Three aces down, Red Sox are on a roll

It took a full month for the Boston Red Sox to get on track in 2011 but thankfully baseball seasons are way too long anyways.

For the third straight night they faced an ace last night in Dan Haren. Like Felix Hernandez and Jered Weaver before him, he was decent but he couldn't completely quiet Boston's offense in a 7-3 Red Sox (14-15) win at Fenway Park.

Jon Lester (4-1) showed that his early season struggles seem to be a thing of the past. The ace in Boston's rotation went seven innings, allowing six hits, one earned run with a walk and 11 strikeouts.

Haren (4-2) suffered his second loss to the Red Sox in less than two weeks. He went seven innings, allowing nine hits, four earned runs with eight strikeouts.

Boston's lineup produced double digit hits (12) for the second straight game. Adrian Gonzalez (2 RBIs), David Ortiz, Jed Lowrie, Marco Scutaro (2 RBIs) and Carl Crawford all had two hits in the win.

Mark Trumbo gave the Angels (16-14) their only lead of the game, with a solo homer in the top of the first.

Gonzalez knocked in Jacoby Ellsbury with an RBI single in the sixth and Lowrie put Boston ahead 2-1 with an RBI single later in the frame that scored Gonzalez.

Haren started to falter in the seventh as Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit an RBI double that drove in Crawford.

There's a reason the Red Sox are 15-1 (6-0 this season) in their last 16 games against the Angels since they find every conceivable way to beat them.

Gonzalez's solo homer in the eighth knocked Haren out of the game. Ortiz and Scutaro (two-run) broke it open with homers in the inning as Boston went ahead 7-1.

Jonathan Papelbon came on in a non-save situation and did what every closer has to do in such an event: shit the bed. Erick Aybar had an RBI double and Trumbo had a sacrifice fly.

On the plus side, Daniel Bard had a scoreless eighth on nine pitches.

It's raining now and supposed to rain tonight so we'll see if Josh Beckett vs. Ervin Santana takes place as scheduled.

Geez, the Red Sox straight up own the Angels

If the Boston Red Sox played in the American League West, they might set a record for divisional wins in a season. Not that anybody didn't know it already but that division is an absolute cake walk compared to the AL East.

The Red Sox (10-11) continued their victory tour of the West Coast with a 7-0 shutout of the Angels (12-10) yesterday afternoon. The four-game sweep of Los Angeles enabled Boston to continue its hot streak (five straight wins, eight of its last nine) while also posting back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2007.

John Lackey and Carl Crawford were the heroes in yesterday's lopsided triumph. Lackey (2-2) went eight scoreless innings, allowing six hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Crawford is still a puddle at the plate (he hit eighth on Saturday night) but he did crush his first home run of the season in the sixth, a two-run shot. He also had a single and scored another run so hopefully he can get going sometime soon.

Adrian Gonzalez is heating up too, he had three hits, two RBIs and a run. Even Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run) and Marco Scutaro (2 hits, 2 runs) had multiple hits in this laugher.

It started early as Boston got three runs in the first off Angels star Matt Palmer (1-1). Gonzalez's RBI double scored Ellsbury, David Ortiz knocked in Gonzalez with an RBI single and Kevin Youkilis scored on Mike Cameron's fielder's choice.

Dustin Pedroia's sacrifice fly in the fifth plated Scutaro. Lastly, Gonzalez's RBI single in the seventh scored Scutaro and made it 7-0 Red Sox.

The abysmal start is all but forgotten since Boston is only one game under .500 and 3.5 games out of first place. They have today off before beginning a three-game series in Baltimore who is currently struggling big time.

Josh Beckett brings you back from the edge of the Tobin Bridge

After Saturday's latest pathetic loss, the Boston Red Sox were in desperate need of a quality start from a starting pitcher.

Shockingly, it came from former ace Josh Beckett, who turned back the clock last night and was lights out in a 4-0 win over the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.

I don't think anyone in world expected Beckett (1-1) to deal like he did. It was incredible especially after a middling performance last week in Cleveland. He went eight innings, allowing only two hits with a walk and ten strikeouts.

