Shoppach Traded To Mets For PTBNL

The move to acquire Kelly Shoppach as a free agent this winter was a surprising and much-critiqued move by many a Red Sox fan. It appeared that the Red Sox already had a reliable backup catcher in Ryan Lavarnway, who had batted .231/2/8 in 17 games in 2011. However, in Shoppach's brief tenure with the Red Sox, he had quite a bit of success as a backup catcher-- batting .250/5/17 with solid defense in 48 games and 140 at bats. Today, in a much more anticipated move, Shoppach was traded to the Mets for a player to be named later. Shoppach will bolster a weak catching position for the Mets and will probably get more playing time, particularly against lefties, against whom he's batted .250/.313/.500 this year. Taking over as the Red Sox' backup catcher will be Ryan Lavarnway, who has batted .125/0/0 so far this year but is looked on as the catcher of the future. Hopefully the Red Sox can get some value out of Shoppach but I wouldn't count on a huge return.

Red Sox Coast To Rout Over Indians (57-59)

Lester struck out 12 in 6 innings

While it's nice to see your team win close games like walk-offs, every once in a while, it's awfully fun to watch them just beat up on a team and that's what we got today. They started off hot, scoring on an RBI double by Dustin Pedroia in the first. Then again in the first as Adrian Gonzalez blasted a two-run homer to make it 3-0. The Indians got their first and only run of the game in the first on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Santana. With two men on base and two outs in the second, the Red Sox kept going as they scored twice on a double by Carl Crawford to make it 5-1. Indians starter Corey Kluber (0-0, 6.10) settled down briefly in the third before going back to doing damage in the fourth as he allowed the Red Sox to put a man on second with one out. Kelly Shoppach delivered with an RBI single to make it 6-1 and knock Kluber out after just four innings.

Crawford went 3-4 with 3 RBIs

Kluber was lucky he got out of things before they got really ugly in the fifth inning, starting with the Red Sox putting two men on and no outs. RBI singles by Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia scored those two runners and made it 8-1. Danny Valencia picked up his first RBI with the Red Sox next on a sacrifice fly. After him, Kelly Shoppach struck out to jeopardize the Red Sox chances by leaving two men on with two outs. Luckily, they delivered as Jacoby Ellsbury delivered a two-run double. He was followed by an RBI double for Carl Crawford and, two batters later, a two-run double by Adrian Gonzalez to make it 14-1. Lester continued to coast for a couple more innings after that, leaving with a line of 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 12 K and picking up the win. The Red Sox easily held the Indians and won 14-1.

Bright Spots:
Jon Lester- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 12 K, W (6-10)
Clayton Mortensen- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI
Carl Crawford- 3-4, 2 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI
Dustin Pedroia- 2-3, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 2-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBI
Cody Ross- 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 3-3, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 SB
Kelly Shoppach- 1-4, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
None!

Player of the Game:
Carl Crawford- Crawford really pulled off a well rounded game here, going 3-4 with 3 doubles, 2 runs scored, and 3 RBIs-- he is now .280/3/16.

Doubront Blows Early Lead As Sox Fall In Extras (53-54)

Doubront allowed a four run
fifth inning

Last night was a really depressing game as the Red Sox raced out to an early lead, only to be met by disappointment as the Twins came back to tie and eventually win the game. After scoreless first innings by both teams, a leadoff double by Justin Morneau got the Twins going in the second. He would score later on a soft single up the middle by Darin Mastroianni to give the Twins an early lead. However, the Red Sox caught right up in the bottom of the second on a two-out double by Carl Crawford. The rally would be complete when Crawford scored on a single by Kelly Shoppach to tie it at 1-1. That was it for that inning, but the third was when the Red Sox really did some damage against Twins starter Brian Duensing. They scored one run when they led off the third with three straight singles (Dustin Pedroia, Cody Ross, Adrian Gonzalez). The next two hitters got out, leaving men at first and second for Carl Crawford. On a 2-0 count, Crawford popped up a ball to first baseman Justin Morneau. However, Morneau overran it and dropped the routine popup. On the next pitch, Crawford hit a three-run homer to right.

