Jake's Five Steals

By the way, in case anyone is wondering if five swipes in a single game is a record or not, other than a Red Sox record, it's not. There are five guys who've swiped six, one of them in 2009: Carl Crawford (remember him?); and another pair of guys, both from the 19th century, who each grabbed seven in a game. For the record, they are: the Cubbies' George Gore (1891) and the Phillies' Billy Hamilton (1894). But, hey, even if it's not a MLB record, five in one night is still quite impressive! Go Jake!

Sox Split Two & Two w/Phils

Well, after the original win in the Fens by the Sox, they were closed out on consecutive nights. First, in his first return to Fenway since he went to the Phils, Papelbon slammed the door on a Sox rally and earned his first Fenway save for an opposing team. Then, just to rub it in, at the Phils' home field, he did it again, albeit looking a bit more like his final two years as the Hose closer than his first few. That left it for tonight for the Hose to get the split. Breaking on top with four 1st inning scores, capped by a two-run double by Salty (he later got another), the Hose were holding a 4-2 lead through five. Then, Gomes and Papi each took a shot into the cheaps, Gomes in the 6th and Papi in the 7th--6-2, Sox. That's the way the score remained until the top of the 9th, when the Sox removed any lingering doubts about closing out the win. They added a three spot when they sent seven men to the plate. Starting with a base knock by Jackie Bradley, Jr. (back to the Show yesterday), they soon had multiple baserunners and after scoring on a ground out, left it to back to back two baggers from Salty and Iglesias to jack the tally to 9-2 Sox. After that, it was just a matter of how quickly Bailey would slam the door. He needed only a dozen pitches to do so, two of the outs coming as K's.
The offense was fairly well spread around, with only Salty, Iglesias and Jake having more than one hit. Both of the former had two apiece, but Jake, showing continuing signs of breaking out of his recent slump, had a hell of a night. He was three for four, all singles, and received a freebie. But it's not the times he got on base that was so spectacular. It's what he did once he got there. You expect someone with his speed and talent to steal a base fairly often; maybe a pair. Tonight, he went way beyond that--he swiped FIVE! No typo--five steals! I believe that vaults him back into the MLB lead for steals on the season, his total now 21. He stole 2d in the 2d, then duplicated it in the 4th. But he was just warming up. In the 6th, he was hit by a pitch and promptly retaliated by swiping both second AND third. His final hijack was in the 8th, when he singled again and promptly grabbed second again. At this rate, they'll have his photo in the post office with a number at the bottom.
Just as good as the offense was, the pitching also looked pretty damn good. In his first start since coming back to the parent club, Morales threw a solid five innings, allowing the Phillies' pair of runs, but giving up just four hits, a pair of passes and punching out two before giving way to the Hose' pen. From there on out, the Bosox hurlers were basically lights out, allowing just a combined total of two hits and no freebies at all. If all of this doesn't make you happy, the Stripes, who the Sox drop in on tomorrow, lost again to the Mets, upping the Sox Division lead to two games.
One other item--has nothing to do with tonight's game, but worth mentioning--a business friend gave me a pair of seats right next to the dugout at PacBell Park for the August 21 game when the Sox visit the Giants. Seats are fantastic! Can't wait!