Boston (2-7) won two out of three against New York (5-4) and fingers crossed, now they can put their miserable opening week behind them. This team is way too good to be as awful as they've been for the first nine games by and large.

CC Sabathia (0-1) was effective but couldn't get out of the sixth inning. The big lefty went 5.2 innings, giving up nine hits, one earned run, four walks and four strikeouts.

The Red Sox were a mind-numbing 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and they left 16 on base and yet, they won.

Dustin Pedroia led Boston with three hits while David Ortiz and Marco Scutaro had two hits.

Boston scored its first run in the third inning. It came by way of an infield single by Mike Cameron.

Scutaro had the most important hit, a two-run double in the seventh, which scored Ortiz and J.D. Drew.

Ortiz added an RBI double in the eighth for some valuable insurance.

At only 103 pitches, Beckett could have started the ninth but why push him in April? Jonathan Papelbon came on for the second time in the series and was great (two strikeouts, no hits or walks).

So yeah, who knows what to expect from Beckett next time out. At least we don't have quite bury the guy yet since he couldn't have done more in one outing to prove that he can still be Josh Beckett circa 2003 or 2007 when he wants to be.

Tampa Bay (1-8) comes to town for three games starting tonight. Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Jeremy Hellickson in game one. The Red Sox should take advantage of a team that's playing even worse than them and cannot score any runs with Evan Longoria out.

OK this is starting to get funny

At this point, you have to laugh. The Boston Red Sox are off to their worst start since 1945 and they seem to find a more ridiculous way to lose each day or night.

Yesterday afternoon, Jon Lester and Fausto Carmona had a classic pitcher's duel in the series finale at Progressive Field.

Cleveland (4-2) pushed across a run in the eighth inning as Asdrubal Cabrera put down a squeeze bunt which scored Adam Everett. That 1-0 lead turned out to be the only run that was necessary as the Indians held on for a 1-0 win and a series sweep of the Red Sox (0-6).

Lester (0-1) deserved a better fate in his second start of the season. He went seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out nine.

Carmona matched him. He also went seven innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out four.

Daniel Bard (0-2) took the loss after walking Everett, who stole second base then advanced to third on a sacrifice by Orlando Cabrera (small ball!).

This excruciating loss wouldn't be complete with a baserunning gaffe to end it.

David Ortiz walked with two outs against Indians closer Chris Perez and Darnell McDonald pinch ran for him. J.D. Drew hit a hot shot off Perez but McDonald took a big turn around second base and fell down. He couldn't recover in time and was thrown out at second on a heads up play. Haha, that's how it ended.

Perez earned his second save of the season with that big mistake.

Well things can only get better, right? The Red Sox come home for Opening Day at Fenway Park (your favorite theme park). All the frauds and big money bozos will be in the house so I wouldn't be surprised if those clueless idiots don't even really boo the team like they should.

John Lackey takes on Phil Hughes this afternoon. Look at it like this: if New York wins two of three this weekend, Boston will be 1-8. God forbid if the Yankees sweep, Boston will be 0-9. Oh my. Needless to say, it's long past the time to wake up and start playing.

Scutaro and Lackey to the rescue

These are strange days at Fenway Park and with the Boston Red Sox in general. The team claimed former star Johnny Damon off waivers from the Detroit Tigers yesterday but he has 48 hours to make his decision.

In the mean time, the Red Sox (72-54) won their third straight and moved a season-high 18 games over .500 with a 6-3 win at Fenway over the Seattle Mariners (49-76) last night.

John Lackey (12-7) submitted one of his best performances of the season, against Seattle once again. He almost no-hit them in July at Safeco Field. Last night in the cold and rain, Lackey went eight innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and a season-high 10 strikeouts.

Marco Scutaro continued his injury-plagued but fine season, driving in a career-best four RBIs.

The Mariners went up 1-0 in the third on an infield single by Chone Figgins (3 hits, stolen base) and an error by Jed Lowrie.

Scutaro's first two-run single put Boston up 2-1 in the fifth inning and then J.D. Drew (2 hits) made it 3-1 with an RBI single.

Doug Fister (4-9) held the Red Sox in check for the first few innings but then he unraveled thanks to his crappy stuff and even worse defense behind him.