Crawford hit his third home run

That 5-1 lead gave Felix Doubront a nice cushion to work with, and he did for a few innings. However, in the fifth, the Twins offense did their damage for the night-- loading the bases on two singles and a walk with one out. Doubront promptly walked a run in with Josh Willingham at the plate to cut it to 5-2. That was when Justin Morneau (who had a great game) popped a little bloop single into center field to score two runs and cut it to 5-4, still with only one out. Danny Valencia proceeded to line a ball into the right field corner which Cody Ross somehow caught-- the run scored on the play, but it could've been much worse and the Red Sox escaped the inning tied. It stayed tied for a while, until the tenth to be exact. That was when Darin Mastroianni led off the inning with a double. Two batters later, he would score when Jamey Carroll blooped a ball to center and that was that, the Twins won 6-5.

Bright Spots:
Craig Breslow- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Mark Melancon- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K
Andrew Miller- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Dustin Pedroia- 2-5, 1 R
Cody Ross- 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B
Adrian Gonzalez- 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Carl Crawford- 3-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Kelly Shoppach- 2-5, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 2-4

Dull Spots:
Felix Doubront- 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 K
Vicente Padilla- 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 K
Will Middlebrooks- 0-5, 1 K, 4 LOB

Player of the Game:
Carl Crawford- Crawford came just a triple short of the cycle in a 3-5 ballgame, doubling, scoring twice, and hitting his third home run-- he is now .254/3/8 this season.

Red Sox Turn It On Late To Escape Last Place (52-51)

Buchholz lowered his ERA to 4.75

This was a good all around game for the Red Sox. However, it certainly didn't look like one when Austin Jackson of the Tigers led off the game with a home run on the second pitch of the ballgame. However, Clay Buchholz didn't let the first inning get out of hand and it was still 1-0 when the Red Sox came up to bat. Jacoby Ellsbury worked an excellent nine pitch walk and was promptly driven in as Carl Crawford knocked one high off the left-center portion of the monster. The ball got away from Austin Jackson a bit and Crawford coasted into third with an RBI triple. He would score on a groundout by Dustin Pedroia. However, the Tigers would tie things up in the third after Omar Infante tripled on a ball strikingly similar to Carl Crawford's. He would eventually score on a one-out single by Miguel Cabrera to tie it at 2-2.

Pedroia hit his 9th home run

It was still just 2-2 when Carl Crawford walked to lead off the sixth inning. However, it wouldn't be tied much longer as Dustin Pedroia took advantage of a high fastball and crushed it over the monster for a two-run homer to make it 4-2. With Brennan Boesch on first and one out, Alex Avila made the game a bit closer by splitting the game perfectly for an RBI double. The Red Sox got insurance in the bottom of the seventh though, starting with a leadoff triple by Kelly Shoppach. He would score when Jacoby Ellsbury lined a low pitch into right field for an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 5-3 lead. They'd get the ultimate insurance in the eighth, though, after a leadoff single by Adrian Gonzalez. Will Middlebrooks saw a pitch to his liking and sent it over the Green Monster for his 13th home run to give the Red Sox a 7-3 lead. They'd win by that score to get out of last and above .500.

Bright Spots:
Clay Buchholz- 8 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W (9-3)
Vicente Padilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Jacoby Ellsbury- 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Carl Crawford- 1-3, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Dustin Pedroia- 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 2-4, 1 R
Will Middlebrooks- 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 2-4
Kelly Shoppach- 1-4, 1 R, 1 3B

Dull Spots:
Ryan Sweeney- 0-4, 1 K, 3 LOB

Player of the Game:
Clay Buchholz- Despite a somewhat rough start for Buchholz, he really turned things around, working eight strong innings for the win-- he is now 9-3/4.75/77 this season.

