Red Sox Promote Repko, Spears

This morning, the Red Sox made moves which would promote Jason Repko and Nate Spears to the major leagues. To add them to the 40-man roster, they had to designate Michael Bowden and Luis Exposito for assignment. Repko had gotten off to a hot start at AAA Pawtucket this season-- he was batting at a .538/1/2 clip in four games and thirteen at bats before his promotion. Repko played in 67 games last season with the Twins-- he batted .226/2/11 in 133 at bats. These two moves were obviously made to give the Red Sox outfield depth after Jacoby Ellsbury's injury-- thus, Jason Repko will be batting ninth and playing center field in today's game against the Rays. Nate Spears hasn't gotten off to quite as hot a start as Repko-- he currently stands at .231/0/2 in eight games and twenty six at bats with Pawtucket. However, the thing about Spears is that he can play anywhere: outfield, infield, you name it. Hopefully Repko and Spears will pan out for now but they are only temporary additions to the 25-man roster.

Red Sox Battle Back In Tie To Yanks (9-7)

Cook allowed 2 runs in 4 innings

I went to bed unhappy last night-- after watching the game through the top of the eighth I was tired of watching the Red Sox bats flail (even in a spring training game)-- however, they battled back and I wish I'd seen it. After a scoreless game for the first three innings, the Yankees finally got to starter Aaron Cook for two runs in the fourth inning on an RBI triple by Curtis Granderson and an RBI single for Andruw Jones. Cook was taken out after that inning, and he wound up with 4 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts in a decent outing. On a two-run single by Doug Bernier in the fifth, the Yankees took two more runs and a 4-0 lead. However, Ross Ohlendorf settled down and only allowed those two runs in his three innings. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect eighth inning-- leading to the Red Sox' half of the inning. After a popup by Mike Aviles to lead off the inning, Jason Repko doubled with one out. Pedro Ciriaco proceeded to knock him in with a double to make it a 4-1 game. Nate Spears singled to right to make it 4-2, knocking in Ciriaco. Lars Anderson then flashed some power with a double to center to make it 4-3 and really cut the lead down-- however, Anderson would be stranded. Scott Atchison allowed a hit and struck out a batter in a scoreless ninth to lead into the Red Sox' half of the inning with a 4-3 deficit. Ryan Sweeney singled to lead off the inning, and after a popup for Ryan Lavarnway, Mike Aviles doubled to put two in scoring position with one out. Bobby Valentine then put on one of the most exciting plays in baseball-- the suicide squeeze. With Jason Repko at the plate, he decided not to risk the out so he put on the squeeze and it worked-- Sweeney scored and Aviles advanced to tie it at 4-4. However, with the winning run at third and a tie game, Pedro Ciriaco struck out swinging to end the game.

Bright Spots:
Mark Melancon- 1 inning, no runs, no hits
Scott Atchison- 1 inning, no runs, 1 hit, 1 strikeout
Jason Repko- 1-1, 1 run, 1 double, 1 RBI, the suicide squeeze
Nate Spears- 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI
Pedro Ciriaco 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 walk
Lars Anderson- 1-1, 1 double, 1 RBI
Ryan Sweeney- 2-4, 1 run

Dull Spots:
Jacoby Ellsbury- 0-3
Dustin Pedroia- 0-2, 1 strikeout, hurt his left forearm
Kevin Youkilis- 0-2
Cody Ross- 0-3, 2 strikeouts, 1 left on base
Ryan Lavanrway- 0-2, 1 strikeout, 1 left on base

Red Sox Tie, Win In Split-Squad Double Header (8-4)

Cook threw 3.1 shutout innings

Today the Red Sox did one of the interesting quirks of spring training, two simultaneous games going on at the same time; starting at 1:05 and 1:35 eastern time. In the first game, the Red Sox played the Orioles in Sarasota. Not too much scoring happened early, with Aaron Cook tossing 3.1 shutout innings, allowing just a hit. Wei-Yin Chen of the Orioles was just as good until the fifth inning, when the Sox put Pedro Ciriaco and Ryan Lavarnway on base to lead off the inning. Nate Spears promptly homered to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. However, Clayton Mortensen allowed two runs in the sixth inning to allow the Orioles to make it a one-run game-- he finished with 2.2 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts as he was not sharp. Will Inman allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless seventh inning. Doug Mathis was solid for the eighth, but the O's tied it in the ninth at 3-3. The Sox kept Mathis in though-- and he turned in a decent performance with 3 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts. The umpires decided to call the game after the tenth and the game ended in a tie-- another quirk of spring training.

Bright Spots:
Aaron Cook- 3.1 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Doug Mathis- 3 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts
Adrian Gonzalez- 1-2, 1 walk
Ryan Lavarnway- 3-3, 1 run
Pedro Ciriaco- 1-3, 1 run
Nate Spears- 1-2, 1 run, 3 RBIs, 1 home run

Dull Spots:
Clayton Mortensen- 2.2 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Josh Kroeger- 0-5, 3 strikeouts, 2 left on base
Kevin Youkilis- 0-3
Ryan Dent- 0-2, 1 left on base
Kolbrin Vitek- 0-2, 1 left on base
Jonathan Hee- 0-4, 3 left on base
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Beckett threw five strong innings