He went 6.1 innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Ryan Langerhans dropped a pop fly in left that bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double.

Casey Kotchman tied it at 3-3 in the sixth.

Scutaro was money in the seventh with a two-run single and Victor Martinez pushed another run across with a sacrifice fly.

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a hit but struck out two in the ninth for his 31st save.

Josh Beckett takes on former Sox youngster David Pauley tonight as Boston tries to keep the good times rolling.

The Yankees lost last night but the Rays won so the Red Sox trail both teams by 5.5 games.

Red Sox do nothing meaningful at deadline but produce two straight walk-off wins

As expected, the Boston Red Sox did nothing substantial (sorry Ramon Ramirez, you bum) at the non-waiver trade deadline (Saturday) but that mundane news was tempered with the excitement of two straight walk-off wins over the Tigers on Saturday and Sunday.

I was lucky enough to be sitting on the Monster with some buddies from college on Saturday night as David Ortiz came through with a bases-loaded, three-run double. It's the first walk-off I've seen in person (as far as I can remember) so it was a cool moment.

Yesterday's didn't have quite the same panache since it came when Marco Scutaro (2 hits, steal) bunted and Tigers (52-52) reliever Robbie Weinhardt threw it away, allowing Darnell McDonald to score for the 4-3 Red Sox (60-45) win.

Truthfully, it shouldn't have come to that since Clay Buchholz (8 innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts) completely silenced Detroit until the ninth when a lucky bounce led to an infield hit and he walked the last batter he faced.

Jonathan Papelbon (4-4) was summoned and on the first pitch, Miguel Cabrera cranked a two-run double (that missed being a homer by a few feet) as Detroit cut it to 3-2. Then Papelbon blew his fifth game of the season when Jhonny Peralta tied it with a groundball up the middle.

Making the win even more impressive is that the Sox beat Tigers ace Justin Verlander (7 innings, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts).

Eric Patterson gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second with an RBI single and Adrian Beltre (2 hits) doubled the Sox advantage with an RBI single in the third. Rookie Ryan Kalish (who went 2-for-4 in his MLB debut on Saturday) added a sacrifice fly in the third for the surprising 3-0 lead.

The time is now for the Red Sox, they're still 6.5 games behind the Yankees and 5.5 in back of the Rays for the wild card. The good news is that the miserable Indians come to Fenway for four games beginning tonight. For any chance to make the playoffs, Boston has to pretty much at least split every series and when they play garbage like this, they need to win three or sweep them.

Tonight John Lackey takes on Fausto Carmona as Lackey tries to keep his streak of three straight great starts going down the stretch.

Scutaro's slam helps Red Sox sweep the Angels

It's time for everyone to jump back on the Boston Red Sox' bandwagon.

They're still seven games behind the Yankees and five behind the Rays for the wild card but at least now, it looks like August and September will be competitive as they went 6-4 on their West Coast trip and wrapped it up with a nice 7-3 win and a sweep of the Angels yesterday afternoon in Anaheim.

Josh Beckett (2-1) was solid in his second start back from the DL. Beckett went seven innings, allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

In a game that both Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon were promised a day off, Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings respectively.

Just before the series finale began, the Angels (52-52) found out starter Joel Pineiro was scratched with an oblique injury (which will keep him out 6-8 weeks). The Red Sox (58-44) caught a big break by facing five Angels relievers but for most of the contest, it didn't seem like they'd fully take advantage of that.

Adrian Beltre and Bill Hall hit solo homers in the second for the early 2-0 lead.

Bobby Wilson and Reggie Willits were both credited with RBI singles in the bottom of the second but they didn't deserve them since Boston fielders made mistakes on both plays. Jeremy Hermida, who is brutal in the field, hesitated on Wilson's liner to left and Hall lost Willits' pop-up in the sun.

Maicer Izturis hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to give Los Angeles a momentary 3-2 lead but Kevin Youkilis tied it up with a solo homer in the seventh.

Finally, Marco Scutaro (3 hits, 2 walks, career-high five times on base) came through with one of the biggest plays of the season: he hit a grand slam off Fernando Rodney with no outs in the top of the eighth.

Eric Patterson (3 hits, run) also had a good game hitting out of the ninth spot.

