It's about time: J.D. Drew hits his first walk-off hit for the Red Sox (in the 14th inning)

It's only fitting that a game that goes 14 innings (the longest Boston Red Sox game of the season), complete with a four-run lead blown in the ninth and having two players ejected, that J.D. Drew delivered the first walk-off hit of his Red Sox career.

Things were going well for Boston (32-26) as they went into the bottom of the ninth up 7-3 yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park on the Oakland A's (27-32).

Then closer Jonathan Papelbon started giving up hits in a non-save situation like he always does and before you knew it, he was tossed along with catcher Jason Varitek for arguing balls and strikes.

Oakland tied it up at 7 in the ninth and both teams scored a run in the 11th before Drew (2 hits, 2 RBIs) drove in Carl Crawford (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) in the 14th for the winning run.

Alfredo Aceves (3-1) was the unsung hero and turned out to be the winner as he went the last four innings for the Red Sox. He allowed one earned run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

It's hard to remember since this game went five hours and 17 minutes but this started out as a tasty pitching matchup between A's stud Trevor Cahill and Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. As usual, that's not how the game unfolded.

Cahill went seven innings but he allowed five earned runs on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Beckett went six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Things got off to a good start for Boston as Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer (his 11th of the season) in the first. Drew added an RBI single, driving in Crawford in the fifth, for a 2-0 lead.

Josh Willingham tied it up in the sixth with a two-run single in the sixth. The Red Sox responded with three runs. Dustin Pedroia had an RBI single, Kevin Youkilis had an RBI double and Crawford had an RBI single in the frame.

Cliff Pennington drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh but Crawford's two-run double in the eighth made it 7-3 good guys.

You knew something was up in the ninth when Pedroia let a routine grounder go through his legs, scoring a run. Pennington had an RBI double and Conor Jackson tied it with an RBI single as Papelbon melted down literally and figuratively (the first ejection of his career).

Ryan Sweeney put Oakland ahead with a sacrifice fly in the 11th but Jacoby Ellsbury (4 hits, 2 steals) tied it with an RBI double which knocked in Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Boston goes for the sweep today but I wouldn't bet on them since John Lackey returns from the DL and his rehab stint in the minors. He faces Oakland lefty Brett Anderson, who is good and typically gives the Red Sox trouble.

Red Sox finally top the world beating Indians

After four tries in 2011, the Boston Red Sox (26-22) finally beat the Cleveland Indians (30-16) 4-2 last night at Progressive Field.

Josh Beckett (4-1) picked up his first regular season win in Cleveland (who could ever forget his legendary start there in the 2007 playoffs?) after 6.2 innings. He allowed five hits, one earned run with three walks and six strikeouts.

Fausto Carmona (3-5) went eight innings for the Indians but he allowed five hits, four earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts.

The unlikeliest of heroes stepped up at the plate for Boston as Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer, his first in almost a year (May 30, 2010).

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo homer to Travis Buck in the ninth but recovered to get his ninth save of the season.

Some Amish guy named Ezequiel Carrera gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second which scored Buck.

Jed Lowrie tied it up in the third with a sacrifice fly which drove in Carl Crawford. The Red Sox went ahead for good later in the frame on Adrian Gonzalez's RBI double (scoring Jacoby Ellsbury).

Varitek's two-run bomb in the seventh plated David Ortiz.

Jon Lester takes on Mitch Talbot this afternoon in the series finale.

Sorry Justin Verlander, even you cannot stop the Boston Red Sox right now

Another game, another win for the Boston Red Sox. Carl Crawford continues to toil at the bottom of the lineup but he still delivered his third walkoff hit in May as Boston beat Detroit 4-3 last night at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (23-20) have won a season-high six in a row thanks to contributions from everybody: great starting pitching, timely hitting, excellent relief and plain old luck.

The Tigers (22-21) came into Boston hot but left after a two-game sweep with interleague play starting for everybody this weekend.

A pitcher's duel between Detroit ace Justin Verlander and Red Sox stud Josh Beckett was overshadowed by Crawford's heroics. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Crawford (2 hits) crushed a single over the head of Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson which plated pinch runner Darnell McDonald. Detroit porn star and reliever Al Alburquerque (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Neither starter got a decision as Verlander went eight innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs with nine strikeouts. Beckett departed after six innings (with a stiff neck, man baseball players are warriors), five hits, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts.

Andy Dirks (what is with these names?) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second.