Aviles, Buchholz Lead Sox In Clutch Win (49-49)

Buchholz allowed a run in seven strong

With Clay Buchholz going against rookie Martin Perez, it didn't really look like a potential pitching duel. Buchholz has been good lately, but his ERA was 5.19 entering play, and Perez had just been brought up for triple-A and was struggling down there. However, it quickly emerged as a definite pitchers duel after three shutout innings on both sides. The Red Sox had gotten to Perez a bit, loading the bases in the second inning, but he had been impressive nonetheless. Anyhow, it was in the fourth inning that the Red Sox finally got a bit going after a leadoff walk for Cody Ross. Will Middlebrooks flew out and Carl Crawford struck out, leaving Ross at first with two outs, but Kelly Shoppach came through. Shoppach lifted one to right center that just evaded David Murphy's reach as it became an RBI double.

Aviles had the go-ahead RBI single

Clay Buchholz actually held that lead for a few innings, as he was very good last night. Finally in the sixth inning, though, it was Elvis Andrus who broke out with a one-out double. Andrus got to third on a wild pitch and despite the infield being in, scored on a soft grounder by Josh Hamilton to tie it at 1-1. It stayed tied for one more inning before Clay Buchholz was taken out of the game after seven with a line of 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K. For the first time this season, Buchholz's ERA is below 5.00-- as he's really come a long way since April. Neither team scored in the eighth, but the Red Sox put together a two-out rally in the ninth. Two two-out walks off Joe Nathan put them in a position to score with Mike Aviles at bat. Aviles worked a long at bat before blooping a soft line drive just over the head of Elvis Andrus. The run scored and the Red Sox won 2-1.

Bright Spots:
Clay Buchholz- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K
Vicente Padilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K, W (4-0)
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, SV (21)
Will Middlebrooks- 2-4
Kelly Shoppach- 1-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Mike Aviles- 1-4, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Pedro Ciriaco- 0-4, 1 LOB
Dustin Pedroia- 0-4, 1 LOB
Carl Crawford- 0-3, 1 K, 4 LOB

Player of the Game:
Clay Buchholz- Despite some last minute heroics by Mike Aviles, he wouldn't even have had a chance if Buchholz wasn't quite so good in his seven innings-- he is now 8-3/4.93/73.

Red Sox Cut It Close But Still Fall To White Sox (46-45)

Lester allowed six runs in four
innings of work

Last night was a bad game all together-- they started out with a huge deficit, came back a bit, and still lost. It all started when the White Sox had a huge first inning, putting runners at first and second with one out. Paul Konerko doubled to right and off the first base bag to score one and the other came in on a bloop single to center by Alex Rios. Luckily, the Red Sox matched the White Sox in the first inning as Jacoby Ellsbury led off the game with a single and stole second. Carl Crawford cashed in with a single of his own to score a run, then stole second in the next at bat. Daniel Nava advanced him to third with a groundout and Adrian Gonzalez sent a rocket up the middle to score Crawford and make it 2-2. With a runner on first and two outs, Alejandro De Aza delivered with a double down the left field line to score Alexei Ramirez from first and make it 3-2.

The next runs for the White Sox were bitterly painful-- as they put runners at first and second with two outs. It would be an old friend delivering for the White Sox in the fourth inning, as Kevin Youkilis drove a three run homer over the monster to make it 6-2 (why couldn't he have done that when the Sox were shopping him?). With a man on second in the sixth inning, it was De Aza again as he singled to right to make it 7-2. The Red Sox started their comeback in the eighth as Carl Crawford made it to third with two outs. Will Middlebrooks drove him in with a single to right and then came the big hit as Kelly Shoppach delivered a two-run pinch-hit home run to cut it to 7-5. However, it would be an incomplete comeback as the Sox did nothing in the ninth and fell by that score.

Bright Spots:
Junichi Tazawa- 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 K
Franklin Morales- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-5, 1 R, 1 SB
Carl Crawford- 3-4, 2 R, 2 SB, 1 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 2-4, 1 RBI
Will Middlebrooks- 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Kelly Shoppach- 1-1, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Jon Lester- 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 4 K, L (5-7)
Daniel Nava- 0-3, 1 K, 3 LOB
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 0-3, 1 K, 2 LOB
Ryan Sweeney- 0-3, 1 LOB
Mike Aviles- 0-4, 2 K
Pedro Ciriaco- 0-3, 1 K

Player of the Game:
Carl Crawford- Crawford may be providing a spark to this time as he continued his strong start by going 3-4 with two runs, two steals, and an RBI in the loss.

