The Boston Red Sox failed to complete the four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers last night losing 7-3. That’s the bad news. The sort of good news is that Josh Beckett had a much better outing against the Tigers than he did in early April when he gave up five home runs in 4.2 innings. Last night, he pitched seven mediocre innings, allowing four runs on a season high 10 hits, walked one and struck out just one.

Normally this Sox offense could support an outing like Josh had last night but it just didn’t happen. Bats were pretty quiet. With the exception of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He continues to smash the ball and went 2 for 4 with a home run and an RBI single. In his last 16 games, he’s compiled some pretty impressive numbers for a guy who was not even close to batting his weight in mid-April. He’s had six home runs, 14 RBI and four doubles while batting .373 in that stretch.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite make up for his two throwing errors on stolen base attempts — both of which led to runs in the fifth and ninth innings. The run scored on the error in the fifth was ultimately the winning run for the Tigers. Kind of like he’s being punished for the walk-off win last weekend. Which is just stupid. But I digress…

The bullpen wasn’t much better. Franklin Morales gave up a home run in the seventh and Rich Hill gave up two more runs in the ninth to put the Tigers up 7-3 and make a bottom of the ninth comeback just that much more difficult.

The Red Sox finished May 15-14 — just a little better than the 11-11 April. This has to be a good sign that they’re moving in the right direction. Bring on June! Even Scott Podsednik thinks so, as he told reporters after the game.

“We lost tonight, but we’re playing good baseball,” said outfielder Scott Podsednik. “I think there’s something to be taken from this homestand. I think we’ve created some momentum. I think all the new faces are getting comfortable with one another, so hopefully we can build on the positives that happened here at home, get out on the road and play good baseball to win a series in Toronto.”

Click here for the uninspiring box score, courtesy of the Sox. Tonight, they begin a three game series in Toronto with Clay Buccholz (4-2, 7.19) taking on Henderson Alvarez (3-4, 3.56) who has a career 0.75 ERA against the Sox in 12 innings. Here’s to hoping that changes tonight! First pitch is at 7:07pm.

Big Papi still on fire (Photo by Keith Allison c/o Flickr.com)

It’s been a long time since the Red Sox have seen the plus side of .500. Actually, they haven’t been over .500 since last season. That’s just scary. But last night, they beat the Detroit Tigers and the best pitcher in baseball, Justin Verlander, 6-3 to get to this point. MV-what? Despite routinely throwing pitches in the high 90′s, Verlander didn’t look much like the best pitcher in baseball. Or maybe the Red Sox hitters are just that good?

The Sox line up jumped on Verlander early scoring one in the second when David Ortiz doubled to left field. After Kevin Youkilis struck out, Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to left moving Ortiz to third. Mike Aviles grounded to second base in what surely would be a double play but Aviles’ hustle down the line paid off. He beat the throw to first and Ortiz scored the game’s first run.

In the fourth inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases on singles by Kevin Youkilis, Mike Aviles and Scott Podsednik. With two outs, rookie Daniel Nava came to the plate. Verlander pummeled Nava with fastballs hitting 98, 99 mph. Nava managed to work the count full and then fought off a 100 mph fastball and punched it into left field. With the runners already on the move, Nava cleared the bases with a double and put the Sox up for good 4-0.

After the game, Nava told reporters what he did in order to have success hitting against Verlander.

“The first at-bat I had I was really trying to pick the ball up, was having a hard time picking the ball up, so from that point — I had that 3-1 pitch that I swung through — and I needed to shorten my swing up,” said Nava, who’s trying out as the Sox’s leadoff hitter. “Fortunately, I got a pitch to do that with and I had guys on base. Just keep it simple. I think I got out of my approach a little on 3-1 because it was a hitter’s count. I just tried to calm myself down and keep it simple.”

But they weren’t done scoring yet. David Ortiz had an RBI double in the fifth and a solo home run in the seventh, his 11th of the season, to cap off his night going 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Daniel Bard was solid in his outing. He went 5.1 innings, scattering four hits and giving up two earned runs – both solo home runs – while striking out four. Rich Hill, Scott Atchison, Andrew Miller and Vicente Padilla handled the next 2.2 innings giving up just one more run. Alfredo Aceves (why does typing his name always make me hungry?) came in for his 12th save in the ninth. After blowing a save last week, it was nice to see him come in and get #12.

Click here for the box score that put the Red Sox one game over .500 and just 3.5 back of first place!! The Sox and Tigers go again tonight with Jon Lester (3-4, 4.72 ERA) looking to get back on the winning track against youngster Drew Smyly (2-1, 3.14 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10pm.