J.D. Drew tied it up in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Things looked to be turning in Boston's favor as Drew hit a solo homer in the fourth and David Ortiz (3 hits, quietly having a very solid season) followed with a solo shot of his own in the seventh.

Matt Albers got a scoreless seventh (1 hit, 2 strikeouts) but Detroit hit a pair of solo homers off Daniel Bard in the eighth. Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera did the honors.

No worries though, the Red Sox are finding every possible way to win right now and this time, it didn't even take extra innings. Just another ho hum walkoff.

The Chicago Cubs come to Fenway for a three-game series which kicks off tonight. It's the first time since the 1918 World Series (remember that classic?) that the Cubbies have been to Boston. I can feel the collective boners from all the baseball nerds across the world. It promises to be a memorable weekend in Boston.

Red Sox are finally getting used to this winning thing

Rain, mist or fog can't stop the Boston Red Sox right now as they won their fifth straight game last night, 1-0 against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.

Clay Buchholz got a no-decision but he had his fourth straight superb start for Boston (22-20). He went seven scoreless innings with a season-high 127 pitches. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.

Phil Coke was the unlikely Detroit (22-20) pitcher that matched Buchholz pitch for pitch. He also went seven scoreless innings, gave up three hits, one walk and struck out four.

It was a weird night with terrible weather, including a 26-minute rain dealy in the eighth inning, so it makes perfect sense that Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia came up with the biggest hit of the game.

After Carl Crawford walked in the eighth, Saltalamacchia delivered with an RBI double which plated the winning run.

Daniel Bard (1-3) picked up his first win of 2011 with a 1-2-3 eighth, including a strikeout.

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a leadoff double to former Red Sox Victor Martinez to start the ninth but settled down to get the last three outs (including two strikeouts) for his eighth save of the season.

Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett is the exquisite pitching matchup tonight in the series finale. It's too bad Bruins-Lightning Game 3 is tonight as well (starting at 8 p.m.) since this could be one of the best games of the year.

They did it! Red Sox reach .500 mark!

After 40 games in the 2011 season, the Boston Red Sox finally reached the .500 mark with a 7-5 win last night at Yankee Stadium.

It couldn't have come in much better fashion as it enabled the Red Sox (20-20) to not only sweep the three-game series against the Yankees (20-18) but send New York into a tailspin as they've lost their last five games in a row and nine of their last 12.

Jon Lester (5-1) battled through a subpar outing and still managed to give Boston some innings. Are you paying attention John Lackey? Lester went six innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs, four walks with seven strikeouts.

Freddy Garcia (2-3) couldn't match Lester even on a very off-night for one of MLB's best. In 5.1 innings, he allowed six hits, five runs (four earned), two walks and four strikeouts.

The Yankees got out to a 4-1 lead but it wasn't enough to stem the tide of a lost weekend in the Bronx for the Bombers.

Mark Teixeira (2 hits) had an RBI single in the first which drove in Derek Jeter for a 1-0 Yankees lead.

Jed Lowrie tied it in the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Andruw Jones hit a solo homer in the second and Curtis Granderson blasted a three-run bomb off Lester in the same frame.

Yankee Stadium continued to be a glorified Little League park (and to think people make fun of Fenway) as Youk tied it in the third with a three-run bomb of his own.

David Ortiz (3 hits) put Boston ahead with a solo shot in the fifth.

Alex Rodriguez made a fielding error on about the easiest play imaginable in the seventh, allowing Youk to score and put the Red Sox up 6-4.

A-Rod atoned for his mistake with an RBI double in the seventh off former Yanks reliever Alfredo Aceves but Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) gave Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon some breathing room with a solo homer in the eighth off the ghost of Joba Chamberlain.

Bard survived two walks to get four outs in the seventh and eighth while Papelbon recorded a 1-2-3 ninth (with a strikeout) for his seventh save of the season.

The Red Sox return home for a seven-game homestand (Orioles, Tigers and Cubs!) in rainy Boston. With only 3.5 games seperating first-place Tampa Bay and last-place Baltimore, it's time to forget about Boston's terrible start. It's a thing of the past and they still have 122 (haha) regular season games left.

They begin with two against Baltimore starting tonight with Daisuke Matsuzaka taking on Chris Tillman. With rain forecasted and the usual Dice-K roller coaster, I would say give your tickets away if you have them and drink heavily or use drugs if you plan on watching this one on TV.