Red Sox Nail Three Homers On Fishing Trip (34-33)

Buchholz allowed five runs in
six innings, but earned the win

Once again, the Red Sox have surpassed the .500 mark after a win against the Marlins and are now 34-33 this season. Things didn't start off too great for the Red Sox, as Clay Buchholz was not on and surrendered a two-run homer to Logan Morrison in the first inning. Luckily, the Red Sox offense would bail him out as David Ortiz hit a two-run homer of his own on a line to right field to even the score at 2-2. The Red Sox continued to pile up the two-run homers in the second inning as Kelly Shoppach nailed one over the monster, also scoring Will Middlebrooks, to give the Red Sox a 4-2 lead. However, the Marlins got a little rally going in the third after Hanley Ramirez walked and Giancarlo Stanton was hit by a pitch with two outs. Once again, it was Logan Morrison tearing up the Red Sox' offense as he doubled to left to score Ramirez and cut the Red Sox lead to one run. The Red Sox got that run back in the fourth, though, as Cody Ross (in his first game back) crushed a ball to left for a solo home run to make it 5-3.

Ortiz was 2-4 with a two-
run homer

The Marlins would get another rally going that was startlingly familiar to their last one as Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton each singled with two outs. Again, it was Logan Morrison providing all of the offense as he doubled off the deep part of the monster in left-center to score both of them and tie the game. In the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox continued to scrounge for runs as Mike Aviles doubled to lead off the inning. Dustin Pedroia bunted him to third and Adrian Gonzalez drove him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-5. Back-to-back doubles leading off the sixth by Kevin Youkilis and Will Middlebrooks netted the Red Sox another run to make it 7-5 in the sixth inning. That would be Clay Buchholz's last inning and it was not his best start as he went 6 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K but still left with a lead. The Red Sox' bullpen saved the lead as Vicente Padilla picked up his 16th hold (T-3rd in baseball) and Alfredo Aceves picked up his 17th save (4th in the AL) in a 7-5 win.

Bright Spots:
Vicente Padilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K, SV (17)
David Ortiz- 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Will Middlebrooks- 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Cody Ross- 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Kelly Shoppach- 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Clay Buchholz- 6 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K, W (8-2)

Player of the Game:
David Ortiz- Papi led the offense again as he went 2-4 with a two-run home run to help the Red Sox on their way to a win, he is now .314/17/45.

Red Sox Edge Marlins In Pitching Duel (30-32)

Buchholz was brilliant
last night

When it comes to the Boston Red Sox, we haven't seen a whole lot of true pitching duels in recent years. Last night, though, with Clay Buchholz facing Mark Buehrle-- not exactly a match up of aces-- we saw a big one. Neither team scored until the seventh inning (or after) and the Red Sox only managed a hit before the seventh. Buchholz escaped several jams-- even in the first inning, when Jose Reyes tripled to lead off the game, but Buchholz struck out the side to strand him. He got into another jam in the third inning, when a two out rally had put runners at first and second. Hanley Ramirez hit a slow grounder up the middle and beat it out for an infield single, but Jose Reyes had rounded third and was easily thrown out at the plate to end the inning. Buchholz was dominant after that, and the Red Sox finally got going in the seventh inning. With one out, Will Middlebrooks hit a slow line drive into right field that just avoided being caught by Giancarlo Stanton. Adrian Gonzalez flew out, so it was all up to Kelly Shoppach to drive him in.

