Things aren’t looking good for the Boston Red Sox right now as they are behind in the ALCS. After pulling out a low scoring victory in game one, the Red Sox have now lost games two and three and find themselves down 2-1 in the series to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sunday night it was a 9-8 loss in and on Monday it was a 9-1 blowout loss. It was very suprising to see the Sox get blown out like that a home in the playoffs. Starting pitcher Jon Lester was pretty bad as he gave up two home runs in 5 2/3 innings. Lester was allowed five runs to score on eight hits while striking out seven. Paul Byrd pitched the final 3 1/3 innings but he also served up two home runs. All but one of the Rays runs came via the home run ball.

As for the Sox offense, they had seven hits but could never get a big hit or two to keep a rally going. Their one run came in the seventh inning when Jacoby Ellsbury hit a rbi sac fly to right field to score Jason Varitek. David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis combined to go 0-8 and they need to turn things around on Tuesday if they want to stay in this series.

Tim Wakefield will get the start for the Sox as they look to even up the series at two games each.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on October 14th, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Boston Red Sox got off to the start they wanted to in the ALCS as they took game one down in Tampa by the score of 2-0. The sox got out of jams in the game and limited the Rays to only four hits as they went up 1-0 in the best of seven series.

Dice K was great as he pitched seven innings and only gave up four hits to the Rays. Dice K struck out nine batters but also walked four. The walks were the only reason that the Rays were really threatning to score any runs but then Matsusaka worked out of the jams without allowing any runs to score. K was actually throwing a no hitter until the seventh inning when Carl Crawford broke up the no-no.

Jonathan Papelbon closed out the game by pretty much throwing fastballs and recorded the save. Papelbon struck out two of the three batters that he faced.

There wasn’t much offense for the Red Sox as they faced off against James Shields. They were only able to come up with two runs on seven hits in the game. Jed Lowrie got the scoring started in the fifth inning with a rbi sac fly that scored Jason Bay. Kevin Youkilis then added the second and final run in the seventh inning when he doubled and plated Dustin Pedroia.

It could be another low scoring game on Saturday as the Red Sox will send Josh Beckett to the mound against the Rays and Scott Kazmir. Hopefully the Sox can get to Kazmir early and take the pressure off Beckett but we will have to see.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on October 11th, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Boston Red Sox picked up a great win on Wednesday night as they took game one of the ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels. Jason Bay got the Sox on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when he hit a two-run home run and then they added two more runs in the ninth inning with rbi singles from Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz. The Sox went onto win the game 4-1.

The Sox are now up 1-0 in the best of five series and are sitting pretty against the Angels. Jon Lester was great as he threw seven innings while only giving up six hits and one run. Lester struck out seven batters and only walked one.

Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon finished off the game by pitching the last two innings of the game and holding of the Angels. Papelbon allowed one hit but struck out three to end the game and pick up the save.

The two teams will now be off on Thursday and then play game two of the series on Friday night. Daisuke Matsuzaka will take the mound for the sox in game two.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on October 2nd, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mark Kotsay came up huge for the Boston Red Sox on Wednesdsay night as he delivered the game winning double in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4. Kostay also had a rbi single in the first inning as he finished the game with two rbi.

David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, and Chris Carter all had one rbi as well in the game as the Red Sox got just enough offense to beat the Tribe.

Paul Byrd was the starting pitcher for the sox and he lasted just five innings as he gave up 11 hits and four runs. David Aardsma ended up getting the victory for the sox as he pitched in relief. Manny Delcarmen pitched the ninth inning and picked up his second save of the season.

The Sox and Indians will play once again on Thursday afternoon. Right now it pretty much looks like the Red Sox will be the wild card winner as the Tampa Bay Rays just keep on winning. Red Sox and Angels should be a very good ALCS matchup!

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on September 24th, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a big game for the Boston Red Sox, they didn’t get the performance that they were hoping for. Starting pitcher Josh Beckett gave up four runs in six innings and the Red Sox lost to the Cleveland Indians by the score of 4-3. I would have expected that Beckett would have thrown a better game in such a tight playoff race.

Instead Beckett was charged with seven hits and four runs in six innings. He is now 12-10 on the season. Beckett did strike out seven batters but little singles and a walk with the bases loaded hurt him in the game.

Kevin Youkilis led the sox at the plate with two two-run doubles to finish with two rbi. David Ortiz added a solo home run as well. It’s too bad that no one else in the sox lineup contributed to score any more runs when the team could have really used them.

With the Rays winning on Monday night, the Red Sox now find themselves 2.5 games out of first place with six games left to play.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on September 22nd, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the second straight night, the Boston Red Sox lost to the Tampa Bay Rays as the two team battle for the division title. On Wednesay night, the Sox lost to the Rays by the score of 10-3. It just wasn’t the Red Sox night and they will now need to go on a nice winning streak if they want to win the division.