Beating the Yankees cures all

After a slow start to his 2011 season, Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz has settled in during May. He's 3-0 so far this month and shows signs that last season wasn't a fluke and likewise he won't be suffering much of a sophomore slump.

Boston (18-20) won 5-4 last night at Yankee Stadium behind another strong outing from Buchholz (4-3), a nice start to an important series against the Yankees.

He went seven innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, one walk and seven strikeouts.

After his shady stem cell surgery, Yankees (20-16) pitcher Bartolo Colon (2-2) is pitching like it's 2005. He went six innings, allowing five hits, three runs (two earned), three walks and four strikeouts.

I for one am not surprised at all that he's throwing in the upper 90s again. Makes total sense really, haha!

The Red Sox got out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a solo homer by Adrian Gonzalez (eighth of the season) and a ground out by Carl Crawford, which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Russell Martin, that noted Boston killer, tied it with a two-run bomb in the fifth (his seventh of the season). Once again, I'll note that we could have had him for peanuts this season.

Gonzalez put the Red Sox back ahead with a sacrifice fly in the seventh and Youkilis followed with a two-run blast (his sixth of the season) off his nemesis Joba Chamberlain.

Daniel Bard came in for the eighth and he was erratic. Curtis Granderson scored on his wild pitch but he survived by only giving up the one run.

Jonathan Papelbon entered in the ninth and also gave up a run, on an RBI single by Granderson (which scored Jeter) but he did enough for his sixth save of the season.

Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits, a run and stolen base in the win.

Josh Beckett and the Red Sox will try to build some momentum as he takes on CC Sabathia tonight in the Bronx. Beautiful scheduling there by MLB, three straight night games. Don't ask me why today isn't an afternoon game, especially with the Bruins-Lightning series starting tonight at 8 p.m. Just Bud being Bud.

Carl Crawford plays for the Red Sox?

Don't ask me what happened in the month of April, his first with the Boston Red Sox, but Carl Crawford hopefully turned the page yesterday on May 1 as he delivered a 3-2 walkoff win over the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park.

Crawford's (2 hits) RBI single in the bottom of the ninth ensured that the Red Sox (12-15) wouldn't be swept by the Mariners (13-16). Bigger picture, maybe it'll spark some life in the former All-Star and stud with the Rays who is currently hitting .168 and batting eighth for Boston.

On a personal level, it was my first Red Sox game of the 2011 season and I'd like to note that makes two games in a row that I've seen a walkoff win (last July 31 as well) for the home team after not seeing one previously in my life. Baseball!

It was truly bizarro day as for almost six innings, Tim Wakefield was slightly better than 2010 Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez. Thankfully, Bobby Jenks came on for Wakefield in the sixth and cost him a win by coughing up a 2-0 lead by giving up a hit and three walks.

Hernandez went seven innings, allowing six hits, two earned runs, one walk and 10 strikeouts. He didn't factor into the decision despite throwing 111 pitches and getting into a groove late in his outing. More so than almost anyone in baseball, you have to feel bad for Hernandez (to a certain extent) since he's temporarily stuck on a team with a pathetic offense and just an awful 25-man roster.

Called into duty when Clay Buchholz contracted a virus, Wakefield made his first spot start of the season and it was a real good one. He went 5.2 innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, one walk and three strikeouts.

David Ortiz gave Boston a 2-0 lead with an RBI double off the Monster in the bottom of the third. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) scored on the play.

Seattle tied it up in the top of the sixth as Jenks walked Jack Cust and then Luis Rodriguez with the bases loaded.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Jed Lowrie hit a routine fly ball to right that Ichiro Suzuki lost in the sun. The baseball hit him and Lowrie was able to advance to third on that gift. Marco Scutaro grounded out on the next pitch for the second out but Crawford finally came through with the big hit (which I called, pats self on back).

The unsung heroes for the Red Sox yesterday were Matt Albers and Jonathan Papelbon. Albers pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth with one strikeout. Papelbon (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth with a strikeout in only seven pitches.

The Los Angeles Angels come to Fenway with four games this week, starting tonight as Buchholz pitches against Jered Weaver (who has an ERA of 0.99 but also had his start moved back due to illness). Who's medicine worked better? The world will found out tonight.

Lestee outduels Haren, Red Sox hang on

Don't look now but the Boston Red Sox have won six out of their last seven and are inching closer to the .500 mark.