Bounceback After Tito's Return Win

Well, on Thursday, we saw the return to the Fens of Terry Francona, 'Tito' to some. Receiving a really very warm welcome from Sox fans who gathered as much for the return as to cheer on their team, Francona led his team to an overwhelming victory, with the Tribe getting a dozen runs and 17 hits on the evening. As impressive as the Tribe's performance was, equally impressive was the Red Sox-sponsored welcome home for the manager of their pair of World titles in the first decade of the new century. Commencing with a very well produced and memory stirring video on the giant screen, the welcome proceeded with about a 10 minute long standing O for Terry from the fans. It was very emotional and well appreciated by both sides.
So after Terry got first blood in the series, the Sox returned the favor yesterday with an almost equally one sided win, 8-1. This was propelled by a three run shot by Carp and a pair of ribbies each from Jake and The Dustman. Holding up the defensive side of the ledger was the second straight solid start from Lackey, who allowed just a pair of hits over seven innings while getting eight K's. In the process, he lowered his ERA to 2.72. His WHIP for the game was also sub-1.0.
Which brings us to today, Tito';s third day back in town. Lester was on the hill, and quickly surrendered a run in the 1st and a pair in the 3d, leaving the Hose trailing 3-1. However, they pecked away and knotted the score at three in the 6th. However, a Lester wild pitch allowed the Tribe to retake the lead the very next inning and that's (4-3, Tribe) where things sat going into the Sox' 8th. This time the rally didn't end at a tie. With two gone and Ciriaco on second via a solid double, Carp pinch hot for Gomes and quickly drove a ball deep into the outfield for a tying run scoring double. He was immediately followed by the aforementioned Dustman with another double that plated Carp with the lead run. Not through yet, Indians reliever Pestano intentionally passed Papi (not taking any chances with Big Papi in that situation), only to give up a very unintentional pass to the very next batter, Nap. Sacks jammed! Not for long! Nava immediately singled, bringing both The Dustman and Papi home with some solid insurance; 7-4, Sox!
Tazawa, who pitched a perfect 8th for the Sox, gave way to the Hose' closer, Bailey, and he came through admirably. Although he did give up a solitary single, he held the Tribe scoreless for the inning, closed out the game and got his 6th save in seven chances.
How the Hose now stand in the Division is still open, as the Stripes game is still in progress, with the Rays up 3-1 in the bottom of the 7th and still threatening. Keep hoping. If they hold the lead, the Sox will tie the Division lead.
Stats: Sox got eleven hits, five of which were for two bases, a pair of those by Dusty. Other hitting leaders for the day were the newly recalled Iglesias and Ciriaco, both 3 for 4, each with a double.

Sox Salvage Win in Chitown

Well, after two closes losses, but losses nevertheless, to the Pale Hose, the Sox turned things around tonight with a solid win in the getaway game to end their road trip. Bucky was going for his 7th W without a loss, and went a solid seven, allowing just 5 scattered hits and a single run. His ERA was cut to a microscopic 1.73. He did also give up three freebies, but, as with the hits, kept them very scattered. Leaving with a 2-1 lead, it was then up to the offense and the pen to keep the W for Bucky. One run lead? No problem! The Sox came up in the 8th and they wasted little time in moving to put the game away. After a fly out by the Dustman, Papi and Nap singled, followed by a free pass to Nava to load the bases. Middlebrooks hit a sac fly to plate a run, and a subsequent passed ball (ESPN said wild pitch, so take your choice) got Nap across with another insurance run--4-1, Sox. Uehara then came on to pitch a perfect 8th, picking up a pair of K's in the process and lowering his ERA to 1.93 on just nine pitches. Just to be certain, the Hose in the top of the 9th added a final pair of runs, loading the bases and setting up Nava again with two gone to drive home the final pair. That left it to Sox closer Bailey to show how well he was recovered in his first turn off the DL. Although he did give up a solo shot to long time Chisox power hitter Konerko, it was obvious that Bailey was all there--and so were the Sox. With the corresponding loss by the Stripes, the Hub Hose were back within a half game of the division lead.
The Sox had nine hits, the only extra bases one a two bagger by the Dustman. The only people in the lineup with more than a hit were Papi and Jake with a pair apiece. The rest of the run was spread fairly evenly through the lineup.
Back to the Fens and a reunion of sorts with Terry.  Successfully managing the Tribe to the Central lead, Francona is coming back to the scene of more wins by any manager in a Sox uniform (over 700 of them). He was quoted as saying that although the aftermath of 2011 was not pleasant, he holds no ill feelings, and, in fact, still has many friends in the Hub and a myriad of good memories with the team--not the least bookend World Championships.

Big Papi Home With A Vengeance!

