Dice-K's Return Spoiled By Lack Of Offense (29-30)

Matsuzaka made his first
start this year

After a stint both at and above .500, the Red Sox have fallen back below at just 29-30-- and Daisuke Matsuzaka, making his first start back from Tommy John Surgery, couldn't do anything about it. The Nationals got on the board first when Adam LaRoche took advantage of a first pitch fastball, leading off the second inning, that was down the middle,  and crushed it into the bullpens for a solo home run. However, the Nationals weren't nearly done as a Bryce Harper walk and Ryan Zimmerman single leading off the fourth put runners at the corners with no outs. Dice-K struck out Adam LaRoche after a long at bat, setting up the inning ending double play. Michael Morse would erase all thoughts of a scoreless inning, however, by lining a ball into right that fortunately would be a ground rule double and only score one. The Nationals upped it to a four run lead with the next batter as Ian Desmond singled sharply into right to put the Nationals up 4-0 in just the fourth inning. I'm sure many Red Sox fans and player alike were thinking that with the way Gio Gonzalez was pitching, that may be enough.

He only really had one
bad inning in the loss

Dice-K was taken out of the game after a scoreless fifth, and his final line was an unimpressive 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 8 K. However, he had good stuff with all his pitches moving to a degree and if he had stayed away from the one bad inning, he would've been fine. Franklin Morales came into the game and pitched a couple scoreless innings until the Red Sox got on the board in the seventh inning. That was when the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out for pinch hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Salty was first pitch swinging and crushed the ball in the air to left for what could've been a home run in many ballparks. However, this time the green monster took a homer away-- luckily, the Red Sox still scored two and the Red Sox still had runners at the corners down by only two. However, Daniel Nava struck out looking on a generous called strike and Dustin Pedroia popped out to end the inning with a 4-2 deficit. Franklin Morales continued to dominate out of the 'pen, throwing three perfect innings with three strikeouts. It would be all in vain, however, as the Red Sox lost 4-2.

Bright Spots:
Franklin Morales- 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 1-2, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Daniel Nava- 0-4, 1 K, 2 LOB
Adrian Gonzalez- 0-4, 1 K, 1 LOB
Kevin Youkilis- 0-4, 1 LOB
Kelly Shoppach- 0-2, 2 K, 2 LOB

Player of the Game:
Franklin Morales- Even though it's an odd decision to give the Player of the Game to a reliever, Morales deserved it with three shutdown innings-- he is now 0-1/3.04/20.

Red Sox Roughed Up By Nats In Series Opener (29-29)

Doubront had his first bad start
in a while

It appears that the Red Sox may be going in a downward spiral again as they've lost four or their last five and that continued last night. They got off to a decent start after the Red Sox put two men on base with two outs in the second inning. Both of those runners would come in when Mike Aviles hit a high fly ball that banged off the monster in center field to make it 2-0 Red Sox. Things would take a dramatic turn for the worse very quickly, however, as the Nationals put two runners in scoring position with one out in the top of the third. One would score when Ryan Zimmerman took one right back up the middle for a single to cut the Red Sox' lead to 2-1. Zimmerman and Michael Morse, who walked in the next at bat, both scored when Ian Desmond took a ball to the gap in right-center to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead. The Nationals kept going in the fourth after a leadoff double by Tyler Moore. Moore would score on a double by Danny Espinosa and Espinosa would score on a two-run homer by phenom Bryce Harper to make it 6-2.

Punto walked and scored
in the ninth

That score held for a while, but a leadoff single in the sixth by Tyler Moore put the Nationals in business. The next two hitters got out but Bryce Harper singled him in after Moore stole second base, putting the Nationals up to a commanding lead of 7-2. The Red Sox would cut the lead by a little bit in the eighth inning when Adrian Gonzalez crushed a ball in the air to deep center. As the ball fell into the stands for a solo home run, it became the 200th home run of Gonzalez's career, yet only the fifth of the season for the first baseman. The Red Sox got another small rally going in the ninth after Nick Punto walked with one out. Daniel Nava drove him in with a double to deep center to bring Punto all the way around from first base to cut it to a three-run lead for the Nationals. However, Tyler Clippard came in to pitch and got Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez to fly out harmlessly to end the game with a score of 7-4. 

Bright Spots:

Scott Atchison- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R

Andrew Miller- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R

Daniel Nava- 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Adrian Gonzalez- 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI

Mike Aviles- 1-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:

Felix Doubront- 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 6 K, L (6-3)

Matt Albers- 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 K

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 0-4, 2 K, 4 LOB

Kevin Youkilis- 0-4, 3 K, 4 LOB

Player of the Game:

Adrian Gonzalez- Gonzalez had a good offensive game, going 2-5 with a double and his 200th career home run to make him .275/5/32 this year. 