The Red Sox (8-11) won their third straight West Coast road game, 4-3 last night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Jon Lester (2-1) gave Boston six solid innings (4 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts) before a high pitch count (111 pitches) forced him to depart. He left with the Red Sox up 4-0 and they hung on as their bullpen had to cobble together innings without ace reliever Daniel Bard (who had worked a ton lately).

Dan Haren (4-1) suffered his first loss of the 2011 season for the Angels (12-8). Haren also went six innings but he allowed five hits, four runs (two earned), three walks and six strikeouts.

Boston built a 4-0 lead based on some luck. Back in his rightful leadoff spot for a night, Jacoby Ellsbury delivered with an RBI single in the third which scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

The gift was in the fourth as Angels rookie center fielder Peter Bourjos dropped a fly ball by Carl Crawford. Jed Lowrie and J.D. Drew (2 hits) scored on the pivotal play.

Finally, Drew drove in Lowrie in the sixth with an RBI single.

Los Angeles got on the scoreboard in the seventh as Jeff Mathis hit an RBI single off Red Sox reliever Matt Albers, scoring Erick Aybar.

Bobby Abreu added an RBI single (scoring Howie Kendrick) in the eighth off Bobby Jenks and then he scored on Saltalamacchia's passed ball.

However, Papelbon was able to get his fifth save thanks to a very efficient night (11 of 12 pitches for strikes) that included a hit and a strikeout.

Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Ervin Santana tonight in game three of this series.

Red Sox win in first extra innings game of the 2011 season

On a night when the Bruins worked overtime in an incredible win over the Canadiens, it was only fitting that the Red Sox went to extra innings for the first time in 2011.

Sure the 4-2 win in 11 innings against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim didn't mean much relative to the instant classic playoff hockey game but it was a start.

Josh Beckett was superb once again but he got a no decision for his troubles. Beckett had a no-hitter going until the sixth inning and ended up lasting eight innings. He allowed three hits, two earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts.

Boston (7-11) was able to win its second straight road game and fifth game out of its last five thanks to the biggest hit so far in Adrian Gonzalez's Red Sox career.

Gonzalez (2 hits) had an RBI double which put Boston up 3-2 in the 11th and scored J.D. Drew. Jed Lowrie added some insurance with a sacrifice fly that scored Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, 2 walks, stolen base).

Beckett cruised until Torii Hunter crushed a two-run homer in the seventh, tying it at 2. Jacoby Ellsbury gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the sixth with a broken-bat, two -run single which scored David Ortiz and Lowrie.

In only his third career MLB start, Angels (12-7) rookie Tyler Chatwood acquitted himself well. He went six innings, allowing six hits, two earned runs, five walks and three strikeouts.

Boston's bullpen was flawless and lined up exactly like Terry Francona wanted, despite the extra frames. With 125 pitches, Beckett got the team through the eighth then Daniel Bard (ninth), Bobby Jenks (1-1, tenth) and Jonathan Papelbon (fourth save, eleventh) combined to allow only one hit with no walks and two strikeouts.

Tonight figures to be a nice pitcher's duel as Jon Lester takes on red-hot Dan Haren (4-0).

Red Sox decide to finally win a road game in 2011

It doesn't get any uglier than the 0-6 and then 2-10 starts for the 2011 Boston Red Sox.

However, going 0-7 in their first seven road games was similarly unforgivable. Boston (6-11) finally notched a road win yesterday afternoon, 5-3 against the A's (9-9) at Oakland Coliseum.

Clay Buchholz (1-2) picked up his first win of the season too after his first two starts were nothing short of disasters. He wasn't great yesterday but he got the job done. He went 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, one earned run, four walks and two strikeouts.

Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez (2-1) came in on the opposite end of the spectrum after being basically unhittable in his first two starts. The Red Sox got to him though somehow as he went six innings, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts.

Boston's offense righted itself with three home runs: by Kevin Youkilis, Jed Lowrie and J.D. Drew.

The real star of the game was reliever Daniel Bard who inherited a bases loaded situation in the sixth with one out and the Red Sox clinging to a 4-1 lead. He got out of that unscathed and also pitched a scoreless seventh. That made up for Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon who each allowed an earned run. Papelbon settled down and recorded the last two outs in the ninth with runners on first and third.

Coco Crisp gave Oakland an early (and I mean early 1-0 lead) as he homered on Buchholz's first pitch of the game.