Well, this past three games, the Sox visited Minnesota, the home of the Twinkies, and returned the favor of a sweep by the visiting team to the denizens of the Twin Cities. While the three W's were definitely whole team creations, the biggest contributor to the mayhem was none other than former Twins player (until 2003), Big Papi. Ever since the trade when the Twins let him get away to the Sox, he has taken it out on the AL Central team. His number with the Hose is that of former Twins HOF member, the late Kirby Puckett. But his heart, not to mention his bat, are all Red Sox! This visit allowed him to increase his B.A. to .364 and also had him picking up liberally in all offensive categories: homers and ribbies. In fact, when he drove a pair of balls into the cheaps in right center at the Twins' home, he took over the Red Sox franchise all time lead fro multi-homer games--more than Teddy Ballgame, more than the Babe, more than anyone else! Pretty heady company he's leading.
Not that the big man's teammates were slacking. The Dustman continued his hitting streak to eleven games, while raising his average to over .340. Jake added to his league leading steals and triples totals, Lackey picked up a heavily rain delayed win, and Nap continued to drive runs across. Also, some of the lower ends of the lineup showed strong signs of bringing their batting averages up to respectable levels, with Salty, Middlebrooks and Drew starting their respective long climbs to the higher reaches of the .200's from where they have hovered so far. If all of this weren't enough, the mound staff has also contributed. The team now has a pair of six-zip records in its starting rotation, three guys in the top ten in the league in K's, and a continuing strong pen. Uehara and Tazawa have been great in closing out games in the combined absence of the two Sox closers, Hanrahan (season over for Tommy John surgery) and Bailey (sore biceps; just off the DL today). All of this, led by Papi, has created the current five game winning streak, and moved the Hose back to within a half game of the Stripes for the Division lead.
Today, it's off to the Windy City, long time home of their opponent's broadcaster and famous Sox slugger Ken Harrelson--The Hawk!

Sox Get Timely Hits

Well, after a dismal slide that took them from not only the Division lead, but also to the best record in MLB, the Sox may have found the remedy. It wasn't a secret. All they needed was the occasional timely or clutch hit. They were getting baserunners against the Twins and the Rangers, but somehow, couldn't get them home. The trend continued for the most part in Toronto as well. Then off to the Trop to face their recent nemesis of the last 2-3 years, the Rays. So, last night, they settled the issue in the opener in the 3d inning. Putting four runs across against last year's Cy Young winner, before he left with a strain in his throwing arm that today found him on the DL, they then loaded the bases. A simple hit could help get them some breathing room and a W. Drew at the plate and, Boy, did he take care of business. One swing--Grand Slam--Sox up eight zip. They gave back a pair of those in the Rays' half, but later added a solo shot off the bat of Middlebrooks for a final score of 9-2. Lester wasn't perfect, but got better as he rolled along and ended up raising his record to a perfect 6-0 on the season, tying rotation mate Bucky.
Which brings us to tonight's game. With minimal hits for either team, the Rays broke on top in the 2d, 1-0 and the Hose tied in the 4th on a base hit by Papi, plating Victorino. A couple of innings later the Rays retook the lead, scoring a pair of runs as Hose starter Doubront ran out of gas; 3-1, Rays. Although he only shows five innings of work, he pitched into the 6th, but couldn't put anyone away in that inning. The Rays pitchers, in the meantime gave up no hits at all after the 6th, and only a total of three up to that point, including Papi's aforementioned RBI hit and Victorino's two-bagger that set it up. Came the Sox 9th! The Dustman and Papi led off the inning with freebies, followed by Nava's full count BB after Nap fanned. Sacks jammed! After Drew waved at a third strike, Middie drove a hard double into left clearing the bases and giving the Hose their only lead of the evening! And, like the man said, the only score that counts is the one at the end of the game. Failing to add any insurance, the Hose turned to their new closer of the moment, Tazawa, already having thrown an inning of shutout ball. Here it was classic Sox tension. The Rays leadoff man singled, and the winning run came to the plate. Did Taz worry? Well, he didn't show it. He promptly got Zobrist on a liner to third and followed it up with a great K of Rays offensive star Longoria. Could Sox fans breathe easier? Not   so    fast. Rays batter Escobar singles and suddenly the Rays have two on, with the winning run at first. Loney, a pretty good hitter strides to the plate, one hit away from driving a stake through the Sox' heart. Does Taz worry? Nah! Loney swings, makes contact--and it's a simple ground ball to Drew, who closes things down. Sox win. With the loss by the Stripes, Sox get back to within a game of first and a half game up on the O's. Two in a row! And all it took was a timely hit. It's great when things go the way you want them to.