On May 21, 2012, this version of the Boston Red Sox finally caught up with the rest of the AL East.  The Sox brought their winning percentage back to .500 following an 8-6 drubbing of the first-place Baltimore Orioles.  Currently, the Sox are tied with the Yankees for fourth place in the division.  It’s not where anyone thought or hoped they’d be, but all signs point to the tide turning.

“It’s definitely not a goal,” Bobby Valentine told reporters.  “But it’s better than being under .500.”

The AL East, May 21, 2012 (c/o mlb.com)

Another point: what’s going on with the Yankees?  They’re 3-7 over their last ten, have lost their last three, and seem to be sliding downhill just as quickly as the Red Sox – who have won eight of their last ten, and their last three – are pushing uphill.  Is it bad starting pitching?  Is it an inability to hit with runners on?  Is it something else?  Nobody expected the Yankees to be riding the basement with a quarter of the season gone.

The Sox scored eight runs last night, even without Cody Ross.  Word is, Ross will be out six to eight weeks with a fracture in his foot.  Every starter had a hit – including outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin, who notched his first career hit.  David Ortiz launched a home run in the sixth that still hasn’t hit the ground to overcome another shaky Clay Buchholz start.

The real story of this game, though, and of the past week’s renaissance, is the Red Sox bullpen.  The same bullpen that lost its closer the day before the regular season started, had to send its next-most-touted arm to Pawtucket, and couldn’t seem to keep runners from scoring, has recently become a massive strength for Boston.  Andrew Miller stranded two runners in the sixth inning and followed up with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.  Rich Hill stumbled and allowed a run in the eighth, but Vicente Padilla stranded two crucial baserunners to end the Baltimore scoring threat.  And, Alfredo Aceves found his tenth save of the year in the ninth inning.

The bullpen has a 1.59 ERA since April 23, and finally, those results are starting to show up in the standings. Also?  Boston’s disabled list is a great team.  That the Sox are winning games without several of their biggest names is a good sign for when those big names actually take the field again.

Here’ a link to the box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.  Tonight, the Sox toe up against the Orioles again at Camden Yards.  Felix Doubront (4-1, 4.09 ERA) takes the hill against Brian Matusz (3-4, 5.36 ERA).

These days, Jon Lester’s my guy.  There’s no doubt, he had a rough start to the 2012 swing – at times earlier on, it seemed like he couldn’t even buy a win – but these last two starts have given me something to believe in.  Josh Beckett?  I still don’t like his attitude, not to mention his facial hair.  Daniel Bard?  Can’t put batters away with two strikes, and seems to be faltering in this starting pitcher experiment.  Felix Doubront?  Solid, but kind of, well, uninspiring.

Jon Lester (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

Nope, Jon Lester’s my guy.  I watched his last start – a complete game, one-run epic at Fenway – from my standard spot in the right field boxes, just behind the visitor’s bullpen.  It was great – the crowd got into it, the rain held off, and everyone went to bed a little happier that night.

Last night, Lester won again, but in a much different way.  He toughed through six innings with a sore back, picking up three strikeouts to go along with four earned runs against a tough Philadelphia lineup.  He threw an efficient 90 pitches, two thirds of them for strikes, and save for a two-run home run by Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis, did a decent job of keeping Philadelphia off the basepaths.  Vicente Padilla, Rich Hill, and Alfredo Aceves held and closed out Boston’s win.

Meanwhile, the offense backed the pitching staff up with four home runs.  Mike Aviles, Will Middlebrooks, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and David Ortiz each got a chance to swing from their heels yesterday.  Aviles, Middlebrooks and Saltalamacchia got their hammers in against Phillies starter Joe Blanton, and Ortiz – who was battling the stomach flu and a case of the Having To Play First Base – went to town against the Philadelphia bullpen.  Even Ryan Sweeney contributed, making a great diving catch in center field that kept two Phillies runs from scoring.

With the win, the Red Sox stopped Philadelphia’s win streak, which had been the longest active win streak in baseball.  This was the kind of win that, a few weeks ago, I think would have probably ended up being a Red Sox loss.  The team showed heart last night, and they found a way to play around the soreness, sickness, position changes, and other day to day malaises, and win the game.  Much more fun to watch, and much much more fun to talk about.