Boston comes home and gets a three-game set beginning tomorrow against the sinking Tigers.

Lackey finally earns some of his joke contract

One thing I never understand is why people get so wrapped up with hefty contracts in sports. Yes athletes make way too much but since we don't pay them, who cares?

As soon as the Red Sox signed John Lackey last winter, everyone save for maybe him and his trophy wife and agent, knew that Boston was overpaying him. Still, if you're a big market team with one of the highest payrolls in MLB, that's the way it goes.

Without question, Lackey had predictably been a flop in his first season until his last three starts. At the time when they need him most, Lackey (10-5) has put together three great outings in a row. For him, last night's was surely the most meaningful as he returned to Anaheim and helped the Sox (57-44) 4-2 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Lackey went 7.2 innings, allowing two runs (both earned) on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.

Making it even sweeter, he outdueled his former protege, Jered Weaver (9-7). The younger and more talented Weaver brother was in control for most of his night: seven innings, two runs (both earned) on two walks and eight strikeouts.

It looked likely to be another low-scoring loss for the Red Sox as the Angels took a 1-0 lead in the third on Bobby Abreu's RBI double.

Jed Lowrie (2 hits) had the play of the game as he put Boston ahead 2-1 in the seventh with a two-run double over Juan Rivera in left field.

Adrian Beltre made it 3-1 in the eighth with a crucial RBI double.

Abreu got Los Angeles back to 3-2 with a solo homer off Lackey but from there, Daniel Bard got the final two outs of the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth on nine pitches for his 24th save of the season.

Marco Scutaro (3 hits, 2 runs) scored in the ninth after an error by Howie Kendrick. Darnell McDonald (2 hits, walk, run) also had a fine night at the plate, especially considering he was a last-minute replacement for J.D. Drew, who had a strained hamstring.

Josh Beckett takes on Joel Pineiro this afternoon as the Sox try to sweep the Angels, improve to 7-0 against them this season and end this trip 6-4 (which is much better than you could have imagined a few days back).

Lackey nearly throws no-hitter, Sox almost suffer worst loss in years but end up winning in 13 innings

To nobody's surprise, John Lackey has largely been a disappointment for the Boston Red Sox so far this season.

Last night though, he was on and he nearly threw a no-hitter. Lackey went 7.2 innings before giving up a hit and left with a 6-1 lead after eight innings (2 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts). Game over right? Not so much with this car crash version of the Sox.

Boston (54-42) gave up five runs in the ninth to the awful Mariners (37-59) but somehow recovered to win 8-6 in 13 innings after Safeco Field thanks to Eric Patterson's two-run double.

Milton Bradley had walked, stolen second base, moved over on a grounder then scored in the second on a passed ball so Seattle had a 1-0 lead without a hit. It was crazy that they almost got no-hit after that.

Bill Hall gave Boston a 2-1 lead in the third with a two-run homer and David Ortiz (2 hits) drove in Marco Scutaro (2 hits, 2 RBIs) with an RBI single.

J.D. Drew added to the Red Sox tally with a two-run bomb in the sixth and Scutaro notched a solo shot in the seventh.

Manny Delcarmen completely melted down in the ninth against Seattle's pathetic lineup. Delcarmen gave up four runs (three earned), two hits and a walk; he didn't record an out.

Franklin Gutierrez cut it to 6-3 with a two-run homer and Casey Kotchman notched an RBI double. Jack Wilson grounded into a fielder's choice, allowing Bradley to score but then Hall threw away the relay to first and the tying run scored. With that, Jonathan Papelbon blew the save.

Hideki Okajima (3-2) pitched his best game of the year, getting two scoreless innings in the 11th and 12th, including wiggling out of a bases-loaded, one out jam in the 12th.

Ramon Ramirez pitched a clean 13th, with a strikeout to get his second save of the season.

So this game went from a revelation from Lackey, to the worst loss in years and then finally, an incredible win when it looked over.

Josh Beckett returns tonight and faces Jason Vargas, a quality lefty.

Sox miss out on chance to gain a game on Yankees and Rays

With the team in a tailspin lately, the Red Sox finally seemed to be receiving some good luck after their win in Oakland on Monday night not to mention Clay Buchholz (Wednesday) and Josh Beckett (Friday) are scheduled to return to the mound for the big club this week.

