Bullpen Blows Final Games of the Series - Jenn

While the Red Sox took the first game of the series against the Astros, the bullpen fell flat in games two and three and allowed the Astros to take the series 2-1.

Yesterday, as Dad already explained, we were up, then down, then up again. The last time we were down was due to the bullpen, who's been pretty great as of late. Well, I don't know if they were tired of interleague play or exhausted from their recent homestand. All I know is this is not the bullpen Red Sox Nation is used to seeing.

Aardsma started off great getting through the 6th with no problem. But then the first two batters he faced in the 7th both reached. So Francona pulled Aardsma for Hansen who's been lights out recently. Well yesterday the lights were on as Berkman lined to center scoring Bourn, and a wild pitch allowed Pence to cross home plate bringing them within one. Hansen managed to get the next three batters he faced out, but there were still two innings left.

Since Hansen struggled, Delcarmen came in for the 8th and proceeded to hand the Astros the game. Wigginton homered to deep right to tie it up, Erstad who was pinch hitting lined to center, Pence walked, and Berkman's liner to left scored them both to bring the score to 11-9 Astros. Turns out the walk Delcarmen served up to Pence made all the difference because that's what gave the Astros the win.

Well today's another day and Beckett's on the mound. Unfortunately a new day does not necessarily mean a different turn of events, and while the score was different the outcome was just the same.

With the score tied at 2, Aardsma took the mound for the 8th. He got the first guy out. But then Tejada lined to center and got 2nd on a wild pitch. Okajima came in and although he got Blum to tap the ball back to the mound, it was still enough to get Tejada over to 3rd. Then Loretta, the great Sox 2nd baseman of '06, came in to pinch hit and took Okie's slider to center field allowing Tejada to score the winning run.

Now Aardsma may have been the losing pitcher because Tejada was his runner, but it was Okie's slider to Loretta that allowed him to score. This is that same problem Okie's had all season. If there's a runner on base, and Okie's pitching, odds are 10-1 that runner is going to score. Okie has a hard enough time recording outs when there's no one on base, why make it more difficult by giving him runners from other pitchers? I have no answer to this question, but wonder why Francona continues to put his "set up man" in this position.

Who knows the answer, all I know is what the results show and yesterday and today the results show the bullpen sucking and the opposing team taking advantage and recording the win. Tomorrow it's back to Tampa Bay and a bristling team that's waiting for payback. Should be an interesting series. All I can say is it's a good thing Coco's out of the line-up for the next three games.

Up & Down-Like An Elevator!!--Peter

Well, tonight's game was interesting--in the same way that watching a fly's reaction as you pull off its wings and legs, one at a time is. There's a certain fascination there,but underneath it all, you feel a bit disturbed and once all is said and done, quite unsatisfied at the outcome. Speaking of which, so does the fly. But I digress.

So far as the season has progressed, whenever Jon Lester's been on the mound for the Hose, things have gone pretty well. Tonight started that way as well, but once the Sox hung a big 4 on the board in the 3d, Lester started getting a bit out of character. Before you knew it, the 'Stros had responded to the Sox four spot with a fin of their own, all in the very same 3d inning. To make matters worse, in what was to be Lester's last inning, the 5th, they picked up another run: 6-4, Astros. One of the worst parts of this Houston onslaught was a 3 run shot by former Sox second sacker Mark Loretta that initially put the Houstons ahead.

However, as with any elevator, once the car reaches bottom, it goes back up again. So, in the 6th the Hub Hose tacked on a fiver of their own, punctuated by a run-scoring triple by Jake and a ribbie two-bagger by Youk--Sox up 9-6. This lasted an inning. The elevator then began its descent--6th floor, small appliances, 4th floor, lingerie, 3d floor--well, you get the picture. So, the Astros scored a pair in the 7th followed quickly by a trey in the 8th--'Stros 11-9. This last burst was compliments of The Other Manny-Delcarmen. TOM's been doing fairly well of late, but not tonight--2d floor, men's haberdashery; 1st floor, cosmetics and jewelry--3 runs for Houston. Give the man a Blown Save and the L for the night. Unless the elevator can rise far enough again.

Time for the good old elevator to rise again. And rise it did--just not far enough. Mike Lowell, who was just a triple shy of the cycle, going 4-4, drove his 12th homer into the seats to narrow the deficit to 11-10. Unfortunately, the store closed at that point. Sorry, folks, elevator's closed for the evening. Come back tomorrow and maybe we can get the elevator as high as your hopes this time.

JD Back with a Bang - Jenn

Just when I started worrying that JD had cooled off, he planted one in deep right to quell my fears.

