Pedroia blasts 3 homers to outlast Rocks

Late game heroics made Rockies series a great one

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

-- This interleague series between the Sox and Rocks has been, without a doubt, the most heated, competitively fueled and October-esque series of the season to date.

In game 1 the Sox and Rocks found themselves in a pitchers' duel between Lester and Chacin in the first Denver meeting between the 2 clubs since Lester closed out the 2007 World Series sweep at Coors Field. Chacin prevailed in a 2-1 near perfect effort.

Game 2 was a different animal altogether. The Rockies took it 8-6, but it wasn't without a considerable fight.

The Red Sox took a 6-5 lead after pitcher John Lackey doubled in a run and was himslef driven in on a Scutaro bloop single. The Sox had to feel pretty good about putting 6 runs up on the red-hot Ubaldo Jimenez--boosting his 1.15 ERA to 1.6.

Daniel Bard came in for the 8th and shutdown the rallying Rockies with some 99 mph heat and a curve that was working like never before -- scary! But then Jon Papelbon took the mound in the bottom of the 9th and did something he rarely does -- badly blow a save.

Ian Stewart drilled a game-tying solo shot into the 1st deck with 1 out in the 9th.

Then ex-nemesis Jason Giambi stepped to the dish with 1 on and blasted a moon-shot off of the lights hanging above Coors Field's upper deck. The balled flew off into the mile-high night sky as the purpe faithful rejoiced and Papelbon's head hung low with doom overcasting the prolific Sox closer's face.

If the walk-off blown save homerun wasn't bad enough for Paps, it had to be a former Yankee besting him that got to the big guy the worst.

But, as they say, the show must go on. The series finale was a lot like game 2, except Dustin Pedroia refused to lose and give up the sweep.

Pedie had homered twice earlier in the 11-11 slugfest that was sent to extra inning after Papelbon again gave up a 2-run homerun to Todd Helton to tie it up. Pedie blasted his 3rd homer of the night (12th of year) off Huston Street for a 13-11 lead and the Rockies were denied their sweep.

The Sox are now 44-30 and tied with the Rays for 2nd in the AL East, 2 games back of the Yankees.

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Leave it to a former Yankee

Sox lose tight duel with Rocks

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

-- A pitchers duel has usually gone Boston's way this season when Lester's taken the mound, but the Sox ran into a force to be reckoned with on Tuesday as they met the Rockies for the first time in 2010 and quickly found this young team is stacked in the pitching category, falling 2-1 in Denver.

**SPOILER ALERT: In fact I would put a heavy wager on the Rocks beating the Phils in the playoffs to meet the chosen winner of the AL East in the World Series this year. Can anybody say rematch?**

Jhoulys Chacin was the man on the mound Tuesday for the Rocks, hurling 6-2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Things should be interesting Wednesday as the Sox's league-leading bats faceoff against the near perfect Ubaldo Jimenez with a 1.15 ERA.

The Sox had a couple of opportunities with the bases loaded, one with Ortiz and another with V-Mart, both leading to easy rally-killing ground-outs.

The aging all-star veteran Todd Helton had the crucial, go-ahead RBI single that made all the difference.

Wednesday's Matchup: John Lackey (8-3, 4.53 ERA) vs Ubaldo Jimenez (13-1, 1.15 ERA)

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Catchin' up with those red-hot Sox

-- Many apologies to the Nation, I've been slackin on my posts for nearly 2 weeks now due to the NBA Finals, my b-day happenings and a tornado that touched down near our part of town--still,no excuses...back to baseball.

Since I posted last, the Sox have gone on an extraordinary interleague tear and closed the gap in the AL East, now tied with the Rays in 2nd at 1.5 games back from the Yankees. Boston took 2 of 3 from the Phils for the 2nd time this season and followed that great effort up with 3-game sweeps of the the D-Backs & Dodgers (sorry Manny, that's what you get for leaving town the way you did, ya prick!)

In June Big Papi and Adrian Beltre have continued to swing the bat like their old selves, we saw heroics from Daniel Nava who was brought up from AAA and blasted a grand slam on his first pitch he saw in the majors, and a walk-off double from a resurgent Dustin Pedroia propeled the Sox to a Dodgers sweep and a game back in the division.

To say the least the Sox are red-hot as they pull into Colorado for the last week of the interleague season and it appears Boston is in the hunt for 1st as the season's midpoint approaches.