All those good things were overshadowed by a bitter loss last night, 5-4 to the A's in 10 innings at the Oakland Coliseum.

Boston had 12 hits to Oakland's (47-47) but that didn't matter when Kevin Kouzmanoff singled home Daric Barton off Michael Bowden for the winning run.

The Yankees got blown out by the Angels earlier in the night and the Rays ended up losing in extra innings to the Orioles, two gifts that the Red Sox (53-41) were not able to take advantage of.

In likely his last start for a while, Tim Wakefield (6 innings, 3 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts) pitched decently but couldn't hold onto a 4-0 lead.

Kevin Youkilis gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI double off Dallas Braden (4.2 innings, 10 hits, 4 runs, 1 earned, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts), Marco Scutaro (2 hits, 2 runs) scored on the play but David Ortiz was thrown out at home. The Sox looked about to run away with it in the second as they added three more runs.

Bill Hall had an RBI single, Scutaro drove him in with a double and he scored on Darnell McDonald's (2 hits) RBI double.

The A's got it all back in the third as two scored on Jack Cust's double, Kurt Suzuki scored on a passed ball and Kouzmanoff drove in Cust with a sacrifice fly.

Bowden inherited Ramon Ramirez's (0-3) mess, it wasn't his fault Boston lost. Ramirez walked two, gave up a hit and was charged with the winning run.

Andrew Bailey (1-3) threw two scoreless innings for the win as Oakland's bullpen was just a hair better than Boston's.

Buchholz faces Gio Gonzalez this afternoon in the series finale. The Red Sox need a good start from Buchholz and a win to give them some juice heading into Seattle.

Ride it 'til the wheels fall off

If you've been paying attention to the Red Sox lately, you had to see this coming. With an unfathomable amount of injuries to key players piling up each day, the Sox were getting by with backups and scrubs but right now, it seems like the wheels are beginning to fall off.

For the second night in a row, Boston (49-35) lost to Tampa (50-33) at Tropicana Field, this time it was 3-2. After losing their way a bit, the Rays seem to have regained their step, no surprise with all the talent they possess and the Yankees continue to chug along at the top of the AL East.

Rookie Felix Doubront (1-1) did enough in his second MLB start to garner a win or at least no decision for the Red Sox but instead he was saddled with the loss. He went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Rays starter Jeff Niemann improved to 7-2 with six innings of fine work: one run (unearned), four hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Jason Bartlett gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the third with a sacrifice fly that scored John Jaso.

Boston tied it up in the fourth with an RBI infield single by Daniel Nava (2 hits).

A run scored on Jaso's groundout in the fifth and then Carl Crawford had the game's biggest hit: a solo homer off Hideki Okajima in the eighth.

Boston scratched out a run in the ninth with an RBI triple by Eric Patterson which scored Bill Hall. However, with Kevin Youkilis pulled in the fourth inning with an ankle injury and David Ortiz getting intentionally walked, Niuman Romero ended the game with a harmless groundout.

Rafael Soriano converted his 23rd save despite allowing two walks.

Marco Scutaro had two hits, a walk and a stolen base in the loss.

Tim Wakefield takes on David Price tonight as the Red Sox try to avoid the sweep and tread water in the AL East.

Crippled Sox close out 2010 interleague play with 13-5 record

After beating Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum and doing everything but grab a win vs. Ubaldo Jimenez, the 2010 interleague season for the Boston Red Sox was a complete success as they wrapped up their domination over the NL with a 5-1 win over the Giants yesterday afternoon at AT&T Park.

As they usually do in baseball, the expected pitcher's duel between Lincecum and Jon Lester never panned out. We'll have to see if it's because of an injury or maybe just a severe case of the munchies but Lincecum (8-3) was off in his meager three innings of work. He gave up four earned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Conversely, Lester (9-3) put up a good case for why he just might be the best starting pitcher in baseball. He threw a complete game, giving up one earned run on five hits with a walk and nine strikeouts.