Tim Wakefield gave up three home runs in only 2 1/3 innings. Wakefield was charged with six hits and six runs as the Rays hit him very hard in his two plus innings of action. Wakefield took the loss and fell to 9-11 on the year. Devern Hansack gave up one run in relief while Javier Lopez and David Pauley were both charged with two runs each.

The Sox did get two home runs from big papi David Ortiz. Ortiz connected on a two run shot in the first inning and then a solo home run in the fourth inning. That was all the scoring for the Sox however as they struggled at the plate.

The Red Sox will be off on Thursday and then will begin a series with the Toronto Blue Jays. I look for the Red Sox to sweep the series and hopefully get right back on top of the division.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on September 17th, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What a great game for the Boston Red Sox on Monday night as they opened up a three game series down in Tampa against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox hammered the Rays for a 13-5 win and they are now tied with the Rays for the division lead.

The sox offense got right at things in the the first inning as they scored four runs in the first inning and then knocked out Rays starting pitcher Scott Kazmir after only three innings. David Ortiz had four rbi while Kevin Youkilis finished the game with three rbi. Jason Varitek added two rbi and four others had one rbi each. Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Cash, and Jason Bay all finished with one rbi. In total, the sox hit 6 home runs off the Rays pitchers.

Daisuke Matsuzaka got the start for the Red Sox but only pitched five innings. His five innings of action was enough to get the win and improve his record to 17-2 however. Dice-K had given up three hits and one run while striking out seven.

Chris Smith pitched the next two innings and gave up four hits, four runs, and two home runs. Not a good outing for Smith, it was a good thing that the Sox had scored so many runs that the runs Smith gave up really didn’t matter.

The Red Sox will now try to take the division lead on Tuesday night as they face off against the Rays once again.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on September 15th, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a bad 14th inning for Red Sox relief pitcher Mike Timlin on Wendesday night. Timlin gave up a three run home run to Carlos Pena and the Tampa Bay Rays went onto beat the Red Sox 4-2 and extend their lead in the division to 2.5 games.

Timlin of course took the loss and it was too bad because the Red Sox pitching staff was pretty good the rest of the night. Josh Beckett tossed six innings while allowing six hits and one run. Beckett struck out seven Rays batters but ended up with a no decision due to the lack of run support from the offense.

Dustin Pedroia had the first rbi for the sox in the third inning when he doubled to left field and Jed Lowrie scored. The sox would not score again until the bottom of the 14th inning when they loaded the bases but were only able to score one run. Kevin Youkilis hit a rbi sac fly to right field for that rbi.

So now the Red Sox will be off on Thursday and then start up a weekend series with the Toronto Blue Jays who have been playing some awesome baseball lately. It will be a tough series that is for sure.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on September 11th, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Boston Red Sox picked up a huge win on Monday night against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox scored three quick runs in the first inning and then held off the Rays the final eight innings to pick up the 3-0 victory. Exactly the way the sox were wanting to start off the three game series with the Rays. The sox are now only a half game beind the Rays in the division!

Big papi David Ortiz started things off with an rbi double to score Mark Kotsay to make the score 1-0. Ortiz then came around to score on a rbi single to shallow center by Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis was tagged out on the play when he tried advancing to second base on the play. With the bases now empty, Jason Bay hit a solo home run to make the score 3-0 sox.

That was all the offense that the Sox would need on the night as Jon Lester and Jonathan Papelbon were awesome. Lester pitched 7 2/3 innings to pick up the victory. Lester gave up six hits while walking three and striking out nine others. Good quality start for Lester! Papelbon pitched 1 1/3 innings to record the save which was his 36th of the season.

Great job for the sox and they will now hope to win on Tuesday to take the lead back in the division.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on September 8th, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What a come back by the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon as they scored five un-answered runs and eventually beat the Baltimore Orioles in ten innings. the Red Sox scored twince in the seventh and eighth innings and then pushed across the winning run in the tenth inning to complete the three game sweep of the O’s.

Dustin Pedroia got things started in the seventh inning with a solo home run that made the score 4-1. Coco Crisp then walked with the bases loaded to make it 4-2 in the seventh. Onto the eighth inning when the Red Sox scored two more runs on a Mark Kotsay triple to tie the game at 4-4. In the top of the tenth inning, the Red Sox started the inning with two singles and then scored the winning run when Jacoby Ellsbury bunted and Orioles pitcher Jim Miller committed an error that allowed Alex Cora to score.

Justin Masterson earned the victory and improved to 5-4 on the season as he pitched the ninth and tenth innings of the game. Dice-K was the Red Sox starter and he gave up four runs over six innings to get the no decision.

Red Sox Blog

Post info: By Cliff on September 3rd, 2008
Comments: Be the First to Comment »
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Page »