Dad may have been worried about Dice-K going into this game, but I was more concerned about JD. If Dice-K had another bad outing I could let it slide. After all it was only his second time on the mound since coming off the DL and everyone takes time to get their old fire back.

But nothing's wrong with JD. He hasn't been injured or anything and he's still doing some amazing stuff in the outfield. But during the last home stand our faithful right fielder who had been hitting anything that came across the plate had suddenly stopped. In his 19 at bats in Fenway JD only got two hits. That's right two hits. So, you can understand why I was worried. But last night his loud bat quieted my fears.

He may have only had one hit, but that one hit was a three-run shot to deep right that got the Sox on the board. That homer would be the right fielder's 11th. In the month of June. Last season JD had 11 home runs total. He's already got 15 for the season and there are still 3 months left to play. If he keeps hitting this way, he could end up being the team leader in home runs. Something no Red Sox fan would've ever considered since Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are also in the lineup.

But while JD may have added another home run to his 2008 tally, I'm worried why it took him five games to start hitting again. Was he just having problems at Fenway? God, I hope not. There are still another 40 games to play at home and if Fenway means a slump in JD's batting average, that's all bad. With Ortiz still on the DL, we need all the hitting we can get and that means JD needs to continue the streak he had before the Sox returned to Fenway last Friday. I don't care if he hits the balls out of the park or not, he just has to get hits. Because hits lead to runs and runs lead to wins. So, I hope last night was just the beginning and the fire that JD was on eight days ago is burning wildly once again.

Dice, Drew and Papelbon Too!--Peter

Well, tonight's game provided a bit of pregame trepidation for me, based on the Diceman's last outing. Out for a stint on the DL due to shoulder problems that we were told were not serious, he came back last week and was shelled from the game in record (for him) time. He lasted just an inning plus and gave up about everything possible to give up. And that shoulder, we were still assured, was not anything to worry about. Hmmm!

So, my fears were understandable, particularly with the Astros having two certified .300 plus hitters in their lineup. Berkman has been second in the NL all season to Chipper Jones' run at .400 immortality and Tejada, never one of my favorites, is always a threat with the stick.

Dice wasted no time setting out who was boss tonight. First inning: three batters, including the aforementioned Tejada, three K's. Although he ultimately left after just five, his return still not at full condition, he threw nothing but zeroes on the board, picked up 4 K's and had a game WHIP of 1.0. He got credit for the W, too! Hopefully, this is a return to full normalcy for the Diceman.

After matching the Astros output for two innings, the Sox put some runs on the board. With two men on, JD planted one in the cheaps and, just like that, it was three zip, Sox. They added another in the 7th and two in the 9th, but with Drew's shot, they had all they needed to win.

Hansen and T.O.M. each threw a perfect inning, the former needing only 8 pitches, and after Okajima gave up a homer in his 2/3 of an inning, Laser came on to finish up the last 1 1/3 innings throwing perfect baseball on a total of just 13 pitches.

As for Oki's homer, I'm beginning to wonder if he isn't looking at the plate suddenly, totally unlike his normal delivery. Something's amiss. Hopefully, it gets corrected soon for the second half run. Yes, I said second half. Today's game is one beyond half way for the season.

Coco & Cash and a Lotta' Pitcher Panache--Peter

Well, tonight was further proof, if any were necessary, that the Sox have the capability to hit and score on anybody, and from anywhere in their lineup. Although they picked up a run early on some not too impressive stick work, that 1-0 score was about all that was happening against Randy Johnson for five innings. Johnson, who's had his troubles this season, was looking at least somewhat like the RJ of old. True, he wasn't overpowering everyone he faced, but he did manage to add five K's to his second all time lifetime total, and the hits he gave up were, for the most part, fairly scattered.

Now, when that's happening, you get a bit uncomfortable, because you know that at any time a couple of quick BB's mixed with a timely scratch single or two can eliminate your lead in an instant.

Fortunately, Coco was pretty solid with the stick tonight. Picking up three doubles, he was involved in every Sox scoring rally of the evening, and even scored one of the Sox' final runs in the 8th. Ably assisting Coco was Wake's new caddy, Cash. Like his recent predecessor, Mirabelli,not carried for his hitting ability, he nonetheless matched that predecessor in getting a most timely roundtripper to basically salt away the win for Wake and the Sox.

That's all the runs anyone would need this evening. Wake's knuckler was tumbling, floating, fluttering and whatever else a knuckler does when it's working. In seven he gave up only two hits and a walk, leaving him with a game WHIP of under 0.5. Add in six K's and he was on. What makes his stuff even better is that by the time opposing batters begin to get a handle on a low 70's fast ball, not to mention the knuckler, they're totally without any hope when the relief comes in and cranks a few past them at 95+--haven't a clue what to do.

