Fenway Fables

Bad day all around for the health and happiness of the Red Sox.  In 5 2/3 inning of work, Josh Beckett allowed 11 hits, five runs (all earned) and two walks. He threw 97 pitches. As the ace, Beckett is responsible for saving the staff when the Sox have consecutive clunkers like they did over the (long) weekend in Minneapolis, and the club hoped for more against the O’s.

Right fielder J.D. Drew hyper-extended his left wrist sliding for a catch, center fielder Coco Crisp had to leave the game because of an excruciating headache that induced nausea, plus Terry Francona was unavailable after his mother-in-law died Monday.  Bench coach Brad Mills managed the game, a 5-4 loss to the Orioles, and will be at the helm today as well while Francona attends funeral services with family.  The often-injured Drew is unlikely to play this afternoon, and his status going forward is very much day to day, pending how his wrist feels.  X-rays were negative, and he probably would get an MRI if his ligaments, which were stretched, do not respond or feel better.  Crisp left before the bottom of the sixth inning. He might have suffered a migraine, and looked quite uncomfortable sprawled on a clubhouse couch after the game. He said he would explain what happened today.

Jacoby Ellsbury replaced Drew in right field, then moved to center in the sixth. Kevin Youkilis made his first career appearance in right field and handled cleanly his one chance, an Adam Jones flyout. Sean Casey replaced Youkilis at first base.  Also, shortstop Julio Lugo missed his fourth straight game with a mild concussion.  It is unclear if the Sox will make a roster move for the final game of this road trip. They have an off-day tomorrow, and could buy time on the medical front so not to disable anybody unnecessarily.

The Twins took three out of four at the Metrodome by virtue of a 7-3 win over the Red Sox last night. The Sox scored three in the first inning against Livan Hernandez and never scored again against Hernandez, who went the first six innings to improve to 6-1, and the Twins’ bullpen.  The Red Sox now have lost four out of their last six games and head to Baltimore, where Josh Beckett will oppose Jeremy Guthrie tonight.

Clay Buchholz was gone after 4 1/3 innings. The young righty didn’t have great command and allowed five walks and seven runs on eight hits. He threw 90 pitches and left the game trailing, 7-3.  The Twins scored three in the fifth, highlighted by a two-run double by Craig Monroe and an RBI single by Delmon Young. Buchholz didn’t help himself with a leadoff walk to Joe Mauer. The Sox actually turned a couple of double plays behind him that prevented further damage.  It was Buchholz’s second straight poor start. Last Wednesday, he allowed 10 hits and five earned runs in four innings at Detroit.

Sox Notes:  Craig Hansen appears to be the major benefactor, at least so far, of Julian Tavarez being designated for assignment yesterday. Hansen was supposed to go back to Triple A but was given a chance to work into a role in the Sox bullpen.  With the Sox trailing, 7-3, Hansen entered the game in the seventh and threw a dominating inning of two ground balls and a strikeout. The Red Sox usually just don’t throw a young pitcher into the fire but rather build him up for more important assignments. That seems to be the plan for Hansen.

For the Red Sox, the explanation of what transpired in the biggest play of their 9-8 loss to the Twins last night would seem utterly improbable a few minutes earlier. They fell into a six-run hole after three innings and were still facing a three-run hill against one of baseball’s best closers in the ninth.  But, there they were, with the potential game-tying run at second base in the form of J.D. Drew and a red-hot Coco Crisp up with just one out.  Unfortunately for the Sox, the ball did bounce the wrong way as Crisp’s hard grounder up the middle ricocheted off Twins reliever Joe Nathan and dribbled toward the third base side. The closer gathered himself, picked up the ball and tossed it to third baseman Mike Lamb, who tagged out Drew.  Crisp, who cut the Sox’ deficit to 8-6 with his second home run in as many nights in the seventh, added to the last-inning drama when he stole second. The comeback was necessary due to the unwelcome reminder of just how reliable Tim Wakefield has become.  The Red Sox starter lasted just 2 innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits. It was the first time since June 20, 1997 - a span of 243 starts - that Wakefield (3-2) had lasted fewer than three innings due to a poor performance.  The subpar outing was even more surprising considering Wakefield was coming off his best start of the season, in which he thought he had identified a flaw in his mechanics. But this showing bore no resemblance to the eight innings of two-hit ball he threw in Detroit last Tuesday. 

Sox Notes: Jed Lowrie who impressed in his first major-league call-up; hit .310 (13-for-42) in 17 games, including his first major league home run Saturday night and seven RBI was optioned back to Pawtucket on Sunday to make room for Alex Cora.  Sean Casey is expected to be activated before tonight’s game against the Twins, therefore another roster move is expected to occur today.