Sox Regain Momentum vs Jays

Well, after the distress of last night's blown game, all on Lackey's major throwing error, that allowed the Stripes to take over 1st on % points, and got the Birds tied with the Hose 6 % points behind, the Jays came to the Fens tonight. Lester was on tonight for the Sox, and, as things turned out, that's all you have to know. Yes, both the Dustman and Victorino had multi-hit nights, but tonight the big news was Lester. Although he only garnered 5 K's, he tossed a complete game one hit shutout. The goose egg was a no-no through five and 2/3, finally being broken up on a double by Izturis. Had that ball not gotten through, Lester very well could have been perfect as he gave no-one a free pass all evening. In fact, Izturis was the only Jay to get on base at all! For the game, JL's WHIP was an almost invisible 0.11, and his ERA dropped back below 3, settling at 2.73 by game's end. He also lowered his opponent's BA against him to a sub-Mendoza .193. So, he's now 5-0 on the year, just behind rotation mate Bucky. Offensively, the Hose had ten hits, four of which were for extra bases. Although Papi went for the collar again--once the streak ended, he's not been as fortunate on the hits column--there was a moment when everyone in the park, as well as anyone following somewhere electronically got a taste of the respect as a hitter and slugger opposing teams now have. It was the 3d inning. With Victorino on 1st and Papi at bat, the Jays hurler tried a pickoff and blew the throw. Victo ended up standing on 2d and suddenly wisdom demanded that Papi be intentionally walked.  Not taking any chances with the big guy in that situation, no sir. Nobody scored that time, but the message was clear. If Papi comes up with men on, especially in scoring position, he gets a pass.
Join us for the next game tomorrow evening.

Words Cannot (and Won't) Express!

Well, last night's 6-1 loss to the Twinkies (maybe I should call them by their given name, Twins, after all), was not great, but I figured it was just an off night. I mean, after all, starter Dempster did only allow two runs, and still got 8 K's. Papi DID keep his streak alive at 27. Then came tonight! The title of this piece says it all!
The Twins opened up with a four run 1st against new Sox starter Webster--just recalled from the Pawsox in the aftermath of both Sox closers going to the DL on the same day and the following move to the pen of Doubront to help cover. OK, I say, big deficit to make up, but these are the Sox--team hitting well; Papi on a streak and it's only the 1st. I should have quit right there! The Sox gave some hope in their half of the inning, responding to the T's four with a fin of their own. Finished off by Johnny Gomes' slam, we're leading and that Twins fourspot ain't looking so bad after all. After what happened in the T's 2d, it definitely looked good--in comparison! The Twins sent 11 men to the plate and added seven to their previous four. In just a half inning the Hose had gone from one up to six down! Now you have to admit--that's not exactly what you'd define as progress. Yes, the Hose picked up a run in their half of the 2d, but that just got them to 11-6, Twins. It only got worse from there. When the smoke had cleared and it was all done, including the screaming, the final was Twins 15, Sox 8. OUCH! In fact, 'ouch' doesn't cover it, but I'm not sure what would, so I'll leave it at 'ouch'. It's not as if the Hose didn't hit. They did, after all, get eight runs, normally a pretty good guarantee of a win. Not tonight. They had a dozen hits, four of them for extra bases, including a pair into the cheaps. Actually only one landed there. The other, Gomes' blast, cleared everything and landed out on Landsdowne Street somewhere. But, the Sox moundsmen, at least until they were deep--very deep--into the pen, performed as if they were just serving up BP to the Twins players. It was so bad that even Papi's streak ended, leaving him 29 shy of Joe D, and equal to his former teammate, Manny's 2006 run of 27 games.
Not much else to say from here, except tomorrow's a fresh slat, and the Sox can at least square the series at a deuce apiece. The loss also dropped the Hose into a tie for first with the O's and just a half game ahead of the Stripes.
By the way, for you inveterate overall, all sports, Boston fans, as you probably know by the time you read this, the Bruins took a 3-1 Cup series lead against the Leafs in Toronto, with a 4-3 overtime win.