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Sox continue to slam Phils pitchers

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

After splitting a 4-game series with the lowly Indians, the Sox came out firing against the great Jamie Moyer and the Phillies in and overpowering 12-2 interleague win at Fenway on Friday night.

Moyer got rocked over 1+ inning as Boston put up 9 runs on the board on 9 hits. In the first 2 innings the Sox got doubles from Victor Martinez(2), David Ortiz(2), Adrian Beltre and Dustin Pedroia on top of a Scutaro single and a 2-run blast from Mike Lowell – who was giving Youk (back spasms) the night off at firstbase.

Basically this one was over before it started, with the Sox bats rockin' from the get-go and John Lackey turning in a clean performance for the easy win. Substitutes from both squads were reportedly called into the game as early as the 4th to give the starters a rest for today's day game.

However Lackey (7-3, 4.54 ERA) persevered through the 7th inning for 6 hits, 2 runs, 3 K's and no walks – the best performance he has had in his last 3 showings.

Red Sox Record: (36-27, 4 games back from 1st place Rays)
Saturday's Matchup: Dice-K vs. Joe Blanton

Yay's:
- Dustin Pedroia had an MRI on his knee on Thursday and checked out all the way around. Pedey said soreness in the knee had been hindering him on the base paths in May and the team took the right precautions to make sure their standout 2-bagger, team leader and mighty mouse slugger would not have to undergo the knife with a looming injury.

Pedey was given the full go ahead and actually placed back in the lineup Friday night.

- After coming off a rough road trip in Cleveland, Big Papi snapped out of a 1-for-27 slump and went 3-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 4 RBIs.

Nay's:
- It appears Jeremy Hermida is going to miss time also after last week's collision, having been placed on the 15-day DL to rest and take a closer look at some bruised ribs that he incurred in a collision with Beltre in early June. Sound familiar? Starting left-fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is still out with no return date set after colliding with Beltre on a sliding catch in April that created a hairline fracture across 4 of his ribs.

Pretty disconcerting stuff as Hermida had stepped up and helped the Sox with his bats in May with Ells and Mike Cameron missing time and the Boston outfielder options now dwindling. The positive side? Beltre is the hottest of the 3 players involved in these collisions and hasn't appeared to have any effects, slugging like a true all-star leading the Sox in hitting in 2010.

- Youkilis' back spasms that caused him to miss action Friday appear to minor in nature and he just needed a night off to recover, but with Ellsbury, Hermida, Cameron and Beckett out and V-Mart playing with a nagging toe injury – the last thing we need right now is for Kevin Youkilis to be on the DL.

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Lester a perfect 11-0 vs. O’s

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

BALTIMORE -- To say that Jon Lester has the Orioles’ number doesn’t quite do it justice, as the Boston lefty improved to 11-0 lifetime against Baltimore.

Over 6-1/3 innings Saturday, Lester gave up 4 hits and 3 walks for 2 runs with 4 K’s in an 8-2 Boston win. He couldn’t have done it alone though, with plenty of aid from the Sox bats, stellar defense in the field and a clutch pickup performance by setup man Daniel Bard.

Bard came in with an out in the 7th with bases loaded and got two flyball outs to get out of the jam. It should be noted that Bard is really in top form right now, coming into games hurling 99 mph heat with 91 mph changeups – that’s scorching and deadly stuff.

The real difference maker on the offensive end was Kevin Youkilis, who went 3-for-5 with a homer and 2 doubles. This on his first night of the year starting at third base – man this guy is adaptable to about any circumstances. Gotta loveYouk.

Red Sox Record: (33-24)
Sunday’s Matchup: John Lackey vs. David Hernandez

Yay’s:
- The team is saying that even though Beltre sat out Saturday’s game, it was just a day off for rest – not due to any injury incurred in his scary collision with Jeremy Hermida Friday night. Sounds like Hermida and Beltre are both cleared to remain playing with no significant injuries, just bruises.

Nay’s:
- (nothing to report today – it’s the Orioles though)

Different Sox in Baltimore this time around

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

Clay Bucholz threw a dazzling 5-hit, complete game for the second shutout of his career in a exclamatory 11-0 Sox win in Baltimore Friday night – where they got swept just weeks ago.

Bucholz was in top form, reminiscent of when we saw him throw a no-hitter in Baltimore in 2007. Over a complete game Bucholz didn’t streak out more than 2 batters but he only walked 1 and got a lot of other easy outs for his defense – including 8 first-pitch outs.