Carl Crawford answered with an RBI single in the top of the second which tied it at 1. Youkilis' solo shot in the fourth, Lowrie's two-run bomb in the sixth and Drew's solo homer in the seventh gave Boston some breathing room.

They were able to withstand Crisp's RBI single in the eighth and Landon Powell's RBI single in the ninth.

From here, Boston travels to Anaheim with four games scheduled against the Angels. Josh Beckett faces rookie Tyler Chatwood tonight in the series opener.

A new and improved Jed Lowrie

When you get off to a 2-10 start, tying the worst start in franchise history, you will take any spark you can get.

Jed Lowrie stepped to the forefront yesterday for the Red Sox (3-10) as he led off and continued his run as Boston's only hot hitter in a 4-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays (7-7) at Fenway Park.

After an early career littered with crazy injuries and sicknesses (mono?), Lowrie has earned his playing time and deserves to play every day at shortstop over the useless, worn out Marco Scutaro.

Yesterday, Lowrie had three hits (including a two-run homer), two RBIs and two runs.

Coupled with another fine start from Josh Beckett (2-1) and that was enough to get the win. Beckett went seven innings, allowing three hits, one earned run with two walks and nine strikeouts.

On a freezing cold afternoon at Fenway (game-time temperature 39 degrees), Toronto starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-2) struggled with his control. He could only go three innings, allowing seven hits, four earned runs with five walks and three strikeouts.

Beckett's work allowed Terry Francona to line up his bullpen in the best possible fashion with Daniel Bard pitching a scoreless eighth (1 hit, 1 strikeout) and Jonathan Papelbon (1 hit, 1 strikeout) wrapping it up for his second save of the season.

Adrian Gonzalez gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single which drove in Lowrie. Kevin Youkilis followed that with an RBI double which plated Gonzalez.

Travis Snider cut it to 2-1 in the top of the second with an RBI double for the Blue Jays which scored Aaron Hill.

Lowrie hit his two-run homer in the bottom of the second, just over the Monster. Jacoby Ellsbury scored ahead of him.

The Red Sox look to start their first win streak of 2011 today as Jon Lester takes on Jesse Litsch.

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.

Extra, Extra: Red Sox Win!

It only took a week and seven tries but the Boston Red Sox finally won a game yesterday afternoon.

They beat the Yankees 9-6 at Fenway Park at their home opener despite John Lackey's best efforts to sabotage the game.

As is the custom on Opening Day at Fenway, nobody got booed on the Red Sox (1-6) even the players that deserved it like Lackey, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Marco Scutaro, J.D. Drew, etc.

Nope, the day is all about the C-list celebs and Boston's elite rubbing elbows with each other while enjoying Fenway's newest garbage food (sushi).

Lackey (1-0) went five innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Sadly, that pathetic display earned him a win on this strange day.

How bad was Yankees (4-3) starter Phil Hughes? Well in just two innings, he allowed six earned runs on seven hits with two walks. New York's prized young pitcher is clearly hurt or something since he has no velocity right now and he made Lackey look like a quality MLB pitcher (a nearly impossible task).

As expected, it was a slugfest. The Red Sox had 12 hits and the Yankees had eight.

Dustin Pedroia led Boston with three hits and three RBIs, J.D. Drew had two hits and two RBIs while Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz and Saltalamacchia each added two hits.

The Red Sox bullpen stepped up with four scoreless innings. Alfredo Aceves was followed by Bobby Jenks, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon (they all threw scoreless innings). Papelbon was the most impressive in his first save opportunity of the season. He struck out two, didn't allow a hit or walk in an economical 11 pitches.

Brett Gardner led New York with two hits, two runs and two walks while Robinson Cano had two hits and two RBIs.

Cano gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run double.

Pedroia answered with a solo homer just over the Monster in the bottom of the first (second straight year he's homered on Opening Day).

Gardner's RBI double in the second made it 3-1 New York.

The Red Sox offense finally exploded for a big inning, five in the second inning. Marco Scutaro's fielder's choice cut it to 3-2. Pedroia put Boston up 4-3 with a two-run single, Gonzalez and Ortiz followed with RBI singles.

Lackey is nothing if not giving and he gave up a run in the third (Nick Swisher groundout), fourth (Derek Jeter RBI single) and fifth (A-Rod homer) to tie it up. Thanks you Muppet-faced bum.

