their own strays at the plate, the other members of the "Singles Club" let him know about it.

So when the Red Sox catcher got it in his mind to pull a solo park job to right to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the fourth inning, his light hitting brethren were sure to remind him where he comes from.

We manufacture run around here, fella.

More impressive still is the unrivaled string of dominating pitching performances by both starter and reliever alike.  Starters taking leads into the 6th inning or later, handing the ball over to Koji Uehara for an inning or two and then to interim closer Andrew Bailey, who threw one easy inning for his second save in as many tries.

Jon Lester was magnificent, holding up to the bar he set in his first two starts by going seven strong, of four hit ball with five strike outs and yielding 2 earned runs, leading the Sox to a series sweep of the Cleveland Indians with a 6-3 victory at Progressive field on Thursday.

To read the entire article, please click here.

Indians pitchers K 16 'Sox, Boston still wins 7-2

Small ball may not be the most exciting and appealing way to score runs, but the Boston Red Sox sure don't seem to mind, and neither do their fans.

They are, after all, very good at it.

The Red Sox scored seven runs in the top of the 2nd inning, collecting five walks along the way and a bases clearing double from Mike Napoli the big blow as the Red sox cruised to the fourth straight win, 7-2 over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Sox starter Felix Doubront registered an effective start, allowing just two runs on four hits in five innings, with the solid bullpen taking over from there - more than good enough to notch his first win of the season and to continue the string of Sox starting pitching allowing three earned runs or less - which now stands at 13 games to start the season.

In contrast, Indians' starter Ubaldo Jiminez got absolutely stomped.  Oh wait, the Sox are playing small ball, so instead of getting stomped, he got told a thing or two and sent to the corner of the dugout to think about walking five Red Sox batters in one third of an inning, not to mention serving up two doubles to Napoli, the second of which cleared the bases...

...and which made the fact that the Sox somehow managed to strike out an amazing 16 times - left fielder Daniel Nava with four - a weird non-factor. To post a dud like that in just about any game, you're going to lose - unless you also are issued nine free passes, which is how small ball works.

Whiffs, walks and timely hitting is what's working for the Sox offense right now, and when you sprinkle in the clutch stolen bases and solid defense and top it off with gem after gem from your pitching staff, well, you are 9-4 and leading the American League East by 1.5 games over the New York (how the hell are they 7-5) Yankees...

...and of the nine wins the last four are consecutive, so Boston has to feel pretty good about this team, and the fans should as well.  Small ball isn't as entertaining as watching park jobs drop over fences and outfielders crashing into the wall trying to chase it down, but it works.

And though it might seem robotic, manufacturing runs at this point of the season can only be good for their confidence when the power finally starts to come around, the knowledge that they can win either way is priceless.

So the Red Sox players needn't fret.  Many were concerned that they had to put on an entertaining brand this evening to create a pleasant diversion for the New England region in the wake of Monday's devastating events, and striking out 16 times and walking nine isn't exactly exciting, but the fact that the game is played is a diversion in itself.

Baseball is said to be the National Pass time, and at times like this is when fans need baseball more than baseball needs it's fans - to know that there is normalcy in their lives.  Just the fact that you're playing means everything to the city.

Boston Sportsnight: Sox win in dramatic ending, then real life drama takes over

Patriots' Day is a big deal in Massachusetts.

It's a huge deal to my son, as it marks the "real" start to his Spring Vacation from school.  To him, the vacations doesn't start until he'd normally be there, so at 8:40am he was sitting on the couch, laptop on his lap, cartoons on one TV and the Wii on pause from the zombie apocalypse on the other...

...that's what I walked into this morning, hoping to get to my computer to write my leads for the day's games before things got really crazy - but my son was already in full bachelor mode, the three electronic distractions and a can of Pepsi a nine year old's version of a cigar and skivvies.

The Red Sox were playing at 11:00 and the Bruins later tonight, and the Boston Marathon sandwiched between - so I managed to pound out my leads in about a half an hour and then retreated to the back deck with a cup of black coffee to ponder my personal agenda with the added responsibility of my needy and, if I'm reading what I just wrote correctly, very spoiled son.