Jonathan Papelbon surrendered a two-run single to Mike Lamb in the bottom of the ninth as the Twins downed the Red Sox 7-6.  Papelbon has now blown back-to-back games, also losing Wednesday’s game to the Tigers.  Starter Jon Lester only lasted 5-1/3 innings, while throwing 94 pitches and allowing five runs (three earned).  David Aardsma and Hideki Okajima pitched well prior to Pap’s ninth-inning meltdown.  Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and Mike Lowell all has two hits, with Lowell driving in a pair as well.

Sox Notes:  With Alex Cora and Sean Casey set to come off the disabled list on Sunday, the team will be forced to make two moves. Although nothing has been announced, there are obvious choices: demoting infielder Jed Lowrie and reliever Craig Hansen to Pawtucket.  There is a chance the Sox will keep Hansen, who has impressed in two stints in Boston this season. But Hansen is the only pitcher in the bullpen with options. No one else can be sent to the minors without being designated for assignment.  The Sox’ streak of 21 consecutive steals ended when J.D. Drew was tossed out in the fifth inning. Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 14th straight base.

Josh Beckett allowed just six singles, claimed his fourth win of the season, left town with his lowest ERA of the season (3.70), and, to top things off, recorded his 1,000th career strikeout.  Beckett benefited from another round of offensive firepower from the Red Sox lineup, which has scored five or more runs in seven straight games.  The recollection of leaving 10 men on base, including two bases-loaded situations, was a distant memory thanks to the work done against Detroit starter Justin Verlander. The 2006 American League Rookie of the Year allowed a three-run second inning, keyed by Jason Varitek’s two-run single and finished off with a sacrifice fly from Jacoby Ellsbury.  But the member of the Sox lineup who continued to make the biggest impression at Comerica was Kevin Youkilis. Kevin took a Verlander fastball over the left field wall with Ellsbury on and two outs in the fifth inning, making it 5-1.  Youkilis’ fourth home run of the series was the eighth of his career at Comerica, six more than any other road park. Over the last six games he is batting .435 with four doubles, five homers and 12 RBI.  The Red Sox finished the four-game set with nine homers.

Sox Notes:  With the first quarter of the season nearly over, the Red Sox have started Coco Crisp and rookie Jacoby Ellsbury almost the same number of games in center field. Last night, Crisp made his 19th start in center field; Ellsbury has started 18 times. That might not have been the case if Crisp had not strained his right hamstring and missed eight games in mid-April; he’d started six of the previous seven games in center until he was hurt in Cleveland.  The Red Sox had the same record (11-7) for each player when he started in center entering play last night.  But there is a startling difference in production when Ellsbury has started in center. The Sox have scored 114 runs in Ellsbury’s starts, an average of 6.4 runs. They’ve scored 68 runs in Crisp’s starts, an average of 3.8 runs.

Jonathan Papelbon executed virtually every one of the 18 pitches he threw in the ninth inning against the Tigers, yet still had to walk off the mound carrying his first blown save of the season.  There was a check-swing, infield hit from Matt Joyce, Sox shortstop Julio Lugo’s 10th error of the season on Edgar Renteria’s slow roller, a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Ivan Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson’s run-scoring grounder to second, and finally, a broken-bat blooper from Placido Polanco, marking the first time in 20 chances Detroit had won this season when trailing going into the ninth.  Kevin Youkilis hit 2 home runs and Mike Lowell added three hits including a home run and a double, but because Julio Lugo wasn’t able to execute on defense, the comeback wasn’t to be.

Sox Notes:  With two steals from Jacoby Ellsbury and one from J.D. Drew (his first of the year), the Red Sox have now stolen 20 straight bases. The team’s previous high was 18 in 1973.  Kevin Youkilis became only the second Red Sox to hit two home runs and strike out three times in one game since 1956. Brian Daubach did the same on July 7, 2002.  Bartolo Colon (oblique) is scheduled to make his next rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Pawtucket against Norfolk. The right-hander is slated to throw approximately three innings.  A day after making 35-40 tosses to kick off his throwing program, Curt Schilling (biceps/shoulder) reported no soreness. He will repeat the regimen today. 

Daisuke Matsuzaka threw only 60 of his 109 pitches for strikes, but he somehow found a way to give up just one run on two hits in five innings.  The end result was palatable for the Red Sox, who came away with a 6-3 victory against a Detroit club still trying to find its way.  While the same can be said for the Sox’ second-year hurler, at least a glimpse of optimism could still be siphoned from the outing. 

If one thing was reaffirmed by Matsuzaka in his first start at Comerica Park since allowing the Tigers six runs on 10 hits last July 8, it is that he remains anything but predictable. This time around, there was a whole lot of resiliency to go with the roller coaster that the righty has taken the Red Sox on so many times in his 39 career regular-season appearances.

After the game, it was revealed that Matsuzaka (5-0) has continued to battle the remnants of the sickness which sidelined him two weeks ago. It was such a concern that manager Terry Francona never expected his starter to go more than the five innings he supplied, no matter what the route taken. 

Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, and David Ortiz were all taking advantage of the balmy Michigan air, each clearing the fences with home runs, Youkilis hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Ortiz added a solo shot in the ninth. Ortiz also had an RBI single in the seventh inning.

Craig Hansen relieved Matsuzaka in the sixth inning and threw better than his numbers reflect: (1 2/3 innings, two runs, two hits, two walks).  Hansen was followed by Hideki Okajama (1 scoreless) and Jonathan Paplebon (save No. 10).

The Red Sox offense appears to be waking up; slamming 15 hits, 12 runs, and a season’s-best seven doubles, with each of the nine starters producing at least one hit.  The three main contributors to forcing Shields into surrendering runs in each of the first four innings were the top three hitters in the lineup: Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and David Ortiz. The trio combined to go 8-for-14 with six runs.  Ellsbury has either scored a run or collected an RBI in 11 of his last 13 games. The Red Sox improved to 6-1 when the rookie gets on base to lead off the first inning and 13-2 when he scores at least one run.  The night also marked Pedroia’s second straight three-hit outing. Ortiz’ three hits represented the DH’s season high.

Josh Beckett did his job, using 100 pitches to get through eight innings. While he did surrender a two-run homer to Gabe Gross and a solo shot in the eighth to Akinori Iwamura, the four-run, seven-hit, five-strikeout outing was another step in the right direction for the ace.

Nothing, not a last-second balk call or a walk-off hit - could come to the rescue of the Red Sox last night.  On a night when Toronto starter A.J. Burnett had an answer for everything, the Red Sox batters had little response and Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield was left wondering what he did so wrong, the home team was unable to complete a sweep as the Blue Jays left town with a 3-0 victory.  Wakefield did not record a single strikeout in his seven innings, only the third time in his career he pitched that long without a strikeout. It was a fitting feat on a night when the six hits, four walks, two hit batsmen and three runs he did allow were all the Blue Jays needed on their side of the equation, since the Red Sox batters offered zip for themselves.

The Sox were shut out for the second time in four games and they have scored just four runs in their last five games, a stretch in which they have gone 2-3. The positive is that despite being limited to three runs in three games by the nastiness of Toronto starters Roy Halladay, Dustin McGowan and Burnett, the Sox still won two out of three. But with the Rays bringing in Edwin Jackson, James Shields and Scott Kazmir for a three-game visit beginning tonight, all the praise for the opposing pitcher is not going to make anyone feel much better about the Red Sox offense lately. 

Sox Notes:  With Jacoby Ellsbury (groin) and J.D. Drew (quadriceps) still unavailable, Brandon Moss got another start in right field. Ellsbury took batting practice and Drew shagged flies; the expectation is that one or both will be available this weekend

The Red Sox have batted a dismal .157 as a team over their past four games but there is very little panic, or even despair, around Fenway Park these days.  Thanks to timely, ninth-inning hitting that has not been seen in these parts in two years and consecutive starting performances that haven’t been strung together by Sox pitchers in more than 11 years, the club finds itself back atop the AL East standings following a pair of dramatic, walkoff wins in a span of just over 24 hours.  One night after Kevin Youkilis sent the Red Sox to a dramatic victory over Toronto with a two-out, run-scoring single in the ninth inning, Jason Varitek duplicated the feat with a nearly identical game-winning hit under similar circumstances to send the Sox to a 2-1 win over the Jays.  Varitek lined reliever Scott Downs’ two-out curveball to center field, allowing Manny Ramirez to score from second, just ahead of Vernon Wells’ throw to the plate to provide the Red Sox with their eighth final at-bat win of the young season and improve their record in one-run games to 8-2.  The wins marked the first time since June 24-25, 2006, against the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway that the Sox recorded consecutive walkoff wonders.

Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka extended the rotation’s string of consecutive strong starts to four by throwing seven shutout innings. He departed after 111 pitches with a 1-0 lead. The right-hander, who was scratched from his previous start April 23 due to the flu, appeared to be back at full strength and allowed only two hits, while striking out four and walking two. The pitcher declined to meet with the media, citing a headache.  Sox starters have strung together four outings of at least seven innings and two-or-fewer runs for the first time since John Wasdin, Tom Gordon, Tim Wakefield and Aaron Sele did so from April 12-15, 1997. This time around, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Matsuzaka have combined to allow three earned runs on 10 hits in 30 innings (0.90 ERA), while striking out 32.

Sox Notes:  With the 79th All-Star Game scheduled to be played in Yankee Stadium in July, the designated hitter is back on the American League ballot for the first time in three seasons. The last two All-Star Games were played in San Francisco and Pittsburgh, where no DH was used, which meant David Ortiz was listed as a first baseman.  However, this year, Youkilis is on the ballot as a first baseman, with Ortiz listed at DH. The Sox have All-Star candidates at all nine positions (pitchers are chosen by the managers in consultation with league officials). Coco Crisp is one of the three Sox outfielders on the ballot, with Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew. Rookie Jacoby Ellsbury is not on the ballot.