Two of Boston's biggest liabilities came through with the two biggest hits. Saltalamacchia had an RBI double in the fifth and Drew delivered a two-run single in the seventh.

Clay Buchholz opposes Ivan Nova this afternoon in a matchup that obviously favors the Red Sox. Hopefully they can take advantage and rack up another win.

Goodnight Red Sox, see you next spring

Going away on vacation for a week to the Cape allowed me to fully withdraw from the 2010 Boston Red Sox (even though I still paid attention to their games) and admit that this season is over, on to the next one (with apologies to Swiss Beatz).

I faithfully kept up with this ill-fated team from the beginning but from the start (even before all the injuries), you had the feeling that this edition couldn't go anywhere based on their shortcomings and the fact that they play with two of the best teams in baseball in their division (New York and Tampa Bay).

Most will remember this Red Sox season for the injuries but mostly it was about the failure of GM Theo Epstein and the owners to spend money on the right players or make the right moves befitting of such a big market, high spending team.

Their bullpen was a joke all season and that never really changed. They threw money at John Lackey and Mike Cameron and predictably both have been busts based on performance and getting injured respectively.

In a season full of bad losses, yesterday might have taken the cake. The Red Sox (76-51) took a 5-3 lead into the ninth and it looked like they might avoid the sweep at Fenway Park by the White Sox (76-60).

Not so fast my friend. After entering in the eighth, Jonathan Papelbon blew his seventh save of the year and threw a career-high (out of the bullpen) 48 pitches as Chicago won 7-5.

Josh Beckett (6.1 innings, 3 runs, 1 earned, 9 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts) was better than Mark Buehrle (7 innings, 4 earned runs, 10 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts) but Chicago's superior bullpen was the difference. Other than the fact that they're in the inferior AL Central, the White Sox are still alive thanks to a solid bullpen, Boston's biggest flaw.

Alexi Ramirez put Chicago up 1-0 in the second with an RBI single. David Ortiz made it 2-1 in the third with a two-run double.

In the seventh, two Chicago runners scored on Daniel Bard's throwing error. That appeared meaningless in the bottom of the seventh when Victor Martinez blasted a two-run homer over the Monster. Bill Hall added an RBI groundout in the eighth.

However, Carlos Quentin's (3 hits, 2 RBIs) two-out, two-strike bloop double cut it to 5-4 in the ninth and Ramon Castro's RBI single tied it at five. After Papelbon was pulled, PawSox bum Robert Manuel came on and walked two White Sox with the bases loaded. Thanks for playing, season's over.

Darnell McDonald and Adrian Beltre both had three hits in the loss. They've been two of the only brightspots this whole season.

Telling ourselves that the Red Sox had any chance to make the playoffs the last few weeks (months really) has been avoiding the obvious. With college football underway and the NFL kicking off for real on Thursday, now is a fitting time to bid adieu to the Red Sox.

Sure I'll still follow them for this last pitiful month but barring a crazy win-streak or choke job by the Yankees or Rays (both unlikely), the Red Sox will be done in less than a month. It's the first time since 2006 that they'll miss the playoffs.

How have Ichiro and Felix Hernandez not demanded a trade out of Seattle?

Felix Hernandez and Ichiro Suzuki are two of the best players in Major League Baseball and yet they will continue to toil in obscurity until they get out of rainy Seattle.

True to form, the Red Sox (73-55) had a nice opportunity to build some momentum yesterday and they did that, well kind of but not really.

They beat the Mariners (50-77) 5-3 in game 1 of a day-night doubleheader before losing to King Felix (10-10) 4-2 in the nightcap.

The Rays got blown out by the Angels and the Yankees lost once again to the Blue Jays, but after one long day at Fenway, Boston was still 5.5 games back in the AL East and wild card.

Game 1 was a sort of Josh Beckett (4-3) mirage: he pitched great (albeit against a pathetic lineup) for six innings then nearly coughed up a 4-0 lead.

The Red Sox were up 4-0 thanks to an infield single by Adrian Beltre in the sixth, Mike Lowell's sacrifice fly and Daniel Nava's two-run single off former Sox scrub David Pauley.

Russell Branyan hit a solo homer off Beckett in the seventh and then former Sox first baseman Casey Kotchman cranked a two-run homer.

Bye Josh. He went 6.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.

Daniel Bard pitched 1.2 scoreless innings and Jonathan Papelbon had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 32nd save.