He allowed a run in seven
innings for a win

Shoppach would drive a pitch directly into the gap. Middlebrooks easily came all the way around first and Shoppach had an RBI double to make it 1-0. However, the Red Sox weren't done yet as Mike Aviles stepped up to the plate and promptly delivered a bloop single to center to score Shoppach and make it 2-0. Darnell McDonald then singled on another blooper to center to put runners at the corners with two outs for Clay Buchholz. The Red Sox did not pinch-hit for Buchholz, and he almost delivered as it took a fantastic diving catch by center fielder Chris Coghlan to prevent an RBI single. The Marlins would get one of those runs back almost immediately as Logan Morrison crushed a line drive home run to deep right to cut the lead to 2-1. Clay Buchholz got out of the inning with minimal damage and left the game after with a 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K line. Vicente Padilla and Alfredo Aceves-- picking up his 15th save-- each threw a scoreless inning to help the Red Sox win for the first time in a while.

Bright Spots:
Clay Buchholz- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K, W (7-2)
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K, SV (15)
Kelly Shoppach- 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 1-4, 1 RBI
Darnell McDonald- 2-4

Dull Spots:
Scott Podsednik- 0-4, 1 K, 1 LOB
Dustin Pedroia- 0-4, 1 K, 1 LOB
Kevin Youkilis- 0-3

Player of the Game:
Clay Buchholz- For his last seven times up, Buchholz had been fantastic and he was again tonight, allowing a run in seven strong innings-- he is now 7-2/5.38/55.

Red Sox Unable To Sweep Jays In Finale (28-26)

Bard had a miserable outing

This was a very disappointing game as the Red Sox fell to the Blue Jays despite not allowing any runs after the second inning. As you may imagine based on that, the Blue Jays got off to a very fast start. Daniel Bard continued his control issues by walking Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar to start the game. He ran it to a full count on Jose Bautista and an eight pitch at bat before Bautista ran into a high fastball and crushed a no-doubter to left field to give the Blue Jays an early 3-0 lead. Bard would get out of the first with that score intact but not without a cost as he threw 28 pitches in the first inning. The second inning was just as bad as the first as Bard walked the first two batters in the inning, got outs on the next two, then hit a batter to load the bases with two outs. He walked Jose Bautista to bring a run in and then hit Edwin Encarnacion to bring a run in and make it 5-0. All of Red Sox Nation and Bobby Valentine saw Bard did not have his best stuff and Valentine pulled Bard after just 1.2 innings.

Shoppach had his third homer

Franklin Morales came in and had a fantastic outing by all perspectives. He really kept the Red Sox in the game and pitched until the sixth-- his final line was 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 K as he lowered his ERA to 3.48 on the season. The Red Sox got on the board for the first and only time in the fifth inning when Kelly Shoppach drove a fastball to right-center for a solo home run to cut the Blue Jays' lead to 5-1. The Red Sox relief corps did their best to keep the Red Sox in the game, with Scott Atchison and Rich Hill working a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively. However, Blue Jays' rookie Drew Hutchison was just too good for Boston. He worked 7 strong innings, allowing a run on five innings and striking out five over that span. Hutchison is coming off a good start against the Orioles and is only 21 as the Jays' appear to have found something special in the righty. It was interesting to watch Hutchison but I obviously would have preferred a win.

Bright Spots:
Franklin Morales- 4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 K
Scott Atchison- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K
Mike Aviles- 2-4
Kelly Shoppach- 1-2, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Daniel Bard- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 6 BB, 2 K, L (5-6)
David Ortiz- 0-4, 2 K, 1 LOB
Kevin Youkilis- 0-3, 2 K
Ryan Sweeney- 0-4, 1 K, 1 LOB

Player of the Game:
Franklin Morales- Morales did a great job in relief, going above and beyond the call of duty by working 4.1 scoreless innings of relief-- he is now 0-1/3.48/17 this year.

Red Sox Edge O's With Trifecta Of Homers (22-22)

Bard earned his fourth win

The Red Sox kept their hopes for a .500 record alive today by knocking off the Orioles in a tight series finale. The Orioles got going very quickly off Daniel Bard-- loading the bases with one out in the first. They would take a run on a sacrifice fly for Chris Davis but that would be all for the inning. The Red Sox quickly answered in the second by loading the bases with no outs. Scott Podsednik then had a somewhat bittersweet play, grounding into a double play to score the run and tie things up at 1-1, but there could've been much more in the inning. The Orioles then proceeded to answer their mini-rally when Nick Johnson led off the O's half of the second by crushing a 2-0 pitch to right field. The game would continue to see saw in the third when Will Middlebrooks drove Dustin Pedroia home on a double before Kevin Youkilis was caught at home easily by the left fielder Xavier Avery. The score would stay deadlocked at 2-2 up until the sixth inning.