Not only was it one of those nights for the starter, but the whole team seemed to be all over the Orioles like white on rice, in a Dixie paper cup in the middle of a snow storm. Kevin Youkilis, Beltre and Marco Scutaro got Clay’s back, whipping out their bats for a trifecta of longballs.

Red Sox Record: (32-24)
Wildcard Watch: Sox now 4.5 games behind Rays and 2.5 back from Yanks
Saturday’s Matchup: Jon Lester (6-2, 2.97 ERA) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (3-5, 3.79 ERA)

Yay’s:
- Bucholz is proving more than his worth as a standout 25-year-old pitcher, getting 8 wins already this season, winning the last 9 straight road starts – second in the Sox organization only to Roger Clemens who had 12 straight road wins in ’87-’88.

The young pitcher that was nearly dealt over the past 2 off-seasons is now making an excellent All-Star bid with an 8-3 record, 49 strikeouts and a 2.39 ERA over his first 11 starts.

Nay’s:
- TALK guys TALK! It’s a basic thing I learned in high school ball, if you’re going to give the guy with the best opportunity of making the play a chance you’ve gotta communicate on the field.

My point? Jeremy Hermida and Adrian Beltre almost had a season-ending catastrophe collision going out for a blooper down the left-field line. Beltre ended up only slightly clipping Hermida on his sliding grab, but it could’ve been much worse.

After all that is the exact play where Jacoby Ellsbury slid his ribcage into Beltre’s knee in April. Ells still isn’t back on the field, suffering from the nagging injury. All the Sox need right now is for Beltre or Hermida to go down and leaving a gaping hole in their red hot lineup.

Sooooo TALK! Please, I beg of you, talk!

Sox take 2 of 3 vs. A’s

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

The Sox bats were red-hot in a series highlighted by another quality bounce-back performance by Dice-K and Boston taking 2 out of 3 against the A’s to kick off the month of June.

On Tuesday, John Lackey didn’t have his hottest start – giving up 4 runs through 5 innings. The Sox did rebut though, with a 3-run Adrian Beltre homer in the bottom of 5. A fielder’s choice Pedroia RBI in the 6th evened the game up before Victor Martinez created a lead with a 2-out RBI-double later in the inning.

Bill Hall, V-Mart and J.D. Drew added RBIs to the scoreboard before the game was over for a 9-4 Sox win. It should be highly noted that V-Mart came through big Tuesday with a 5-hit game, 4 of which were doubles. He may not be the best catcher, but man this guy can hit when he’s hot.

Wednesday’s game was a little different, a bit more of a contest. Luckily Dice-K was up to the challenge, collecting his 4th win (4-2, 5.49 ERA) in a 6-4 Boston victory.

Dice struggle a bit early giving up an RBI-double to Ryan Sweeney and a 2-run homer to Kurt Suzuki in the 1st, but he put up zeros for 6 innings after that. The Sox struck back with a 2-RBI Youkilis single in the 1st followed by a 2-run bomb from David Ortiz (12) in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead.

Pedroia widened the gap with an RBI-double in the 7th and Scutaro topped it off at 6 with an RBI-single in the 8th. Jon Papelbon (3.13 ERA) did give up a solo blast to Kevin Kouzmanoff in top of 9, but ultimately held on to secure the win and his 13th save of the season.

Thursday’s home series finale was less of a pitcher’s battle and more of a slugfest, with 6 players going yard in the 9-8 Oakland win. The Sox got their longball boost all from unexpected places – Hermida, Hall, and Scutaro.

Tim Wakefield dropped to 1-4 with a 6.08 ERA on a tough start for the veteran knuckler. Wake had a rough stretch with 2 outs in the 4th, giving up a 2-run homer to Suzuki followed by a 2-run double to Mark Ellis. The Sox were at a deficit playing catch-up for most of the game, making a push in the 7th and 8th innings off of Hall and Scutaro’s homers. Beltre also had a good day at the plate, starting off the Sox’s day at the plate with a 2-run single up the middle. This guy is on a tear as of late.


Yay’s:
- Adrian Beltre has started June just as hot as he ended May, proving to be a defensive dynamo and an absolute RBI machine for the Red Sox.