In the nightcap, Boston waved the white flag before the game even began: subbing Tim Wakefield for Jon Lester, who will pitch the opener at the Rays tomorrow night.

Wakefield (3-10) pitched about as well as could be expected in a no-win situation: 5.2 innings, four runs (three earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts.

Hernandez lowered his ERA to an absurd 2.47 (second in the AL to Clay Buchholz) with 7.1 innings of ace stuff: two runs (one earned) on four hits with a walk and nine strikeouts.

Beltre and Terry Francona were both tossed in the third thanks to a misunderstanding by a rookie umpire, perfect. He thought Beltre was talking trash to him when in fact, he was gabbing with Felix, his former teammate. It's been that kind of season.

Ichiro scored in the first on Branyan's ground out. Jose Lopez drove in two in the third inning with a single.

Ryan Kalish scored on a wild pitch in the third but Matt Tuiasosopo (3 hits) had an RBI double in the sixth.

J.D. Drew closed out the scoring with a solo homer to center in the sixth.

Brandon League recorded the last five outs for the save.

With three in Tampa Bay this weekend: Lester vs. Price, Buchholz vs. Garza and Shields vs. Lackey, the Red Sox need to win at least two games to prolong this agony. If they can somehow sweep the Rays, this will get very interesting but don't count on it.

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 improve to 9-0 against hapless Angels

Other than the playoffs last season, it's safe to say that the Boston Red Sox own the Los Angeles Angels (or whatever you want to call him).

John Lackey (11-7) tried his hardest to lose to his former team: seven innings, five earned runs on ten hits, five strikeouts but he was overshadowed by Scott Kazmir, who got a no-decision.

Do you remember how good Kazmir was with the Devil Rays (when they weren't just the Rays)? He's my age but he's already washed up, pretty sad. He went five innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts. It's obvious why Tampa Bay dumped him last season, they could see he didn't have anything left.

This was a back and forth game with both offenses running wild on bad pitching. Adrian Beltre gave Boston (69-52) a 1-0 in the first inning with an RBI single.

Mike Napoli tied it up with a solo homer in the third and Howie Kendrick put Los Angeles (60-61) up 2-1 in the fourth with an RBI single.

Bill Hall made it 2-2 with a solo homer in the fourth before Alberto Callaspo crushed a three-run bomb in the fifth.

No problem though as the Angels and their B-squad of relievers couldn't hold the lead. Beltre cut it to 5-4 with a two-run homer in the fifth before Boston scored two runs in the seventh without getting a hit.

Victor Martinez (3 hits) scored on a wild pitch and then Daniel Nava drove in a run by getting hit by a pitch.

The Sox added an insurance run in the eighth when V-Mart hit an RBI single.

Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the ninth, probably his best outing of the season. It was a historical feat too since with that he became the first closer with 30+ saves in his first major league season.

Josh Beckett takes the mound tonight as the Red Sox look to sweep the Angels, Ervin Santana will pitch for Los Angeles.

Does this look like the face of a bozo that leads MLB in blown saves?

Once upon a time Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon was one of the best in baseball at his position.

Those days seem long gone as he continues to scuffle, blowing his AL-leading sixth game yesterday afternoon in Toronto as the Blue Jays (60-54) shocked the Sox (66-50) 6-5 in the series finale at the Rogers Centre.

It's hard to overstate how important this game was: Boston led 5-2 going into the ninth and they had the chance to sweep a pretty decent team on the road and gain half a game on the idle Rays.

For once John Lackey deserved better: he went eight plus innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts. With a low pitch count, he went back out to start the ninth but promptly gave up a solo homer to Jose Bautista (who's your dealer bro?).

Enter Papelbon (4-5) who gave up three earned runs on four hits before he was mercifully pulled by Terry Francona.

After Vernon Wells (2 hits) double on the first pitch by Papelbon, Adam Lind (2 hits) singled up the middle to cut it to 5-4. Edwin Encarnacion tied it up with a double down the left field line. After a strikeout and an intentional walk, Daniel Bard came on but Fred Lewis delivered a sacrifice fly which scored Aaron Hill with the winning run.

Against scrub minor leaguer (a spot starter) Brad Mills, the Red Sox teed off. Victor Martinez (2 hits) began the barrage with a sacrifice fly in the third. David Ortiz made it 2-0 in the next at bat with an RBI single.

Toronto got one back in the fourth when a run scored on Lind's double play ball.