Scott Podsednik made his
first Red Sox start big

The Red Sox would put a little rally up in the sixth after a fly out and a strikeout to lead off the inning. Daniel Nava would take a low breaking ball and golf a line drive into the seats in right field to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead in the sixth. A Scott Podsednik single would keep the rally going and knock starter Jake Arrieta out of the game with a 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K line. Off of new reliever Luis Ayala, Kelly Shoppach would hit the biggest blow of the inning as he knocked a two-run homer to dead left field to give the Red Sox a 5-2 lead late. Daniel Bard would start the sixth, but only pitch to a batter as he'd leave with a 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 K line. Andrew Miller came into the game and would allow his first runs of the year when Nick Johnson took him deep to right for his second home run of the game to make it 5-4. The Red Sox would get an insurance run in the eighth, however, when the light-hitting Scott Podsednik popped a homer to right-center to make it 6-4. The O's would score in the eighth as well, but still lose 6-5 as the Red Sox returned to .500.

Bright Spots:
Daniel Bard- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 2 K, W (4-5)
Alfredo Aceves- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K, SV (11)
Kevin Youkilis- 2-3, 1 R, 1 BB
Will Middlebrooks- 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Daniel Nava- 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Scott Podsednik- 2-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Kelly Shoppach- 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Andrew Miller- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB
Vicente Padilla- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
David Ortiz- 0-5, 1 K, 2 LOB

Player of the Game:
Kelly Shoppach- Shoppach played a good game today, not only calling a good game for Daniel Bard, but also going 2-3 with a two-run homer-- he is now .281/2/8 this year.

Lester Goes The Distance In Win Over M's (16-19)

Lester threw a complete
game last night

Again and again, the Red Sox have proven that they are the streakiest team in the majors as their current four-game winning streak illustrates. As usual, they got going very quickly offensively when Dustin Pedroia walked with an out in the first. David Ortiz then came up and promptly gave the Sox a 1-0 lead by banging a double off the monster, the ball ricocheted unpredictably and Pedroia scored easily for the Sox. However, Ortiz would certainly not be stranded as the next batter, Adrian Gonzalez, knocked him in on a double to left to give the Sox a 2-0 lead over the Mariners. It would have seemed that the Sox had something going again in the second, but with a runner on first and two outs-- Marlon Byrd was caught stealing by former Yankees' prospect Jesus Montero-- traded for the currently injured Michael Pineda this offseason. Again, the Red Sox scoring started with just a runner on first in the bottom of the fourth. However, that run would come in quite quickly as Daniel Nava rocketed a two-run homer into the green monster to give the Sox a 4-0 lead.

Daniel Nava had a two-run
home run

With the way that Jon Lester was pitching, that probably would have been enough but they continued to tack on runs in the fourth. Even after Marlon Byrd's flyout, Kelly Shoppach took advantage of a high fastball and hammered it over the green monster-- almost onto Landsdowne Street-- for his first home run of the year. After several scoreless innings by both sides, the Sox got going again in the eighth when they loaded the bases with one out on a single, double, and intentional walk. Marlon Byrd chipped a little fly ball into right field and into the waiting arms of Ichiro, but Will Middlebrooks  was able to hustle it out and it wasn't even a play at home, so the Sox would take a 6-0 lead late. Having only thrown around 100 pitches, Jon Lester headed back out for the ninth inning and put a pair of runners in scoring position with one out. Kyle Seager grounded out to second, producing the only Mariners run of the game and a strikeout by Alex Liddi would official close the book on the game.