It's hard to believe how well the Sox are playing given their absurd rash of injuries: on top of Josh Becket and Jacoby Ellsbury missing most of the season, in San Francisco this weekend, Dustin Pedroia broke his foot (Friday), Clay Buchholz pulled his hamstring running the bases (Saturday) and yesterday Victor Martinez broke his thumb.

Pedroia is going to be out for at least a month you'd have to assume. That's a fatal blow for the Sox since he's the heart and soul of the team. Buchholz should be fine and who knows if Martinez will go on the DL or try to play through his injury.

In the top of the first, David Ortiz continued his resurgence with a solo homer (16th) into the water in right, the 53rd splashdown in AT&T Park history.

Aubrey Huff tied it up in the bottom of the first with an RBI groundout but that's all the offensively challenged Giants would get. With their pitching, imagine if they had any type of lineup?

With the bases loaded and one out in the second, Lester gave it a ride (would have been well gone at Fenway) but he had to settle for a long sacrifice fly. Marco Scutaro (2 hits) added an RBI single in the inning.

Bill Hall (2 hits) had an RBI single in the third and finally Adrian Beltre notched a solo homer (his 12th) in the ninth.

The Sox came home last night and gratefully had today off. They have two against the reeling Rays at Fenway and then some more AL East matchups (vs. Toronto and Baltimore) before the All-Star break in two weeks.

McCain is not happy: Diamondbacks lose their 12th straight road game

There is still one more day before people start paying attention to the Red Sox, or maybe a few more weeks if you count the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but they're playing well at the moment.

Boston (39-28) beat Arizona (26-40) 6-2 last night at Fenway, handing the Diamondbacks their franchise record 12th straight loss.

Jon Lester (8-2) won his eight consecutive start. Since losing his first two games of the season, he's 8-0 with a 2.01 ERA. He went seven innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia (2 runs, 2 hits, steal) has been heating up and he continued to swing the bat well, notching a two-run homer in the first which scored Marco Scutaro (2 hits).

Justin Upton (2 hits) tied it up with a two-run bomb of his own in the second inning but you knew it wouldn't hold with Rodrigo Lopez (2-6) on the mound for Arizona.

He went seven innings but gave up six earned runs on 10 hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

J.D. Drew had an RBI double in the third (scoring Pedroia) and the next batter, Adrian Beltre (2 hits), drove in David Ortiz with an infield single.

Finally, Kevin Youkilis crushed a two-run homer in the seventh off Lopez which scored Ortiz.

Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless eighth and Ramon Ramirez started the ninth with the 6-2 lead. He got two outs but after throwing only 10 of 19 pitches for strikes, he allowed a hit and walk which made Jonathan Papelbon come in for one out.

Paps got the out and his 15th save.

Boston goes for the sweep with John Lackey taking on ace Dan Haren, an hour earlier (6:10 start to accommodate the NBA Finals). Haren has a 7-4 record and 4.61 ERA so he hasn't been up to his usual level but he can always spin a gem.

Don't think, just throw Dice-K

Can we all agree that Daisuke Matsuzaka is the most unpredictable player in baseball, this side of Milton Bradley (who is a lunatic)?

After nearly no-hitting the Phillies two weeks ago, he walked eight against the Royals in his next start.

Last night began with another roller coaster first inning for Matsuzaka as he gave up three runs to the A's. However, he settled down enough to lead the Red Sox to a 6-4 win over Oakland at Fenway.

Ryan Sweeney had an RBI double and Kurt Suzuki blasted a two-run homer into the Monster seats before Dice-K decided to start pitching. From there, he went almost seven innings (6.2), giving up just those three earned runs on ten hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. He improved to 4.2 with an ERA of 5.49.

For the second straight night, Boston (31-23) rallied against Oakland (28-26). It also marked their fourth win in a row.

Kevin Youkilis drew the Sox closer with a two-run single in the bottom of the first off A's starter Ben Sheets (2-4).

David Ortiz continued to tear it up, cranking a two-run shot down the right field line and around Pesky's Pole to put Boston up 4-3 in the fifth.

Sheets was out after six innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits with a walk and a strikeout.

Dustin Pedroia added an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI double which scored Marco Scutaro (3 hits, 2 runs, RBI).

Scutaro did his part with an RBI single in the eighth which scored Bill Hall.