Here’s a link to the gutsy box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

Today, the Sox close out their series in Philadelphia before heading to Baltimore.  Josh Beckett (3-4, 4.97 ERA) will try to take the rubber game against Cliff Lee (0-1, but a 1.95 ERA).  Boston’s won seven out of its last nine games.  Lee hasn’t seen much action this year because of a stay on the disabled list, but I’m sure he’ll be a formidable opponent.

The Boston Red Sox came back from Wednesday’s loss to Tampa Bay with a vengeance, beating the Rays 5-3 last night.  In a game that manager Bobby Valentine told the Globe he was “going after,” the Sox used five pitchers to get the last ten outs of the game.  Starter Felix Doubront went 5.2 strong innings.  He walked four, but he also only allowed one run while strking out seven.  For a fourth starter (or any starter, really), you take that every time.  Rich Hill, Scott Atchison, and Andrew Miller each took over for one out, before Vicente Padilla and Alfredo Aceves wrapped up the win.

Credit where credit is due: the Rays staff also pitched a good game.  Rays starter Matt More turned in the definition of a quality start, allowing three earned runs over six innings.  The bullpen held the Sox to one more run the rest of the way, but the damage had already been done.

There were some fireworks last night.  Mike Aviles got ejected in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes.  If this surprises you (it surprised me, Aviles seems like a laid-back, cool guy), it should: this was Aviles’ first career ejection.

Also, as is de rigueur these days, Twitter wars commenced.  On Wednesday night, Adrian Gonzalez – who hadn’t hit a home run since April 17 – told reporters that he would hit one the next day, in last night’s game.  A Tampa Bay fan apparently didn’t realize Gonzalez was mainly joking (if it was that easy to predict when you’d hit a home run, then Marlon Byrd – who hit his first home run of the year last night – probably would have had a lot more to say).  The fan tweeted that Moore, the Rays starter, should hit Gonzalez with a pitch.  Tampa pitcher David Price retweeted the tweet, thus supporting the suggestion according to the Unspoken Rules of Tweeting.

PS – Mom, if you’re reading this, I know you’re confused – I’ll explain Twitter to you later.

Anyway, Moore went ahead and hit Gonzalez with the first pitch of Gonzalez’s first at-bat, with runners on first and second.  The HBP loaded the bases, so it was a terrible time to hit someone intentionally.  Then in the third inning, Doubront hit Luke Scott with a pitch with two outs and a runner on first (still not a great time to hit a batter, but not as bad as the Gonzalez beaning).  Scott trotted down to first base, and yelled at Doubront from there.  The jury’s out on whether or not the Twitter wars actually escalated into grown men, millionaires and role models no less, trying to purposefully hit each other with baseballs, but Valentine seems a little mystified.  He told the Globe:

If it was [intentional], it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in baseball. But it might have been. I doubt it. If we have to resort to that kind of stupidity then maybe the game has passed me by. It might.

Oh, Bobby V. – when the team is winning, your post-game interview quotes sound more endearing and fuddy-duddy-grandfather than they sound clueless and impotent.  Let’s keep it that way, ok?

Here’s a link to the box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

Tonight, the Red Sox head to Philadelphia to start an interleague set against the Phillies.  I’m not a huge fan of interleague play in general, for two reasons.  First, I think it’s unfair to American League teams who can’t use their DH in NL parks, and gives an advantage to NL teams who suddenly have an extra lineup option in AL parks.  Whether you agree with the DH or not, the AL teams structure their rosters around having a DH, and it’s not fair to suddenly make them play without the DH in games that count towards their standings.  Second, I don’t think it’s fair that the interleague schedule is unbalanced.  I compare it to how the NCAA measures strength of schedule.  Some AL teams play the Pirates, the Cubs and the Padres.  Some AL teams play the Braves, the Cardinals and the Phillies (who are a great team, despite their early-season slump).  But each game counts the same in the standings.  Unfair.

That being said, this series should be fun.  First of all, we have the natural delight of David Ortiz having to play first base (would you take the guy out of the lineup?).  Gonzalez says he’ll play right field this series, so that they can both stay in the lineup.  Ortiz and Gonzalez playing first and right?  Hold on to your hats, Sox fans.  Ortiz seems mildly confident, or at least not NOT confident, telling the Globe:

I just don’t want to be in the wrong place when it comes down to catching a fly ball or catching a ground ball.  I try to mark a territory where I can be at and after that let the guys who are out there every day take over.

Good luck, Dustin Pedroia.  I hope you stretch before the game, because I sense you’ll be making a lot of sprints towards first and right field to track down some hit balls.