Bright Spots:
Jon Lester- 9 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 6 K, CG (1), W (2-3)
David Ortiz- 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 1-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Cody Ross- 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B
Daniel Nava- 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Marlon Byrd- 1-3, 1 SF, 1 RBI
Kelly Shoppach- 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Mike Aviles- 0-4, 1 K, 1 LOB

Player of the Game- Jon Lester pitched a great ballgame today, almost throwing a shutout but settling for a nine inning, one run victory-- he is now 2-3/3.71/34 on the season.

Red Sox Ride Late Rallies To Third Straight Win (4-5)

Felix Doubront had a solid outing

Today's game was not quite as much of a rout as the games preceding it-- but the Red Sox still racked up a solid win to give them a 4-5 record and move them out of sole possession of last place. The Red Sox got the ball rolling in the second inning when Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz each got into scoring position with no outs. Cody Ross promptly delivered with a no doubt homer over the Green Monster to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. The Red Sox got another run in the fourth inning when Kelly Shoppach knocked an RBI double into left field. However, more scoring opportunities were squandered when Cody Ross made a bad baserunning error and got caught in a rundown between third and home. When the fifth inning came around, Felix Doubront had been rolling so far but he encountered his first trouble in the fifth. Chris Giminez and Desmond Jennings led off the inning with singles before a Carlos Pena drove them both in and Evan Longoria proceeded to drive in Pena with a double to make it 4-3 Red Sox. 

Cody Ross hit a three-run
home run in the second 

The Red Sox and Doubront would escape that jam but it turned nasty in the sixth when Luke Scott homered to lead off the inning and suddenly the Red Sox' lead had evaporated. Doubront was removed from the game after Scott's hit and his early work was all for naught as a couple of bad innings turned his line into a mediocre 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K. Scott Atchison and Vicente Padilla combined to work out of a first and second, no out scenario in the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, Kevin Youkilis walked with one out and David Ortiz drove him in with a double into right-center. In the seventh, they got an extra insurance run when Mike Aviles homered to dead center to give the Sox a 6-4 lead. That would be all the Sox would need with Franklin Morales and Alfredo Aceves closing the game with a pair of scoreless innings (Aceves got his second save) and the Sox had their third consecutive win. 

Bright Spots:

Vicente Padilla- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K, W (1-0)

Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K, SV (2)

Mike Aviles- 1-4, 1 HR

Kevin Youkilis- 1-3, 1 BB, 2 R

David Ortiz- 3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B

Cody Ross- 1-2, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB

Kelly Shoppach- 1-3, 1 BB, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:

Dustin Pedroia- 0-4

Darnell McDonald- 0-4, 1 K, 4 LOB

Jason Repko- 0-3, 1 K, 3 LOB

Player of the Game:

Cody Ross- Ross' three-run homer in the second inning was the key hit in the game as it gave the Sox an early lead and they probably wouldn't have won without it. 

Red Sox Show There's No Place Like Home (2-5)

Josh Beckett threw eight
strong innings in the win

For essentially the first time in 2012, the Red Sox put together a truly dominant performance today, running over the Rays in their home opener. The most ironic part of this game is that the Rays scored first; in the second inning, Ben Zobrist came all the way around from first on a double into left by Jeff Keppinger. However, the Red Sox very quickly made a plea to overturn the run by the Rays by loading the bases to lead off the third. Adrian Gonzalez went opposite field with a single to left, Kevin Youkilis drove a sacrifice fly into right, and David Ortiz drove a run in on a little tapper to third-- before you knew it, the Red Sox were up on the Rays by a score of 3-1. The score stayed at that until the bottom of the fourth when Jacoby Ellsbury drove in Kelly Shoppach with a single. However, later in that inning, while running to second base-- Ellsbury hurt himself sliding and left the game with an injury to his right shoulder. Che-Hsuan Lin was scratched from Pawtucket's game so it appears Ellsbury may be headed to the DL with Lin coming up from the minors.