Series Preview #19: Nationals (32-23) @ Red Sox (29-28)

The Red Sox may have righted their woes last night, winning 7-0 against the Orioles to avoid a sweep-- but their woes will probably continue as the first place Washington Nationals come to town. The Nats have had good pitching all year, and the Red Sox are going to see some of the best of it in this series. Tonight's game will feature two impressive youngsters in Felix Doubront (6-2/3.75/66) and former first overall pick Stephen Strasburg (6-1/2.35/79). It should be entertaining to watch Strasburg, who will soon be one of the best pitchers in baseball, but chances are it won't end well as I'm predicting a loss. To replace Daniel Bard after his demotion to Pawtucket, Daisuke Matsuzaka (right) was called up from the minors to start Saturday against Gio Gonzalez (7-2/2.31/84). I think it would be ridiculous to assume a non-rout in this game. Finally, the pain will end after Sunday-- which shapes up to be another loss with Jon Lester (3-4/4.64/53), who will hopefully put things together against Jordan Zimmermann (3-5/2.82/49). The only hope is that the Red Sox bats can do well, as the Nationals' offense isn't quite up to par, but things look very bleak in this series. Bold Prediction: Nationals sweep Red Sox 3-0. 

Buchholz Tosses Shutout As Sox Avoid Sweep (29-28)

Buchholz threw a shutout,
his best outing by far

Things were looking bleak for the Red Sox after losing seven consecutive ballgames at home to the Orioles. The O's had won the first two games of the series and another win would push the Red Sox below .500. However, the Red Sox fought to stay above .500, starting very early in the game. They loaded the bases with two outs on two walks and a single in the first inning. After working a long at bat, Adrian Gonzalez ripped a ball down the first base line-- a double that scored two in the first. The Sox got right back to business in the second inning, loading the bases with no outs this time. Dustin Pedroia grounded a potential double play ball to shortstop J.J. Hardy. Hardy flipped the ball to second to secure an out, but the second baseman Robert Andino airmailed the throw into the stands to allow two runs to score and make it 4-0. The Red Sox just kept rolling along as Adrian Gonzalez singled up the middle to lead off the third inning. Buck Showalter noticed the inevitable and pulled Brian Matusz out of the game with a Bard-like 2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB line.

Buchholz lowered his ERA
from 6.58 to 5.77

Reliever Miguel Gonzalez got the next two outs, but also surrendered a double to Darnell McDonald which put runners at second and third with two outs for Daniel Nava. As usual, Nava delivered, hitting a line drive through the hole and into right field to score two runs and give the Red Sox a commanding 6-0 lead. While neither team scored for the next several innings, the Red Sox did accomplish one thing: working the Orioles' bullpen as Gonzalez, who may have started Saturday, had to throw 55 pitches from the bullpen. The Red Sox would score an insurance run in the eight inning after a one out double for Daniel Nava. With two outs and Nava on second, Kevin Youkilis delivered with a line drive double down the third base line to score Nava and make it 7-0. Clay Buchholz had dominated the Orioles all night long-- and a strong ninth led to a shutout for the righty-- the first by any Red Sox pitcher this year.


Bright Spots:
Clay Buchholz- 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, W (6-2)
Daniel Nava- 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI
Kevin Youkilis- 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI
Darnell McDonald- 1-3, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 2B

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

Player of the Game:
Clay Buchholz- After good starts in his last few times out for Buchholz, he really put it all together with a shutout last night-- he is now 6-2/5.77/46 this year.

Red Sox Fall To .500 While Stranding Sixteen (28-28)

Beckett had a very strong
outing last night

After a brief stint over the .500 mark (and even out of last for some time), the Red Sox fell back to .500 and the cellar after a loss to Baltimore last night. Neither team scored until the third inning-- Beckett actually started off the game with three perfect innings-- but the Red Sox finally got started in the bottom of the third. The inning started after Darnell McDonald doubled off the green monster in left-center to start the inning off. McDonald advanced to third on a bloop single into right by Marlon Byrd to put the Red Sox in a great position to start a rally. Mike Aviles hit a fly ball to left field and McDonald hustled home to score. However, in a sense that sacrifice fly, while scoring a run, killed the rally-- as the Red Sox did not score again in the inning. Beckett's perfect game was broken up in the fourth on a leadoff single by Endy Chavez, but Chavez was quickly erased on a J.J. Hardy double play. Things were cruising along with a 1-0 lead all the way until the sixth inning, when the Orioles finally broke things up.