Jed Lowrie and Ortiz hit solo shots in the fifth to get Mills out of the game.

Another run scored for the Blue Jays in the sixth on Bautista's double play.

Things looked fine though as Darnell McDonald (2 hits) had an RBI triple in the eighth which scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) to make it 5-2.

Boston wraps up this road trip with three in Texas, beginning with Josh Beckett vs. 9-1 Tommy Hunter tonight. The Rangers are a very good team and it's always though to play in the Texas heat this time of year.

It'll be interesting to see what happens if the Sox find themselves in a save situation tonight. Bard only threw two pitches yesterday while Papelbon labored through 19 that felt like 40. Francona will stay with a player until his arm falls off so don't expect him to do anything drastic for a long time.

New York (who won last night) are six games ahead of Boston and Tampa Bay is four games ahead of the Sox in the AL wild card.

Red Sox are still alive thanks to tidy 2-1 win in Bronx

This season still has the look and feel of one that will ultimately end in disappointment but you have to give the Boston Red Sox credit for hanging around in baseball's best division.

The Sox (64-49) earned a split at Yankee Stadium yesterday afternoon with a nail-biting 2-1 win over the Yankees (69-42).

Boston is still six games behind New York in the AL East and 4.5 behind Tampa Bay (who broke a five-game losing streak last night).

Jon Lester (12-7) broke his career-worst four game losing streak with 6.1 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

Daniel Bard entered with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth but he was able to strikeout Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher.

The Sox had a 2-0 lead thanks to two runs in the second inning. Bill Hall drove in Ryan Kalish with an infield hit and Hall came around on J.D. Drew's groundout.

Jacoby Ellsbury was moved to ninth in the batting order after starting 0-for-16 since he returned from the DL. The move paid off as he got a hit, walked, was hit by a pitch and stole four bases (tying Jerry Remy's franchise record).

Mark Teixeira hit a solo homer off Bard in the eighth but Jonathan Papelbon had one of his best outings of the season for his 28th save.

He got out of a jam in the eighth and then struck out the side in the ninth.

Phil Hughes (13-5) was the tough-luck loser since he went six innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts. He seemed to be on the ropes early as the Red Sox worked his pitch count but he settled down in a big way after the rocky second inning.

Boston heads to Toronto for three beginning tonight against the Blue Jays, one of baseball's hottest teams. The Jays also lead MLB in home runs.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who's been great since the All-Star break faces Ricky Romero, a good young lefty that nevertheless the Sox have owned.

Beltre and Dice-K help Red Sox split with Indians

The bad news seems to come daily for the Boston Red Sox and yesterday was no different as Kevin Youkilis will miss the rest of the season with his random thumb injury.

Every time you want to bury this team you can't though as they emerge from their shallow grave with a nice win. Last night, the Sox (62-47) earned a split with the Indians (46-63) thanks to a 6-2 win at Fenway Park.

There were basically two reasons why Boston won this game: Daisuke Matsuzaka and Adrian Beltre. Dice-K (8-3) had probably his second best start of the season (behind the near no-hitter at the Phillies) as he went eight impressive innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

For much of the game, Cleveland rookie Josh Tomlin matched Dice-K, starting out the first three innings with a perfect game. However, with one swing, Beltre gave Boston all the runs they would need as he crushed a fourth inning grand slam over the Monster.

Shin-Soo Choo had given the Indians an early 1-0 lead in the first with a solo homer to center.

J.D. Drew added two important insurance runs in the eighth with a clutch two-run single.

Even a 6-1 lead at home isn't safe for Hideki Okajima (2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk). Luis Valbuena hit an RBI single in the ninth and when two runners were on base, Terry Francona had to go to Jonathan Papelbon since they needed this game bad.

Papelbon made it interesting as usual, walking the bases loaded (putting the tying run at the plate in the form of nobody Trevor Crowe) but striking out two batters to end it. It was his 26th save of the season.

For the first time since before Memorial Day (it's an absolute joke that it's been that long), the Red Sox will play the Yankees. The two teams have four in the Bronx this weekend, starting tonight and ending Monday afternoon.

Clay Buchholz faces Javier Vazquez tonight at Yankee Stadium. The Bombers come in six games ahead of Boston and half a game ahead of Tampa Bay (the wild card leaders). Needless to say, the Red Sox have to win at least a couple games in the series to stay alive. They simply can't afford to be swept.