Kelly Shoppach went 3-4
with 3 runs and 2 RBIs

The score stayed at 4-1 as Josh Beckett continued to dominate the Rays' lineup. His day was finally done after eight innings and his final line was a very strong 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K mark-- his season statistics stand at 1-1/5.68/4 this season. The bottom of the eighth, however, was when this game turned from a close duel into a bloodbath at the hands of the Red Sox. They quickly loaded the bases with no outs before a two-run double for Kelly Shoppach and an two-run single for Ryan Sweeney-- both to left field-- would make it an 8-1 lead for Boston. Another two-run single later in the inning-- this one for Kevin Youkilis-- would make it 10-1 Red Sox. The scoring finally ended on an RBI double for David Ortiz and finally a sacrifice fly for Cody Ross to end the scoring at 12-1. The Rays picked up another run in the ninth off Mark Melancon but it was far too little in a 12-2 win for the Red Sox.


Bright Spots:
Josh Beckett- 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI
Ryan Sweeney- 1-3, 1 R, 2 RBIs
Dustin Pedroia- 1-4, 2 R, 1 BB
Adrian Gonzalez- 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI
Kevin Youkilis- 2-4, 1 R, 3 RBIs, 1 SF
David Ortiz- 2-4, 2 RBIs, 1 2B
Darnell McDonald- 1-3, 1 R, 2 BB
Kelly Shoppach- 3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 2B

Dull Spots:
Mark Melancon- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 K

Player of the Game:
Josh Beckett- I was very impressed by the offense coming to life but Josh Beckett's eight strong innings were too impressive to pass up as Player of the Game.

Bad PItching Sinks Sox In Loss To Jays (9-6)

This was a tough game for the Blue Jays as they scored early and often in a decisive win over the Red Sox. After the Blue Jays loaded the bases in the second inning, Travis Snider hit a hard liner down the third base line for a two-run double and David Cooper hit a sacrifice fly as the Jays took a 3-0 lead. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the second, though-- after Mike Aviles doubled with two outs, Kelly Shoppach hit a two-run bomb to left center to cut it to a 3-2 lead. Bard held them for the next few innings-- in the end he allowed three runs on three hits and three walks in five innings. However, Jesse Carlson and Michael Bowden were not so lucky as the Blue Jays put up two runs after a little rally in the sixth inning. Andrew Miller threw three pitches before calling to the dugout to be taken out because he hurt his left leg. Doug Mathis pitched a solid seventh before getting knocked around in the eighth-- he wound up with 1.1 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. Matt Albers wasn't a whole lot better as the Jays scored twice more in the ninth-- he wound up with 1.2 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. All this added up to a decisive 9-2 win for the Blue Jays.

Bright Spots:
Mike Aviles- 2-3, 1 run, 1 double
Kelly Shoppach- 1-2, 1 run, 2 RBIs, 1 home run

Dull Spots:
Daniel Bard- 5 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts
Michael Bowden- 1 inning, 3 hits, 1 run,
Doug Mathis- 1.1 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Matt Albers- 1.2 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
Nick Punto- 0-3, 1 strikeout
David Ortiz- 0-3, 2 left on base
Cody Ross- 0-3
Ryan Sweeney- 0-3, 2 strikeouts
Nate Spears- 0-2

Red Sox Go Shopping

Congratulations to Ben Cherington, who has now made his second acquisition who could potential start the season on the major league roster. The Red Sox have come to terms with catcher Kelly Shoppach on a 1 year/$1.35 million contract. Shoppach was formerly the crown jewel of the Red Sox farm system. He will be coming back to Boston after stints in Cleveland and Tampa Bay. Up until a few years ago, he was considered an all-bat-no-glove catcher, going .245/43/141 in four years as the backup catcher for the Indians. However, with the Rays he has evolved more in the opposite direction. Last year, behind the plate, he threw out a stellar 41% of baserunners while going a measly .176/11/22 with the stick. His best season came in 2008, where he batted .261/21/55. Shoppach is an all-or-nothing type hitter, displaying a fair number of homers for a backup catcher but a very low batting average. I don't really expect Shoppach to be on the MLB team out of Spring Training. I think it should and will be Ryan Lavarnway as the backup to Salty, but you never know.