Nay’s:
- The sox had 18 hits in their loss Thursday but had a key stat – 11 baserunners stranded. You can’t win when you don’t score your runners. Another disappointing fact was that 2 of those stranded runners were gunned out at the plate attempting to score. Both players

- Ortiz came up to the plate with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of 8 and had a 2-2 fastball burned by him. Would’ve been a big hit spot for Papi to prove to his critics that he is officially back. I mean, I know he is, but still some haters out there need to see some undeniable evidence.

The grades are in: Sox get A- for May

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

W'sup teach?! The grades are in people, that's w'sup – and the Sox recouped after a lackluster D+ of an April to an impressive comeback A- for the month of May.

I'll get to individual and department grades later in my post, but for now here's some stats from the month that was May my argument to why you can never, ever count out the mighty Red Sox of Boston, Mass.

Sox completed May with an 18-11 record for the month and 29-23 overall – now 5-1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Rays. Yes, they're still in 4th in the division but the red-hot start of the Toronto Blue Jays is sure to cool off in June – as it always does.

Then it will be just the Rays, Yanks and Sox left to duke out the rest of the season for two postseason spots. Despite their recent slump to finish May, I still see the Rays taking the division this year – their youth and talent should ride on out well. If you think the Yankees will simply take the 2nd spot without a fight, you are sorely mislead.

Remember, the Sox were 9-0 against the Yankees to start the year in 2009 – then what happened? The Sox pitching rotation and lineup are just as talented as the Yankees championship team of last season, if not more, and when playing well

Adrian Beltre in May: A
- Beltre proved to be the Sox's most valuable off-season pickup in May, hitting 25 RBIs -- the 4th best in the majors for the month.

David Ortiz in May: B+
- David Ortiz had one of his best months in years in May, batting .363 with 10 homers and 27 RBIs.
- After hitting .143 with a homer in four RBIs in April
- 7 homers in last 15 games on an 8-game hitting streak
- Mike Cameron has been quoted saying "He looks dangerous" -- the threat Papi used to pose everytime he approached the plate.

J.D. Drew in May: B
- JD improved from a .181 average in April to an overall .270 after May
- He was also 8th in the majors in doubles for the month of May.

Bullpen in May: B-
- The Sox starters (other than Beckett) had a prolific month, but I can remember only one occasion where the pen blew a win for them -- and that was Papelbon's walk-off homerun to the Yankees' Marcus Thames in New York. Over all I say the pen looked strong and would give special nods to relievers Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Martinez, setup man Daniel Bard, and Paps (who has 12 saves through May).

Starting rotation: A-
- Clay Bucholz and Jon Lester looked ready to takeover the world in May. Lester is expected, but it appears Clay finally has the command to add to his filthy talent and that is a deadly combo. Then we had Dice-K throw a couple decent games -- 1 of which was a 1-hitter and a no-no through 8-2/3 innings.

Josh Beckett in May: F+
- Beck has been downright terrrrrible! He's been hit hard or shelled by the end of at least 80% of his starts. To add to his heaping pile that was the first 2 months of the season, he now is on the DL with no timetable set, experiencing lower back pains. Oh boy...sigh. Well let's hope he's well and ripping in August and there on because we'll need him.

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Armando Galarrage robbed of perfect game

Can you say robbed?!!! This is just ridiculous! The worst call I personally have ever seen in a MLB game! Wow! Feelin' for ya Galarraga, keep your head up bud cuz you just threw a perfect game!

Papi, Tek homer in Lester win

Ty Hampton
Sox Swagger

The Red Sox put a royal hurtin’ on Kansas City Sunday afternoon with an 8-1 win at the Fen to split the 4 game set with the Royals.

The Royals led briefly in the 2nd inning on a fielder’s choice RBI by Pena, but that didn’t last long. The Sox bats gave the dominant lefty Jon Lester more than enough buffer, rocking both starter Bruce Chen and reliever Brad Thompson to the tune of 8 runs. Ortiz blasted a 2-run home run with Jason Varitek going deep as well for 7th time in 2010. Mike Cameron had a big day at the plate, the best he’s had since his injury return, going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs.

Lester ran his record to 6-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.97, posting an impressive streak of only allowed 2earned runs or less for the 7th time in his past 8 attempts. This lefty is hot people, nobody better mess with Les. If ya plan to in June, might wanna bring your hard-hat because it’s surely gonna hurt.

Red Sox Record: (29-23)
Tuesday’s Matchup: John Lackey vs. Gio Gonzales