The Boston Red Sox suffered a dissapointing loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night by the score of 5-4.  The three game series against the Rays is going to be a very big one as far as the standings go.  With the loss on Monday night, the Rays are now up 1.5 games on the Red Sox in the division.

Red Sox starting pitcher Justin Masterson lasted six inning as he gave up five hits and four runs.  Five walks and two home runs really hurt Masterson as he took the loss in the game to fall to 4-2 on the season.  B.J. Upton and Gabe Gross both took Masterson deep in the game.

Chris Smith gave up three walks and one run in only 1/3 of an inning.  Javier Lopez was then called in to pitch the final 1 2/3 innings of the game.  Lopez did a good job by holding the Rays at five runs.

Mike Lowell had a rbi single in the fourth inning and then J.D. Drew hit a solo home run in the sixth inning.  Drew is swinging a very hot bat this month, and could very well be the player of the month the way he swung the bat in June.  The Sox just ran into James Shields who was wheeling and dealing on the mound.

The Sox did make it interesting in the ninth inning as they scored two runs off of Troy Percival and had the tying run on third base when Julio Lugo came to bat against J.P. Howell. However Lugo  Brandon Moss and Jason Varitek both had rbi’s for the Red Sox in the ninth inning as they came up big. 

Red Sox Blog

I received an email this afternoon from Jon who is an intern for Celebrities For Charity and he asked if I would pass along some information about an upcoming raffle that they have going on with Josh Beckett’s foundation.

Enter the “Josh Beckett Foundation’s Beckett’s Buddy Raffle ” and help Josh Beckett with his efforts to support community based organizations that strive to improve the health and well-being of children; especially children who are seriously ill, disabled, poor, or otherwise disadvantaged.  Tickets are only $2.00 a piece with a minimum purchase of 5 tickets.  Grand prize includes everything from autographed Beckett jerseys to bowling with the ace at his famous Beckett Bowl.  Please visit www.netraffle.org to enter and help out this great cause.

 If you have a few bucks to spare, why not donate and you just might when some time with Josh Beckett!

Tim Wakefield pitched the first seven innings of the game for the Boston Red Sox and he only allowed two hits while the Red Sox beat the Diamondbacks 5-0.  It was a great outing by Wakefield and it was a good thing he pitched so well because the Red Sox offense only scored two runs in the game.

Wakefield improved his season record to 5-5 on the season as he picked up the win.  Wakefield walked one batter while striking out six others.  Manny Delcarmen pitched the eighth inning without giving up a run. Craig Hansen then came in to pitch the ninth inning but gave up two walks and infield single to load up the bases.  He was taken out of the game with two outs and Jonathan Papelbon came in and struck out Chad Tracy for the final out of the game.

Brandon Moss had rbi’s for the Red Sox.  Moss had a rbi ground out in the second inning and then had a rbi sac fly in the sixth inning.  In the eighth inning the Red Sox pushed across three more runs as Kevin Cash hit a three run homer to extend the Red Sox lead to 5-0.  The Red Sox need to get the bats going and get some more production going up and down the lineup as they didn’t do much until the eighth inning home run by Cash.

The off day on Thursday will hopefully help out the Red Sox.  They will then open up a three game series at Houston this weekend.

Are you interested in writing for redsoxhomeplate?  If you are, we are currently looking for a contributer that can cover some game recaps during the week.  You will also be welcome to blog about anything else Red Sox related.  If you are interested, please use the contact us link on the blog or leave a comment here.

Red Sox Blog

The Boston Red Sox were able to score four runs in the eighth inning as they came back and defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks by the score of 5-4.  Dustin Pedroia had a huge game as he had two rbi in the game including a solo home run.  Mike Lowell had a two run double and Jason Varitek had a rbi single to finish the scoring in the eighth inning.

Besides that four run eighth inning, the only run the Red Sox had was the Pedroia solo home run in the first inning.  The bats were asleep all game until the eighth inning which wasn’t very good.  Luckily they were able to wake up however and atleast score enough runs to get the win.

Justin Masterson pitched the first six innings of the game as he got a no decision.  Masterson allowed seven hits and four runs in the game.  The big hit that hurt Masterson was a three run home run by Chad Tracy in the third inning.  Other then that one pitch he pitched pretty good.

Chris Smith ended up picking up this win as he pitched the seventh and eighth innings without allowing a run to score.  Smith is now 1-0 on the season.  Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 22nd save of the season in the game.

Good come from behind win for the Red Sox.  Tomorrow I expect the bats to get going before the eighth inning however.

Red Sox Blog

Josh Beckett pitched eight strong innings but he gave up two runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Boston Red Sox 2-1.  Beckett was really sharp as he only gave up five hits and the two runs while striking out eight Diamondbacks batters.  However, the Red Sox offense struggled at the plate against Dan Haren as they were only able to score one run.

J.D. Drew had a rbi sacrafice fly in the eighth inning that scored Julio Lugo for the only Red Sox run in the game.  Haren limited the Red Sox to only four hits in the game.