After four outs (14 of 16 pitches for strikes) by Daniel Bard, Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo homer to Kevin Kouzmanoff in the ninth but he recovered get his 13th save of the season.

The Sox look for the sweep this afternoon as Tim Wakefield takes the mound against young lefty Brett Anderson, who is sneaky good.

The Red Sox promise to make this summer slightly more memorable

While it's not exactly time for a rolling rally and a ring ceremony quite yet, I will admit that the Boston Red Sox are starting to play some baseball.

After a pathetic April, they wrapped up an 18-11 May with an 8-1 win over the Royals yesterday afternoon at Fenway.

Jon Lester (6-2) won his sixth straight start and David Ortiz continued his torrid stretch with his 10th home run of the month. It added up to only a split with Kansas City (21-30) but after losing the first two games, what can you do?

It shows how good Lester has become when he goes seven innings, allowing one run on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts and right away people say, well he didn't have his best stuff. Is it too early to start the Cy Young campaign? Not only is Lester the best left-handed pitcher in MLB, he might be the AL's best (Justin Verlander, C.C. Sabathia being his biggest competition).

And just as we were too quick to bury the Sox (29-23), we also shouldn't have been dancing on Ortiz's grave so fast. Back in his old No. 3 spot, he is crushing the ball. He had a sacrifice fly in the third to tie it and then a two-run bomb to center to put Boston up 4-1.

Mike Cameron (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 3 runs) and Marco Scutaro (3 hits, 2 RBIs) tacked on an RBI double and RBI single respectively in the sixth before Jason Varitek (2 hits, 2 runs) hit his seventh homer, a solo shot, in the eighth.

With the calendar turning to June tomorrow, Boston's schedule takes an easy turn with the AL West leading A's coming to town, followed by trips to Baltimore and Cleveland.

Nobody except pink hats and old people are really following the Sox yet, since the Celtics are in the NBA Finals, but once they're done, we might actually have a baseball team to devote way too much time to this season.

And when J.D. Drew gets hurt, cause you know he will, who's your defensive specialist, eh Hermida?

David Ortiz is officially done, but you already knew that. The Boston Red Sox look great against bad teams (except for the Orioles), but you also knew that.

The Sox (13-14) beat the Angels (12-16) last night at Fenway Park, 5-1 thanks to Jon Lester's great start and Jeremy Hermida's clutch three-run double.

Ortiz? Oh he just went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and he grounded into two double plays. The second was a rare 4-2-3 DP in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded, no outs and the score tied 1-1.

Luckily, Adrian Beltre kept the inning alive with a walk which set the stage for Hermida's Wall scraping double that Juan Rivera should have caught.

Lester (2-2) was a horse, throwing eight innings of one run ball, allowing five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 120 pitches and made manager Terry Francona look smart for keeping in their in the eighth when he ran into some trouble. Dustin Pedroia squelched that by getting a double play to end Lester's night and the inning.

Marco Scutaro continued to be a pleasant surprise at the top of the lineup with Jacoby Ellsbury out. He had three hits and scored the first run. He led off the bottom of the first with a double and eventually scored on Victor Martinez's groundout.

Erick Aybar tied it in the fourth when he scored on Kendry Morales' groundout.

Ervin Santana deserved better for Los Angeles. The up and down righty went seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.

John Lackey faces his old team for the first time tonight as the Red Sox try to make it three in a row over the uncharacteristically bad Angels. LA counters with former Sox pitcher Joel Pineiro.

John Lackey: more than just the husband of a trophy wife

With Jon Lester's usual slow start underway and Josh Beckett getting hammered by the Yankees on Opening Night, John Lackey has quietly come into Boston with two fine starts in a row.

He grabbed his first win in a Sox uniform yesterday with a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

Lackey (1-0) went 6.2 innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts. It wasn't a gem by any means but for a team and rotation that needs consistency all over the place, Lackey seems like a breath of fresh air.

Boston (4-4) got all the offense they needed from Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Jeremy Hermida (3 RBIs).

Pedroia's RBI double in the first scored Marco Scutaro (2 hits) then Scutaro put the Sox up 2-0 in the second with an RBI single which scored J.D. Drew.