Shortly after that game began, a second one in Ft. Myers also started, also against the Orioles. After two scoreless innings to begin the game, the Sox took advantage of Armando Gallaraga in the third. Lars Anderson led off the inning with what should have been a leadoff double but some rough fielding by Xavier Avery made it essentially a leadoff triple. Alex Hassan didn't hesitate in driving him in with a groundout. After the Orioles tied it in the fourth, the Sox quickly reclaimed the lead. After a groundout by David Ortiz, Cody Ross doubled and Kelly Shoppach singled to put runners at the corners with one away. Nick Punto proceeded to hit a gapper to left-center, scoring Ross and giving the Sox a 2-1 lead. After a Mike Aviles popout, Lars Anderson drove a ball into left. It scored Shoppach and Punto, but Anderson was caught heading to second by left fielder Ryan Flaherty. Beckett finished his day after the top of the fifth-- in all, he earned the win with 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts. The Sox proceeded to pad onto their lead in the bottom of the fifth. An Alex Hassan single and Jacoby Ellsbury double led off the inning with two in scoring position. RBI groundouts by Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 6-1 lead. The next batter, Cody Ross, then crushed a ball over the psuedo-monster in left to give the Sox a 7-1 lead. Ross Ohlendorf came in for the Sox and pitched well over 1.2 innings, allowing no hits or runs plus 2 walks and a strikeout. However, Junichi Tazawa was shaky in the eighth inning-- allowing 3 hits and 3 runs in just an inning. Michael Bowden closed out the 7-4 win with 2 hits in a scoreless inning.

Bright Spots:
Josh Beckett- 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Jacoby Ellsbury- 1-3, 1 run, 1 double
Dustin Pedroia- 1-3, 1 RBI
Cody Ross- 2-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 home run
Kelly Shoppach- 1-3, 1 run
Nick Punto- 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 double
Lars Anderson- 2-3, 1 run, 2 RBIs, 1 double
Alex Hassan- 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Junichi Tazawa- 1 inning, 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Mike Aviles- 0-3, 3 left on base

Red Sox Not Feeling Fraternal Towards Twins (2-0)

David Ortiz's 3rd inning homer

Buchholz pitched 2 strong innings

Last night was a good game (if you're a Red Sox fan) as the Red Sox just came in and dominated the Twins even more than they had on Saturday. Neither team scored in the first inning, but in the top of the second-- the Sox got going. Darnell McDonald led off the inning with a double, but a defensive miscue in left for Ryan Doumit allowed him to advance to third. Josh Kroeger quickly hit him in with a single up the middle to put the Sox up 1-0. Kroeger advanced to second on a passed ball, and Kelly Shoppach drove a single into left field to put runners at the corners with no outs. A Nick Punto walk loaded the bases for Jason Repko, who hit a slow bouncer to the shortstop, who could not turn the double play while the run scored. Jason Marquis threw another wild pitch to allow Shoppach to score after Jose Iglesias walked to load 'em back up with one out. Ryan Sweeney hit a hard grounder to first base where Justin Morneau made an excellent play to get one out, but then threw the ball away allowing Jason Repko to score to make it 4-0 after two. All the while, Clay Buchholz was pitching his first two official innings since June 16. Much like Beckett, he had control problems but other than that was alright-- his final line was 2 innings, no runs or hits, two walks and two strikeouts. David Ortiz (right) led off the top of the third by taking a high fastball over the right field wall but other than that it was a quiet inning for the Sox. Through the 3rd and 4th innings, I got a look at Vicente Padilla-- he pitched 2 innings, allowing 3 hits but no runs or walks and striking out three. He showed good stuff, but got roughed around to a bases loaded situation in the 4th. After a quiet fifth for the Sox, Will Inman took over pitching for them. Inman got roughed up in the 5th, and while he settled down in the 6th-- his final line of 2 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout were not good. It stayed at 5-2 until the 7th, when the Sox went wild on Twins' farmhand Deolis Guerra. Pedro Ciriaco singled to lead off the inning, and was advanced to second on a groundout by Alex Hassan. A Will Middlebrooks single drove him in, but they were just getting started. Lars Anderson walked and Juan Carlos Linares popped out to put first and second with two outs and a 6-2 lead. Then the hits came as Nate Spears laced a ground-rule double down the first base line which scored Middlebrooks and brought Anderson to third. Then, pinch-hitter Daniel Butler crushed an inside fastball over the left field wall for a 3-run homer to make it 10-2-- which ended up as the final score. The Red Sox pitching in the last few innings was excellent as Brandon Duckworth was fantastic (he allowed no runs, hits, or walks while striking out two in two innings) and Jesse Carlson was also sharp in his Red Sox debut with a perfect inning.

Bright Spots:
Brandon Duckworth- 2 innings, no hits, runs, or walks and 2 strikeouts
Jesse Carlson- 1 inning, no hits, runs, or walks
Jose Iglesias- 1-2, 1 walk, 1 steal
Pedro Ciriaco- 1-2, 1 run, 1 steal
Will Middlebrooks- 2-2, 1 RBI, 1 run
David Ortiz- 2-3, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 home run, 1 double
Darnell McDonald- 1-2, 1 double, 1 run
Josh Kroeger- 1-3, 1 run, 1 RBI
Nate Spears- 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 double
Kelly Shoppach- 1-2, 1 run
Daniel Butler- 1-1, 1 run, 3 RBI, 1 homer

Dull Spots:
Will Inman- 2 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Alex Hassan- 0-2, 1 left on base
Juan Carlos Linares- 0-3, 1 strikeout, 4 left on base
Oscar Tejeda- 0-2, 1 strikeout