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.

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.

Damn it Beckett

Despite his past success in the playoffs in 2003 with the Marlins and 2007 with the Red Sox, Boston pitcher Josh Beckett has not been a big game performer for the last few seasons.

Facing one of the biggest games of the season last night at Yankee Stadium, Beckett couldn't get through the fifth inning as the Sox (63-49) lost 7-2 to New York (69-41) on a day when Tampa Bay lost its fifth straight game.

Beckett (3-2) went 4.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on 11 hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Scheduled starter A.J. Burnett was scratched before the game with back spasms but Dustin Moseley (2-1) stepped in and pitched very well: 6.1 innings, two earned runs, six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

New York scored twice in the second inning on a throwing error by Bill Hall and an RBI single by Derek Jeter (2 hits, 3 RBIs).

Hall (3 hits) atoned for his usual fielding blunder with a solo homer in the fifth, cutting it to 2-1 Yankees.

The bottom of the fifth was when the wheels fell off for Beckett and the Red Sox. Mark Teixeira led off the inning with a solo bomb. Lance Berkman (3 hits, 2 runs) hit an RBI double, Kevin Cash made a throwing error which led to another run and Jeter sent Beckett to the clubhouse with a two-run double.

Boston got one more run, on an infield hit by pinch hitter Mike Lowell in the seventh. A ball that looked like a double play ball by Alex Rodriguez that he couldn't corral.

Needless to say, today is the biggest game of the season for Boston. They have Jon Lester on the mound, he's lost four straight starts and he needs to get right. Also, they can't lose more ground to New York and I'm sure the Rays will turn around soon despite all their injuries.

Phil Hughes takes the ball for the Yankees in the afternoon matinee.

The Sox are seven games behind the Yankees in the AL East and 4.5 behind Tampa Bay. This is the start of a ten-game road trip and it figures to remain very difficult with three in Toronto (who is playing great) and in Texas (who are legit and Arlington is always a tough place to play in the summer heat).

Time to pull the plug on old man Smoltz

A wise man once said, "you can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit." Don't the Red Sox know that right now as John Smoltz at this point in his hallowed, Hall of Fame career is basically chicken shit every fifth day.

In game one of a pivotal four game set in the new Yankee Stadium, Smoltz got rocked and the Yankees (66-42) rolled 13-6.

Staked to a 3-1 lead, Smoltz couldn't hold it as he and PawSox call-up Billy Traber (who I had never heard of before yesterday) gave up an eight-spot to the Bombers.

Smoltz's final line: 3.1 innings, eight earned runs, nine hits, four walks, three strikeouts. The question now: will that be his last start for the Red Sox (and his career)? Maybe he could be used for an inning or two out of the bullpen but at the moment, the Sox (62-45) desperately need starting pitching, like Kate Hudson (A-Rod's main squeeze) needs a boob job.

With the loss, Boston fell 3.5 games behind New York while also ensuring that even if they win the remaining three games this weekend, they'll still occupy second place.

The ironic thing was that last night Joba Chamberlain (8-2) was not on his game but he looked like Tim Lincecum next to Smoltz's batting practice stuff. Joba lasted only five innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits with a career-high seven walks and five strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, 2 RBIs, walk) hit a solo shot to right in the third as the Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead.

Johnny Damon (3 hits, 3 runs) answered with a solo shot to the same cheap spot in right, to tie it in the bottom of the third.

Casey Kotchman made the most of his first start for Boston as he cranked a two-run bomb to the exact same place in the fourth, giving Boston a 3-1 lead.

In the huge fourth, Melky Cabrera (2 hits) and Jorge Posada (3 hits, 2 runs) both crushed three-run homers.

Mike Lowell (2 hits) made it 9-4 with an RBI single in the fifth but New York added single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh including another bomb, a solo job by Mark Teixeira (3 hits, 2 runs) in the seventh.

The Red Sox scored two in the ninth for yucks.

Clearly, Josh Beckett needs to play his usual role of stopper tonight as he opposes former Marlins teammate A.J. Burnett. The Red Sox' season is spinning out of control and it needs something positive.

The Yankees can't buy a win against the Red Sox

It's a special time to be a Red Sox fan. With last night's exciting 6-5 win over the Yankees in the books, Boston improved to 7-0 against New York this season. After each win, all you can wonder is how much longer will this dominance last?

Red Sox (35-24) starter Tim Wakefield is 8-3 after six innings of work. He gave up three runs on eight hits, with three walks and two strikeouts.

For the second straight night, the Yankees (34-25) starter couldn't get out of the third inning. Chien-Ming Wang (0-4) is completely useless these days. He allowed four runs on six hits, with three walks and three strikeouts.

Jason Bay got the Sox on the board first with an RBI single in the first inning.

Jorge Posada (2 hits) tied it in the second with a solo homer.

Boston jumped ahead 3-1 in the home half of the second after George Kottaras' (2 hits) RBI double and Dustin Pedroia's RBI ground-rule double that was misplayed by Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher.

Mike Lowell hit a solo shot just over the Monster in the third.

Melly Cabrera cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single in the fourth before Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run shot.

New York chipped away at the lead as Robinson Cano brought home a run in the fifth with a ground out while Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira (4 hits) hit back-to-back solo homers in the seventh off Sox reliever Ramon Ramirez.

No worries though as Hideki Okajima got a hold, with four important outs (including three strikeouts) and Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 15th save.

Boston looks for the sweep tonight as Brad Penny (who will likely be dealt soon with John Smoltz and Clay Buchholz knocking at the door) takes on C.C. Sabathia.

I'm sure the calming influence of A-Rod will turn the Yankees season around

Remember when the New York Yankees were relevant? No really. They missed the playoffs last season, built a joke of a new stadium and continue to fade from prominence, all the while clinging onto their past glory.

After a lengthy rain delay last night, the Boston Red Sox (16-10) won their first game at the new Yankee Stadium, 6-4.

Jon Lester (2-2) got the win after seven solid innings: three runs on six hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Mike Lowell (2 hits, 2 RBIs, walk) hit a solo homer and Jason Bay (3 hits) blasted a two-run bomb. Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits, a run, walk and steal, David Ortiz was on base four times with two doubles and two walks while J.D. Drew reached base three times on a hit and two walks.

Mark Teixeira busted out of his season-long slump for New York (13-12) with two solo homers and Johnny Damon added a two-run homer.

Jonathan Papelbon got five outs (including three strikeouts) for his seventh save of the season.

Weather-permitting, the second and final game of the series is tonight with Joba Chamberlain vs. Josh Beckett.

Hey look, J.D. Drew's alive

Game 2 of the ALDS was exactly the type of game the pre-2004 World Series champion Red Sox would have lost. Boston jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first and looked like they would cruise to a commanding 2-0 series lead.

However, the Angels scored one in the first and slowly started to come back until they eventually tied it at five in the eighth. The script has changed for the Red Sox since that historical win over the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. This team is clutch. Everyone seemingly makes a big play at one time or another. Nobody is afraid of the moment.

These days the Chicago Cubs and in this case the Angels seem to be playing the role of the hapless losers (aka the old Red Sox). Boston won tonight 7-5 as J.D. Drew crushed a two-run homer in the ninth off all-world closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Josh Beckett pitches in game 3 back at Fenway as the Sox look to sweep the Angels and extend their MLB record 11 game win streak over Anaheim in the postseason.