Minnesota (6-3) tied it up with two runs in the third even though they didn't hit the ball hard. Orlando Hudson drove in Delmon Young with an RBI single and Joe Mauer's infield single tied it up as Denard Span crossed the plate.

Dustin Pedroia hit his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot in the fifth off Twins starter Kevin Slowey (1-1). That 3-2 lead was one Boston wouldn't give up. Jeremy Hermida added the biggest hit of the game, a three-run double in the eighth.

Michael Cuddyer hit a solo home run off Daniel Bard in the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon channeled last season in the ninth as he walked two batters but survived to get his third save of the season.

Welcome back baseball

Like always, the baseball offseason flew by and before we knew it, Opening Day (or Night) was here.

Last night, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees opened the 2010 MLB season with a thrilling 9-7 comeback win by the Sox at Fenway Park.

Since the Sox only made one great move, signing Jon Lackey, and didn't resign Jason Bay, I came into this season with too many questions surrounding their shaky lineup.

For one night at least, the new trio of shortstop Marco Scutaro (2 hits, run, RBI, walk), center fielder Mike Cameron (2 hits, run, walk) and third baseman Adrian Beltre (1 hit, 2 RBIs) proved that they know how to do more than just play defense. However, if I hear the words run prevention one more time, I might puke up a couple Fenway franks.

With Josh Beckett and C.C. Sabathia on the mound, a pitcher's duel appeared likely but in reality, how many times does that happen with these two teams?

Beckett signed a four-year extension today but he didn't look anything like a guy that deserved that last night as he lasted only 4.2 innings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits with three walks and a strikeout. He had no feel for his off-speed pitches, so the World Series champs just sat on his fastball and teed off.

Sabathia looked much better, cruising into the fifth inning with a 5-1 lead and sixth up 5-2 but he couldn't hold it. He went 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Neither ace earned a decision.

In the second inning, Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson opened the scoring with back-to-back homers in the second off Beckett. Posada's was a rocket off Pesky's Pole in right and Granderson crushed one to deep right center.

In the bottom of the second, after a double by Kevin Youkilis (3 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), who moved to third on a groundout by David Ortiz (get used to that), Beltre drove in Youk with a deep sacrifice fly to center (that Granderson made a nice leaping catch on). It was 2-1 Yankees (0-1).

New York scored three more in the fourth as Brett Gardner (2 hits) knocked in Robinson Cano with an RBI single. Derek Jeter singled in Nick Swisher then the Bombers successfully pulled off a double steal with Gardner stealing home and Jeter stealing second, 5-1 Yanks.

Scutaro's RBI single in the fifth cut it to 5-2 Yankees and Youk's two-run triple in the sixth (helped out by Swisher's terrible route to the ball) made it a one-run game (5-4 New York). Beltre tied it with an RBI single later in the inning that scored Youk.

After Beckett departed, Scott Schoeneweis pitched a scoreless inning but Ramon Ramirez gave up two runs to the Yankees in the seventh. Mark Teixeira scored on a Robinson Cano groundout and Posada's RBI single made it 7-5.

Surprisingly, the Red Sox (1-0) offense kept rallying and Dustin Pedroia tied it with a two-run bomb over the Monster in the seventh off Chan Ho Park. Youk scored later in the seventh on a passed ball and Boston added an insurance run in the eighth with a Pedroia single scoring Cameron.

Boston's top three relievers all did their jobs as Hideki Okajima pitched a scoreless seventh (with a hit and a walk), Daniel Bard, the closer in waiting, pitched a scoreless eighth (with a walk) and Jonathan Papelbon looked nothing like the closer that imploded against the Angels in game 3 of the playoffs last October, getting three outs for his first save of the 2010 season.

With the usual pomp and circumstance of Opening Day (for the first time ever starting at night) and then multiplied times ten since it was the Yankees and a nationally-televised ESPN Sunday Night game, it was nice to see the Sox remember there was baseball to be played.

The teams have today off before getting back at it tomorrow night with A.J. Burnett vs. Jon Lester. The summer temperatures will stick around for a few more days but hopefully the D-list celebs and frauds will be less of a presence tomorrow night at Fenway.