The Red Sox will send Justin Masterson to the mound on Tuesday night as they try to even up the series at one game each.  I think Masterson will come out and throw a good game while the Red Sox pick up the victory!

Are you looking for Red Sox Tickets?  If you are then check out our partners site at StubHub where fans buy and sell tickets and all transactions are 100% guranteed!

Ok Red Sox fans, time is running out for you to enter the State Farm Call Your Shot promotion. It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up, and one you see the prize list, you will definately want to sign up!

What could be better then taking a free trip for four people to New York City for the All Star game? Staying in a great hotel, getting spending money, free tickets to the game and even a broadway show is exactly what you will get if you are selected as the grand prize winner of the Call Your Shot Promo. Take two minutes right now and enter the promo!

The grand prize winner will also get the chance to pick a spot to which two of the Home Run Derby players must compete to try to hit a ball. If the first player hits the ball to the called spot, the promotion ends. If either player succeeds, the fan receives a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid vehicle and a 2009 season-ticket package for any team.

Additionally, 10 fans will win first place prizes consisting of a $300 MLB.com gift card and 25 second place prize winners will receive $100 MLB.com gift cards.

Remember, time is running out and you have nothing to lose! Also, remember to vote for your favorite Red Sox players to be in the All Star game!

J.D. Drew who was booed everytime he came to bad led the Boston Red Sox past the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 7-4.  Drew went 4-5 and fell only a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.  Drew also had four rbi in the game to lead the Red Sox in that category.

Drew and Mike Lowell went back to back when they both hit home runs in the first inning and the Red Sox never looked back from there.  Brandon Moss contributed with two rbi’s in the game as well.  Moss had a two run single in the third inning.

Justin Masterson pitched five innings and allowed four hits and two runs while picking up the win.  Masterson walked two batters, struckout one, while improving his record to 4-1.  It was a quality outing for Masterson and that is all you can ask out of him at this point.

Javier Lopez pitched a scoreless inning before Craig Hansen came in during the seventh inning and gave up two hits and two runs withour recording an out.  Manny Delcarmen ended up pitching the seventh and eighth innings before Jonathan Papelbon came in for the ninth inning.  Papelbon had no problems picking up his 21st save of the season.

With the win, the Red Sox took two out of three games from the Phillies so it was a really good series overall.  Now the Red Sox will be off on Thursday before starting a series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Red Sox Blog

The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies by a 3-0 score on Tuesday night as Jon Lester picked up his sixth win of the season.  Lester tossed the first seven innings of the game and only allowed six hits and no runs.  Lester is now 6-3 on the season and has really been throwing the ball well lately.

Hideki Okajima pitched the eighth inning and allowed one hit but zero runs.  Jonathan Papelbon came in for the ninth inning and picked up his 20th save of the season as he shut the door on the Phillies.

At the plate for the Red Sox Coco Crisp had a two run homer in the second inning.  Julio Lugo then tacked on an insurance run in the sixth inning with a rbi double that scored Crisp.  The Red Sox did struggle at the plate but they were able to get the victory thanks to how well the pitching staff threw the ball.

Red Sox Blog

Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know about a great promotion that Major League Baseball as well as State Farm Insurance are putting on. State Farm is giving away some great prizes and all you have to do is go to the Offical State Farm Call Your Shot website and register through June 24th. If you are the lucky winner we have listed out what the winner will all receive below. Now tell me if that isn’t one of the best prizes for a baseball family! Make sure you take a few minutes to register, you could be the winner!

• All-expense paid trip for four to the All-Star Game and State Farm Home Run Derby
• First class hotel accommodations in New York
• Tickets to a Broadway show
• $1,000 MasterCard gift card

The grand prize winner will also get the chance to pick a spot to which two of the Home Run Derby players must compete to try to hit a ball. If the first player hits the ball to the called spot, the promotion ends. If either player succeeds, the fan receives a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid vehicle and a 2009 season-ticket package for any team.

Additionally, 10 fans will win first place prizes consisting of a $300 MLB.com gift card and 25 second place prize winners will receive $100 MLB.com gift cards.

As you can tell, this would be an amazing trip and prize package to win. So what are you waiting for? Go register for a trip of a lifetime!

The Boston Red Sox didn’t get off to the start they were hoping to against the Philadelphia Phillies.  Starting pitcher Bartolo Colon only lasted four innings after giving up four runs and leaving the game in the fifth inning with some sort of back injury.

Once Colon left the game the Red Sox called on the bullpen which was ok except for one pitcher.  Mike Timlin gave up four more runs in just 2/3’s of an inning.  David Aardsma, Javier Lopez, and Hideki Okajima all threw the ball well out though.  Timlin more less to the Red Sox out of the game when he gave up the four runs in the sixth inning.

The only runs for the Red Sox came in the fifth inning with Dustin Pedroia and J.D. Drew hit back-to-back solo home runs.  Other then that the Red Sox struggled at getting back to back hits or any sort of rally going.  Hopefully they will swing the bat better on Tuesday.

Red Sox Blog