Also, there’s this closer named Jonathan Papelbon.  Ever heard of him?  I think maybe he was in the Red Sox minor league system once.  He’s closing games for Philadelphia now, and he’s also getting more comfortable in the clubhouse.  Amalie Benjamin – one of the best female sportswriters out there – took an early flight to Philadelphia to catch up with Papelbon.  She has a great piece in the Globe today about the ex-Sox’s adjustment to a new league, a new team, and a new fan base.

Daniel Bard (3-4, 4.30 ERA) takes on Cole Hamels (5-1, 2.28) tonight.  Both teams are currently in last place, but I have a feeling these will be some intense games.

Red Sox Loss = Pie Chart

Six hours and seven minutes. That’s how long it took the Red Sox to lose to the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon/evening in 17 innings. I’m not even sure where to start. I actually have the urge to just end this post right here and post a picture of one of my dogs. That’s how painful this game was. Their losing streak is at five games and they managed to only win one game on this most recent homestand. Shit is looking bleak, yo.

Clay Buccholz just flat out stinks this year. He, yet again, gave up five earned runs in this game which means he has now given up five earned runs in six consecutive starts. Really, Clay? I’m sure this is some kind of record and not the good kind. The bullpen, on the other hand, was outstanding. The combination of Andrew Miller (just back from the DL), Matt Albers, Vicente Padilla, Alfredo Aceves, Franklin Morales, Rich Hill and Scott Atchison managed to pitch 12.1 scoreless innings.

But this game went 17 innings and outlasted the bullpen. Darnell McDonald (yes, that Darnell McDonald who sometimes plays left field) came in to pitch the 17th. Darnell hasn’t pitched since August of 2011. Darnell gave up a three-run homerun to Adam Jones. Darnell took the loss. I’m confused. Didn’t they still have one pitcher left in the bullpen? I could’ve sworn there was a lonely Clayton Mortensen left sitting there. Or did I imagine that?

The offensive highlight of today’s game goes to young Will Middlebrooks. I love this kid and today, he didn’t disappoint. Will hit his first major league homerun today — a grand slam to tie the game at five. I’ll even forgive his base running blunder. Other than Ryan Sweeney’s four hits, there wasn’t really anything else to get excited about. And just when we though maybe Adrian Gonzalez was back on track, he went 0 for 8 with two strike outs. The second strike out happened to come in the bottom of the 17th against Chris Davis (not a member of their pitching staff) with two men on and no outs. Oh and Cody Ross struck out five times.

I have nothing else to say. This game drained me. See for yourself — click here for the box, courtesy of the Red Sox.

Next up — a three game series in Kansas City. Felix Doubront will toe the rubber on Monday to try and stop the bleeding. First pitch is at 8:10 EST. Here’s hoping he has a good outing, I think this bullpen is toast just about now and could really use a break. I could use a break too.

Last night sucked. There, I said it. It especially sucked for me mainly because I stayed up and watched the all 13 painful innings. Normally on a Friday night, the week has taken its toll on me and I’m sound asleep on the couch by 8pm. Not that I didn’t snooze here and there during this game, but I was there in the end. Needless to say, I wish I had just stayed asleep. I’ve decided that each loss I document, will now be graced with a new pie chart.

Sometimes “cheese” causes “gas”… just sayin’.

I almost want to recap last night’s game caveman-style. You know, with grunts. Because I felt like I did a lot of grunting last night. The Red Sox score a run, the Orioles score a run. *grunt* The Red Sox score two runs, the O’s score two runs. *grunt-grunt* The Red Sox score another run… well, you get the picture. In the end, the O’s scored more runs *grunt* and won 6-4 in 13 innings. *gruuuuuuunt*

Offense…
What can I say? When only one or two guys are hitting the ball, it’s hard to score runs. Adrian Gonzalez, who had a pretty tough night in the third game of the A’s series, seemed to come alive when everyone else was napping. He went 3 for 6 but had no runs batted in. Weird. Dustin Pedroia was the only other player to have more than one hit going 2 for 5. David Ortiz, the star of my last pie chart, was a major disappointment last night. He had some good swings, but ultimately took a big 0-fer and left six men on base.

When is it ok for a 41-year-old woman to throw herself on the floor and engage in an epic toddler-type tantrum? Because I’m close. Oh, so very close.

Pitching…
Lester was again, just ok. I’m tired of ok. I want awesome. He lasted just six innings and gave up three earned runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out only two. Disappointing. Vicente Padilla started the 7th and gave up the tying run. Rich Hill and Matt Albers managed to keep the O’s scoreless through the 9th.