I had targeted this date to launch my new blogspot - and why not?  Patriots' Day is unique to New England in general, the states of Massachusetts and Maine specifically...the holiday commemorating the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord that took place on April 19, 1775 - and the first real day of independence for our country.

We honor this day with sporting competitions, the Red Sox always play at home and always starting in the late morning so that (in theory) it causes a seamless segue with the peak of the Boston Marathon...

...and Ryan Dempster kept the amazing string of Red Sox pitching performances to start the season going, allowing one run on just two hits, striking out ten in a seven inning gem that was as bright and fresh as the early spring morning - the solid tandem of Koji Uehara and Andrew Bailey combining with more timely hitting to ensure Dempster's performance wasn't wasted.

And as the Red Sox were preparing to leave the stadium for the airport to catch their flight to Cleveland for a series against the Indians starting tomorrow night, they heard two loud bangs - explosions emitted from two devises planted in trash receptacles at the finish line of the Marathon, blasts that initially killed two spectators and wounded dozens of others...

...an apparent terrorist attack against the culture of  a city and a people on a day that President Obama described as "a day that celebrates the free and fiercely independent spirit that this great American city of Boston has reflected from the earliest days of our nation,"

And in that spirit, the act of terror can not be allowed to dictate what the people of Boston do, what they think and how they behave.  Life returns to normalcy, games go on, people heal - until the next time that innocent people feel the wrath of cowards who try to control our lives through the fear that their acts arouse in us.

These invertebrates will not stop the Red Sox from playing, nor stop us from going to Fenway Park to watch them play.  The Bruins' game scheduled for tonight was postponed in respect for the "event ongoing", but they'll be back as will the Celtics, as will the Patriots, who started their offseason programs today in Foxboro.

Boston is a city that doesn't suffer cowards well.  Boston is a tough city, a proud city, a city whose sports teams take on the persona of citizens.  The city of Boston is magic, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and it's going to take a hell of a lot more than the gutless acts of today to make the citizens live any way other than they way they are accustomed...

...and they are accustomed to living free.  They are accustomed to devout allegiance to the flag and to their teams, and woe to the being that doesn't understand what that means, or tries to change them.

So, the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on a walkoff RBI double off the Green Monster by Mike Napoli, scoring favorite son Dustin Pedroia all the way from first, and now sport an AL East best 8-4 record heading off to Cleveland, starting a three-game road series against the Indians and manager Terry Francona , Boston's former manager. Felix Doubront (0-0) pitches for Boston against Ubaldo Jiminez (0-1).

Cowards die a thousand deaths, but Baseball goes on, as does Hockey, Basketball, Football and Marathons.  Boston Goes on, America goes on.

And there's nothing that any coward can do about it.

Uehara, Victorino step up, Sox take Rays 2-1

Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell on Thursday night was preaching patience for Joel Hanrahan in the closer's role, claiming that he needed time to work out the kinks from moving to the American League from the National league, and that he was confident Hanrahan would figure it out...

...but the dreaded vote of confidence is dreaded for a reason, because once it's issued, you have precious little time to make your boss look good.

On Saturday afternoon, Hanrahan did not make his boss look good.

After getting shelled in his last two appearances, Hanrahan looked tentative, trying to guide his ball instead of just releasing it, and the results were predictable.  Walking the only two batters he faced in the top of the ninth, the offseason pick up from Philadelphia gave way to Koji Uehara who got a key strike out to rescue the Red Sox...

...then Shane Victorino lined a sharp infield hit in the bottom of the 10th, scoring Jacoby Ellsbury as Boston turned to small ball to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon.

A pitcher's duel, the game was tied at 1-1 when Hanrahan came out of the bullpen to start the top of the ninth with a chance to get the Sox to their half of the inning with an opportunity to win, but two quick walks and Farrell yanked his closer for Uehara, who pitched his way out of the jam and laid some major skin on his teammates as he returned to the dugout following the third out.

The bottom of the ninth and top of the 10th passed quietly, then with one out in the bottom of the 10th, Jacoby Ellsbury singled to center off Brandon Gomes, then stole second and also took third as the throw from Rays' catcher Jose Lobaton also found Centerfield. Victorino then hit a hard grounder into a five-man infield that second baseman Ben Zobrist made a diving stop on to his right, but was unable to make a throw home.