So it was tonight. After seven, in comes The Other Manny-Delcarmen. He hurls a two-K perfect inning in only 13 pitches. TOM was so on, only three pitches were for balls.

He was followed by Hansen, who was also throwing incandescent heat. However, after getting two quick outs in the 9th, he then loaded the bases with a pair of free passes and a hit. Having seen enough, Tito yanked him and handed the ball to Laser, who did exactly what he's supposed to do--SLAM THE DOOR! Five pitches later, only one a ball, and it's K, 3 outs, game over. What more can you ask for?

Also a plus: Youk started and played the whole game, getting a double in the process. His eye is still looking something like he stepped in front of a Marciano (the real Rocky & the true Greatest, for those of you not old enough to remember) jab, but he's playing through it.

Varitek Brings the Win - Jenn

After finally snapping an 0-24 streak on Monday, Varitek followed that up by bringing home the winning run of last night's game on a line drive to right field. Maybe, just maybe the Captain is back.

It's been a tough couple weeks for the Red Sox catcher. While Varitek's been amazing behind the plate (just look at that awesome catch he made Sunday to prevent the Cardinals from getting the lead in the top of the 13th inning) he hasn't been producing when he steps into the batter's box. And he knows it. "I've had some feeble at-bats over the last few weeks, and I've had some really good ones. Sometimes you need a little favor once in a while." Well, on Monday he finally got that favor he was looking for when he doubled off the green monster to start the 3rd inning. He may not have had another hit in the game, but it was a spark. And that spark caught fire last night.

After Lugo, Ellsbury and Pedroia all singled to right in the bottom of the 8th, Lowell stepped into the batter's box and slammed Qualls' pitch into the green monster for a double that would get Ellsbury and Pedroia home and tie up the game. And while Lowell was standing on 2nd, there were already two outs in the inning. But Varitek didn't let that bother him. He took his place in the box and took the 2nd pitch Qualls threw to right field for an RBI base-hit. It was a nice present for the catcher and a very nice present for NESN commentator Jerry Remy on Jerry Remy day at Fenway. Sure the Remdawg got a Mustang convertible, but nothing's better than a win.

So, today's the rubber of the series against the Diamondbacks and hopefully it holds yet another hit from the man behind home plate.

Sooner or Later---They're Gonna' Get Ya'--Peter

Tonight's game is a prime example of what happens when a team is facing one of the most loaded, top to bottom, lineups in the game. The loaded team occasionally goes cold with the stick, looking lucky to even get three or four hits in a game, sometimes for three or four games in succession. Then, suddenly, with as little warning as they had going into the cold snap, they explode--often from the least likely source.

Here the Sox were, a couple of games of sparse hitting, topped off by last night's famine, and looking as if the drought was going to continue for at least another game. Eighth inning and they're trailing 4-1, having basically gotten little of anything after Dusty's solo shot in the first.

The D-backs' starter, Davis, is rolling along sitting down Sox batters just as quickly as they come up to face him when, suddenly, Lugo leads off with his first hit of the evening. Following him is the Speed Racer, and the Sox have got men on first and second. After Drew strikes out (has he cooled off fast or what?), Manny hits a sharp grounder. Now, if the base runners are cursed with just normal speed, it's an inning ending DP. But they're NOT! You have the league leader in steals and another very speedy guy on the bases. At the crack of the bat, they're off like someone's chasing them with a very sharp knife. Result? When the dust clears, Manny's out at first, but, because the other two are so quick, first was the only option the 'Snakes' infielder had and there are Sox players standing on 2d and 3d. Lowell comes up and with one swing of the bat, the score is tied--and it's not over yet!
Varitek, in one of the worst slumps of his career, something like one for thirty, comes to the plate, and batting left-handed singles in the go-ahead run, Lowell, to make it 5-4.

Meanwhile, Masterson is off the hook that a couple of ill-timed fat pitches had put him on and another young Sox pitcher just called up from the minors, Smith--how plain and simple can you get--has a shot at the win. Why? Simple! He's just pitched two innings of no-hit shutout ball, allowing only a single baserunner on a free pass. Total pitches for TWO innings-28! That's averaging 14 an inning--not too shabby.

With that scenario, you know what comes next--Laserman! Pap comes in and finishes off the Diamondbacks the same way the fat broad kills snakes in the comic strip BC. He beats them to death, not with a club, but just as deadly--his assortment of high energy laser beams the official scorer calls pitches. Although he does give one D-back a free ride, after four batters, the game is in the books and Pap's line score shows not a single ball leaving the infield. In fact, only one got even into play that far. The other two guys were his usual stat--large K's. Save number 22. Scary, really scary!