Alfredo Aceves struck out six of the seven batters he faced in the 10th and 11th. He had some pretty impressive stuff going on. His movement on his pitches had the O’s batters flailing at almost everything they swung at. But in the 12th, he was lifted for Franklin Morales who gave up the winning runs in the 13th and ultimately took the loss. Oy…

So now, the Red Sox are three games below .500 and seven games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays who, by the way, have won six straight. And that’s without Evan Longoria. I’m not sure what this Sox team can do to turn things around — I guess if I did know, they’d offer to pay me boatloads of money to come work for them. I’m just stumped. And I think Bobby V. is too.

Here’s a link to the box (if you want your eyes to bleed), courtesy of the Red Sox. Aaron Cook, who was called up from Pawtucket earlier this week, will get his first start for the Sox today, taking Josh Beckett’s scheduled start. Beckett is expected to miss just one start due to a sore lat muscle. First pitch is at 1:10pm.

If you happen to be an O’s fan, you should check out the recap by our sister site, Charm City Yakyuu. It might be a little happier-sounding than mine.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I mean, it’s true.

The Red Sox offense won its game against the Minnesota Twins last night in the twin cities.  Boston scored seven runs, largely off the bat of Mike Aviles.  Baseball’s newest dynamic leadoff man launched a three-run home run in a four-run second inning, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia chipped in with two RBI of his own in a 1 for 4 day that raised his average to an almost-acceptable .238 – just last week when I went to Fenway, Salty’s average was something like .070, so apparently he’s on quite the hot streak lately.

Clay Buchholz (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

The Red Sox pitching?  Was there, but we probably shouldn’t give it much credit for not blowing a six-run lead.  Starter Clay Buchholz allowed a run in the second, but managed to stay out of trouble until the sixth inning.  After Denard Span hit an RBI double and Buchholz loaded the bases by walking Jamey Carroll, Bobby Valentine pulled Buchholz in favor of Scott Atchison.  Joe Mauer promptly hit a ground ball that hit Atchison and bounded into center field for a two-run single.  Which was enough for Valentine.  Atchison out, Justin Thomas in.  Thomas hung a pitch that Justin Morneau smacked into right field for an RBI double, and then promptly hit Chris Parmelee in the helmet to load the bases again.  Enough.  Thomas out, Matt Albers in.  Albers gave up an RBI single to Trevor Plouffe, bringing the score to 7-6, but also got a GIDP to finally, mercifully end the four-pitcher, five-run inning.

Vicente Padilla and Franklin Morales held down the seventh and eighth innings without much of an issue.  But, BUT – Alfredo Aceves in the ninth could have gotten ugly again, fast.  Aceves walked Plouffe and allowed a single to Ryan Doumit, before hitting number nine hitter Alexi Casilla.  Bases loaded, Denard Span up.  Aceves struck Span out to end the game, but I don’t necessarily take that as a sign of competence, let alone confidence.

When your hitters put up seven runs, and you’re winning by six runs in the sixth inning, you have to win the game.  It’s not as if the score was close, going back and forth, a nailbiter for all nine innings – the bullpen almost coughed this game up.  I have no idea why the headline on the Red Sox website’s recap of this game is “Red Sox ‘pen winning formula to sweep Twins.”  To be fair, the actual recap is less rosy than its headline, but let’s be honest with each other: the Red Sox have a serious issue with their relief pitching.  The occasional good day here, 1-2-3 inning there, save on paper this time, does not diminish the fact that so far, no lead this year has been safe.  Look no farther than last night, look no farther than the nine-run Yankee comeback this weekend.  It also does not diminish the fact that the starting rotation – which is no jewel in the crown itself – must feel tremendous pressure to eat innings, throw quality starts, and go deep into games, if only to keep the bullpen off the mound for as many outs as possible.  That tactic hardly ever works in the short term, and it’s not going to work over the course of an entire long, grueling season.

Aaron Cook’s in Pawtucket, and Rich Hill pitched for the second day in a row in Pawtucket yesterday, so maybe there’s help on the way.  But something needs to change, because this is not going to stand up over the course of any season, let alone one in which the Red Sox hope to win something.

Here’s a link to last night’s box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

Fresh off their twin city sweep, the Sox head to Chicago, where they’ll take on the White Sox for a four-game set.  Felix Doubront toes up against perfect-game winner Philip Humber at 8:05 eastern time.