Hanrahan's difficulties nearly wasted a superb pitching performance from Jon Lester, who gave up just one run on five hits, notching five whiffs and surrendering just one free pass in seven solid innings.  His counterpart wasn't too shabby either, David Price going six innings, allowing one run on a park job by Sox backup catcher David Ross while striking out eight.

Lester threw 100 pitches and stayed on the bench to start the 8th, giving way to Andrew Bailey who pitched a perfect inning before giving way to Hanrahan.  Bailey and the excitable Uehara both gave good auditions for the closer's role in the event Farrell wants to make a change and Junichi Tazawa took the win to improve his record to 2-0.

The teams meet again on Sunday afternoon with Alex Cobb taking the bump for the Rays and Clay Buchholz doing the honors for the Red Sox.

Despite their average record and showing any offensive prowess only in spurts, the Red Sox are winning with solid starting pitching and phenomenal work out of the pen, Hanrahan's struggles notwithstanding...

...and with him already receiving the dreaded vote of confidence from Farrell, Hanrahan's leash will be very short.  Farrell has already shown his hand as he was prepared to go with Uehara if his big, hard throwing righty struggled, so the new Sox manager may have seen enough already.

Bradley runs wild, Sox stomp Yanks in season opener

The Red Sox magic number to clinch the American League East is down to 161.

Though unstated, it was a given that the Red Sox would want to put last season's Keystone Kops routine back in Ted Turner's film vault and forget all about it, and took a big step toward doing just that with an 8-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Monday afternoon for the Season Opener for both at Yankee Stadium...

...and calling them the Yankees needs to be done very loosly, as the players that Boston faced in The Bronx were a collection of recent acquisitions mixed with a smattering of familiar faces.

Perennial all stars Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira are all on the Disabled list for New York, but you won't find much sympathy from the Red Sox, nor from their own fans, who climed squarely on the Yankees backs after a four run second inning that gave Boston an early 4-0 lead.

"You're talking about some of the best players in the game. It's going to be a little different," said losing pitcher C.C. Sabathia in regard to the Yankees MIA players "But we know what we have to do and who's not here. That's not an excuse."

The big lefty settled in after being touched for the four runs and allowed 8 hits in his five innings, while walking four and striking out 5.  The Yankees depleated lineup was limited and at times seemingly disorganized, and gave Sabathia no help from the plate.

The lone bright spot, catcher Francisco Cervelli , who spent nearly all last season in Triple-A, had a two-run single off Lester in the fourth and made a swift tag on Ellsbury sliding into home plate in the sixth to prevent an even bigger blowout.

Conversely, Boston's new-look lineup came out aggressively on offense early, with Designated Hitter Jonny Gomes lacing a single to left to start off a four hit, four run rally in the top of the second inning.

"I think how you saw it is how we can win a lot of ballgames," Gomes said. "It was kind of all there early."

Right fielder Shane Victorino went 2 for 6 and plating three while rookie sensation Jackie Bradley, Jr. drew three walks on a 1 for 2 afternoon, scored twice and drove in a run in support of starting pitcher Jon Lester, who faced 23 batter in five innings, yeilding five hits and striking out seven.

Bradley had an immediate impact in his first major league start, showing off the aggressiveness that won him a spot on the club and serves as an example of what new Sox manager John Farrell wants to see from his players, both old and new.

"We want to put pressure on the opposition," Farrell said. "And that's not strictly with attempted steals and how we look to run the bases first to third, but the attitude and how we go about our work."

And that's the difference between this years club and last year's edition, the attitude. 

It doesn't matter who the opponent is, if these Red Sox go out and prepare diligently and keep the mind set that they are going to smartly attack teams from the plate and on the bases, play solid defense and get quality starts from the rotation, they can't lose...

...but we know that's not the case.  They're going to lose games, but they're win their share as well.  Will it be enough to get them into the post-season?  That question will be answered five long months from now, but if their performance against the "Yankees" in the season opener was any indication, they'll certainly be in the mix somewhere.

So we may as well start counting down the magic number now.  161.

The two teams resume thier opening series on Wednesday in the Bronx with Clay Buckholtz facing off against Hiroki Kuroda.