                                     

Two ground ball singles woke the Orioles' offense up, as they now had runners at the corners with no outs off Josh Beckett. Robert Andino knocked a bloop single into right field to score one of those runs and tie things up at 1-1. It wouldn't stay 1-1 for long, however, as Endy Chavez hit a slow bouncer to second base. Dustin Pedroia went for the double play, but only got one out and the run scored (it would've scored anyway). That run made the difference as the Orioles took a 2-1 lead. Josh Beckett exited the game after the eighth after a pretty good outing that saw him go 8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 5 K-- however, he earned the loss as the Red Sox offense sucked tonight. 

Bright Spots:

Vicente Padilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R

Kevin Youkilis- 1-3, 1 BB

Will Middlebrooks- 2-4

Adrian Gonzalez- 1-3

Darnell McDonald- 1-2, 1 R, 1 2B

Marlon Byrd- 1-3

Dull Spots:

Dustin Pedroia- 0-4, 2 K, 1 LOB

Player of the Game:

Josh Beckett- Despite being tagged with the loss, Beckett pitched very well last night, allowing two runs and walking none in eight innings-- he is now 4-6/4.04/51 this year. 

Red Sox Lose Extra Inning Heartbreaker To O's (28-27)

Lester was decent, but
was hurt by bad defense

The Red Sox fell back into last place at 28-27 after last night's extra inning debacle that saw them lose to the first place Orioles. After a couple of scoreless innings, the Orioles got going in the third when they put runners at the corners with two outs. Adam Jones delivered by driving a single into left-center that both scored a run and moved Robert Andino to third base. After that, it was Matt Wieters delivering with an RBI single to left field to score another run and give the O's a 2-0 lead. Both of those runs were unearned after an error earlier in the inning to shortstop Mike Aviles. After a few more scoreless innings, the Red Sox got in business in the fifth when Daniel Nava and Mike Aviles singled to start the inning. Scott Podsednik did the Bobby Valentine thing and bunted them over-- however, first baseman Mark Reynolds thought he could be a hero and tried throwing it to third base to get the lead runner. His throw was both wide and late, and deflected off third baseman Steve Tolleson's glove to score a run to make it 2-1. They would score again when Dustin Pedroia hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Mike Aviles.

Saltalamacchia had a two-out, two-
strike, two-run homer in the bottom
of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6

The Orioles would answer in the sixth, however, leading off the inning with a Matt Wieters double and Mark Reynolds single. Steve Pearce hit a sac fly to center to score a run and that would be all. The Red Sox answered that in the bottom half, putting two runners on with one out. A Mike Aviles RBI single and Scott Podsednik sacrifice fly would give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead. However, the Orioles would score three times in the seventh-- on RBI singles by J.J. Hardy, Mark Reynolds, and Steve Pearce to make it 6-4. The Red Sox answered for that in the best possible way when Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a two-out, two-strike, game-tying two-run homer just over the green monster in the bottom of the ninth. However, two RBI singles in the tenth by Ronny Paulino and Endy Chavez netted the Orioles a 8-6 lead and a win.

Bright Spots:
Matt Albers- 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K
Scott Podsednik- 2-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Daniel Nava- 2-5, 2 R
Mike Aviles- 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Scott Atchison- 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB
Alfredo Aceves- 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, L (0-3)
Adrian Gonzalez- 0-5, 5 LOB
Kevin Youkilis- 0-5, 2 K, 3 LOB

Player of the Game:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia- It couldn't be anybody else after Salty tied the game with his clutch two-run homer as part of a 3-4 day to make him .279/11/27 this year.

McDonald Off The DL, Bard To Handle Control Issues In Pawtucket

With Darnell McDonald coming off of the DL today, they Red Sox had to demote somebody to AAA. Their choice was a surprising one as they sent fifth starter Daniel Bard down. Bard has had a shaky time adjusting to starting all year, but it all caught up to him in a horrible start on Sunday. In that start he lasted just 1.2 innings, walking six and allowing five runs in a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays. While his season stats aren't awful at 5-6/5.24/34, he's had serious control issues all year-- walking 6.04 per nine innings. It was thought that Bard may move to the bullpen, but they obviously want the Bard experiment to continue without causing damage to the team. Either Daisuke Matsuzaka or Aaron Cook will probably take Bard's place in the rotation for the next few weeks until he's ready to go again. Darnell McDonald will provide some depth to the outfield that has been depleted by injuries this year. McDonald was having a brutal season to start the year at .179/2/8 and while he generally can at least provide a decent bat against lefties-- he has only batted .185/1/5 this year. This is an interesting move for the Red Sox, but I guess they're serious about the Bard Experiment.