Three Losses in Texas

Well, based on history, I had my usual trepidations when our team left Toronto for Arlington, Texas. As it turned out, they were well founded. The first two games were not really close, although they could not be described as laughers. In fact, had all the LOB's for both teams actually scored, the Sox might have won at least one. Trouble is, they didn't score. Which brings us to the finale yesterday. Facing the Rangers' ace, Japanese import Yu Darvish, the Sox quickly opened a three zip lead, based on homers by Papi and Sox offseason acquisition, Ross, the fourth of the season for both of them. Papi, in the process, also extended his hitting streak to 25 games, dating to last season. However, the combination of Darvish's 14 K's, the second time this year he's reached that total, and some timely hitting later in the game by the Rangers was too much to overcome. A pair of Rangers homers off of Hose starter Lester tied it by the 6th and former Sox third sacker (a couple of years ago) Beltre managed to get a ball just beyond the reach of Sox infielders to bring home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th--a walkoff single and the 3d loss in a row for the Hose. The only other highlight for the Sox was three stolen bases, including the Dustman's 7th of the young season, which keeps him in the league leaders behind team mate Jake and a few others. Jake leads the majors in swipes with a dozen. This is the longest losing streak of the season for the Sox, and hopefully, they'll right the ship tonight at the Fens against the Twinkies. Bucky is scheduled to take the ball for this one.

Closer, But Still A Win

Tonight the Sox finished this series at Toronto with another win against the Jays. It was a lot closer than last night's laugher and the Sox were outhit, 7-6, by the Jays, but the only stat that counts at game's end is the score, and the Hose took care of that 3-1. After trailing early, the Hose put up a deuce in the 2d and tacked on the final run of the evening in the 6th. Not that both teams didn't have opportunities for more runs, especially the Sox, but good pen work again from Tazawa, Uehara, Miller and Hanrahan, he for his 4th Save of the season, kept the Jays in check and preserved the Sox lead and ultimately, the win. Dempster got his 2d W with the Sox, six innings of four hit, one run ball with four K's. He reduced his ERA to an even 3.00 and appears ready to join the other two members of the rotation (Lester & Bucky) in the sub-3 club next outing.
Offensively, Papi had the night off. Hope he's not having any achilles relapse. He's going so well so far since coming back to action. Tonight's heroes were Nap, with another two-bagger to extend his MLB-leading total to 15, and Gomes, who got above the Mendoza line with a pair of hits and an RBI. Jake also picked up another ribbie, as did Drew on a sacfly. As the Stripes were off tonight, the Hose' lead grew to 2 1/2 games and remained at 3 1/2 over the O's, who won in Anaheim. Tomorrow the team goes up against West Div leader Texas in Arlington (TX not MA). Should be a good series, but not sure if the Hose will have to face the offerings of the Rangers' ace, Yu Darvish. We'll see as the weekend unfolds.

Sox Miss Record--Then Annihilate Jays

Well, try as they might, this year's edition of the Red Sox will have to be satisfied with just tying the franchise record for most wins in April: 18. Last night, they dropped behind early, then, compliments of Big Papi and team mates, pulled ahead 7-6, only to have the pen, a pillar of strength so far, drop one. They lost 9-7, with Tazawa taking the L. However, Papi continued his white hot run, while the Dustman also picked up a couple of hits. Lester, who started, avoided the loss because the Hose took the lead just after he left, in the 7th, but his showing was his worst of the season. It wasn't terrible, but it was well below what he'd shown previously in 2013.
So, now it's May, and the Hose started the new month by shellacking the Jays 10-1. Started Bucky was virtually untouchable, allowing just a pair of scattered hits, three walks and no runs in seven very strong innings. Wilson allowed the Jays' only run in the 8th, and Mortenson cleaned up the end.  As for the offense, what can you say? They collected 15 hits, eight of which were for extra bases, and five of those were roundtrippers, a pair by Napoli, who, subject to other games tonight, appears to have regained his MLB ribbie lead, while keeping his MLB doubles lead. He was three for four, collecting a solid two base hit to complement his pair of cheap seat shots. Papi also doubled, while the other three HR's were by Carp, Nava and Drew. In fact, the hitting was pretty well spread around the order, with only Gomes getting collared. Drew, like Middlebrooks, starting to show signs of life at the plate, got a pair of hits, one the aforementioned HR.
For all you Boston fans who follow, like moi, all Hub teams, the Boston newspaper sports page headlines tomorrow morning will likely read Sox, B's, C's win. The two winter teams are both in the playoffs, and the Bruins won their first playoff game tonight, 4-1, while the Celtics, having fallen behind the Knicks 3-0 in their series, are trying to copy the 2003 Sox and become the first in their sport to win a series after being down three games. With tonight's victory in New York, they are halfway there, now trailing 3-2 and going back to Beantown.