Red Sox Take A Trifecta Of College Athletes On First Night Of Draft

After last night's draft saw the Red Sox take Arizona State shortstop Deven Marrero with their first pick, #24-- the Red Sox are drawing comparisons to Dustin Pedroia. Like Pedroia, Marrero was a college shortstop that went to Arizona State; and like Pedroia, they are expecting him to shoot through their farm system. It would be foolish to assume that Marrero will be as good as Pedroia, however, given the drop off his stats experienced after the bats were changed in college. After batting .397/6/42 his freshman year and .315/2/20 his sophomore year, Marrero was in consideration for a Top 5 pick. However, he experienced a major drop off and only batted .284/4/33. On the other side of the ball, though, Marrero has always been great and this year did nothing to change that. One could argue that he has four tools: hitting, running, glove, and arm-- but the power hasn't developed yet. He is listed as a great defender in all categories and will probably stick at shortstop, given his impressive speed and range. We can only hope that he'll turn out like Dustin Pedroia, but he should become a good every day player.

With the 31st pick in the draft this year, the Red Sox selected Florida Gators pitcher Brian Johnson. Johnson has been scouted as both a pitcher and as a hitter after an impressive season that saw him bat .310/5/40 and go 8-4/3.56/68 in 86 innings. The kicker about Johnson is that he is a projectable college lefty-- always a hot commodity on draft days. Johnson's repertoire features an average fastball that sits in the low 90's, a slider that can be an above average pitch, and a change that can be an above average pitch. He can throw all of these for strikes, evidenced by his ridiculous mark of 15 walks in 86 innings, a 1.57 walks per nine innings ratio. The lefty is 21 years old right now and has a great pitcher's body with a 6'3", 225 pound frame. He gets good movement on all of his pitches-- including his fastball, which he sinks very well. His slider is his out pitch and his change, which he uses less than his other pitches also is good. We can only hope that Johnson becomes a very good lefty in the Red Sox system.

With their third and final pick last night, the #37 pick, the Red Sox took Monmouth University's Pat Light. After looking at Light's stats and tools, it surprises me that he even lasted to the 37th pick. Light is a big guy-- standing at 6'6" and 215 pounds-- and possessing a perfect pitching frame. His fastball generally sits in the low 90's, but he can reach back into the mid-high 90's and has even been clocked at 97 mph. Being 6'6", Light throws the ball downhill and has potential to throw it with even more sink than he currently does. His off speed pitches are not quite up to par, but he throws a decent breaking that has potential to be an average to above average pitch at the major league level. He does not have a great change, but that can be taught as he moves through the ranks of the minor leagues. 2012 was really the year that Light started to put all his skills together too-- after a 4.94 ERA and a 6-11 record through his first two years, Light pulled a fantastic 8-3/2.40/102 season in 2012. Light should become a good pitcher before too long and should be fun to watch.

Series Preview #18: Orioles (30-24) @ Red Sox (28-26)

The Red Sox are riding high after a 2-1 series against the Blue Jays and a 3-1 series against the Tigers as part of a 5-2 road stand. Greeting them on their trip back to Fenway Tuesday night will be the second place Baltimore Orioles who stand at 30-24 this year. Tomorrow night's game will start a series of games that could go either way-- that game features Jon Lester (right)(3-4/4.79/48) against the impressive Jason Hammel (6-2/3.06/58). Lester is 14-0 against the Orioles in his career but the way that Hammel has pitched this year vs the way Lester has pitched, it's looking like it could become 14-1. Wednesday night's game will feature another close matchup with Josh Beckett (4-5/4.26/46) going head to head with Wei-Yin Chen (4-2/3.75/47). Chen's stats look a little better than Beckett's on the season, but if one takes a pair of bad starts away from Beckett-- he has been better than Chen so I'd predict a win. In the series finale, we'll see yet another close matchup with Clay Buchholz (5-2/6.58/40) and Brian Matusz (5-5/4.41/50). Even though Buchholz's numbers on the season have been miserable, his last few starts have been better and solely on optimism I predict a win. Bold Prediction: Red Sox win series 2-1. 

Weekly News

Despite today's miserable game against the Blue Jays, the Red Sox rattled off a fine 5-2 mark on the week-- going 3-1 against Detroit and 2-1 against Toronto. For his team-leading fourth time this year, the Player of the Week is the ever-impressive David Ortiz. Ortiz batted .384/3/7 this week and has continued to dominate the opposition, adding to his great .315/13/37 season here in 2012. For his first time of the year, the Pitcher of the Week is Clay Buchholz who appears to be turning it around. He allowed two runs in eight strong against Toronto on Friday, but his season stats are still brutal at 5-2/6.58/40. The Performance of the Week goes to the youngster Daniel Nava-- who made his mark with a 4-5, three runs scored, three doubles night against the Blue Jays in Friday's 7-2 win. The Game of the Week will be Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Tigers. The game was tied late but an Adrian Gonzalez RBI double and Kevin Youkilis home run would allow the Red Sox to win. In the upcoming week, the Red Sox have an off day tomorrow before going home for three game series against the Orioles and Nationals.